In Ecclesiasten Expositio Mystica

Salonius the Bishop, Mystical Exposition on Ecclesiastes. INTERLOCUTORS: VERANUS AND SALONIUS. VERANUS. By how many names is Solomon called? SALONIUS. By three, as the sacred Scriptures most clearly teach, that is, Solomon, Ydida, and Ecclesiastes. VERANUS. Why is he called by these names? SALONIUS. Solomon, that is, the peaceful one, is so called because in his reign there was peace. He is called Ydida, that is, beloved of the Lord, because the Lord loved him. VERANUS. In what language is Ecclesiastes said? SALONIUS. Greek; for in Hebrew it is called Coheleth. VERANUS. How does Coheleth, or Ecclesiastes, sound in the Latin tongue? SALONIUS. He is properly called Ecclesiastes who gathers an assembly, that is, a Church. Whence in the Latin tongue Ecclesiastes is rightly called a Preacher, because he preaches, that is, speaks to the people; and his speech is not directed to one person specifically, but is directed generally to all. Therefore, a Preacher in the holy Church can be called a preacher.

VERANUS. How many books did Solomon publish? SALONIUS. Only three, according to the number of his names: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. VERANUS. What does Solomon say in Proverbs, or what does he teach in Ecclesiastes, or in the Song of Songs? SALONIUS. In Proverbs he teaches the little one, and through various sayings he instructs him as a son. In Ecclesiastes, however, he imbues the man of mature age, so that he understands that in the things of this world nothing is perpetual, nothing glorious or great; but all that we see is brief, fleeting, and vain. In the Song of Songs he joins the consummated and perfect man, adorned with all and various virtues, to the embraces of the bridegroom, that is, of our Lord Jesus Christ. VERANUS. But what does that Solomon, Ydida, and Ecclesiastes signify spiritually? SALONIUS. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Solomon, that is, the one pacifying all things through his blood made both one (Ephesians 2), that is, from two peoples he built for himself one Church. Whence the Apostle: Christ, he says, is our peace, who made both one. He is Ydida, that is, the most beloved son of the Father, concerning whom the Father himself said to the disciples: This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3; Mark 1; Luke 3).

He is of course the Ecclesiastes, that is, our preacher who gathers the assembly, namely the holy Church from the whole world, to whom he speaks, saying: Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matt. 11). He is the son of David, to whom the blind in the Gospel cried out, saying: Have mercy on us, son of David (Matt. 9:15 and 20). He is also the King of Jerusalem, not of the earthly one, but of that heavenly one, which is the mother of us all. VERANUS. What does Ecclesiastes mean when he says: Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity (Eccl. 1), since it is written in the book of Genesis: God saw all that he had made, and they were very good (Gen. 1)? If all that God made are very good, how then is everything vanity, and not only vanity, but even vanity of vanities? SALONIUS. Heaven and earth, the seas and all things that are contained within this circle, are indeed good in themselves, since they were created by a good God, but compared to God, they are certainly to be accounted as nothing, because God will always remain what he is, while all those things will pass away. For things that are seen are temporal, because they are transitory; but things that are not seen are eternal.

VERANUS: Why did he repeat his statement twice, saying: "Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes; vanity of vanities, and all is vanity"? SALONIUS: To exaggerate the magnitude of vanities he repeated his statement, so that by this he might show that all worldly glory withers like the flower of hay and passes away like smoke. VERANUS: Of which generations does he say: "A generation passes away, and a generation arrives" (Ecclesiastes 1)? SALONIUS: Of the generation of the Jews and the generation of the Gentiles. For the first generation of the Jews recedes, since it perished on account of unfaithfulness, and the generation from the Gentiles succeeds, namely the holy Church of the faithful gathered together, which is saved through faith in Christ. And it can be understood thus: A generation goes, and a generation comes, that is, as others die, others are born, and those whom you had seen before you no longer see, and you begin to see those who had not existed before.

VERANUS: Why does Solomon say: "The earth stands forever" (Eccl. 1), when the Lord says in the Gospel: "Heaven and earth will pass away" (Matt. 5 and 24; Mark 13; Luke 21)? SALONIUS: Truly, according to the Lord's saying, heaven and earth will pass away by way of improvement, but not by way of removal; because by the fire of judgment they will be purified, they will be improved, since they will be renewed, but they will not be utterly destroyed. For only so much of heaven above and earth below will burn as could be defiled by the malice of men and demons together. Therefore, according to Solomon's saying, the earth will stand forever (Eccl. 1), since it will never be destroyed; nevertheless, it will be renewed and improved. VERANUS: What did Solomon mean to signify when he said: "The sun rises and sets, and returns to its place, and there, being reborn, it circles through the south, and turns toward the north" (Eccl. 1)? For who does not know that the sun rises and sets, and returns by ways unknown to us to its place from which it rose, so that it may rise again?

SALONIUS: Solomon says this in order to show that the sun itself, which was given to men for the light of day, by its own mutability—that is, by its rising and setting—daily demonstrates the destruction of this world. Through these changes of the seasons, and through the rising and setting of the stars, Solomon teaches that the human condition daily rises and falls. VERANUS: What does the sun signify spiritually in this passage? SALONIUS: That true sun, namely the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the sun of justice, of whom the prophet says: "For you who fear God, the sun of justice will rise" (Mal. 4). This sun of justice daily rises for those who fear him, that is, for his faithful, namely holy and pious men. It also sets at midday for false prophets, that is, for heretics and for evil Catholics, because on account of their sins they lose the light of his grace. It sets also for unbelievers, because they do not deserve to be illuminated by the light of faith.

VERANUS: What does it mean when it says: "All rivers run into the sea, and the sea does not overflow; they return to the place from which they come out, so that they may flow again" (Ecclesiastes 1)? For who knows that rivers return to their own place so that they may flow again? SALONIUS: That Ecclesiastes knows, namely Solomon, through the grace of the Holy Spirit. But this Ecclesiastes of ours, namely Jesus Christ, who is the very creator of those waters, through the power of the divinity by which He is equal to God the Father, knows most fully that the rivers (because they run into the sea) flow down into the abyss, and through hidden channels return to the sources of the springs, and begin to bubble forth again from the mother abyss. VERANUS: But spiritually, what do these rivers signify? SALONIUS: By these rivers are designated the holy preachers, who, when they shine with virtues and gleam with teachings, are truly rivers, because they irrigate the dry land of carnal hearts with their holy preaching and action alike, so that they may bring forth the fruits of good works.

VERANUS: How then do these rivers flow back to the place from which they come out, so that they may return again? SALIMUS: Because holy preachers, in all the teaching and work they do, return to the praise of their Creator, so that they may offer praises and thanks to their Lord and Author, through whom they have received both the ability to do such things and all their goodness. For they always return to the spring of true light, lest they perhaps dry up and wither, so that from it they may receive the water of knowledge and the grace of virtues, so that they may flow again—that is, so that they may both fill themselves with good works and pour streams of spiritual teaching into the hearts of others. All the faithful are also rivers, and these rivers return to the place from which they come out, because through holy desires they return to the love of their Creator, and for all good things they offer praises and thanks to Him from whom they have received them. VERANUS: Why did Solomon give his heart—that is, diligently apply his anxious heart—to know wisdom and learning, and errors and folly (Ecclesiastes 1)? For it is good to know wisdom and learning, but what good is there in knowing errors and folly?

SALONIUS: Just as it is good to know prudence and doctrine, so truly it is good to know errors and folly, since the first wisdom is to be free of folly: but no one can be free of folly unless he has understood it. Similarly, no one can avoid errors unless he understands them. For this reason, many harmful things were created in earthly matters, so that by avoiding them we might be instructed toward wisdom. VERANUS: Why was it of equal concern to Solomon to know prudence and doctrine, and on the contrary, errors and folly? SALONIUS: So that while he sought some things and avoided others—that is, grasped the good and shunned the evil—his true wisdom might be proven. VERANUS: What does it mean that Solomon says: "Because in much wisdom there is much indignation, and he who adds knowledge adds also labor"? How is there much indignation in much wisdom? SALONIUS: There is much indignation in much wisdom for this reason: because the more wisdom each one perceives, the more he is indignant with himself and grieves that he is subject to vices and sins and does not possess virtues. For the more each one advances in wisdom, the more he becomes angry with himself over the evil deeds he has done, and he is saddened and grieves over his sins. Therefore he also adds labor, because the more he comes to know heavenly and eternal things, the more he labors with grieving and weeping so that he may be able to escape the snares of errors and be freed from the misery of this mirror.

VERANUS: Why does he say: "I have considered error as laughter," and "I said, why are you vainly deceived" (Eccl. 2), when it is natural for men to laugh, and the Lord says in the Gospel: "Rejoice and exult, for your reward is great in heaven" (Matt. 5; Luke 6)? SALONIUS: Solomon does not reprove natural laughter, that is, modest and honest laughter; whence elsewhere he says: "A wise man will laugh silently" (Sir. 21); but he calls dissolute, immoderate, and uproarious laughter "error"; such laughter is indeed called a guffaw. Similarly, he calls not spiritual but temporal joy a deception. But those who do not lament their past evils, nor understand the ruin of their sins, both guffaw and rejoice in temporal things, because they think new and brief things are perpetual goods, and therefore, deceived by the sweetness of the present glass, they are daily troubled by the error of this world. VERANUS: What does it mean when he says: "I have seen in all things vanity and affliction of mind, and that nothing remains under the sun" (Eccl. 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12)? How does he say that nothing remains under the sun, when earlier he said: "But the earth stands forever" (Eccl. 1)?

SALONIUS: For nothing will remain under the sun that does not pass away, since all things are vain; whence in the Gospel the Lord says: "Heaven and earth will pass away" (Matt. 24); yet the earth will stand forever, because it will not be utterly destroyed, but will be made better, as was said above. VERANUS: Why does he say: "The eyes of a wise man are in his head, but a fool walks in darkness" (Eccl. 11)? Are not the eyes of a fool in his own head? SALONIUS: The eyes in this place cannot be understood as bodily, but as spiritual: namely, the eyes of the mind, that is, the senses and intentions of the soul. By the head, however, Christ is signified, whence the Apostle says: "The head of a man is Christ" (1 Cor. 11). The eyes of a wise man are in the head, because a wise man directs all his intention toward Christ and places it in Christ, and always lifts the eyes of his mind to meditate on heavenly things; but a fool walks in darkness, because he is darkened both by the darkness of his folly and of his sins, and is darkened by love of this world; for he hates heavenly things, and therefore cannot, like a wise man, lift his eyes to heaven, because he does not think of those things which are of God, but of those which are of this world.

VERANUS: What, then, is the difference between a wise man and a fool? SALONIUS: This is the difference: that the one is illuminated and adorned with wisdom and clarity; the other, however, is darkened and cast down by the error of his own folly. For the distance between the wise and the fool is as great as that between day and night, light and darkness. VERANUS: How can the distance between the wise and the fool be so great, when the destruction of both is one and the same? For the learned dies as the unlearned, the wise as the unwise (Eccl. 2). SALONIUS: Although the setting is one and the death of the wise and the fool is similar, and often in this life the wise man is more afflicted than the fool, yet the memory of them will not be similar in the future, nor will they receive an equal reward, because on the day of judgment the wise man will be raised to the glory of the heavenly kingdom, while the fool will be plunged into the torments of eternal damnation. VERANUS: Who, then, is this wise man who is as far removed from the fool as light from darkness? Is it he who abounds only in the wealth of philosophical discipline, or shines with the eloquence of the liberal arts?

Salonius. Sometimes secular prudence is hostile to God, and carnal wisdom, even if adorned with the flowers of eloquence, nevertheless contains in itself no spiritual fruit, no fruit of eternal blessedness. But he is truly wise who loves the Lord, who keeps his commandments, and, as far as is possible for human frailty, strives to fulfill his will in all things; concerning whom a little further on it says: To a good man, in his own sight, God gave wisdom, and knowledge, and joy (Ibid.). Veranus. Why does it immediately add: But to a sinner he gave affliction and superfluous care? For if God gave to a sinful man the having of care and superfluous solicitude, what then does he himself sin, if he is afflicted by superfluous cares and solicitude for temporal things? Salonius. The cause of superfluous care and evil solicitude is not in God, but in him who previously sinned of his own accord, because by the demands of his sins he merited having superfluous care and solicitude. And therefore what it says: But to a sinner he gave superfluous care, is to be understood as meaning that, by the demands of his own merits, he permitted it to be given, namely because he was a sinner.

Veranus. What does he intend to show by this statement: "All things have a time"? If all things have a time, does the substance of the eternal Divinity therefore have a time? Salonius. Far from it; indeed, that ineffable eternal essence of the divine majesty, which created all things from nothing, is not confined by place, not constrained by time, not bounded by any space: and for this reason Solomon, to show of which things he has said this, immediately adds, saying: "And all things under heaven pass in their own spaces." For he intends to show that all things which are in the world are mutually opposed, and nothing among all things that are under heaven is perpetual, and these things contain time. Veranus. Of what planting does he speak, or of what uprooting does he speak when he says: "A time for planting, and a time for uprooting what has been planted"? Does he speak of the planting or uprooting of trees or herbs? Salonius. No, but of the birth and death of men: for what he said above: "A time for being born," this is what follows, "and a time for planting": for to plant is the same as to be born. What he says above, "a time for dying," this is what follows here, "a time for uprooting what has been planted": for to be uprooted is the same as to die.

For only God knows the birth and death of men, that is, the time of being born and the time of perishing, and the time of planting and the time of uprooting: since He Himself established the time in which each one would be born and planted into life, and the time in which he would die and be uprooted from this life, that is, be eradicated by the sentence of death. Veranus. What does it mean when it says again: "A time of killing and a time of healing"? For no one doubts that the time of healing is granted by God, but God never instituted a time for killing another: or can a man ever heal the one he has once killed? Salonius. Not at all; but the time of killing and the time of healing belongs only to the one who speaks through Moses, saying: "I will kill and I will make alive, I will strike and I will heal." He Himself surely established the time in which sinners are killed, and the infirm, that is, those languishing in sins, are healed. For He kills when He afflicts sinners either with bodily infirmity or with some adversity of this world so that they may be corrected and die to sins, and live to God. For often God scourges the wicked in order to kill and heal them, that is, so that they may cease to be what they are, and begin to be what they are not. Therefore there is a time of healing, when Almighty God, by a hidden inspiration, pricks the conscience of those whom He has killed, that is, mercifully afflicted with adversities, and provokes them to penance.

VERANUS: Of what destruction or building does he speak when he says: “A time for destroying and a time for building” (Eccles. 3)? Is he speaking of the building and destruction of houses? For what would that profit us? For who does not know that some destroy and others build houses? SALONIUS: Solomon is not speaking here of houses, but of the destruction of evils and the building of goods; because it is necessary first to destroy evils, and then afterwards to build goods, according to that saying of the Psalmist: “Turn away from evil, and do good” (Ps. 36). Therefore he says this, because there is a time for destroying evils and a time for building goods, since in the present life a time has been granted to us by God so that we may destroy evils and build goods: that is, first in ourselves through penance we may blot out sins; afterwards, through holy desires, we may construct the edifices of virtues. VERANUS: Why does he say: “A time for weeping and a time for laughing, a time for mourning and a time for dancing” (Eccles. 3)? For who does not know that at one time we weep, and at another we laugh? Or what profit was there in saying “a time for dancing”? Did he perhaps wish to show that we ought to engage in the amusements of dances?

Salonius. Far from it; we must not act in a frivolous manner: rather, the time for weeping is in the present life; the time for rejoicing is in the future life. Therefore, whoever in the present life strives to purify himself with daily weeping and tears, in the future life will laugh, that is, will rejoice. Similarly, the time for lamenting is the present life; the time for dancing is the blessed life. For in the act of dancing, a man demonstrates the joy of his mind and the affection of his spirit. Therefore, whoever in this life, by lamenting, strives to blot out his sins, in the future life will dance, that is, will be glad and will exult in the glory of eternal happiness. Veranus. What does it mean when it says: “A time for scattering stones, and a time for gathering them” (Eccles. 3)? For what good is it to scatter stones, or what good is it to gather them, unless perhaps someone wishes to build a house? Salonius. Solomon is not speaking about this matter, but about the dispersion and gathering of peoples. For by “stones,” peoples are signified. Whence John: “God is able,” he says, “to raise up sons of Abraham from these stones” (Matt. 3).

For there was a time for scattering stones before the coming of the Lord, because the Gentiles did not remain in the unity of the faith, but, withdrawing from God, were scattered, since they worshipped various gods and venerated diverse idols. But there was a time for gathering stones after the coming of the Lord, because, as the Apostle says: when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, made subject to the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive the adoption of sons (Galatians 4). Then indeed He began to gather stones, because, after completing the mystery of His passion and resurrection, He sent His apostles throughout the whole world, saying: Go, teach all nations, baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28). Then, after the fortieth day, the mystery of the ascension into heaven having been celebrated, as soon as the fame of His name was spread far and wide through the world by the apostles, the stones—that is, the Gentiles, who had been scattered through the varied worship of idols—were gathered, because, coming to their senses and abominating idols, they assembled into the unity of the faith.

VERANUS: Why does it say again: "A time for love and a time for hate"? Yet the apostle John says: "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer" (1 John 3); and in the Gospel it is said: "Whoever hates his own soul in this world preserves it for eternal life" (John 12); likewise: "Whoever does not hate his father and mother, brothers and sisters, wife and children, and even his own soul, cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14). Tell me, then, when is the time for love, and when is the time for hate? SALONIUS: Now indeed is the time for love, since after the Lord we ought to love our father and mother, wife and children, and other relatives; but the time for hate is when, for the sake of confessing Christ, we ought to despise and also hate both father and mother and all relatives (if they oppose us on the Lord's path), as the holy martyrs are read to have often done. VERANUS: What is it that it says again: "A time for war and a time for peace" (Ecclesiastes 3)? How is there a time for war, when the Lord says in the Gospel: "Be quickly reconciled to your adversary while you are with him on the road"; and likewise: "If someone strikes you on your right cheek, offer him the other also, and if someone wishes to take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well" (Luke 6)?

SALONIUS: Truly, for us there is always a time of war and struggle as long as we are in this present life, since we must always fight against the snares of the ancient enemy and subdue the aerial powers (that is, of the evil spirits). But the time of peace will be when we have departed from this present world; for if we have fought well in this world, we shall be crowned in the future, and we shall rest in eternal peace in the heavenly Jerusalem. VERANUS: Why does it say: "All things God made good in their time," when above it said that all things are vanity? If all things are vain, how then are they good? SALONIUS: All things are vain because they are transitory; nevertheless, all things are good, since they were created good by God, and they are indeed good; yet not always, but in their own time. For it is good to be awake, and it is also good to sleep; but to be always awake, or always to sleep, is certainly not good. VERANUS: Why does Solomon speak doubtfully, saying: "Who knows if the spirit of the sons of Adam ascends upward, and the spirit of beasts descends downward" (Ecclesiastes 3)? For who is ignorant that the spirit of beasts (that is, of cattle and all brute animals) is dissolved together with the body? But the spirit of the sons of Adam (that is, of men) is not dissolved together with the body; but as soon as it departs from the body, it is either led to glory or plunged into punishment?

SALONIUS: A little above, Solomon showed that as far as bodily utility is concerned, there is no difference between a beast of burden and a man, because just as a beast of burden dies, so also a man dies. But to show that according to the dignity of the soul, a man differs greatly from a beast of burden and cattle, he therefore made a distinction, saying: "Who knows if the spirit of the sons of Adam ascends upward, and the spirit of beasts of burden descends downward?" (Ibid.). For he shows that this is the only difference between men and beasts: that the spirit of a man ascends into heaven, and the spirit of a beast of burden or cattle descends into the earth, because it dies and is simultaneously dissolved with the flesh. VERANUS: Why then does Solomon say: "Who knows?" as if there were no one who could know this! SALONIUS: He says "Who knows?" in order to demonstrate the difficulty of the matter. For "who" in the Sacred Scriptures usually signifies not impossibility but difficulty or rarity, as in this passage: "But who will recount his generation?" (Isaiah 53). That is, either no one, or very rarely. For what is impossible to happen cannot happen at all, even with great effort. Therefore he says "Who knows?" because a spiritual man who can then perfectly comprehend, when the spirit departs from the body, whether it ascends or is led to punishment, is very rare, or certainly difficult to find.

VERANUS: What do these sons of Adam, or those beasts of burden, signify spiritually? SALONIUS: The sons of Adam signify holy and elect men who are deservedly called men, because they live rationally, holily, and spiritually. By beasts of burden, however, are designated the carnal, who are called beasts of burden for this reason, that they live bestially and carnally, just like beasts of burden and cattle. For the holy prophet David says: “Men and beasts of burden, Lord, you will save” (Psalm 35). For it often happens that those who seem to be just men sin and turn away from their righteousness, and do iniquity; on the contrary, those who are evil and impious turn away from their iniquity, and do justice and equity. Therefore Solomon says: “Who knows if the spirit of the sons of Adam ascends upward, and the spirit of the beasts of burden descends downward?” Because the state of this life is so uncertain that even a sinner, who is called a beast of burden, when converted through penance, rises and ascends to the heights, and a just man falls from his righteousness into sin, and is plunged down to the underworld.

VERANUS: What does it mean when it says: “The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh” (Sirach 4)? For who is so foolish that he would eat his own flesh? SALONIUS: That fool, that sluggard, should be understood as the one of whom it says in Proverbs: “The sluggard hides his hand under his armpit and does not bring it to his mouth” (Proverbs 19). That sluggard and fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh, because he prefers to live in idleness and torpor and to have a handful of grain rather than to acquire by labor what he may feed on. Moreover, that phrase “eats his own flesh” is spoken by way of hyperbole. VERANUS: What is hyperbole? SALONIUS: It is called hyperbole when something incredible is uttered. VERANUS: How then is it said hyperbolically, “He eats his own flesh”? SALONIUS: Because it is incredible that a man should eat his own flesh; but to exaggerate the laziness of this fool, it says “He eats his flesh,” to show that the fool desires his flesh to waste away through hunger and the misery of starvation to destroy him, rather than that he be sustained by the labors of his own hands.

VERANUS: Who is the one of whom Solomon says: “He is one and has no second, no son, no brother, and yet he does not cease to labor, nor are his eyes satisfied with riches”? SALONIUS: He is the one who, being one, that is, alone, has no second: that is, no son, no brother, or any relative; and he never ceases to labor, that is, to amass riches, nor does he amass so many that they suffice for him. And therefore it is the greatest vanity to amass riches and not to know to whom one leaves them. VERANUS: Whom does that one who has no second signify spiritually? SALONIUS: Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is naturally the only Son of God the Father, and alone descended from the heavens to redeem the human race. VERANUS: How does he have no son or brother, when in holy baptism all Christians become sons of God and brothers of our Lord Jesus Christ? SALONIUS: He alone is the proper and natural Son; all the rest, however, are adoptive, and therefore they are his brothers, not by nature but by grace.

VERANUS: How then does this one not cease to labor? SALONIUS: Because he patiently endures our sins and mercifully awaits our repentance, and daily intercedes for us before God the Father. VERANUS: How are his eyes not satisfied with riches? SALONIUS: Because he always desires our salvation. VERANUS: Who is this threefold cord of which Solomon says: “A threefold cord is hard to break” (Eccl. 4)? SALONIUS: The unity of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, because in the divinity there are three persons, but only one nature. VERANUS: Why then does he say, “Hard to break”? That which is difficult can happen, although with great effort: can this cord therefore ever be broken? SALONIUS: Never, truly, because the nature of the holy Trinity is indivisible; but “difficult” in this passage is to be taken as “impossible,” because it cannot happen that the nature of the Divinity be sundered.

VERANUS: Who is that poor and wise boy of whom Solomon says: "Better a poor and wise boy than a foolish old king" (Eccl. 4)? SALONIUS: The Lord Jesus Christ, who is called a boy on account of innocence and simplicity, because he committed no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth (1 Pet. 2). This boy, though he was rich, became poor for our salvation. He is truly wise, because in him dwells the whole fullness of divinity in bodily form. VERANUS: Who is that old and foolish king? SALONIUS: The devil, who reigned over the human race almost from the beginning of the world, and therefore is called old. And he is truly a foolish king, because the more people he deceives, the greater the punishment he accumulates for himself. In the kingdom of this old and foolish king, that is, the devil, the best boy was born, namely the Lord Jesus Christ, who became King of kings and Lord of lords.

VERANUS: What is this that it says: "Watch your foot when entering the house of God"? Does it not warn us to watch our foot from stumbling on stones when we enter the house of God, that is, the church? SALONIUS: Although we ought always to enter the house of God with propriety and with fear and silence, yet it does not teach that the foot of the body is to be guarded, but the foot of the soul, that is, the step of the mind, so that we pour forth pure prayers in the sight of God. And the meaning is: when you enter the house of God (namely, the church), watch your foot, that is, the step of your mind, lest you stumble in evil thoughts, so that your prayer may be directed purely to God. VERANUS: What is this that it says: "Do not give your mouth so that it makes your flesh sin" (Eccl. 5)? How does a man give his mouth so that it makes his flesh sin? SALONIUS: When he speaks vanities and lustful words by which the flesh is incited to sin. But this is the proper sense of this passage: "Do not give your mouth so that you make your flesh sin"; that is, do not seek vain excuses by which you give occasion to your flesh to sin; that is, do not say: "I do not sin, but the sin that dwells in me sins," that is, the fragility of my flesh; because if you say this, you provoke the Lord to anger, as if He himself were the author of malice and sin.

VERANUS: What is this that it says: "Every labor of man is in his mouth, but his soul will not be filled" (Ecclesiastes 6)? How can it be that all that a man labors is in his mouth? SALONIUS: An ecclesiastical man, wise and led, has all his labor in his mouth; because everything that he learns in the sacred Scriptures he daily meditates upon, preaches, and teaches, and his soul will not be filled, because what he has learned does not suffice for him, but he always desires and strives to learn more and more. VERANUS: What is this that it says: "It is better to see what you desire than to desire what you do not know" (Ibid.)? How does a man see what he desires, or how does he desire what he does not know? SALONIUS: He who with the eyes of his mind discerns between good and evil sees that he desires good and that he rejects evil: but he who follows the will of his own heart and his lusts often desires what he does not know, because he wishes to grasp what he cannot.

VERANUS: Of whom does Solomon say: "He who is to be, his name is already called and it is known that he is a man"? SALONIUS: Of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose name was called beforehand in the sacred Scriptures, because He Himself took flesh from the Virgin, and it was known to the prophets and the saints of God that a true man was to come. VERANUS: If this was said of the Lord Jesus Christ, what is it that follows: "And he cannot contend in judgment against one stronger than himself"? Who is that stronger one against whom the Lord Jesus cannot contend in judgment? SALONIUS: God the Father, who is stronger, because the Son according to His humanity is lesser than the Father. VERANUS: What is it that it says: "Anger is better than laughter" (Ecclesiastes 7), since laughter is natural, but anger is a vice? SALONIUS: Anger is not always a vice, but sometimes it is a virtue, when we are angry at ourselves or at others who are sinning. This anger, therefore, is better than laughter, because laughter dissolves the mind, and joy corrupts a man's soul; but this anger corrects and amends sin.

VERANUS: What does it mean when it says: "Slander disturbs the wise man and destroys the strength of his heart" (Ibid.)? For whoever is truly wise is disturbed by no slander, cast down by no adversity. SALONIUS: The wise man in this passage is not to be understood as one who is perfect and consummate in wisdom, but as one who has already begun to have wisdom, and yet is not yet perfect. Such a wise man is easily disturbed by the slander of men or by some adversity, and it destroys the vigor and fortitude of his soul; for while he does not patiently endure adversities, he is tormented by impatience. VERANUS: What does it mean, that it is evil to say that former days were better than those which are now? SALONIUS: It is evil to say this because He Himself says: "Such a question is foolish." VERANUS: Why is it a foolish question, if someone says: What is the reason that earlier times were better than they are now (Ibid.)?

SALONIUS: Therefore the question is foolish, because there is one God, the creator of all times and of all days. VERANUS: Although there is one God, the creator of all times and of all days, were there not good times and bad times? SALONIUS: There truly were, but virtues make times good for us, vices and sins make times bad, and for that reason we ought always to live so well that the present days are better for us than the past ones. VERANUS: What does it mean when Solomon says, "Do not be too just, nor be wiser than is necessary" (Eccl. 7)? For what evil is there if a man is too just, or who can be wiser than is necessary? SALONIUS: That man is too much and excessively just who has a harsh and cruel justice, and also stirs up others to complaint and murmuring; for example, he who sees his brother sinning and prefers to condemn and punish him rather than to correct and amend him through penance—that man is indeed too much and excessively just.

VERANUS: How does a man know more than is necessary? SALONIUS: When he knows arrogantly; whence the Apostle warns: "Do not be high-minded" (Rom. 11), that is, do not be arrogantly knowing, but be humble. He also knows more than is necessary who wishes to understand what he cannot comprehend nor penetrate. VERANUS: Why does Solomon say: "He who fears the Lord neglects nothing" (Eccl. 7), when the Apostle James says: "In many things we all offend" (James 3)? Did not James and the other apostles fear God, they who confessed that they offended in many things? SALONIUS: They feared indeed, and they offended in many things, because there is no man on earth who does good and does not sin. VERANUS: How then is it true what he says: "He who fears the Lord neglects nothing" (Eccl. 7)? SALONIUS: He who has a holy and chaste fear of God neglects absolutely nothing, because he is neither lifted up by prosperity nor cast down by adversity, since whatever happens to him does not sadden him.

VERANUS: Who then is that one who has a holy and chaste fear of God? SALONIUS: He who wishes to offend the Lord in nothing, and, as far as He deigns to help him, desires and strives to fulfill His will and His commandments in all things. VERANUS: What does it mean when it says: "Wisdom will strengthen the wise man over the ten princes of the city" (Ibid.)? What is this wisdom, or who are these princes? SALONIUS: In this passage, wisdom signifies the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the power and wisdom of God. The princes of the city are to be understood as the holy angels, who are the princes of the city, that is, of heavenly Jerusalem. They are also princes of the Church, because they daily rule and guard her. VERANUS: Why, then, are they said to be ten? SALONIUS: Because there were ten orders of angels, but one fell through pride; and for this reason the good angels always labor so that the number may be filled from among men and reach the perfect number, that is, the denarius.

VERANUS: How then does wisdom strengthen the wise man above ten princes of the city? SALONIUS: Because the help of wisdom, that is, of the Lord Jesus Christ, is greater than that of the angels. VERANUS: What is it that Solomon says: "I have found one man among a thousand, but a woman I have not found among all"? Were there not many holy women, both virgins and widows, who pleased God by modesty and chastity and good works, very many of whom were crowned with martyrdom? SALONIUS: Truly there were, and even now there are, very many virgins and widows acceptable to God; but Solomon says this because in his time he could scarcely find a good man among many, but among women he found none, because all drew him not to virtue, but to lust. VERANUS: Can this saying be understood spiritually? SALONIUS: Truly it can, for by "man" is signified a good thought of the mind, but by "woman" a carnal and dissolute thought. Therefore, one man is found among a thousand, that is, one pure and clean thought which is not disturbed, that is, polluted from without, by a perverse thought; but among women none is found who pleases God, because a carnal and perverse thought is not acceptable to God.

VERANUS: What does it mean when it says: "He who keeps the commandment of God will experience nothing evil" (Ecclesiastes 8)? How will he who keeps the commandments of God experience nothing evil, when holy men who kept the commandments of God have suffered many things in this world? SALONIUS: It is true, because he who keeps the commandments of God, that is, everything that God has ordered and commanded, will experience nothing evil in the future, that is, he will suffer no evil, he will endure no evil on the day of judgment. For although he suffers some evils in this life, they are light and transitory; but in the future life, he who has attained to the glory of eternal blessedness will suffer nothing evil. VERANUS: What does it mean when it says: "A living dog is better than a dead lion" (Ecclesiastes 9)? What does Solomon wish to be understood by the living dog or the dead lion? SALONIUS: The living dog signifies the people of the Gentiles, the dead lion the people of the Jews abandoned by God. Therefore, this living dog is better in the sight of God than that dead lion; because we who believe from the Gentile nation, living, know God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit through faith. Otherwise, the living dog is the sinner who confesses himself dead through sins; and rising again through penance, he begins to live through righteousness: the dead lion is the righteous man, because he trusts in his own righteousness and boasts of his own merits; and therefore, puffed up with pride, he is dead in the sight of God.

Therefore, a humble sinner corrected through penance is better than a proud righteous man, because the former is abominable, the latter is acceptable to God. VERANUS: What does it mean when it says: "Let your garments be white at all times, and let the oil from your head not be lacking" (Ecclesiastes 9)? Can anyone always have white garments? And if perhaps someone is so rich that he can always have white garments, which is altogether difficult, how can it happen that oil never fails from his head? For who can bear to always have his head anointed with oil? SALONIUS: This saying must be understood not historically, but spiritually. For by garments are designated the virtues with which the soul is clothed and adorned; by oil, however, is designated the work of mercy, that is, almsgiving or certainly spiritual joy, and the meaning is: Let your garments be white at all times; that is, whatever good you do, let it be clean and pure, so that it may be acceptable to God; and never fail in works of mercy, and always strive to have spiritual joy.

VERANUS: What are the flies of which Solomon says, "Dying flies spoil the sweetness of the ointment" (Ecclesiastes 10)? SALONIUS: Truly, Solomon understands spiritual flies. VERANUS: What are those spiritual flies? SALONIUS: Demons, vices, and sins: for all these spoil here the sweetness of the ointment, that is, the grace of the Holy Spirit. VERANUS: What does it mean when it says: "The heart of the wise is at his right hand, and the heart of the fool is at his left" (Ibid.)? For who has his heart in his right or left hand? SALONIUS: Truly no one, and therefore this saying must be understood spiritually. VERANUS: How must it be understood spiritually? SALONIUS: By "heart" is signified intention or thought; by "right hand," a good work; by "left," an evil one. Therefore, the heart of the wise is at his right hand, because the intention and thought of a wise man tends and labors always to do good works, so that on the day of judgment he may deserve to be at the right hand of the Lord, that is, in the company of the just, and to glory with them in eternal blessedness. But the heart of the fool is at his left, because of the evil things he thinks and the evil deeds he accumulates, for which on the day of judgment he will be placed on the left, that is, in the company of the reprobate, and will be punished with them forever.

VERANUS: Who is that spirit of which he says: “If the spirit of one having power should come upon you, do not give up your place”? Who is this one who has power, whose spirit, if it should come upon us, we ought not to give up our place? SALONIUS: The devil, the prince of this world; his spirit is evil suggestion. VERANUS: How does the spirit of the devil come upon us? SALONIUS: Because by persuading he makes us think evil things. Therefore, if, with the devil suggesting, an evil thought should arise in our heart, we ought not to give place to it, but to fight strongly against it, lest we complete the evil thought in deed. It can also be understood thus: if you have in yourself humility, purity, chastity, patience, charity, and the devil suggests to you pride, lust, impurity, anger, hatred, do not give up your place, that is, do not abandon humility and become proud. And so it is to be understood concerning the rest.

VERANUS: Why does Solomon say: “Woe to you, land whose king is young, and whose princes eat in the morning”? Was not the land of Israel blessed, which had a young king, namely David, who was thirty years old when he received the kingdom? Was not Josiah a good king, who began to reign in his adolescence? SALONIUS: Truly David was a good king, and Josiah was good as well. But “woe to the land whose king is young” means this: one in whom wisdom is small and weak, and whose prudence is carnal, who follows youthful desires, and hates justice, truth, and judgment. VERANUS: How do princes eat in the morning? SALONIUS: Princes eat in the morning when they lead a luxurious life; and for that reason, woe to the land whose princes eat in the morning, because they love the pleasures of this world and the delights of the flesh more than the welfare of the people, and therefore, by living luxuriously, they pervert judgment. VERANUS: How is the land blessed whose king is noble, and whose princes eat at their proper time?

SALONIUS: If the king is noble—that is, comely in wisdom, splendid in justice, adorned with good character and deeds—truly blessed is the land over which he presides, because he rules it with judgment and equity, and exalts justice. VERANUS: Who are those princes who eat in their proper time? SALONIUS: Those, of course, who do not live luxuriously, who do not love the pleasures of this world, who do not live in gluttony and drunkenness, but seek food only for the sustenance of the body. Therefore blessed is the land that has such princes, because, as they love justice and equity, they certainly do not pervert judgment. VERANUS: What does it mean when it says: “Give seven parts, and also eight” (Ecclesiastes 11)? What are those seven parts or eight which it commands us to give? SALONIUS: By the number seven, the Old Testament is signified, on account of the Sabbath, which is the seventh day sanctified in the Law; by the number eight, however, the New Testament is designated, on account of the Lord’s Day, which is the eighth, sanctified by the resurrection of the Lord Christ.

VERANUS: How then is it to be understood that it says: "Give seven parts, and also eight" (Ibid.)? SALONIUS: In this way: that is, receive both Testaments (namely the Old and the New) with equal reverence of belief, and strive to fulfill their precepts diligently. VERANUS: What does it mean when it says: "If a tree falls to the south, or to the north, in whatever place it falls, there it will be" (Ibid.)? Does not a tree that falls to the north or to the south often move to other parts of the world? SALONIUS: No one doubts this, but this saying must be understood spiritually. For by "tree" a man is signified, since each one is like a tree of the forest of the human race. By "south," which is a warm wind, the rest of paradise is signified. By "north," which is cold, the punishment of hell is signified; and the meaning is: Wherever a man has prepared a place for himself as a future abode, whether to the south, when he has fallen (that is, died), he will remain in the rest of paradise and the glory of the heavenly kingdom forever. If, however, by living wickedly he has prepared a place for himself to the north, he will suffer the torments of hell for ever and ever.

VERANUS: What does it mean when it says, "Whoever watches the wind does not sow, and whoever considers the clouds never reaps" (Ecclesiastes 11)? For who is so foolish as always to watch the wind, so as not to sow, and always to consider the clouds, so as never to reap? SALONIUS: This saying is to be understood spiritually: for just as a storm is often generated by wind and clouds, so also by wind is the devil signified, and by clouds the adversities of the present age. Therefore, whoever fears the persecution of the devil or the adversities of this world does not sow, that is, does not preach the word of God, nor does he perform the good works he is able to; and he will also never reap, because even if he begins some good things, he does not bring them to perfection. VERANUS: What then is to be done? SALONIUS: Without consideration of the clouds and fear of the winds, we ought to sow in the midst of storms; that is, in all adversities we must always preach the word of God and perform the good works we are able to do.

VERANUS: What does it mean: "Sow your seed in the morning, and in the evening let not your hand rest" (Ecclesiastes 11)? For who can always sow both morning and evening, especially since no one dares to sow in the icy season? SALONIUS: This "seed" is not to be understood here as grain or any other kind of kernel, but as the seed of good work, from which the fruit of justice and the reward of eternal recompense are born. VERANUS: What then does it teach when it says: "Sow your seed in the morning, and in the evening let not your hand rest"? SALONIUS: That at no time, at no age, should we cease from good works, and that the evening should find our morning justice, and the rising sun should again accumulate our evening mercy: in youth and in old age alike, a wealth of virtues should always commend us to God. Therefore, "Sow your seed in the morning, and in the evening let not your hand rest" (Ecclesiastes 11): that is, always exercise yourself in good works. VERANUS: What does it mean when it says, "And the almond tree will blossom, the locust will grow fat, and the caper will be scattered" (Ecclesiastes 12)? For what profit is there in saying this, since no one is ignorant that the almond tree usually blossoms, the locust grows fat, and the caper is scattered?

SALONIUS: This saying is to be understood spiritually, and contains within itself a great mystery. For by the almond tree is designated the Lord Jesus Christ: because just as the nut of the almond consists of a husk, a shell, and a kernel, so Christ consists of flesh, soul, and divinity. For by the shell of the almond the divinity is designated. VERANUS: By the locust and the caper-bush what is signified? SALONIUS: By the locust the Gentile people, by the caper-bush the Jewish people. VERANUS: How then is this saying to be understood? SALONIUS: The almond tree will flower, that is, Christ will be born and will shine with miracles; the locust will grow fat, that is, the Gentile people will believe and will be filled with spiritual gifts; the caper-bush will be scattered, that is, the Jewish people will perish on account of their faithlessness. VERANUS: Why are the words of the wise compared to goads and nails? For Solomon says thus: "The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails fixed deep" (Ecclesiastes 12:11).

SALONIUS: The words of the wise are most aptly compared to keys and goads, because they know not how to caress the faults of sinners, but to prick them; for those who are truly wise, their words are without doubt keys and goads, because they do not foster sinners with blandishments, but rebuke them with harsh reproof, and, as if by pricking their secret consciences, they drive them to pain and lamentation so that they may be corrected. VERANUS: What does it mean when it says: "Which have been given through the counsel of the teachers by one shepherd" (Ibid.)? Who are those teachers through whose counsel the words of the wise have been given, or who is that one shepherd from whom they have been given? SALONIUS: The teachers are the prophets and apostles; the one shepherd is God, from whom all the words of the wise have been given, because He Himself taught the teachers (that is, the prophets and apostles) and structured their counsel, since He Himself placed the words in their heart and mouth. VERANUS: What does it mean that Ecclesiastes says at the end of his book: "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man"? How can it be that this alone is man, that is, to fear God and observe His commandments? For a much greater part is that of those men who neither fear nor keep them.

SALONIUS: The greater part is indeed of the evil than of the good, because as the Lord says: Many are called, few are chosen (Matt. 20), and the multitude of the unfaithful is incomparably greater than that of the faithful. VERANUS: What then does Solomon wish to demonstrate in this passage? SALONIUS: He demonstrates this in these words, that there is no man who does not fear God and does not keep his commandments. VERANUS: Why is there no man? SALONIUS: Because he does not keep the measure and reason of his own nature. VERANUS: What is the reason and measure of human nature? SALONIUS: To live rationally, because among all living beings man alone is created a rational animal, and he alone received from God reason and understanding so that he might acknowledge his Creator and love him and fear him, and praise him with heart and mouth at the same time. VERANUS: What is it to fear God? SALONIUS: To fulfill his will, and to do the good things that ought to be done.

VERANUS: If, therefore, one who does not fear God and does not keep His commandments is not a man, what then is he? SALONIUS: He is a beast. VERANUS: How is he a beast, when human substance and person are seen in him? SALONIUS: For although he seems to have human substance and person, yet because he lives not rationally but bestially, he is to be called not a man but a beast. VERANUS: By what name is he called a beast? SALONIUS: If he is cruel to his household, subjects, or neighbours, he is a lion, not a man; if he is a plunderer, he is a tiger or a wolf; if he is an adulterer, fornicator, or unclean, he is a dog or a pig; or if he is foolish, he is compared to an ass; a fraudulent or dissembling man is fittingly likened to a fox, and so on for the rest is to be understood. VERANUS: Who, then, is truly a man? SALONIUS: He who fears God and keeps His commandments.