Commentary on Ecclesiastes by Saint Jerome of Stridon, Presbyter, addressed to Paula and Eustochium.

Latin Text from public domain Migne Editors, Patrologiae Cursus Completus.

Translated into English using ChatGPT.

Table of Contents Preface (Chap. I.) (Chap. II.) (Chap. III.) (Chap. IV) (Chap. V.) (Chap. VI.) (Chap. VII.) (Cap VIII) (Chap. IX.) (Chap. X.) (Chap. XI.) (Chap. XII.)

Preface

I remember about five years ago when I was still in Rome, reading Ecclesiastes of the holy Blesilla, in order to provoke her to contempt for this world, and to consider everything she saw in the world as worthless. She asked me to explain the obscure parts, like a commentator, so that she could understand what she was reading without me. Therefore, since she was suddenly taken from us by death before our work was finished, and since we, O Paula and Eustochium, did not deserve to have such a partner in our lives, I was struck dumb with such a wound. Now, I am in Bethlehem, a more noble city, and I return that memory and gratitude to both her and to you. By way of introduction, I must point out that I have followed no one's authority, but have rather adhered to the custom of the Seventy Interpreters, while translating from the Hebrew. Only in those places where they differed little from the Hebrew text. Occasionally, I have also consulted Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, so as not to discourage the reader with excessive novelty, or, on the other hand, to pursue the streams of opinions, contrary to my own conscience, by disregarding the source of truth.

(Chap. I.)

(Chapter 1.) The words of the Son of David, the King of Jerusalem. The Scriptures most clearly teach that he was called Solomon by three names: peaceful, that is, Solomon (); and Ididia (), that is, beloved of the Lord; and what is now called Coeleth (), that is, Ecclesiastes. However, Ecclesiastes is called in the Greek language, which means gathering, that is, gathering the Church, which we can now call the preacher, because he speaks to the people, and his speech is not directed specifically to one, but generally to all. Moreover, he was called peaceful and beloved of the Lord because there was peace in his kingdom and the Lord loved him. For both the forty-fourth and the seventy-first psalms are titled as beloved and peaceful. Although they pertain to the prophecy of Christ and the Church, surpassing the happiness and strength of Solomon; nevertheless, they were written according to the history of Solomon.

Therefore, he published three volumes according to the number of words: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. In Proverbs, he teaches about little things and instructs about duties through sentences. Therefore, his speech is frequently repeated to his son. In Ecclesiastes, he instructs a man of mature age, so that he does not consider anything in worldly matters to be perpetual, but rather temporary and short-lived, as we see everything. Finally, when the man is already consummated and has surpassed the age, he unites him with the bride in the embrace in the Song of Songs. For unless we first abandon vices and renounce the vanities of the world, preparing ourselves for the coming of Christ, we cannot say: \"Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth\" (Cant. I, 1). Not far from this order, philosophers instruct their followers: first teaching ethics, then interpreting physics; and those whom they see to have made progress in these, they lead on to logic.


And it should also be noted that the titles of the author's books are different. For in Proverbs it is noted: Proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel. But in Ecclesiastes: Words of the Teacher son of David, king of Jerusalem: for it is unnecessary here to mention Israel, which is found incorrectly in Greek and Latin manuscripts. And in Song of Songs neither son of David nor king of Israel or Jerusalem is prescribed, but only Song of Songs of Solomon. For just as the Proverbs and the simple instruction pertain to the twelve tribes and to all of Israel, and just as the contempt of the world only befits the metropolitans, that is, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so the Song of Songs is specifically suitable to those who desire only heavenly things. It pertains to beginners, and to those making progress, and it is the authority that will rightfully claim the dignity of a father and the kingdom of its own. However, for the perfect ones, where the disciple is taught not by fear but by love, their own name is enough, and they are an equal teacher, and they do not know themselves to be king. These (things) for now according to the letter.

Furthermore, according to spiritual understanding: peaceful and beloved by God the Father, and our Churchman is Christ; who, demolishing the middle wall and abolishing enmities in the flesh, made both one, saying: My peace I give to you, my peace I leave to you (John 14:27). Concerning whom the Father said to the disciples: This is, he said (Matthew 3:17), my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear him, who is the head of the whole Church: Not to the synagogue of the Jews, but to the multitude of the Gentiles speaking, the king of the living stones of Jerusalem; not of that Jerusalem, of which he himself says: Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets (Matthew 23:37); and: Behold, your house will be left to you desolate (ibid., 38): but of that Jerusalem, by which he forbids swearing; because it is the city of the great king. Here is the son of David, to whom the blind men in the Gospel cried out: Have mercy on us, son of David (Matthew 9:27); and the whole crowd resounded with one voice: Hosanna to the son of David (Matthew 21:9). In short, the word of God does not come to him as it did to Jeremiah and the other Prophets, but because he is rich, and king, and mighty (he is indeed the Word and wisdom, and the other virtues), he speaks words to the men of the Church: he hints at words to the Apostles, of whom it is sung in the Psalm: Their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world (Psalm 19:4). Therefore, some people believe that we are enticed by this book towards pleasure and indulgence. However, on the contrary, everything that we perceive in the world is declared to be empty. We should not eagerly pursue those things which, while possessed, will ultimately perish.

Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. If all that God has made is very good, how is everything vanity, and not only vanity, but also vanity of vanities? Just as in the Song of Songs, among all songs, an excellent song is shown; so in the vanity of vanities, the magnitude of vanity is shown. Something similar is written in the Psalm: Nevertheless, all is vanity, every living man (Psalm XXXVIII, 6). Man's life is vanity; therefore, in death, vanity of vanities. In Exodus, we read about the glorified face of Moses, which the children of Israel could not look upon. Paul the Apostle compares this glory to the glory of the Gospel and says it is not glory: 'For that which was glorified is not glorified in this part, by reason of the excellent glory' (2 Corinthians 3:10). Therefore, we can say that heaven, earth, seas, and all that is contained within this world may be considered good in themselves, but when compared to God, they are worthless. And how, if seeing the little flame of a lamp, I would be content with its light, and later, when the sun rises, I would not perceive what was shining, and I would also see the lights of the stars being covered by the sun's light: in this way, looking at the elements and the manifold variety of things, I indeed admire the magnitude of the works; but reflecting that all things pass away, and the world grows old with its end, and that God alone always is what He was, I am compelled to say not once, but twice: Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. In Hebrew, the phrase 'vanity of vanities' is written as 'Abal Abalim'. Except for the Septuagint translators, all have similarly rendered it as 'vapor of vapors' or 'vapors'. We can also refer to it as the vapor of smoke and thin air, which quickly dissipates. Therefore, from this word, transience and nothingness of the universe are shown. For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal. Perhaps because creation is subject to vanity, it groans, struggles, and awaits the revealing of the sons of God. And now we know in part and prophesy in part. All things are in vain until what is perfect comes.

What remains for a man in all his toil, for which he toils under the sun? After the general sentence that all is vanity, it begins with humans: that they in vain sweat in the labor of this world; gathering riches, educating children, striving for honor, constructing buildings, and in the midst of their work being suddenly taken by death hear: Fool, this very night your soul will be demanded from you: and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? (Luke 12:20) Especially since they bring nothing with them from all their work, but return to the ground naked from where they were taken.

One generation goes, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever. As one dies, another is born; and as you see those whom you have seen, you begin to see those whom you have not seen. What is more vain than this vanity, that the earth remains, which was made for the sake of humans: and even the human, the master of the earth, suddenly dissolves into dust? Otherwise, the first generation of the Jews fades away, and a generation from the gathered nations takes its place: but the earth remains as long as, with the Synagogue receding, the whole Church enters in. For when the Gospel has been preached in the whole world, then the end will come. But with the coming of the consummation, heaven and earth will pass away. And notably, it does not say: the earth stands in ages, but in the age. Furthermore, we praise the Lord, not in one age, but in ages of ages.

The sun rises, and the sun sets, and it leads to its place, and it rises again there. The sun itself, which was given to mortals for light, indicates its own destruction every day with its rising and setting. After it has dipped its burning wheel in the ocean, it returns to the place from which it came through unknown paths to us: having completed the circle of the night, it quickly breaks forth again from its chamber. For that reason, following the Vulgate edition, it leads to its place, while in Hebrew it is written as Soeph (), which Aquila interprets as εἰσπνεῖ, that is, breathes in. But Symmachus and Theodotion object, namely because the sun returns to its place and breathes from where it had previously departed. However, all of this is done in order to teach that, through the changes of time and the rising and setting of the stars, human life slips away and perishes while it remains ignorant. Otherwise, the Sun of justice, in whose wings there is healing, rises for those who fear God and cuts down the false prophets at noon. And when it has risen, it draws us towards its place. To the Father, namely. For He came for this purpose, to lift us up from earth to heaven and to say, 'And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.' (John 12). It is not surprising, therefore, that those who believe are drawn to the Son, since even the Father Himself draws them to the Son; for no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them. (John 6:44). Therefore, this sun, which we have said sets for some and rises for others, once killed Jacob, the patriarch, when he was leaving (or returning) from the holy land, and again rose for him when he entered the land of promise from Syria. (Genesis 28). Then Lot also, since (Al. when) he had gone out of Sodom and came to the city, which, in order to hasten, had been commanded to him, went up to the mountain, and the sun went out over Segor.

He goes towards the south, and turns towards the north: the spirit goes by turning, and the spirit returns to its own circles. From this we can estimate that during the winter time the sun runs to the south, and during the summer it is close to the north, and does not have its beginning during the autumn equinox: but first, when the zephyr wind breathes, everything bursts forth in the time of spring. But as he says: the spirit goes by turning, and returns to its own circles, whether he called the sun itself the spirit, which animates, breathes, thrives, and completes its yearly orbits in its course, as the poet says (Aeneid. III):

Meanwhile, the great sun revolves around the year: and elsewhere (Georgics II).

And the year rolls around in its own footsteps; either because of the shining globe of the moon and the stars of Titania.

The spirit within nourishes: infused throughout the limbs, it moves and mingles with the great body; it speaks not of the annual course of the Sun, but of its daily paths. For it travels in an oblique and broken line from south to north, and thus returns to the east. In another way: when the Sun runs through the south, it is closer to the Earth; when it runs through the north, it is raised high. Therefore, perhaps for those who are constricted by the cold of winter and tribulations (for evil burns upon the Earth from the north) this Sun of justice is closer to them; but for those who dwell in the northern part and are deprived of summer heat, it moves far away and returns through its own circles from whence it came. For when it draws all things to itself, and illuminates all with its rays, there is a restoration of the principal thing, and God is all in all. Symmachus interpreted this passage as follows: It goes to the south and goes around to the north; the wind goes as it walks, and it returns through the things it went around.

All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place from which the rivers come, there they return again, in order to go away. Some people think that the fresh waters that flow into the sea are either consumed by the scorching sun from above or that they are the nourishment of the salty sea. Behold our Ecclesiastes, the creator of these waters, he says that they return to the heads of fountains through hidden veins, and from the abyssal womb they always boil up at their beginnings. But the Hebrews think that by a metaphor the names of torrents and seas are signified concerning men, because they return to the land from which they were taken; and they are called torrents, not rivers, because they quickly fall away, yet the land is not filled with the multitude of the dead. Moreover, if we ascend to higher things, rightly do the troubled waters return to the sea from which they had stood still. And, if I am not mistaken, nowhere is a torrent read without the addition in a good sense. For you will give them to drink from the stream of your delights, as it is said with the addition of delights (Psalm 35, 9). And on the other hand, the Savior is handed over to the stream of Cedron (John 18, 1). And during the time of persecution, Elijah hides by the stream of Chorath, which itself also dries up (1 Kings 17, 3). But the insatiable sea is not filled, just as in Proverbs the daughters of the leech (Proverbs 30, 15).

Not every man is capable of speaking profound words. The eye is not satisfied by seeing, and the ear is not filled by hearing. It is difficult not only to know about physical things, but also about ethical things. Neither words can explain the causes and natures of things, nor can the eye, as the dignity of the thing demands, look at them, nor can the ear, with the teacher instructing, reach the highest knowledge. For if now we see in a mirror in enigma, and know in part and prophesy in part, consequently neither words can explain what it does not know; nor the eye, in which it is blind, see; nor the ear, about which it doubts, be filled. At the same time, it should be noted that all words are serious and must be learned with great effort, contrary to those who think that knowledge of the Scriptures comes to them easily and without effort.

What is that which has been? It is that which will be. And what is that which has been made? It is that which will be made. And not everything new is under the sun. It seems to me, from what he has previously mentioned, about the generation and generation, the mass of the earth, the rising and setting of the sun, the course of rivers, the size of the ocean, and all that we learn either through thought, sight, or hearing, to speak universally, that there is nothing in the nature of things that has not already existed. For from the beginning of the world both men and women are born and die, and the earth is balanced upon the waters, and the sun rises and sets. And to not go through more, and to fly for the birds, and to swim for the fishes, and to walk for the land creatures, and to crawl for the serpents, it is granted by God the craftsman. What similar saying to this the Comic poet says:

Nothing is said that has not been said before. (Terence, in the Prologue of Eunuchus).

When my teacher Donatus was explaining this verse: 'Pereant, inquit, qui ante nos nostra dixerunt.' But if nothing new can be said in words, how much more in the administration of the world, which was so perfectly made from the beginning that God rested from His works on the seventh day! I read in a certain book: If everything that has been made under the sun already existed in past ages before it was made, and man was already made after the sun was established: therefore, man existed before it was made under the sun. But it is excluded, that by this reasoning, both beasts and mosquitoes, and small and large animals, were said to have existed before the sky. Unless perhaps it responds to this, it is shown from the consequences that the speech is not about other animals, but about the human Ecclesiastae. For he says: Not everything new under the sun, that speaks and says: Behold, this is new. But animals do not speak, only humans do: if animals were to speak and say that something is new, and the sentence could be dissolved, then nothing new would be under the sun.


Is there any word of which it is said, 'See, this is new': it has already been in the ages which were before us. Symmachus translated this more clearly: Do you think that there is anyone who can say, 'See, this is new', and it has already happened in the world that existed before us. But it agrees with what has gone before, that nothing new is made in the world: nor is there anyone who can exist and say, 'Look, this is new', for indeed everything that he thinks is new has already been in previous ages. Nor should we suppose that the signs, wonders, and many other things that happen by the will of God in the world have already happened in earlier centuries; and that Epicurus has found a place, who asserts that the same things happen and will happen through countless cycles, in the same places and through the same causes. Otherwise, both Judas would have often betrayed and Christ would have suffered many times for us, and other things that have happened and will happen would also repeat themselves in the same cycles. But it must be said that by the foreknowledge and predestination of God, those things have already happened which are future. For those who were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, they already existed in previous ages.

There is no memory of the first things, and indeed of the things that are to come. There will be no memory of them among those who are to come in the future. Just as the past is hidden from us in oblivion, so too those things that are happening now or that are to come, those who are yet to be born will not be able to know them, and everything will pass by in silence, and they will be hidden as if they had never existed. And that saying will be fulfilled: Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. For even the Seraphim cover their faces and feet, because the first and last things are veiled. But according to the Seventy Interpreters, who said: 'There will be no memory of the first, indeed, of the last who are to come, there will be no memory of them with those who are to come in the last' (Matthew 20:16): the meaning of this passage from the Gospel is that those who are first in this age will be the last of all. And because God, as a generous and merciful being, remembers even the least and all, he will not give as great glory to those who, due to their vice, deserved to be the last, as he will to those who, by humbling themselves, wanted to be the last in the world. Therefore, it is said in the following: There is no memory of the wise with the foolish forever.

I, Ecclesiastes, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. So far, in general, the preface addresses everyone who is disputing (Al. disputing): now it turns to itself, and teaches who he is, how he came to know everything by experience. The Hebrews say that this book is of Solomon, repenting that he, relying on wisdom and riches, offended God through women.

And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. The word 'Anian' Aquila, the Seventy, and Theodotion have alike translated περισπασμόν as 'distraction,' which the Latin Interpreter has rendered as 'distention,' because the human mind, distracted by various cares, is torn asunder. But Symmachus translates it as 'occupation.' Therefore, since it is mentioned multiple times in this volume, whether it be occupation, or tension, or whatever else we may have said, let everything be referred to the higher meaning. Therefore, Ecclesiastes gave his mind first to seeking wisdom, and extending beyond what is allowed, he wanted to understand the causes and reasons: why the innocent are afflicted by demons, why both the just and the wicked are equally consumed by shipwrecks. Whether these things, and similar ones, happen by chance or by the judgment of God. And if by chance, where is providence? if by judgment, where is the justice of God? Desiring to know these things, I understood the unnecessary worry and anxiety that torments us by various means, given to us by God, so that we may desire to know what it is not lawful to know. But, as the preceding reason is well stated, this is a tension given by God. For, as it is written in the Epistle to the Romans: For this reason, God handed them over to shameful passions (Rom. I, 6). And again: For this reason God gave them up to a debased mind, to do what ought not to be done (Ibid., 28). And then: Therefore God gave them up to the lusts of their hearts to impurity (Ibid., 24). And to the Thessalonians: Therefore God sends them a strong delusion (II Thess. II, 10). And beforehand the reasons are shown why either they are delivered to the passions of dishonor, or to a debased mind, or to the lusts of their hearts, or whatever they did to receive the operation of error. And therefore, at present, God has given humans this bad situation, so that they are distressed in it, because they have done these or those things of their own free will and choice.

I have seen all the works that have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. We are compelled by necessity to discuss more frequently than we want about Hebrew words. For we cannot know the meaning unless we learn it through words. Rooth, Aquila, and Theodotion translated νομὴν as 'pasture', and Symmachus translated it as 'grazing'. But the Seventy Interpreters did not express the Hebrew language, but the Syrian, saying 'preference'. Therefore, whether it be farming or grazing, the term is derived from pastio, which connotes preference rather than presumption. It is said that each person does what they want and what seems right to them, and that people are led in different directions by their own free will, and all things are futile under the sun, while we ourselves are displeased with the boundaries of good and evil. A Hebrew teacher, who guided me in reading the holy Scriptures, told me that the word written above, Rooth, in this context signifies more affliction and wickedness than passion and preference: not from evil, which is contrary to good, but from that which is written in the Gospel: Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34). What the Greeks more significantly call κακουχίαν, it means: I have considered everything that happens in the world, and I have found nothing else but vanity and wickedness, that is, the miseries of the spirit, by which the soul is afflicted with various thoughts.

The wicked cannot be adorned, and lack cannot be counted. Whoever is wicked, unless they are corrected first, cannot be adorned. The righteous receive adornment, the crooked receive correction. One is not called wicked unless they are deviated from what is right. This is in contrast to heretics, who introduce certain natures that do not receive health. And because lack, that is, what is missing, cannot be counted: therefore only the firstborn of Israel were counted. But women, and slaves, and children, and the common people from Egypt, were not a fullness, but a diminution of the army, being passed over without number. There can also be this meaning here: Such wickedness is present in the capacity of this world, that the world can hardly return to its original state of goodness, nor can it easily receive its order and perfection, in which it was first created. Otherwise, if everyone is restored to wholeness through repentance, only the devil will remain in his error. For all things that have been done under the sun, have been overturned by its judgment and the spirit of wickedness, while sins are multiplied by its prompting. Finally, the number of deceivers and those who have been snatched from the flock of the Lord by it is so great that it cannot be comprehended by calculation.

I spoke with my heart, saying: Behold, I have been magnified, and I have added wisdom above all who were before me in Jerusalem, and my heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge. Solomon was wiser, not Abraham, and Moses, and the other Saints, but those who were before him in Jerusalem. We also read in the books of Kings that Solomon had much wisdom, and he asked for this gift from God above all others. Therefore, the eye of the heart of the world beholds much wisdom and knowledge; for it does not say: I have spoken much wisdom and knowledge; but, My heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge. For we are not able to express everything that we feel.

And I gave my heart, to know wisdom, and knowledge, and errors, and folly: I have learned that this also is a vexation of the spirit. Contraries are understood by contraries. And the first wisdom is to be without folly. But folly cannot be without wisdom, unless one understands it. Therefore, many harmful things are created in order that, while we avoid them, we may be instructed in wisdom. Therefore, Solomon's study was equal, to know wisdom and knowledge, and in the opposite, errors and folly, so that his true wisdom would be proven in desiring some things and avoiding others. But in this also, as in other things, he says that he has been driven by winds, and has not been able to fully grasp the truth. It is enough to have discussed about the presumption of the spirit, or the passion of the wind, which is often mentioned in this book.

Because in the multitude of wisdom, there is a multitude of madness; and he who increases knowledge, increases sorrow. The more one has attained wisdom, the more one is indignant to submit to vices and to be far from the virtues that it requires. But because the powerful endure torments powerfully, the more one is trusted, the more is demanded from him. Therefore, he who increases knowledge also increases sorrow, and he is grieved with sorrow according to God, and he mourns over his most grievous sins. And the Apostle also says: 'And who is there to make me glad but the one who is made sorry by me?' (II Cor. II, 2) ? Perhaps this should also be understood, that a wise man should feel pain at having his wisdom lie hidden in secret and profound depths, and should not reveal it to minds as light is to the eyes; but rather, through certain trials and unbearable exertions, it should arise through constant meditation and study.

(Chap. II.)

(Chapter II) I said in my heart: Come now, I will test you with pleasure, and see what is good. And behold, even this is vanity. After I searched through wisdom and knowledge and discovered that there is labor and sorrow, and that nothing else but empty and endless striving, I turned to pleasure, to indulge in luxury, gather wealth, and pursue fleeting pleasures before I die. But even in this I recognized my own vanity, as past pleasure does not bring joy in the present, and once exhausted, it does not satisfy. Not only bodily pleasure, but also spiritual temptation is experienced by the possessor, so that I may be kept humble by the goading sting and the angel of Satan may buff me, lest I become haughty (2 Corinthians 12:7). Hence, Solomon also says: Do not give me riches or poverty (Proverbs 30:8). And immediately adds: Lest I be satisfied and deny you; and say, Who sees me? (Ibid., 9). Indeed, the devil falls through the abundance of goods. And in the Apostle it is written: Lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the judgment of the devil (I Tim. III, 6), that is, into the same judgment into which the devil fell. But we can also say this: the reason why spiritual joy is now called vanity, like other things, is because we see it through a mirror and in an enigma. However, when it is revealed face to face, it will no longer be called vanity, but truth.


I said that laughter is madness and a source of joy, what are you doing? When we read madness in Hebrew, it is Molal (), which Aquila translates as πλάνησιν, meaning error; Symmachus translates it as θόρυβον, meaning tumult. However, the Septuagint and Theodotion, as in many other places, also agree on translating it as περιφορὰν, which we can express word for word as circumlation. So, just as those who are carried about by every wind of doctrine are unstable and tossed to and fro (Ephesians 4:14), those who laugh that laughter which the Lord says should be turned into weeping in the Gospel (Luke 6:25) are carried away by the error of the world and the whirlwind, not understanding the destruction of their sins or mourning over past vices. Instead, they believe that fleeting goods are eternal and rejoice in things that are more worthy of lamentation. This can also be applied to heretics, who, embracing false doctrines, promise themselves joy and prosperity.

I considered in my heart that I should indulge in wine and satisfy my desires, but my heart led me to wisdom. I wanted to pursue foolishness and see what good could come from it, what activities people could engage in during their lives. I desired to live a life of pleasure and free myself from all worries, to numb myself with indulgence like with wine. However, my thoughts and my natural reasoning, which God has also implanted in sinners, pulled me back and led me to seek wisdom and trample foolishness, so that I could understand what good people could accomplish in the course of their lives. However, he elegantly compared the pleasure to drunkenness. For drunkenness destroys the strength of the mind, which someone who is able can change with wisdom, and (as it is held in some books) obtain spiritual joy; they will be able to attain knowledge of what should be desired and what should be avoided in this life.

I have magnified my works: I have built houses for myself: I have planted vineyards for myself, and so on, up to the point where it is said: The eyes of the wise are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Before discussing each individual thing, it seems useful to me to briefly summarize everything in one discourse, and to bring the meaning together as if into one body, so that what is said can be more easily understood. I had all the things that are considered good in the world, as if I were a king and powerful. I built for myself high palaces, and I cultivated vineyards, mountains, and hills. And so that nothing was lacking for luxury, I planted gardens and orchards for myself, establishing various trees that, when collected, irrigated the waters into pools from above, so that the greenness might be nourished with moisture extending far. I also had an innumerable multitude of servants, whether bought or native, and many flocks of quadrupeds, namely cattle and sheep, as much as no king before me had in Jerusalem. But countless treasures of silver and gold were also accumulated, which various kings and nations had bestowed upon me as gifts and tributes. Hence it happened that, with excessive wealth, I was enticed to greater pleasures, and choirs of musical arts sang for me with the flute, lyre, and voice, and both sexes served at banquets. But as these things increased, wisdom was lacking in proportion. For whichever pleasure desire drew me to, I was carried away recklessly and headlong, and I thought that this was the fruit of my labors, to consume myself in lust and luxury. Finally, turning back to myself, and as if waking from a deep sleep, I looked at my hands and saw my works full of vanity, full of filth, full of the spirit of error. For I was not able to find any good thing that was considered good in the world. Therefore, considering the goods of wisdom and the evils of folly, I burst forth in praise of that man who, restraining himself after vices, can be a follower of virtues. For there is indeed a great distance between wisdom and foolishness, and as much as the difference between day and night, so are virtues separated from vices. Therefore, it seems to me that those who follow wisdom always raise their eyes to the sky, and have their mouths turned upwards, and contemplate those things that are above their own head. But those who are given to foolishness and vices, dwell in darkness, and roll in ignorance of things. I have magnified my works, etc. He magnifies his works, which are uplifted in the heavens according to the image of the Creator. And he builds houses, so that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit may come and dwell in them. And he plants vineyards, to which Jesus ties his donkey.

I made gardens and orchards for myself: I planted in them every fruitful tree. In the house of the rich, there are not only golden and silver vessels, but also wooden and earthen ones (2 Timothy 20). Therefore, gardens are also made for the weakest and the infirm. For the weak person eats vegetables (Romans 14:2). Trees are planted, not all of them fruitful, as we have in Latin codices: but all fruits, that is, of various grains and fruits, because there are various graces in the Church: and another is the eye, another the hand, another the foot, and, whatever parts are more modest, we honor them more (1 Corinthians 12). Amongst the fruit-bearing trees, I consider wood of life to hold the highest place, which is wisdom. For if it is not planted in the middle, the other woods will dry out.

I made for myself pools of water, to irrigate from them a budding tree. The trees of the pools, the trees of the forests, which are not fruitful, which do not bear fruit, are not nourished by heavenly rain, or from the waters above, but by those which are collected in the pools from streams. For Egypt, humble and lying down, like a garden of vegetables, is irrigated by earthly waters and those coming from Ethiopia. But the land of promise, which is mountainous and upright, awaits temporary and late rain from the sky.


I was a merchant, and I had slaves, and maidservants, and native slaves, and indeed I had a large possession of cattle and sheep. If we wish to refer Ecclesiastes to the person of Christ, as we have said above, we can call his slaves those who have the spirit of fear in servitude and desire spiritual things more than they possess. But we can call maidservants those souls that are still devoted to the body and the earth. And those who are indeed of the Church, and slaves, and maidservants, of whom we have spoken, come before the native slaves: nevertheless, they have not yet been given freedom or nobility by the Lord. But there are also others in the household of the Church, like cattle and sheep, because of their work and simplicity: who labor in the Church without reason and knowledge of the Scriptures, but have not yet reached the point where they deserve to be called human and return to the image of the Creator. It is worth noting that the term 'multitude' is not used for servants, maids, and slaves, but is used for cattle and sheep. I had many possessions of cattle and sheep. For indeed in the Church there are more flocks than men; more sheep than slaves, maidservants, and household servants. But that which is said at the end:

Above all, those who came before me in Jerusalem. It does not pertain to the great glory of Solomon that he, with his father as the only king, was richer, because under Saul, Jerusalem was not yet ruled, and it was held by the Jebusites, who themselves had settled in the city. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss more deeply what Jerusalem is and how the Preacher, before all the kings who came before him in Jerusalem, was richer.

I gathered silver, and gold, and the possessions of kings and provinces. I made for myself male and female singers, and the delights of sons of men, ministers of wine and female servants. Scripture always sets silver and gold above words and understanding. Hence, in the sixty-seventh psalm, the dove, which is interpreted in spirit, has more visible and exposed wings that are stripped of silver, but conceals a more hidden meaning within the pale gold. But the substance of kings, and of provinces or regions, he gathered into the Church of believers; of those kings, of whom the psalmist sings: The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together against the Lord and against his Christ (Ps. II, 2): and of those regions to which the Savior commanded his eyes to be lifted up: for they are already white unto harvest (John IV). The substance of kings and the teachings of philosophers can be called the dogmas and secular knowledge, which Ecclesiasticus, a diligent man, understandingly apprehends the wise in their craftiness, and destroys the wisdom of wise men, and reproaches the prudence of the prudent (I Cor. I). Singers, both men and women, are those who sing with their spirit and with their mind. The male singer, like a strong and spiritual man, sings of higher things. The female singer, on the other hand, is still concerned with matter, which the Greeks call 'hyle'; and she cannot raise her voice to lofty heights. Therefore, whenever a woman is mentioned in the Scriptures and the weaker sex is referred to, let us understand it in terms of matter. Hence, Pharaoh does not want males to be brought to life, but only females, who are close to matter (Exod. I). And on the other hand, it is rarely reported that any of the Saints have begotten women. Only Zalphaath, who died in sin, begot all daughters (Num. XXV). Jacob, among the twelve Patriarchs, is the father of one daughter, and for her sake he faces danger (Gen. XXX). The delights of human children are also to be understood as wisdom, which has various orchards like paradise and multiple pleasures. And it is commanded of it: Delight in the Lord, and He will grant you the desires of your heart (Psal. XXXVI, 4). And in another place: With the torrent of your delights you will give them to drink (Psalm 37:2). Now concerning the pourers of wine and the poureresses of wine (for the sake of distinction, I have wished to decline in the masculine, feminine gender, which the Latin language does not accept), Aquila interprets it differently than what is readily apparent. For he did not name men, namely, men and women, but rather the types of vessels, calling them κυλίκιον and κυλίκια, which is said in Hebrew Sadda () and Saddoth (). Finally, Symmachus, although the word cannot express the word, is not far from this opinion, saying: the shapes of the vessels, and the arrangements. Therefore, whether it is believed that Solomon had pitchers, cups, or bowls, which were arranged in the ministries, adorned with gold and precious stones: and that from one large bowl, called a crater, wine would be ladled into smaller bowls, and the crowd would receive the wine from the hands of the attendants. Therefore, since we interpret the Ecclesiastes in Christ, and wisdom invites us to drink from the mixed cup in Proverbs, now we must receive the great cup of the Body of the Lord, in which the pure Divinity, as it was in heaven, has been tempered with humanity for our sake. And through the Apostles, wisdom has been poured out to the believers in the whole world, in smaller cups, little cups, and cups.

And I was magnified and added wisdom above all who were before me in Jerusalem, and indeed my wisdom stood by me. Ecclesiastes appears to not be suitable for the Lord, unless perhaps we connect it with this: And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor (Luke 2:52). And: Therefore God has highly exalted him (Philippians 2:9). But when he says, those who were before me in Jerusalem, he speaks of those who governed the congregation of the Saints and the Church before his coming. If we understand the Scriptures spiritually, Christ is richer than all (as compared to men); if we understand them only carnally, the Synagogue is better understood than the Church. Therefore, he has taken away the veil that was placed over the face of Moses (Exodus 34), and he has made us see his face with full light (2 Corinthians 3). Moreover, for him to stand for wisdom means that the wisdom remained in him even when he took on flesh. He who has made progress in wisdom, wisdom does not stand still for him; but he who does not receive progress does not increase even by moments, but always remains in fullness, he can say: And wisdom stood by me.

And all that my eyes asked for, I did not withhold from them; I did not prevent my heart from any joy, because my heart found joy in all my work. And this was my portion from all my work. The eyes of the soul and the mind desire a spiritual contemplation, which the ignorant sinner prohibits his heart from true joy. Therefore, the Ecclesiastes gave himself entirely to this, and in this world, he compensated for light tribulations with eternal glory. For this is our portion, and an everlasting reward, if we labor here for virtues.

And I looked back at all the works that my hands had made, and in the labor in which I had toiled. Whoever works diligently and carefully in all things can say this.

And behold, all is vanity, and the will of the spirit. And there is no abundance under the sun. Just as he considered all things as worthless, which are under the sun, and diverse due to the variety of wills. And there is no abundance under the sun (Psalm 19:6). Christ has placed his tabernacle in the sun. Therefore, whoever has not yet reached the brightness, order, and constancy of the sun, in this Christ will neither be able to dwell nor to abound.


And I looked back, in order to see wisdom, and errors and foolishness: for who among men can go after his king and creator? For in the things above, until that place where Scripture says: The eyes of the wise are in his head, I had comprehended everything with one speech, desiring to indicate the meaning briefly, and because of that, I had briefly touched upon some things in accordance with the ἀναγωγή, now I ought to explain it according to what I had started. For indeed, in this place the sense is very different from the Septuagint interpretation. But he says that after condemned delights and pleasures, he returned to the seeking of wisdom, in which he found more error and foolishness than true and certain prudence. For a man cannot know the wisdom of his creator and king as clearly and purely as he knows it, who is the author. Therefore, we think rather than understand what is true, and we estimate rather than know.


And I saw that there is an abundance of wisdom compared to foolishness, just as there is an abundance of light compared to darkness. Although, he says, I have perceived that wisdom of men mixed with error, and that it cannot flow as purely into our minds as it does into our king and creator; nevertheless, I recognized that there is also a great difference between it and foolishness, as much as day can differ from night, light from darkness.

The eyes of the wise are in their head, and the fool walks in darkness. And I know that the same fate happens to them all. The one who becomes a perfect man and deserves to have Christ as his head will always keep his eyes on Christ, and raising them up high, he will never think of earthly matters. When these things are so, and there is such a great distance between the wise and the fool, that one is compared to daylight and the other to darkness, the former raises his eyes to the heavens, while the latter lowers his to the ground. Suddenly, this thought came to me: why do the wise and the foolish share the same end, why do they suffer the same afflictions, the same fate, the same death, and the same sorrows oppress both of them.


And I said in my heart, as the fool's fate, so it will also happen to me; why then have I been so wise? And I spoke in my heart, that this also is vanity. For there will be no remembrance of the wise or the fool forever, since in the days to come both will be forgotten. And how will the wise man die with the fool? I said, the wise and the fool, the righteous and the wicked, will all die the same way, and they will all experience the same evil in this world. So what advantage is there for me in being wise and working harder than others? Again, thinking and carefully considering within myself, I realized that my opinion was in vain. For the wise and the foolish will not have a similar memory in the future, when the consummation of the universe comes: and they will not be held in equal outcome, for one will go to refreshments, and the other will proceed to punishment. More clearly in this place, the Septuagint translators rendered the Hebrew sense, although they did not follow the order of the words: And why have I become wise? Then I spoke abundantly in my heart, for the fool speaks from abundance: for this too is vanity, because the memory of the wise man does not remain with the fool forever, and so on. Manifestly proving that his previous foolish opinion was false, he testifies that he spoke foolishly and erred, because he had felt that way before.

And I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun is evil to me, for all is vanity and a chasing after the wind. If the world is in the power of the evil one, and even in this mortal body the Apostle laments, saying: Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? (Rom. VII, 24). Therefore, rightly does he hate everything that is done under the sun. For compared to the bliss of paradise and that life in which we enjoyed the spiritual fruits and delights of virtues, we are now like prisoners in a dungeon and in a valley of tears, eating bread in the sweat of our face.


And I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. It seems that wealth and possessions can be taken back, as in the case of a rich man who suddenly dies, leaving everything to an heir who may be wise or a fool, and who knows how they will use the fruits of our labor. What happened to Solomon also happened to Roboam: for he did not have a son worthy of his inheritance. From this we understand that even a father's son is not worthy of inheritance if he is foolish. But to me, who contemplates more deeply, it seems to speak of spiritual work, that a wise man labors in the Scriptures day and night, and writes books, so that he may leave a memorial of himself to his descendants, and yet they still fall into the hands of fools, who frequently, according to the perversity of their heart, seize the seeds of heresies from them, and calumniate the labors of others. For if the sermon now is about bodily riches, why was it necessary to speak about labor and wealth: And he shall rule over all my labor, in which I have labored, and in which I have become wise under the sun? What wisdom is there in gathering earthly riches?

And I turned to consider all my labors that I had labored at under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a pursuit of the wind, and there is no profit under the sun. For who is there of all men, that labors with the wisdom, and knowledge, and skillful work under the sun, and yet his portion passes to a man who has not labored in it? This also is vanity and a great evil. For what happens to man in all his labor and in the striving of his heart, which he labors at under the sun? For all his days are sorrows, and his occupation is vexation, and at night his heart does not rest; this also is vanity. He speaks above about an uncertain heir, because it is unknown whether he will be a foolish or wise master of another's labors. Now indeed he repeats the same thing, but in it there is a different meaning, that even if he leaves his substance and labors to a son, a relative, or a friend, nevertheless the matter returns to the same circle, so that one may enjoy the labor of another, and the sweat of the dead may be the pleasure of the living. Let each person consider and they will see how much they compose books by labor, how...

Often let him turn his pen again, [to write] those things worthy of being read; (From Horace, Satires, Book I, Satire 10). and let him give his share to the man who has not labored. For what, as I have already said, do wisdom, knowledge, and virtue pertain to the riches of the earth, in which he has testified to himself to have labored, when it belongs to wisdom, knowledge, and virtue, to trample on earthly things.

It is not good for a man, unless he eats, and drinks, and shows the good of his soul in his labor. And indeed I have seen this, because it is from the hand of God. For who will eat, and who will spare without Him? For God has given wisdom, and knowledge, and joy to the good man before His face, and He has given solicitude to the sinner, that he may increase and gather together what is given to the good man before the face of God. But even this is vanity and presumption of spirit. After I examined everything and realized that nothing is more unjust than one person enjoying the labor of another, it seemed to me that this is the most just thing in all matters and almost a gift from God, that each person should enjoy the fruits of their own labor, eating and drinking and, for a time, saving the wealth they have accumulated. For it is a gift from God to grant such a mind to a righteous man, that he may himself consume what he has sought through cares and sleepless nights. On the other hand, it is the wrath of God upon the sinner to gather wealth day and night and never make use of it, leaving it behind for those who are righteous in the sight of God. But even this, he says, carefully examining and seeing that all things end in death, I judged to be most vain. These things, meanwhile, according to the literal meaning, so that we do not seem to pass over the simple sense entirely, and while we pursue spiritual riches, to despise poverty in history. For what good is it, or what gift of God, to desire and snatch away pleasure with one's own resources, and to turn another's labor into one's own delights: and to think that this is a gift of God, if we enjoy the miseries and labors of others? Therefore, it is good to consume true food and true drink, which we find in the divine Scriptures from the flesh and blood of the Lamb. For who can eat or refrain when necessary without God? He who commanded that what is holy should not be thrown to dogs (Matthew 7:6), and teaches how provisions should be given to servants in due time (Matthew 24:45); and according to another interpretation, it is found that only as much honey should be eaten as is sufficient (Proverbs 25:16). But God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to a good man; unless he is good and corrects his own manners by his own free will, he does not deserve wisdom, knowledge, and joy, according to what is said elsewhere: Sow for yourselves in righteousness, reap in the fruit of life, enlighten yourselves with the light of knowledge (Hosea X,12, according to the LXX). For righteousness must be sown before, and the fruit of life must be harvested, and then the light of knowledge can appear. Therefore, as God gave wisdom in front of him, and so on, by forsaking the sinner to his own will, he caused the gathering of riches, and stitching together pillows with wicked doctrines from here and there. When the holy and pleasing to God man sees this, he understands that they are vain and composed of presumption. It is not surprising that he said: He gave anxiety to the sinner, and so on. For it is necessary to refer this to the sense I have often discussed: Therefore, it is given to him to have anxiety or affliction because he is a sinner, and the cause of the affliction is not in God, but in the one who sins willingly.

(Chap. III.)

(Chapter III.) It is the time of all things, and the time of every thing under the heavens. The uncertain and fluctuating state of human condition has been taught in the previous chapter: now it wants to show that all things in the world are contrary to it, and nothing stands perpetually, except for those things which are under the heavens and within time, because other spiritual substances are not contained by the heavens or time.

There is a time to give birth and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. There is no doubt that both the birth and death of humans are known and predetermined by God, and it is the same to give birth as it is to plant: to die, and to uproot what is planted. But because we read in Isaiah: We conceived and gave birth, and we brought forth from Your fear, O Lord. It must be said that once this birth, which is born out of fear, begins to love God, it dies. Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). The Hebrews understand all this, which is written about the opposition of times, until that place where it says: 'A time for war, and a time for peace' is understood about Israel. And because it is not necessary to explain and understand every verse, briefly touching on the broader discussion, leaving it to the reader's intelligence. There was a time for begetting and planting Israel, a time for dying, and a time for leading into captivity. A time for killing them in Egypt, and a time for delivering from Egypt. A time for destroying the temple under Nebuchadnezzar, and a time for building under Darius. A time for mourning the city's destruction, and a time for laughing and dancing under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah. A time for scattering Israel, and a time for gathering together. A time for being encircled like a belt and girdle by God's people of Judah, and a time for leading them into the Babylonian captivity, and there rotting away across the Euphrates. Read περίζωμα ( lumbare) of Jeremiah (Jerem. XIII, 1 seqq.). A time to seek and save, and a time to lose, and a time to cast away. A time to tear apart Israel, and a time to mend again. A time to silence the Prophets, now in Roman captivity, and a time to speak to them, then when even in a hostile land they did not lack God's consolation and address. A time of love, when He loved them under their fathers, and a time of hate, for they laid hands on Christ. A time of war, when they will not repent, and a time of peace in the future, when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, all Israel will be saved.

A time to kill, and a time to heal. And a time to kill is also a time to heal, as it is written: I will kill, and I will make alive (Deut. XXXII, 19). He heals while provoking to penance. He kills, according to that sense: In the morning I would slay all the sinners of the earth (Psal. C, 8).

A time to destroy, and a time to build. We cannot build good things unless we first destroy bad things. Therefore, this word was given by God to Jeremiah, that he should uproot, and dig, and destroy; and afterwards, build and plant (Jeremiah 1).

A time to weep, and a time to laugh. Now is the time to weep, and in the future to laugh: Blessed are they that weep, for they shall laugh (Luke 6:21).

There is a time for mourning, and a time for dancing. Therefore, in the Gospel, those are reproached to whom the Lord says: We have mourned for you, and you have not wept; we have sung, and you have not danced (Luke 7:32). It is necessary to mourn for the present, so that later we may be able to dance with that dance with which David danced before the ark of the Covenant; and displeasing to the daughter of Saul, he pleased God even more (2 Samuel 6).

There is a time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. I wonder how the eloquent man said something ridiculous in this place: He says it is about the destruction and building of Solomon's houses, that men now destroy, now build: some gather stones for constructing buildings, others tear down those that have been built, according to that saying of Horace (Epist. lib. II, ep. 1):

He destroys, he builds, he changes squares into rounds. He boils, and goes against the order of life. Whether he said this correctly or incorrectly, I leave it to the judgment of the reader. Let us follow the order of the previous explanation: Saying that it is the time to scatter and gather stones, according to what is written in the Gospel: God is able to raise up children of Abraham from these stones (Matthew 3:9). The time for scattering the pagan people, and the time for gathering them back into the Church. I read in a certain book (according to the Septuagint translators, who said: 'There is a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones') the severity of the ancient Law tempered by the grace of the Gospel. For the Law is rigid, unkind, sparing no one, killing the sinners. The grace of the Gospel has mercy and incites to repentance. And this is the time for casting away or gathering stones, that stones are cast in the Law and gathered in the Gospel. Whether this has truly been said or not, let it be attributed to its author.

There is a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. According to simple understanding, the meaning is clear, as the Apostle says in the same words: Do not defraud one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer (1 Cor. 7:5), to give attention to children, and again to self-control. Or there was a time to embrace, when that sentiment prevailed: Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth (Gen. 1:28). And it is time to be far from the embrace, when it comes: Time is restricted. It remains, so that even those who have wives may be as if they do not have (1 Corinthians 7:29). But if we desire to ascend to higher things, we will see wisdom embracing its lovers: Honor her, for it is said, and she will embrace you (Proverbs 4:8), and she will hold you closer in her arms and embrace. Furthermore, since the human mind cannot always strive toward the sublime, and think about divine and higher things, nor constantly be in contemplation of heavenly matters, but sometimes indulge in the needs of the body; therefore, it is time to embrace wisdom, and hold it more tightly, and it is time to relax the mind from the contemplation and embrace of wisdom, so that we may attend to the cares of the body, and to those things that our life needs without sin.


Time to acquire and time to lose. Time to guard and time to discard. Under different discourses, the same meaning is now, as before and after, in that which it says: Time to destroy and time to build. And then: Time to tear and time to sew. For just as the synagogue is destroyed in order to build the church, and there is a division from the law in order for the Gospels to be sewn together, which each Gospel writer accomplished by consulting the testimonies of the law and the prophets regarding the coming of the Lord: so there was also a time to seek and guard Israel, a time to lose and discard it. Indeed, a time to seek the people from the nations, and a time to lose the people of the Jews. A time to keep the believers from the nations, and a time to cast away the unbelievers from Israel.

There is a time for silence, and a time for speech. I believe in the Pythagorean philosophy, which dictates silence for five years, and then allows the learned to speak. It is said that this practice originated from their decree. Let us also learn to refrain from speaking, so that later we may open our mouths to speak. Let us remain silent for a certain time, and hang on to the words of our teacher. Nothing appears to be right for us, unless we learn it, so that after much silence, we may become masters of our disciples. Now truly, due to the daily worsening of the world's faults, we are teaching in the Churches what we do not know. And if, by the arrangement of words or by the prompting of the devil, who is a supporter of errors, we have stirred up the applause of the people, we consider ourselves to know against our conscience, what we could persuade others of. We do not learn all skills without a teacher; only this one is so cheap and easy that it does not require an instructor.

There is a time for loving and a time for hating. A time for loving after God, children, wife, relatives, and a time for hating them in martyrdom, when relentless piety opposes them for the confession of Christ. Or certainly a time for loving the Law, and the things that were commanded by the Law, circumcision, sacrifices, Sabbath, new moons, and a time for hating them, with the grace of the Gospel succeeding. Moreover, this can also be said, since now we see through a glass in an enigma (I Cor. XIII, 12), that the present time is for loving, and the future time will come, when, seeing face to face and making progress for the better, we will begin to hate and despise what we loved.


It is the time of war, and the time of peace. As long as we are in the present age, it is a time of war: but when we have migrated from this age, the time of peace will come. For in peace there is the place of God, and our city Jerusalem, which has received the name of peace (Ps. LXXV, 3) . Therefore, no one should now consider themselves safe: in the time of war, we must prepare and handle weapons, so that once victorious, we may find rest in peace.

The abundance that exists is a result of people's work, in which they themselves toil. I have observed the occupation that God has given to the children of men, so that they may be occupied with it. God has made all things good in their time, and He has also put eternity in their hearts, so that man cannot discover the work that God has done from beginning to end. It is not unknown to me what has been said by many in this place, that God has granted occupation even to the teachers of perverse doctrines in this present age, so that the mind of man may not grow idle. And this is the good that God has done in His time, yet they are unable to comprehend the nature and knowledge of things. But I have been taught by a Hebrew, who is well-versed in the Scriptures, as follows: Since everything falls apart in its own time, and there is a time for destruction and building, weeping and laughing, being silent and speaking, and all the other things that are said about time, why do we foolishly strive and exert ourselves, thinking that the labors of a short life are perpetual? And we are not satisfied according to the Gospel, to be concerned with the evil of the day and not to think about tomorrow (Matthew). For what more can we have in this age by working, in which only this has been given to humans by God, that one person may have one thing and another another, in which they may be taught and exercise themselves? For indeed, everything that God has made is good, but good in its own time. It is good to be awake and to sleep; yet it is not always good to be awake or to sleep, for it is good for each thing in turn, as God has ordained. Moreover, God has given the world for humans to inhabit, that they may enjoy the changes of the seasons and not seek the reasons for the natural things, how all things came to be created. Therefore, He has made various things to grow, remain, and change from the beginning of the world to its end.


I know that it is not good, except to be joyful, and to do good in his life. And indeed every person who eats, and drinks, and shows goodness in all his work, is a gift from God. Therefore, man has been given as a cultivator and tenant of the world, so that he may enjoy the brief time of his life, and with the hope of a longer age cut off, he may look upon all that he possesses as if he were about to set off to other things, and may do as much good as he can in his life: nor is it in vain that he is tormented by thoughts of accumulating wealth. No one can believe that they can gain more from their own work than food and drink, and if they have spent anything from their possessions on good works, this alone is a gift from God. From these, not, as some think, for luxury and pleasure, and for despair, according to that of Isaiah: Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die (Isaiah 22:13), we are provoked like animals; but according to the Apostle: Having food and clothing, we are content with these (1 Timothy 6:8), so that whatever we can have above this, we may consume in supporting the poor and giving to the needy. Furthermore, because the flesh of the Lord is true food, and His blood is true drink, in accordance with the interpretation, this alone we have as a good in the present age, if we eat His flesh and drink His blood, not only in the mystery (Eucharist), but also in the reading of the Scriptures. For true food and drink, which is taken from the word of God, is the knowledge of the Scriptures. And let no one think that the prophecy of Balaam applies to this: There will be no sorrow or distress in Jacob (Num. 23:23). On the contrary, it is said to be the gift of God: If anyone eats and drinks and shows good in all his labor. For many are the tribulations of the righteous. And the Apostle complains about this, saying that he has labored and suffered in labor and pain (2 Cor. 2). But when the Lord delivers us from these in the future: There will be no labor in Jacob, nor pain in Israel. And how do we read that: Blessed are those who weep, for they themselves will laugh (Luke 6:21): and our laughter will follow the words of Job the prophet: The mouth of the truthful will be filled with joy (Job 8:21); so now we enjoy our labor in good works, through which we are constrained and pressed, so that later we may cease from laboring.


I have come to know that everything that God has made will exist forever; nothing can be added to it, nor can anything be taken away from it. God has made it so that people may fear Him. There is nothing new under the sun. The course of the sun, the cycles of the moon, the dryness of the earth, the greenness of the trees, all were born and created with the universe. And thus God has ordered all things by a certain reason and has commanded the elements to serve human needs, so that people, by seeing these things, may understand His providence (or prudence) and fear God, as they observe the equality, course, order, and constancy of creation. For the invisible things of God are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, his eternal power also and divinity (Rom. I, 20). But if we wish to read with the preceding finite sense, as if from the beginning: And God made it so that they might fear from his face, this sense is: God made all things so that men might fear from him, that they might deviate once God has ordained, to another. He wisely tempered it, saying: That they might fear from his face (Ps. XXXIII, 17). For the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

What is, that which has been? It is the same as what is and what will be, for they have already been: and God will seek him who endures persecution. Whether past, present, or future, they themselves have been, are, and will be all things that we perceive. The sun that now rises, before we were in the world, it was, and after we have died, it will rise again. But we have named it the sun, so that from this we understand that the rest are the same as what has been. But if they seem to perish through the condition of death, they do not perish, because they grow again when revived, and nothing perishes forever, but is reborn and as it were revived with interest. For this is what he says: And God will seek him, who endures persecution; which is better expressed in Greek as καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ζητήσει τὸν διωκόμενον, that is, what has passed, what has been expelled, what has ceased to exist. But if this is said of all things in the world, there is no doubt that a dead person is reborn. But if anyone pleases to read from a different starting point: And God seeks him who suffers persecution, let him use this testimony in the persecution of the Gentiles, to console him who perseveres in martyrdom. And because all, according to the Apostle (II Tim. III), who desire to live piously in this world, suffer persecution, let them have consolation, because God seeks the one who patiently suffers persecution, just as He seeks the blood of the slain, and He comes to seek what is lost, and He carries the wandering sheep on His shoulders and brings it back to the flock (Luke XIX, XV).


And still I have seen under the sun a place of judgment: there is impiety; and a place of justice: there is iniquity. I said in my heart: God will judge the just and the wicked; because there is a time for every will and for every work there. The meaning is clear, but it is obscured by the cloud of interpretation. Under the sun, he says, I sought truth and judgment, and I also saw that even among the judges themselves, truth does not prevail, but bribes. Or else, I assumed that something of justice was taking place in the present age, and that the pious would be rewarded for their merit now, or the impious punished for their wickedness: and on the contrary, I found something different than what I expected. For I saw the just suffer many evils here, and the impious reign for their wickedness. But afterwards, conversing with my heart and considering, I understood that God does not judge now in parts and individuals, but reserves judgment for the future time so that all may be judged equally, and receive according to their will and deeds there. For this is what it says: 'There is a time for every desire and every deed;and there, that is, in judgment, when the Lord begins to judge, then truth is to come, now injustice reigns in the world.' We read a similar statement in the Book of Sirach, which is titled 'The Wisdom of Sirach': 'Do not say, 'What is this?' or 'What is that?' for everything will be sought in its own time.'

I said in my heart concerning the speech of the sons of men, that God separates them, and to show that they themselves are like beasts. For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so does the other; both have the same breath, and there is no advantage for man over animals, for all is vanity. All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all return to dust. And who knows if the spirit of the sons of men goes upward, and if the spirit of the animals goes downward to the earth? It is not surprising that in the present life there is no distinction between the righteous and the wicked, and that virtues have no power, since everything is subject to uncertain fate. Even between animals and humans, they seem to be no different in terms of the worthiness of their bodies, and they share the same condition of birth and the same fate of death. Likewise, let us proceed to the light and let us be dissolved into dust. But if this seems to be the case, that the spirit of man ascends to heaven, and the spirit of animals descends to the earth, by what certain authority do we know this? Who can know whether it is true or false what is hoped for? However, he says this, not because he thinks the soul perishes with the body, or that a place is prepared for both animals and humans, but because before the coming of Christ, all things were equally led to the underworld. Hence, Jacob also says that he will descend to the underworld (Gen. XXXVII, and XLIV). Both Job, pious and impious, complain about being detained in Hell (Job. VII and XVII). And the Gospel testifies to the great chaos that is interposed among the dead, and to Abraham with Lazarus, and the rich man in torment (Luke XVI). And truly, before Christ opened those fiery wheels, and the gates of paradise with the thief, the heavens were closed, and the lowliness of the spirit of both man and beast was confined. And although it seemed that one thing would be dissolved, another would be reserved; nevertheless, it mattered little to perish with the body or to be held in the darkness of hell.

Let us examine each item, and briefly discuss the different style of speech in their proper order ((or, let us dissolve)). I said in my heart, concerning the eloquence of the sons of man, that God chose them. This alone, he says, God willed to be between humans and animals, because we speak, they are mute, we express our will with words, they are sluggish in silence. And although we are so different from beasts in speech, it is still shown to us that, according to the fragility of the body, we are like livestock. Just as an animal dies, so does a human, and one breath is for all, and this air by which we are nourished. For it says this: And one spirit is for all, and there is nothing more for a human than for an animal. Lest we think this is also said about the soul, he added: All things are made from the earth, and they will return to the earth. From the earth, however, nothing else is made except the body. And specifically about the body it is said: You are dust, and to dust you shall return (Gen. III, 11). But what seems to be blasphemous is this: Who knows whether the spirit of the sons of men goes upward, and whether the spirit of the animal goes downward to the earth? He does not contend that there is no difference at all between animals and humans in terms of the dignity of their souls, but by adding the word 'who' he wanted to demonstrate the difficulty of the matter. For the pronoun 'who' in the Holy Scriptures is always understood not as referring to the impossible, but to the difficult. So there: Who will declare his generation? (Isa. LIII, 8). And in the fourteenth psalm: Lord, who shall dwell in your tabernacle, and who shall rest in your holy mountain? (Psal. XIV, 1), and so on. And in Jeremiah, although it is different in Hebrew: He is a man, and who will know him? (Jerem. XVII, 9). Therefore, among humans and animals, the only difference is that the spirit of man ascends to heaven, and the spirit of the beast descends to the earth, and it is dissolved with the flesh: if, however, any man who is skilled in Ecclesiastical and heavenly disciplines, and a certain supporter of a doubtful matter. These are the words as they stand.

But as for spiritual understanding: Because the Lord will save both men and animals (Psalm XXXV, 7); and in another place: I am like a beast before You, and I am always with You (Psalm LXXII, 23); and in all the prophets, men and animals are said to be saved in Jerusalem, and the land of promise is to be filled with flocks and herds; who knows whether the holy one, who is worthy of being called a man, ascends to heaven, and whether the sinner, who is called a beast, descends to earth? For it can happen in the uncertain state of this life, and in its slippery condition, that the just person falls, and the sinner rises, and sometimes it happens that the one who is more reasonable and educated in the Scriptures, that is, a man, does not live carefully according to his knowledge, and is led to the underworld, and each simpler and more rustic person, who is said to be comparable to a beast, lives better and is crowned with martyrdom and becomes a dweller of paradise.


And I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to be happy in their work, for this is their lot. Who can bring them to see what will happen after them? As for us, we have set our minds to see what will happen after us. Symmachus, in his interpretation, has made it clearer, saying: to see the things that will happen after this. Therefore, there is nothing better in this life than for a person to be happy in their work, giving to the needy, and preparing treasures for themselves in the kingdom of heaven. This is the only portion that neither thief nor robber can possess, nor can a tyrant take it away, and it follows us after death. For when this life is dissolved, we cannot once again enjoy our labors or know what will happen in the future. Otherwise, influenced by my previous mistake and believing that there is no difference between humans and animals, I was led astray by this wrong opinion to say that nothing is good except for seizing present pleasure. For once we have been dissolved by death, we cannot enjoy these things from which we have departed ungrateful. Others have interpreted what he says about who will bring him to see those things which will happen after him for the sake of that understanding, so that they said it is better for man to enjoy his own labors; because this alone could take away from his substance. When death comes, he does not know with what heir he will die, whether he will enjoy his own wealth as a worthy or unworthy person.

(Chap. IV)

(Chapter 4). And I turned and saw all the injustices that occur under the sun, and behold the tears of those who endure injustice, and there is no one to console them, and in the hands of their oppressors is their strength, and there is no comfort for them. After this reflection, I turned my mind and my eyes to see the oppressors and those who endure injustice. And behold, those who are unjustly oppressed, crying tears that they are only allowed to have in times of calamity, reveal the injustice of their situation, but they cannot find a comforter. And by how much greater the misery is, and the inconsolable pain, the slanderers see themselves as stronger in their wickedness. And this is the reason why they are unable to be comforted. This place is more fully explained by David in Psalm 72, and Jeremiah elaborates on it in his book.

And I praised the dead, who are already dead, more than the living, who are still alive. And better off than both of them is the one who has not yet been born, who has not yet seen the evil work that is done under the sun. In comparison to the miseries that oppress mortals in this world, I judged the dead to be happier than the living, according to the words of Job in his dispute with the dead. There they rest, weary of body, along with those who were once imprisoned, now at peace, not hearing the voice of the oppressor (Job 3:17-18). However, better off are these two, namely the living and the dead, than the one who has not yet been born. For one still suffers evils, another has escaped as if naked from a shipwreck. Furthermore, the one who has not yet been born is happier in that he has not yet experienced the evils of the world. Now this is said, not because the one who has not yet been born exists before being born and is happier in that he is not yet burdened by the body, but because it is better to not exist at all, to have no sense of substance, than to exist or live unhappily. And the Lord speaks about Judas, signifying his future torments: It would have been better for that man not to have been born (Matt. XXVI, 24): because it would have been better for him not to exist at all, than to suffer eternal torment. However, others understand this passage in the following way: Those who say that those who have died are better than those who are alive, even though they were sinners before. For those who are still alive are said to be in battle and to be kept as if imprisoned in the body; those who have truly died are already secure, and have ceased to sin. Just as John, who was greater than all men born of women, is lesser than he who is the smallest in the kingdom of heaven, and freed from the burden of the body, does not know how to say with the Apostle: Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from the body of this death? (Rom. VII, 14) But it is better than these two to be the one who is not yet born, nor has seen the evils by which men are oppressed in the world. For our souls, before they descend into these bodies, are among the heavenly beings and are blessed as long as they are held in the celestial Jerusalem and the angelic choir.


And I saw all the labor and at the same time all the virtue of the work: because the rivalry of a man is from his companion; and indeed, this is vanity and presumption of the spirit. I turned again to other things, and I saw all the strength and glory of those who labor, and I realized that the good of one is the evil of another, while the envious person is tormented by another's happiness, and the glorious one is exposed to traps. For what is more vain, what is more unstable, and thus more futile, than for men to weep not over their own miseries or mourn their own sins, but to envy those who are better?


A foolish person folds their hands and eats their own flesh (Prov. XXIV). This is someone who is described as lazy in Proverbs, holding their chest with their hands. They quickly experience poverty, and hyperbolically speaking, they eat their own flesh because of excessive hunger. They think it is better to have a handful of grain and live idly and lazily, rather than working with both hands. However, the whole point of this is to show that both the person who works and has something to show for it, and the person who wants to live peacefully, are vulnerable to envy and poverty respectively. And both are miserable, as one risks everything for wealth while the other is consumed by poverty. Certainly, one who envies the happiness of others, and is as if carried away by a frenzy of the spirit, and receives envy into their own bosom, and nourishes it in their heart: they consume their own soul and flesh. For the more happy they see the one whom they envy, the more they waste away and pine, and gradually drip with zeal and spite. In another sense: Hands are often received for works, as in this case: The word of the Lord that was made in the hand of Haggai (Haggai 1:1), whether his or this prophet's, did such works so as to be worthy, in whose work the word of the Lord was made. This also agrees with the words of David: 'Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for battle' (Psalm 144:1). Therefore, the foolish one has embraced his hands, that is, he has contracted them and did not want to extend them, thus not eating the labors of his hands that he does not have; but rather his own flesh, living according to the wisdom of the flesh, and nourishing himself with the works of the flesh.

A handful with rest is better than the abundance of handiwork and the presumption of the spirit. It is better to have a little with righteousness than the many riches of sinners. And in Proverbs: Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice (Prov. XVI, 8). Righteousness elegantly has rest, while injustice has labor. And because the singular number is always accepted in good, but double in evil: therefore, a handful has rest, while two hands full of labor.


And I turned myself, and saw vanity under the sun. There is one, and there is not a second, and indeed he has no son, nor brother, and there is no end to all his labor. And his eye is not satisfied with riches: and for whom do I labor, and deprive my soul of goodness. But even this is vanity, and it is a very evil affliction. I turned to others, and saw that they toil more than necessary, gathering wealth by fair means and foul, and not enjoying what they have gathered, possessing all things, yet being consumed by riches, saving for others, and not enjoying the fruits of their own labor, especially when they have neither son, nor brother, nor close relative who seems pious and deserving of their reserved labors. Therefore, nothing is found to be more empty than that man who accumulates wealth without knowing to whom he will leave it. Indeed, we can understand this according to the earlier interpretation both of those who write books and leave them to picky readers. Some interpret this passage from what it says: 'There is one, and there is not a second,' concerning the Savior, that he descended alone and without any companion to save the world. And although many are children of God, and are called his brothers by adoption, yet no one has been found worthy to be joined to him in this work. Whose labor has no end, bearing our faults and sins, and grieving for us; and his eye is not satisfied with riches, always desiring our salvation, and the more he sees someone sin, the more he urges them to repentance.

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. After the toils and miseries in which he who seeks wealth without a sure heir tortures himself, now the conversation turns to friendship. And it is said, what good there is in the companionship of friends, and in common solace, because one is supported by the help of the other's downfall, and he who has a faithful friend may better bear the cares of home and find rest in the same night, than he who relies solely on his own resources. And even if a stronger enemy arises against one, the weakness of the other is sustained by the solace of a friend. And the more two differ in one respect, if they are united by love, the more the companionship of three is also valuable. For true love, unharmed by any envy, increases in strength and power as it grows in number. And let these words be said simply for now.

Moreover, because in the previous section we have placed the intelligence of certain individuals above Christ, the rest must also be discussed in the same order. It is better to have two together than one. For it is better to have Christ dwelling within oneself than to dwell alone and be exposed to the snares of the adversary. Indeed, the reward of partnership is immediately shown in the very benefit of companionship. For if one falls, Christ raises up his partner. Indeed, woe to him who, when he falls, does not have Christ raising him up. And if even one falls asleep, that is, if he has been dissolved by death, and he has Christ with him, he is warmed and quickly revived. And if the devil stands stronger in resisting man, man will stand, and Christ will stand for his man, for his comrade. Not because the power of Christ alone against the devil is weak, but because free will is left to man, and as we strive, he himself becomes stronger in the battle. But if the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit also come, this fellowship is not immediately broken. However, although it is not immediately broken, it will eventually be broken. And in the apostle Jude there was indeed a triple cord: but because Satan entered into him after the morsel, that cord was broken. Moreover, what he says above: 'And indeed if two persons sleep, there will still be warmth for them: how will one person be warmed?' Let us take the example of Elisha, who contracted himself with a boy, and slept, and warmed his body, and thus revived the one rising (2 Kings 4). Therefore, unless Christ has slept with us, and has rested in death, we are not able to receive the warmth of eternal life.

A poor and wise child is better than an old and foolish king, who does not know how to provide for the future. For he comes from the house of the conquered into the kingdom, because he was also born poor in his kingdom. I have seen all living beings who walk under the sun with the second adolescent, who will rise for him. There is no end for every people, for all who came before them. And indeed, the latter will not rejoice in him: but even this is vanity and the presumption of the spirit. Symmachus translated this passage as follows: It is better for a poor man to have wisdom than for an old and foolish king who does not know how to anticipate change. One exits the prison to reign: the other, although born a king, is oppressed by poverty. I have seen all the living who walk under the sun with the second youth who rises in his place. All the people who existed before both of them are infinite: and their descendants will not rejoice in him. But both the breeze and the gust of wind exist. My Hebrew friend, whom I often mention, when he read Ecclesiastes with me, testified that Baracibas, whom they greatly admire, delivered these things about the current place. The inner man is better, who arises in us after the fourteenth year of puberty, than the outward man, who is born from his mother's womb, who does not know how to refrain from vice, and who went forth from the house of conquerors, namely the mother's womb, in order to reign in vices. He who also became poor in his own power, committing all evils. I saw those who lived in the first man, and after turned to the second man, that is, who was generated as the descendant of the first: I understood that all sinned in the first man, before the second was born and became two men. But because they turned to better things, and after the letter Y of the philosophers, abandoning the left path, they strove toward the right summit, and followed the second, that is, the last man, they will not rejoice in him, that is, in the first. These two men the Apostle attests, and Leviticus does not remain silent: 'If a man, if he wishes this or that' (Leviticus 17). The holy man Gregory, Bishop of Rome, pupil of Origen in the Commentary on Ecclesiastes, understood this passage as follows: 'I indeed prefer a poor and wise young man over an old and foolish king, who never comes to mind that it is possible for anyone of those he has bound to come out of prison and for himself to fall from his unjust power thereafter.' For it sometimes happens that those who were under a wise youth are without grief, yet in such a way that they were previously under an old king. For those who were born later, because they did not experience past evils, cannot praise the youth who later arose, deceived by a perverse opinion and the attack of a opposing spirit.

Laodicenus the Interpreter, trying to express great matters in a brief speech, also spoke here in his usual manner: 'The sermon of the Ecclesiast, he says, is about the change of goods into evils, trying to portray the foolish person who, not considering the future, takes pleasure in the present and transient as if they were great and eternal. And after describing the various things that happen to people in their lives and change, he introduces a general judgment about death, that an innumerable multitude perish and gradually come to an end and pass away, each one leaving another in their place, and in turn that one leaving another as their successor dies.' »

Origen and Victorinus did not differ much in their opinions. After that general sentiment, which is clear to everyone: that it is better to be a poor and wise young man than an old and foolish king, and that it often happens that the wise man, even when he is released from the king's prison by his wisdom, rules as a wicked dictator, while the foolish king loses his power, which he held: they interpreted this passage about Christ and the devil, meaning that they believe Christ to be the poor and wise young man. Regarding the boy, it is written: 'Behold, it is a great thing for you to be called my son' (Isaiah 49:6). And regarding the poor, because he became poor even though he was rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). And regarding the wise, because he advanced in age and wisdom and grace before God and men (Luke 2:52). He was born in the reign of the old man. And therefore he says: 'If my kingdom were of this world, my ministers would certainly fight for me, so that I would not be handed over to the Jews. But now, my kingdom is not from this world' (John 18:36). In his foolish old man's kingdom, who showed him all the kingdoms of the world; and their glory, the best boy was born, and from the house of prisoners, of whom Jeremiah speaks in Lamentations, saying: That he might humble under his feet all the prisoners of the earth (Lam. III, 34), he went out to the kingdom, and went to a distant region, and against those who did not want him to reign over them, after some time the king returned. Therefore, foreseeing by the spirit, Ecclesiastes saw all the living who can be participants of the youth, saying: I am the life (John XIV, 6), and the foolish old king being dismissed, to follow Christ. And at the same time, two peoples from Israel are signified. The former, who existed before the advent of the Lord, and the latter, who will accept Antichrist instead of Christ: that the former is not completely rejected (for the first Church was gathered from the Jews and the Apostles) and in the end, the Jews, who will accept Antichrist instead of Christ, will not rejoice in Christ.


Guard your steps, when you go to the house of God, and draw near to listen. The sacrifice of fools is an abomination; for they do not know that they are doing evil. He gives precepts for life and does not want to offend us as we go to the church. It is not entering the house of God, but entering without offense that is praiseworthy. And if it were for everyone in the church of God to hear the sermon, He would never have added, 'Draw near to listen' (Exodus 24:2 and following). Finally, Moses alone approached to listen to God; the others were not able to approach. Those foolish ones who do not know the remedy for sin think they can satisfy God by offering gifts, and they are ignorant that this is also evil and sin, and they want to make amends not by obedience and good works, but by gifts and sacrifices that they have made. This is in agreement with what is said elsewhere: 'Obedience is better than sacrifice' (1 Samuel 15:21). And: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice (Hosea 6:6).

(Chap. V.)

(Chapter 5) Do not hasten in your hour, and let your heart not hasten to speak a word in the presence of God, because God is in heaven, and you are on earth. For this reason, let your words be few, for a dream comes with a multitude of anxieties, and the voice of a fool with the multiplication of words. Many think that it is commanded in this place not to easily promise anything before God, and without considering our abilities, vow things that we cannot fulfill. For indeed God is present, and although He is in heaven, we seem to be on earth. However, we hear what we speak, and our foolishness is exposed by the multiplication of words. But others, understanding better, affirm this advice: let us not think or speak more about God than we are able, but let us acknowledge our weakness, that just as far as the heavens are from the earth, so our opinion is separated from His nature. Therefore, our words should be measured. For just as someone who has many thoughts frequently dreams about the things they think about, so too someone who desires to discuss more about divinity falls into foolishness. Indeed, it is like this: Our words should be few because even the things we believe we know, we see through a mirror and in an enigma, and we grasp them as if in a dream, which we consider ourselves to hold. And when we have spoken more (as it may seem to us), the end of our argument is foolishness. For from much talking we cannot escape sin.

When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, for there is no pleasure in fools. Whatever you vow, fulfill it. It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. Simple understanding does not require interpretation. It is better not to promise than to make promises and not keep them, for they displease God and are regarded as foolish by others who do not fulfill their vows. And when it is said, 'There is no pleasure in fools,' it can be understood as 'There is no pleasure in fools' before God,' according to the words of the Apostle (1 Corinthians 16:22): 'And certainly, it was not the will of God that I should come to you now.' But if we wish to speak more carefully, it is prescribed to the Christian that he should fulfill his faith by works and not be like the Jews, who, promising and saying, 'We will do all that the Lord has commanded' (Exod. 24:3), worshipped idols. And after beating their servants and oppressing them with stones, they finally even killed the son of the head of the household. Therefore, it is better to weigh a double-minded opinion for a long time than to be easy with words and difficult in action. But he who knows his master's will and does not do it, will be beaten with many stripes. (Luke 12:47).

Do not give your bone, so that you may make your flesh sin. And do not say in the presence of an angel, for it is ignorance; lest God become angry at your voice, and destroy the works of your hands. The Hebrew understands it this way: Do not promise what you cannot do. For words spoken do not pass in vain, but they are immediately carried by the present angel, who is the accompanying companion to each person, to the Lord. And you, who think to ignore God, by what you have promised, provoke Him to anger, so that all your works may be scattered. But in that which He says, 'Make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof,' He understood not that food is not to be provided for the flesh that it may not sin, as though He had said, 'Do not take food, that you may not sin'; but we understand it otherwise, viz. thus; that those are reproved who complain of their infirmity of the flesh, and allege that they are in a way necessitated by the necessities of the flesh to do what they do not wish to do, according to that of the apostle (Rom. 7:15): 'For that which I do, I know not: For what I would, that do I not.' Finally, in that place where it says: 'Do not speak in the presence of an angel, for it is ignorance,' the eagle, interpreting the Hebrew word 'Segaga' for ignorance, translated it as 'ἀκούσιον', which means involuntary or not spontaneous. For if you say this, you provoke God as the author of evil and sin, so that if He is angry and sees any good in you, He may take it away from your hands. Or certainly, perceiving such things, He may deliver you to a reprobate mind so that you may do things that are not fitting.


Because in the multitude of dreams and vanities, there are many words. But fear God. And this place is called in Hebrew. Do not do what has been said before, nor easily believe in dreams. For when you see different things during the night's rest, and your soul is disturbed by various terrors or incited by promises, disregard those things which are dreams. And fear only God. Whoever believes in dreams will surrender to vanities and follies. Otherwise: Because I have said and commanded: Do not give your mouth to cause your flesh to sin, and to seek various excuses: I now bring forward this, since in the dream of this life, and in the image of a shadow of a cloud, in which we live, we can find many things that seem plausible to us, and excuse our sins. Therefore, I warn you to only beware of this, not to think that God is absent, but to fear Him and to know that He is present in all your works: and that you, being created with free will, are not compelled, but willing to do what you do.


If you see the slander of the poor, and the robbery of justice, and injustices in the region, do not be surprised at the matter: for the Most High watches over the Most High, and he is higher than them, and the king has more power over all the land in the cultivated field. The tunic of Christ woven from above (John 19, Luke 8), could not be torn by those who crucified Him: and He who had cast out demons by whom the Savior had ordered to leave wearing the clothes of the Apostles. And so we strive, O men of the Church, not to tear our own garments, nor to sew together patches according to our own ideas, but to keep the one garment of the disputation intact, and to follow the same meaning and order. Above, it was said: Thou shalt not say in the sight of an angel, 'Ignorance is,' lest God be angry with thy voice and the rest; and he spoke against those who denied that human affairs are ruled by providence. Therefore, since a question was arising against this precept, why the just endure calumny and why judgments are unjust in the whole world, and why God does not punish, now he brings forward and answers what could be opposed, saying: If you see a poor man calumniated, who is blessed in the Gospel, and matters are carried on by force, not by justice, do not wonder, and let it seem something new to you. Indeed, the highest God looks down upon the highest ones, he who has placed his angels above judges and kings of the earth, who certainly can forbid injustice and have more power on earth than any human authorities. But since he preserves judgment in the end, and in the consummation of the world, when the harvest is ripe and the reapers come, he will command that the wheat be separated and the tares be given to the fire: therefore he now waits and delays his judgment, as long as this field of the world is cultivated. But as for the field being interpreted as the world, the Lord explained in the parable of the weeds and the wheat (Matt. XIII).

Whoever loves silver will not be satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth will not enjoy it. This too is vanity. For with the abundance of wealth comes the abundance of those who consume it, and what is the advantage to the owner except to see it with his own eyes? Wherever we place silver, according to the ambiguity of the Greek language, it can also refer to money: ἀργύριον indeed signifies both. Moreover, Tullius refers to those who have more money, i.e., possessions, as being called wealthy. For thus they used to call them in ancient times. But gradually, through misuse, the name has been applied to something else. Therefore, the avaricious person is described as someone who is never satisfied with wealth, and the more they have, the more they desire. Flaccus also agrees with this sentiment, saying (Horace, Book 1, Epistles, epistle 2, to Lelius):

The greedy person always wants more. And it is a well-known fact that greed does not decrease with poverty or abundance. Therefore, as Ecclesiastes says, wealth is of no use to the possessor unless it allows them to see what they have. For the greater their possessions, the more servants they will have to devour the accumulated wealth. However, the possessor should only see what they have, as they cannot consume more food than one person can.

If one has eaten a little or a lot, sweet sleep comes to the worker. But the richness of the wealthy person does not allow them to sleep. Furthermore, there is still conversation about the wealthy and the greedy, and it is compared to the worker, who can eat a little or a lot without worry, because they digest any food with the labor of their work and enjoy sweet sleep. However, the wealthy person, bloated with excess and torn in different directions by thoughts, cannot sleep, with their stomach burning in the confines of indigestion and with uncooked food. Moreover, because sleep and the common end of this life are called rest, the rest of those who work in the present and engage in good works according to their ability will be better than their wealth, of which it is written: Woe to you, the wealthy, because you have received your consolation (Luke 6:24).

There is a very terrible burden that I have seen under the sun: wealth being hoarded by its owner to his own harm. And those riches perish in an unfortunate turn of events. He fathers a son but has nothing in his hands. As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, to go as he came; he shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. This is also a very terrible burden: just as he came, so shall he go. And what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? And all his days he will eat in darkness, with much indignation, and with weakness, and with anger. Join with what follows: The Preacher describes a rich man who cannot even enjoy his own wealth and frequently comes into danger because of it, and he will not leave it to his heir, whom he has gathered; but he himself and his son, just as they came naked, so they will return to the earth, and nothing will accompany them of their labors. For is it not the worst of afflictions to be tormented by thoughts of wealth and toil in vain for perishable riches, which we cannot take with us when we die, only to acquire them in sadness, groaning, anger, and quarrels? And this is according to simple perception. But if we raise ourselves to a higher level, it seems to me that we can say the same about philosophers or heretics, who accumulate the riches of their doctrines to their own detriment, and are unable to obtain any lasting benefit for themselves or leave any lasting fruit for their followers. But both they themselves and their disciples return to the earth and lose the riches from him who said: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart (1 Corinthians 1:19). Truly, just as they have come out of their mother's womb, that is, from the corrupt Church and its opposite, of which it is written: And the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother (Galatians 4:26), so they will go naked into the wind, and labor in vain. Those who have fallen away seeking to scrutinize (Psalm 64:7), and are carried about by every wind of doctrine, neither have light, but in darkness they consume their sacraments. They are always in weakness, always in anger, storing up wrath for themselves on the day of wrath, without having a merciful God.

Behold what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink, and to find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart. In comparison to the one who feeds on his own resources in the darkness of his worries and endures with great weariness of life, he says that the one who enjoys the present is better. For here there is even a small pleasure in enjoying: but there only the magnitude of anxiety. And he gives reasons why the gift of God can be enjoyed by riches. For, he will not remember much of the days of his life. For indeed God calls him in the joy of his heart: he will not be in sadness, he will not be troubled by thoughts, drawn away by joy and present pleasure. But it is better to understand, according to the Apostle (I Cor. X, 3), that spiritual food and spiritual drink are given by God, and to see goodness in all our labor, because through great labor and study we are able to contemplate true goods. And this is our part, to rejoice in our study and labor. Although it may be good, yet it is not fully good until Christ is manifested in our life. Therefore, God will not remember much of the days of our life. Also, note that here περισπασμός is understood in a better sense as being occupied with true spiritual joy.

(Chap. VI.)

(Chapter VI) There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it is widespread among mankind. A man to whom God has given riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing for his soul of all that he desires, yet God does not give him the power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity and a grievous evil. If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life's good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. For indeed he comes in vanity, and departs in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. Moreover, he has not seen the sun, nor known it, more restful is he than the other. And if he were to live a thousand years twice over, and not see goodness, do not all things hasten to the same place? He describes the greedy rich man, and asserts that this evil is frequent among men, that nothing of those things which are considered goods in the world is lacking for him, and nevertheless he tortures himself with the most foolish stinginess, preserving things to be devoured by others. And he adds hyperbolically, that even if someone were to have a hundred children, and not, like Adam, nearly a thousand, but live for two thousand years, and his soul wastes away with desire and greed: the one who is aborted is of much worse condition, who as soon as he is born, perishes. For he neither sees evil, nor good: but this one, when he possesses good things, is always tormented by sadness and thoughtfulness; and the aborted one has more rest than that greedy long-lived one: and yet both are carried off by an equal end, while both here and the other are snatched away by a similar death. This can also be understood about Israel, to whom God has given the Law, and the Prophets, the Testament, and the promise, with the Savior saying: \"For the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits\" (Matthew 21:43). All these things have been translated to a foreign and alien people, and they see their blessings but do not enjoy them. And yet, we who were considered as illegitimate and new by those who boasted about their ancestors, saying \"Our father is Abraham\" (John 8:39), are also hastening to the same place as them, that is, to the judgment of God. But what he says in the middle: And indeed he had no burial; whether this signifies that that rich man did not think about his own death, and while he possesses everything, he is also greedy in the construction of a tomb; or whether it means that he is often killed by plots because of his wealth, and is cast out unburied; or, which I think is better, that he has done nothing good in his life, from which he can obtain a memory for himself among future generations, and not pass his life in silence, like animals, when he had the opportunity to appear that he had lived.


All of man's labor is in his mouth, and yet the soul is not satisfied. For what is wiser than a fool, what is poorer, except to know how to go against life? Everything that men labor for in this world is consumed by the mouth, and is handed over to the stomach to be digested. And when it has pleased the throat for a little while, it seems to give pleasure for as long as it is contained in the throat. But when it passes into the belly, the distinction among food ceases. And after all these things, the soul of the eater is not satisfied: whether it seeks what it has already desired, what it has eaten, and both the wise and the foolish cannot live without food, and the poor person seeks nothing else but how ((Al. what)) it can sustain the instrument of its body, and not perish from starvation: or whether the soul derives no benefit from the nourishment of the body, and food is common to both the wise and the foolish, and the poor person goes there where it has perceived wealth to be. But it is better understood about the Ecclesiastical man, who, being educated in the heavenly Scriptures, has all labor in his mouth, and his soul is not filled, while he always desires to learn. And in this the wise man has more than the fool: because when he feels himself to be poor (that poor man, however, who is called blessed in the Gospel), he hastens to grasp those things which are of life, and walks the narrow and narrow way which leads to life, and is poor in evil works, and knows where Christ, who is life, dwells.


The appearance of the eyes is better than walking in the soul. But even this is vanity and presumption of the spirit. Symmachus clearly interprets this, saying: It is better to provide than to walk as one pleases; that is, it is better to do everything according to the sense, which is the eye of the soul, rather than follow the will of the heart. For this is to walk in the soul, as Ezekiel says: Those who walk in the will of their own heart. Certainly, it accuses him of arrogance and self-satisfaction, and claims that the one who foresees everything is better than the one who is pleased with nothing unless he himself has done it: than which nothing is worse, and more empty than every wind. Furthermore, here the presumption of the spirit is explained by Aquila and Theodotius as the passion of the wind, but Symmachus explains it as the affliction of the spirit. Moreover, it should be known that among the Hebrews, both spirit and wind are called by the same name, that is, Ruha.


What is to come is already named, and known, because he is a man and cannot be judged by a stronger one. It is openly preached about the coming of the Savior, that which is to come before he is seen in the body, is already named in the Scriptures and known to the prophets and saints of God, because he is a man and according to this, being a man, he cannot compare himself to the Father. And in the Gospel he says: The Father who sent me is greater than I (John 14:28). And in the following, it is commanded that we not seek beyond what is written about it for ourselves, lest a person want to know more than the Scripture has testified. For since we are ignorant of our state, and our life passes like a shadow, and the future is uncertain, it is not advantageous for us to inquire about things greater than we can. Some think that in this place it is signified that God already knows the name of all those who are going to be, and the human body surrounding them: and that a person cannot respond against their maker why they were made in such a way. For the more we inquire, the more we reveal our own vanity and superfluous words: and it is not that free will is taken away from us by God's foreknowledge, but rather that the causes precede why each thing is done in such a way.

For there are many words multiplying vanity. What is more for a man? For who knows what is good for a man in life, in the number of days of his vain life? And he will make them like a shadow, because who will announce to a man what is after him under the sun? When, he says, a man is ignorant of his own state, and whatever he seems to know and perceive, the truth does not hold as it is, but he sees through a mirror, and shadow, and image, and does not know the future, and in much speaking does not escape sin; he should keep silence in his mouth, and believe that he has come, who is written, how, and how great, and what manner he has come, without seeking.

(Chap. VII.)

(Chapter VII) Good is the name above good oil, and the day of death above the day of his birth. Consider, he says, O man, your short days, and that you will quickly cease to exist, your flesh dissolved: make for yourself a longer reputation, so that just as an ointment delights the nostrils with its fragrance, so future generations may be delighted by your name. This was clearly interpreted by Symmachus, saying: A good name is better than well-scented ointment. Indeed, it is customary for the Hebrews to call a good ointment 'oil'. But when he says, 'And the day of death over the day of his birth', or rather, he shows this, that it is better to exit the world, and be free from troubles and the uncertain state of life, than to enter the world and endure all these things. Or certainly, what sort we will be in death is known: but in the beginning of birth, what sort we will be in the future, is unknown. Or, what birth binds to the body, death releases.


It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every person, and the living should take it to heart. It is more profitable to go to a funeral than to go to a feast, for there we are reminded of our condition and human fragility by the presence of a corpse. In a feast, however, even if we appear to have some fear, we lose it in the joy. Symmachus explained the last verse more clearly, saying: And the living will consider it in their minds. From these things it is clear that in the fact that he above seemed to approve of food and drink, he preferred not the pleasure of all things, as most people wrongly assume, but compared to greed and excessive frugality, even if it is brief, it is more, if one enjoys his own wealth even for a moment. For never would he have preferred sadness to mourning, if he thought that drinking and eating were of any importance.

Anger is better than laughter, because a sad face will be healed. Laughter dissolves the one who laughs: anger seizes and corrects. Let us be angry with ourselves, if ever we sin, let us be angry with others. Through sadness, indeed, the soul will become better, as Symmachus has interpreted. And therefore: Woe to those who laugh now, for they themselves will mourn (Luke VI, 25).

The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, and the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:5). Samuel also mourned for King Saul all the days of his life (2 Samuel 16). And Paul says of those who refused to repent after committing various sins that they should mourn (2 Corinthians 12). Therefore, let the heart of the wise go to the house of such a man who rebukes the sinner, in order to bring him to tears, who incites him to weep for his own sins, and not go to the house of mirth, where the teacher flatters and deceives, where he seeks not the conversion of the listeners, but applause and praise. Such a teacher is praised, rich in speech, rich in words, who, because he is satisfied, therefore receives his comfort. Finally, even the following verses agree with this exposition. For he says:

It is better to heed the rebuke of the wise, than to listen to the song of fools. For just as the sound of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of a fool. But even this is vanity. For it is better to be corrected by a wise person, than to be deceived by flattering adulation. This is similar to that: Wounds from a friend are better than kisses from an enemy (Prov. XXVII, 6). For just as the sound of burning thorns under a pot, produces an unpleasant noise, so do the words of a careless teacher fail to benefit their listeners, either in addressing the cares of the world, which are interpreted as thorns, encouraging them, or in preparing them for a future fire. Symmachus in response to what we have posited: Just as the sound of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of fools, interpreting this meaning that we have discussed above, says: For through the sound of the inexperienced, someone may be bound in chains, that is, a listener is more connected to the sound of such teachings, while each person is bound by the chains of their own sins.

A calumny disturbs a wise man, and it destroys the heart of his fortitude (Prov. IX, 8). Now, take a wise man in progress, according to this: Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. For a wise man, being perfect, does not need any rebuke, nor is he disturbed by any calumny. Let us use this verse, if ever we see a just and wise man enduring calumny, and being troubled by the injustice of judgment, and God does not immediately come to his aid. For, indeed, in the translations of the Septuagint, Aquila, and Theodotion, 'perdit cor εὐτονίας αὐτοῦ' is translated as 'loses the heart of his strength or vigor.' Symmachus says, 'perdit cor Matthana (),' which means 'loses the gift.' He combines both the Hebrew word and its interpretation, creating the sense that is written elsewhere: 'They blind the eyes even of the wise' (Deut. XVI, 19).

It is better to be at the end of a conversation than at the beginning. The conclusions are better in speech than the introduction. In these, the anxiety of the speaker ends, in the other, it begins. Or certainly like this: Whoever starts to listen to a conversation and goes to the teacher, is at the beginning; but whoever listens to the end is accomplished and perfected. But it can also be understood in this way: While we are in this world, whatever we know, is the beginning; but when what is perfect comes, we will be in the last and completed things. The Hebrew person explained this passage in the following verse: It is better to consider the end of the matter than the beginning, and to be patient rather than being carried away by the frenzy of impatience. We also learn from this little saying that there is no wisdom in people, since it is better to be silent than to speak; and because when the speech is finished, the hearer reflects within himself what was said: but when we begin to speak, we have not yet received any benefit.


Patience is better than a high spirit. Because it had previously given way to anger, saying: Anger is better than laughter, lest we think that anger, which is praised in passion, should now completely remove anger. For there, anger was set for the correction of sinners and the instruction of the lesser ones, but here it restrained impatience. However, patience is necessary not only in difficulties but also in happier times, so that we may not be elevated more than is proper. It seems to me that the one who is now called 'exalted in spirit' in the Gospel is opposed to the poor in spirit, who is also placed in the beatitude.

Do not hasten in your spirit to become angry, because anger rests in the heart of fools. Not that it permits anger to be delayed, therefore now it says: Do not hasten in your spirit to become angry; but because when anger is raging and fresh, it is more easily appeased when delayed and can be taken away. And because anger is always joined with pride, desiring revenge, it said that patience is better than the one who is high-spirited, and now it gives a sign of foolishness: because even if someone is considered powerful and wise, if they are irritable, they are demonstrated to be foolish: for anger rests in the heart of fools.


Do not say: what has happened: because the previous days were better than these; for you have not wisely asked about this. Do not prefer the old age to the present, because God is the creator of both. Virtues make good days for the living, vices make bad ones. Therefore, do not say that the days were better under Moses and Christ than they are now. For even at that time there were many unbelievers, and their days became evil, and now many believers are found, of whom the Savior says: Blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed (John 20:29). Otherwise: Thus you should live, so that the present days are always better for you than the past, lest when you begin to decline little by little, it may be said to you: You were running well, who hindered you from obeying the truth (Gal. V, 7)? And again: Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh (Ibid. III, 3). Otherwise: Do not say that the times of Moses were better than the times of Christ, of the Law than of Grace. For if you wish to inquire into this, you act foolishly, not seeing how much the Gospel differs from the Old Testament.


Wisdom is good with an inheritance, and more for those who see the sun, because as the shadow of wisdom, so is the shadow of money: and what is more, the knowledge of wisdom will give life to its possessor. The wise man with riches has greater glory than the wise man alone. Some need wisdom, others need wealth, and he who is wise but not wealthy can indeed teach what is good, but sometimes cannot provide what is asked for. And therefore he says: Just as wisdom is a shadow, so is money a shadow, that is, just as wisdom protects, money also sometimes protects. And so as not to seem to have taken away from wisdom by subjecting it to a chance good (for it is not in our power to have wealth, which the unjust often possess more of), he demonstrates that wisdom is greater, saying: And moreover, the knowledge of wisdom will give life to the one who possesses it. In that, he says, wisdom is greater than wealth, because it sustains him who possesses it without any resources.

Some people interpret this passage as follows: He has placed inheritance in the place of good conversation, through which we are heirs of God, and co-heirs with Christ. Therefore, the Preacher wants to teach how great is the difference between those who deserve to see the sun of righteousness and have wisdom with good conversation, and those who, without wisdom, have only borrowed the study of life and conversation. Indeed, Daniel also shows this, saying: Those who understand my words will shine like the stars of heaven (Dan. XII, 3). As Theodotius translated: Like the splendor of the firmament. But those who make my words, like the stars of heaven. But we should take the shadow of silver, or money, according to interpretation, from which talents and minas are gathered in the parables of the Gospel (Matthew 25, Luke 19), so that when we are under the shadow of wisdom, and under the shadow of such silver: The sun does not burn us during the day, nor the moon during the night (Psalm 120). But this can also be said, because our life on earth is like a shadow. And the spirit of our countenance is Christ the Lord, to whom we said: In his shadow we will live among the nations. (Lamentations 4:20). All our protection on this earth is like a shadow, whether it be wisdom or the aforementioned silver, until the day dawns and the shadows are removed. Symmachus, in his own way, has also interpreted this more clearly, saying: Just as wisdom protects, so does money protect. The following verse clearly encourages the pursuit of knowledge.

Look at the works of God, for who can adorn one whom God has overturned? And in this place Symmachus translated it as follows: Learn the works of God, for no one can correct what he diminishes, that is, it is enough for you to know and understand from the Holy Scriptures themselves, or from the contemplation of the elements, what has been done: but not to inquire into the causes and reasons why each thing has been done thus, or should have been done differently than it was. For example, if someone wants to ask why God spoke to Moses in such a way, saying, 'Who made the mute and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? Is it not I, the Lord?' (Exod. IV, 12). And let them ask: Why were the blind and the deaf and the mute created in this way, and similar things? In this place, let us take a testimony from the sixteenth psalm, in which it is said to the Lord: 'With the holy you will be holy, and with the perverse you will be perverse.' And it must be said that the Lord is holy with those who are holy, and is perverse with those who by their own will have been perverse before. Moreover, as it is written in Leviticus: 'If they walk contrary to me and will not listen to me, I will bring my fury upon them and I will chastise them seven times for their sins.' (Lev. 26:27). This can also explain why the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh. Just as the same heat of the sun melts wax and hardens clay, and the wax melts and the clay hardens according to their nature, so the divine operation of the signs in Egypt softened the hearts of the believers and hardened the unbelievers, who, according to their hardness of heart and unrepentant disposition, stored up wrath for themselves on the day of wrath from these wonders, which they did not believe when they saw them happening.


Be good in a day of goodness, and in a day of evil, be watchful. Indeed, God has made it fitting for him to speak, so that man may not find anything after him. I know that I have heard in the Church from him, who was thought to have knowledge of the Scriptures, these verses explained. 'While you are in the present age, and can do good works, labor so that later you yourself may be secure in the day of evil, that is, in the day of judgment, and see others tormented.' For just as God has made the present age, in which we can prepare the fruit of good works; so He has also made the future age, in which no opportunity for good works is given. It seems indeed that He was advising when He spoke to those who were listening: but to me it seems that there is another meaning, which Symmachus also translated, saying: Be good on a good day and consider a bad day. For God has made this similar to this, so that man would not find something to complain against Him. And, he says, endure both the good and the bad as they happen to you. And do not think that the nature of good or evil is impure, when this world consists of opposing elements: hot and cold, dry and wet, hard and soft, dark and light, bad and good. But God has done this so that wisdom may have a place in choosing the good and avoiding evil, and so that free will may be left to man, lest he should say that he was generated by God as insensitive and foolish. Rather, God made him diverse for this reason, so that man could not complain about his own condition. At the same time, this testimony will be connected to what was said before, in which he says: Who can restore what God has corrupted?

I have seen everything in the days of my vanity. The righteous perish in their righteousness, and the wicked live long in their wickedness. To this, the Savior says in the Gospel: 'Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it' (Matthew 10:39). The Maccabees were seen to perish for the sake of God's law and righteousness, and the martyrs shed their blood for Christ. Conversely, those who in that time ate pork and sacrificed to idols after the Lord's coming were seen to live in this world and persist in their wickedness for a long time. But God's patience is hidden, and now He afflicts the saints so that they may receive evil in their lives, and does not visit sinners for their wickedness, but rather reserves them as victims, so that He may restore eternal blessings to them and inflict perpetual evil upon them. The Hebrews suspect the just ones to perish in their righteousness, thinking that while they believe they are acting justly, they are offering foreign fire. And they curse the impious long-lived Manasseh for his wickedness, who, after being restored to the kingdom, lived a long time thereafter.


Do not be overly righteous, and do not inquire too much, lest you become astonished. If you see someone strict and harsh towards all the faults of his brothers, that he does not forgive in a sinful conversation, nor does he forgive due to natural occasional laziness, know that this person is more righteous than is just. For when the Savior commands, saying: Do not judge, so that you may not be judged (Luke 6:37); and let no one be without sin, even if his life were only a single day, it is inhumane justice to not pardon the fragility of human condition. Therefore, do not strive to be overly righteous, for it is a heavy burden and a small burden is displeasing to the Lord. Thus, even among philosophers, virtues are found in moderation, and anything that is excessive, whether it be upward or downward, is considered a vice. Furthermore, when he says, 'Do not seek more, lest you become troubled,' or, 'Do not be amazed,' he knows our mind cannot fully comprehend wisdom and teaches us to acknowledge the measure of our own frailty. Finally, Paul also asked him, who could know more than a man, saying: Why do you still complain? For who resists his will? He answered: O man, who are you to answer God (Rom. IX, 19), and so on. For if the one who is introduced as questioning had heard the reasons for the question from the Apostle, he might have been stunned and felt the grace to be useless. For it is also a gift, according to the same Apostle, which does not profit the one to whom it is given. The Hebrews interpret this commandment, that is: Do not be overly righteous, concerning Saul who showed mercy to Agag, whom the Lord had commanded to be killed (1 Samuel 15). But also that servant from the Gospel (Matthew 18), whom the Lord had forgiven, and he himself did not want to forgive his fellow servant, can be related to this verse, that he had been overly righteous.

Do not act wickedly or be foolish; why will you die before your time? As the Lord says: I do not desire the death of the one who dies, but rather that he turn back and live (Ezek. XVIII, 32): Once is enough to sin; we must rise up after a fall. For if they know, those who dispute with physicians, that the swallow feeds its young from its beak, and the wounded wild goat seeks dittany, why do we ignore that the medicine of repentance has been proposed for sinners? But when he says, in regard to Moses and Aaron, 'Lest thou die in the time not thine own.' (Num. XVI); we know that Core and Dathan, and Abiron by reason of the sedition against Moses and Aaron, were suddenly devoured by the gaping earth, and for a warning to others were judged even in this life before the day of judgement. Therefore, what he says is this: Do not add sins to sins, lest you provoke God even here to inflict punishment on you.

It is good to hold on to that. And indeed, do not let go of your hand from this; for whoever fears God will go out to all things. It is good to do good to the righteous, but also to do good to sinners is not unjust. It is good to support the members of the faith, but also to give to everyone who asks, it is a commandment. For whoever fears God, and imitates his creator, who rains upon the just and the unjust, hastens to do good to all, without regard for persons. Otherwise: Because this wretched life is constantly varied by different events, both adversities and prosperity, a just mind should be prepared and should seek the mercy of the Lord, so that whatever happens, it may endure with a balanced mind. For whoever fears God is neither lifted up by prosperity nor oppressed by adversities.

Wisdom strengthens the wise person, surpassing the power of ten who are in the city: for there is no righteous man on earth who does good and does not sin. Therefore wisdom strengthens the just and the help of all the rulers of the city exceeds him, because although someone may be just, as long as he is in this flesh, he is subject to vices and sins, and needs greater protection. Alternatively, the ten who have power and reside in the city are angels, who have reached the perfect number of ten, and assist the human race. But if someone considers all help, the greatest help is the wisdom, that is, of our Lord Jesus Christ. For after the angels said: We have healed Babylon, and it was not healed, let us abandon it, and everyone go to their own land (Jer. 51:8), then the master of physicians himself descended, and sprinkled us with his blood, and with the blood that was soaked with sins, which we had spent all our substance on physicians, he healed us with the touch of his hem (Luke 8). But He healed in the city, that is, in this world, and strengthened the wise, or, as the Seventy translated, helped. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance. However, because the man placed in sins was in need, and fixed in the deep mire, he needed greater assistance; therefore Wisdom itself came. Otherwise: Above, He had said that good must be done both to family and to strangers. Therefore, someone could answer: If I want to do good to everyone, I do not have from where I can do it. The righteous person cannot possess such great riches which usually abound more for sinners; therefore now he says: Assist those whom you cannot help with material things, with advice and comfort. For wisdom can provide more in times of distress than any great powers. And do this with prudence. Indeed, the balance of justice is great, and it is important to give to whom, and how much, and for how long, and in what way, either in a matter or in advice.

And indeed, in all the conversations they will have, do not give your heart, for you will not hear your servant cursing you. For often your heart knows that you have cursed others. Do what is commanded, and with the help of wisdom, prepare your heart for good or evil, and do not care about what your enemies say about you, or what the opinion of strangers is. For it is not the behavior of a wise man to listen to a murmuring servant, or to lend an interested ear to what is being said about him in his absence. For if he does this, he will always be in trouble, and his anger will be stirred up by the muttering of a servant. So it is also the behavior of a wise man to follow the path of wisdom and not to consider vain rumors. But it teaches by another example that a just man should not care deeply about what people say, saying: How does your conscience know that you have spoken about many things and often detracted from others: thus you must also forgive those who detract from you. And at the same time it teaches that one should not judge easily, and that if you have a beam in your eye, you should not speak about the splinter in someone else's eye.

I have tried all these things in wisdom, and I said: I will become wise, but wisdom itself has become further from me, more than it was before, and its depth is so profound, who will find it? It is said that even the books of the Kingdoms testify (3 Kings 3 and 4) that all men have sought wisdom and have tried to reach its end, but the more they have sought, the less they have found, and they have been immersed in the midst of darkness, surrounded by the shadows of ignorance. Another way: A man who has been educated in the Scriptures, the more he begins to know, the more darkness arises for him in these things every day. Another way: The contemplation of wisdom in this life is seen in a mirror and in an image: therefore, when I reflect on revealing knowledge face to face with Him in the future, then I clearly recognize that I now widely differ from His knowledge.

I have traveled around and searched my heart, in order to understand, contemplate, and seek wisdom and reason, and to know the wickedness of fools and the error of the foolish. And I have found woman to be more bitter than death, she is a trap and her heart is like snares, her hands are like chains. The righteous will be delivered from her, but the sinner will be trapped by her. Because the Septuagint put it: I have traveled around and searched my heart, in order to understand, Symmachus interpreted it, saying: I have passed through all things with my senses, to know, learn, and investigate. Therefore, since the Preacher had said above that he had tried everything in wisdom, and the more he sought it, the further it eluded him; now he also says that he sought something else in his wisdom, namely, that in human affairs evil precedes all evils, and that those things which hold dominion in impiety, folly, error, and madness. And he says that he found woman to be the head of all evils: for through her, death entered into the world, and she captures the precious souls of men. For all adulterers, indeed, adulterate, as if their hearts like an oven: which causes the hearts of young people to fly away. And when the thought of the wretched lover comes to mind, it draws him towards the precipice: and it does not allow him to look back at his own feet, but like a snare, it entangles the heart of the young man with its bond. For his hands are bound. Concerning this, the eagle interprets: His hands are bound, which is said in the Hebrew language as Assurim. For it can advise, but it cannot force violence: nor can it draw those who are unwilling to itself. The righteous and good person in the eyes of God will be saved from it; but the sinner, captured, will be led to death. Let us not lightly think that Solomon presented this judgment about women: he speaks from experience. Therefore, indeed, he offends God because he is captured by women. And this is according to the literal meaning. However, according to spiritual understanding, we understand by 'woman' any sin in general, and wickedness that sits under the appearance of a woman in Zechariah on the lead talent (Zech. 5:7): or we figuratively understand 'woman' to mean the devil, because of his effeminate power; or certainly idolatry, and to come closer, the Church of heretics, which calls the foolish in mind to itself, so that he may accept stolen bread and stolen water, that is, false sacrament and polluted baptism.


Behold, I have found this, says Ecclesiastes, one by one, to find the number that my soul has been searching for, and I have not found it. Among a thousand men I found one, but among all these I have not found a woman. Only this I have found: that God made man upright, and they have sought out many schemes. This, he says, I have found, diligently searching through everything, that by gradually sinning and adding one offense to another, we accumulate a great sum of sins. Indeed, they translated Essebon () with a unanimous voice, according to the ambiguity of the Hebrew language, we can say both the number, the sum, the ratio, and the thought. But this, he said, my soul has sought to find out if a righteous woman can be found. And when I could hardly find a few good men, such that only one could be found out of a thousand, I could not find a good woman at all. For all have been led not to virtue, but to luxury. And because the heart of man is set to evil from his youth (Gen. VIII, 21), and almost all have offended God: in this ruin of the human race, woman is more prone to falling. About whom even the pagan poet says:

...Varium et mutabile semper Femina...(Virg. IV, Aeneid. V. 35.) Et Apostolus: Semper, ait, discentes, et numquam ad scientiam veritatis pervenientes (II Tim. III, 7). Et ne videretur communem hominum damnare naturam, et Deum auctorem facere mali, dum talium conditor est, qui malum vitare non possint, argute praecavit, et ait, bonos nos a Deo creatos: sed quia libero sumus arbitrio derelicti, vitio nostro ad pejora labi, dum majora quaerimus, et ultra vires nostrasvaria cogitamus. Alternatively: Considering the reason for every thing with me daily, I have not been able to find a thought that is not disturbed by perverse thinking from outside. However, among a thousand men, I found one man who is formed according to the image of the creator: and among not just any thousand, but among a thousand men: a number that a woman cannot fulfill. And among a thousand who have not approached a woman, and therefore have remained very pure. But all these things are to be understood in a tropological sense. For in many studious persons (or studies) who sweat through everyday meditation, a pure thought is scarcely found, and a man worthy of the name. We can take thoughts to be men, and works to be women, and say that a pure thought of someone can hardly be found. For, because they are administered through the body, they are always mixed with some kind of error. But as for what we have said interpreting the Hebrew word: One by one, in order to find a number, or a sum, or a ratio, or a thought: Symmachus has interpreted it more clearly, to find an order one by one. For what we usually refer to in an absolute and neutral way, that is what I sought, that is what I wanted to find, the Hebrews pronounce it in the feminine gender, as in the psalm: One thing have I asked of the Lord, this I will seek (Psalm 27:4), because it is one.

(Cap VIII)

(Chapter 8) Who, like a wise man, and who knows the solution of a word? The wisdom of a person will enlighten their face, and the strong will change their appearance. Above, it was taught that it is difficult to find a good person, and the coming challenge was answered: that good people are created by God, but have fallen into sin by their own choice. Now, God enumerates what good things He has given to a person, as if boasting, namely wisdom, reason, and providence, to know the hidden mysteries of God, to enter into the secrets of His heart with understanding. But he speaks indirectly about himself, that no one has been so wise as he himself, and no one has known the solutions to problems in the same way, and his wisdom has been praised by all the people, which has not only been hidden internally, but has also shone on the surface of his body and in the mirror of his face, and has painted the wisdom of his mind on his face for all men to see. They have translated 'seventy' for 'what we have set': Who knows the wise. And concerning that which we said: And the strong will change his face, they have added: And the shameless will be hated for his countenance. And truly, although there are many who promise wisdom, it is difficult to find someone who can discern the true wise person from those who only appear wise. And although there are many who claim to be able to solve the hidden meanings of the Scriptures, it is rare to find someone who discovers the true solution. But what follows: The wisdom of a person will illuminate his face, and the wicked will be hated for his countenance, we can explain it in this way, by quoting the words of Paul: But we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18): and of the Psalmist who sings: The light of your countenance has been signed upon us, Lord (Psalm 4:7). But this man speaks of no wisdom except the wisdom of God. And when it is the wisdom of God, according to the capacity of man, it begins to be his, who has deserved to have it. Every heretic and defender of false doctrine is shameless. Finally, Marcion and Valentinus claim to be of a better nature than the Creator. And this could be somewhat acceptable, if they claimed to have hope of attaining this, and not already possess it.


I guard the mouth of the king and the language of the oath of God. Do not rush to leave his presence, and do not stand in evil words, because he will do whatever he wants. As the king says, having power: and who will say to him, What are you doing? Indeed, it seems to be commanding according to the Apostle, obedience to kings and authorities (Titus, 3:1), especially the Seventy Interpreters saying in the imperative mode: Guard the mouth of the king; but I think it is now said about that king, about whom David says: Lord, the king will rejoice in your strength (Psalm 20:1). And in another place, so that it might signify the unity of the Father and the Son in one kingdom, Scripture recalls: 'Give your judgment to the king, O God, and your justice to the king's son' (Psalm 72:1).'For the Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son' (John 5:22). The Son, who is the King and Son of God the Father, is to be obeyed and His will is to be carried out. And this is what is written in the Book of Tobit: 'To conceal the mystery of the king is good' (Tobit 12:7). And especially he warns us not to question why God has commanded each thing, but rather to hasten to fulfill whatever mandate he sees fit, with a pious mind. And in the law of the Lord will be his will. However, the Septuagint translated it differently, saying: Do not hasten to walk away from his presence, whether in an oath or in a word of God: know that the oath of God is written in the divine volumes. Therefore, this oath, sacred and secret, from the word of God, we should not disclose to anyone, and bring it forth into the public, and quickly form an opinion about it. Not to be hasty like Moses to see the face of God, but to endure until He Himself passes by, and only then to behold His aftereffects. Also, let us understand the following: 'Do not stand in evil speech,' and the rest, as referring to one who is led astray by the error of heresy, or to one who, although having faith in the Church, is nonetheless overcome by sins, so as to be faithless. Do not persist in detraction, nor in vulgar language, luxury, greed, or lust. If you persist, the king of vices and sin, the devil, will work your destruction, and do whatever he pleases.

The one who keeps the commandment will not recognize evil: and he knows the time and judgment of the wise heart. It should be noted that 'will not recognize evil' is used to mean that he will not tolerate or be involved in it. Indeed, it is written about the Savior: 'He who knew no sin, for us he made sin' (2 Corinthians 5: 21). Symmachus also interpreted the word in this way, saying: 'The one who keeps the commandment will not experience anything evil.' He ordered to preserve the king's command, and to know what, and why, and at what time he commands.

Since every business has its time and judgment. For the affliction of man is great upon him, because he does not know what will happen in the future; for who can declare it to him? Although different events may occur, and the righteous cannot know what will happen to him, nor understand the causes and reasons of individual things (for no one is conscious of the future), nevertheless he knows that all things are done by God for the benefit of men, and are not disposed without his will. For it is a great affliction for the human race, as the poet says (Aeneid. X, 501):

The mind of men is ignorant of the fate and the future of chance, hoping for one thing and experiencing another: it waits for the enemy from one place and is wounded by the spear of another. But as for what the Seventy Interpreters and Theodotion have said: Because the knowledge of man has many things over him, in Hebrew it has malice, not knowledge: but because the Hebrew letters Res and Daleth, except for a small apex, are similar, instead of Raath (), they read Daath (), that is, instead of malice, knowledge. He will understand this better who has knowledge of the same language. Also, what is written at the end of these verses: Because he does not know what has happened; and what will happen after him, who will announce it to him? We have now translated word for word from the Hebrew language, so that we may know another meaning, namely that we can know neither what has passed, nor what will be future, as they are future.

A man does not have power over the spirit, to prevent the spirit, and he does not have power over the day of death, and there is no escape in war, and wickedness will not save one who has it. Our soul is not in our power, so that it may not be taken away from us, and when the spirit departs to the kingdom of the Lord, it is of no avail to shut our mouths and try to retain our fleeing life. And when death, the enemy of our life, and the adversary comes, we cannot accept a truce. Nor do former kings, who once ravaged everything with their impiety, have power to face death: but we will be dissolved into ashes and earth. Therefore, there is no need to mourn if we cannot know the future, and we are often oppressed by unjust and powerful people, since all things end with death, and the proud and powerful, who have plundered everything, cannot retain their own soul when it is seized. In another way: The spirit, who orders everything, cannot be prohibited by anyone and receive laws to breathe. About which it is said above: The spirit goes round by going round. In the day of death, we are not powerful; for in the day of life, the enemy is easily avoided. Similarly, whoever is in war and does not have the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will not have release, of which it is said to the bride: Your releases are a paradise with the fruit of apples (Song of Songs 4). And because impiety will not save someone who has it, piety will save them from being condemned. Impiety can be called the devil, and piety our Lord Jesus Christ.


I have seen all of these things, and I have devoted my heart to every work that has been done under the sun. And I have seen how one person dominates another, to oppress them. And then I have seen the wicked buried, and they came out of the holy place and were praised in the city, because they had done such things. But even this is vanity. Because there is no consequence for those who do evil, therefore the hearts of the children of men are filled with them, to do evil. I have given," says the writer, "my heart to observe everything that happens under the sun, and especially this, that one person has power over another to afflict and condemn whoever they wish. Therefore, when I directed my mind to contemplate these things, I saw the impious dead with such an opinion, and thus buried, as if they were considered holy on earth; who even when they were alive, were thought worthy of the Church and the temple of God. Moreover, walking in pride, they were praised in their evils, as it is written: 'The sinner is praised in the desires of his soul, and he who does wicked things is blessed' (Ps. IX, 24). But this happens for the following reason: because no one dares to contradict the sinners, nor does God immediately avenge the wickedness, but He defers punishment while waiting for repentance. But sinners, because they are not immediately rebuked and corrected, thinking that judgment will never come, persist in wickedness. We can use this testimony against the bishops, who have received power in the Church, and scandalize those whom they should have taught and encouraged towards better things. Often, these individuals are praised in the Church after death and are publicly proclaimed blessed for actions they likely did not do, either by their successors or by the people. And this, therefore, is vain, for they do not hear as they have done, nor are they immediately corrected in their sin (for no one dares accuse the superior), thus, as if they are holy and blessed, and walking in the commandments of the Lord, they increase sin with sins. Accusing a bishop is difficult. For if he has sinned, he is not believed, and if he is convicted, he is not punished.

Because the sinner commits evil a hundred times, and it is prolonged for him. From this I understand that it will be good for those who fear God, who will fear His presence. For because the sinner sins excessively, as it were, a hundred times, God gives room for repentance and does not immediately punish him in his wickedness, but waits for him to turn away from his iniquity. I understand how kind and merciful God will be towards those who have fear of Him and tremble at His word. Symmachus translated this passage as follows: For the wicked sinner is dead, having been granted long-suffering. Moreover, I know that it shall be well with those who fear God, who have feared his presence. But there will be no good for the wicked, nor shall it endure for a long time, for they have not feared the presence of God. And because it is clear what this passage means, it must be said that the Hebrew word 'Maath' (), which the Septuagint translated as 'mortuus est' ('is dead'), we have used a hundred times, Aquila and Symmachus and Theodotion have interpreted it as 'mortuus est' ('is dead'), so that the meaning is, he who sinned and did evil, is dead: in that he sinned, he died immediately. But according to the Septuagint translators, if he is dead, as it is, we will read from then on, according to some, the sense here is: The sinner does not sin for the first time when it appears to commit a sin, but he has already sinned before: Sinners are alienated from birth, they have strayed from the womb (Ps. 58:4); and they seek to interpret what follows: They have spoken lies, but it does not seem to have a simple explanation: for it does not seem to have a logical consequence to say that children, sinners as soon as they are born, speak falsehood.


And it is not good for the wicked, and may his days not be prolonged like a shadow, who does not fear God's face. He curses those who do not have the fear of God, and wishes that punishment is not delayed, but that they are immediately taken away by death and receive the torments they deserve. The Apostle speaks in a similar manner: I wish those who disturb you would be cut off (Galatians 5:12). And elsewhere: Alexander the coppersmith showed me many evil things; may the Lord repay him according to his deeds (2 Timothy 4:14). It is necessary to investigate how these things have been spoken kindly. This according to the truth of the Hebrew sense. But if anyone follows the Seventy Interpreters, who, as if beginning from another sense, said: 'And I also acknowledge that it will be good for those who fear God, that they fear him, and it will not be good for the impious, and their days will not be prolonged in the shadow, because they do not fear the face of God.' This he can say: 'Indeed, those things will happen, which I previously mentioned; however, I most clearly know that it will be good for those who fear the face of God. For the countenance of the Lord is upon those doing evil.' (Ps. 33:17). And the wicked will not prosper; for they do not fear the face of God, and their days will not be prolonged in shadow, that is, the days of their life, which are like shadows to the living. For it is not those who live a long time who prolong their days, but those who make them great through the magnitude of their good works. Therefore, Jacob, confessing himself as a sinner, says: 'My days are few and evil' (Gen. XLVII, 9). And in the psalm of confession, he says: 'My days have declined like a shadow' (Ps. CI, 12), and I have withered like grass. Not because he sought a long life in the present, in which everything we live is brief and shadow, and image: For in image man walks (Ps. XXXVIII, 7): but because he fears for the length of his life in the future, where true life is, to be shortened.

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after. The Gospel gives the example of the rich purple-clad man and the poor Lazarus (Luke 16). The 72nd psalm also speaks about this: why do bad things happen to the righteous and good things happen to the wicked? As for what we have set forth: Vanity of vanities, which is done on earth. Symmachus translated it absolutely, saying: It is difficult to understand what is done on earth. The Hebrews interpret the righteous who experience bad things and the wicked who receive the works of the righteous as the sons of Aaron and Manasseh, respectively, indicating that those who were sacrificing perished, while this man, after so much adversity and captivity, was restored to power.


And I praised joy; for it is not good for man under the sun, except to eat, and to drink, and to rejoice. And it will go with him from his labor in the days of his life, which God has given him under the sun. This we have interpreted more fully above, and now we say strictly: it is allowed to prefer, though briefly and quickly to be finished, the pleasure of eating and drinking to the hardships of the world, and to those things that seem unjust in the world: for this alone seems to man to have from his labor, if he enjoys even a little refreshment. But this interpretation approves as miserable those who are fasting, hungry, thirsty, and mourning, whom the Lord calls blessed in the Gospel (Matthew 5) if it is understood in the following way, as it is written. And so let us spiritually receive food and drink, and let us find joy in them, which we can scarcely find in the toil of our lives. That these things should be understood as we have said is demonstrated by the following verse, in which it says: I gave my heart to learn wisdom and occupation, that is, that people on earth may be occupied and may meditate on the Scriptures day and night, so that often sleep may flee from the eyes in the quest for truth.


Therefore, I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the task that has been done on the earth. For even in the day and in the night, he does not see sleep with his eyes. And I saw all the works of God: because man will not be able to find the work that has been done under the sun, in which man has labored. So that he may seek it, but he will not find. Indeed, even if a wise man says he knows, he will not be able to find it. He who seeks the causes and reasons of things, why this or that has happened, and why the world is governed by various events: why one is blind and weak, another is born seeing and healthy; why this person has poverty, that person has wealth; why this person is noble, that person is dishonored; gains nothing but torment in his own questioning, and holds disputation as torture, yet still does not find what he seeks... And when he claims to have known these things, then he begins in ignorance and remains in profound error. However, it shows that there are reasons for all things and justice for why each thing happens in a certain way, but these reasons are hidden and cannot be comprehended by humans.

(Chap. IX.)

(Chapter 9) I have given all this in my heart, that I may consider everything: because the just, and the wise, and their works are in the hand of the Lord. And indeed love, and indeed hatred: no man knows all things in their face. Even Symmachus interpreted this passage more clearly, saying: I have set all these things in my heart, that I may weigh everything: for the just and the wise, and their works are in the hand of God. And moreover, man does not know friendships or enmities: but all things are uncertain before them, because similar things happen to both the just and the unjust. Furthermore, here is the sense: Indeed, I have given my heart to this and I wanted to know whom God would love and whom He would hate. And I found that the works of the righteous are indeed in the hand of God, and yet whether they are loved by God or not, they cannot know now, and they fluctuate in doubt, whether they endure what they endure for proof or for punishment. Therefore, in the future, they will know, and in their countenance is everything, that is, the knowledge of this matter precedes them when they depart from this life, for then is judgment, and now is the struggle. And whoever endures hardships, whether they endure them through the love of God, like Job, or through hatred, like many sinners, is now uncertain.

In all events, one, just and unjust, good and evil, clean and polluted, sacrificing and not sacrificing. Thus good as a sinner, thus swearing as fearing an oath. Those things which are by themselves neither good nor evil, but are called middle by the wise of the world (because they happen equally to the just and the unjust) disturb even the simple, why they happen in this way, and therefore they do not consider it to be a judgment, since there is a future distinction in all things, and here all things are confused. But when he says that the outcome is the same for everyone, both the righteous and the wicked, whether it signifies hardships or death, therefore neither the knowledge of God's love nor hatred is in them. Also, sacrificing and not sacrificing, and the other things that are enumerated as opposites, are to be understood spiritually, according to the words: A contrite spirit is the sacrifice to God (Psalm 50:19).

This is the worst thing under the sun: that there is one event for all. But also the hearts of the children of men are full of evil, and there are errors in their hearts throughout their lives, and afterwards to the dead. For who is there that communicates with all the living? And Symmachus has interpreted this more clearly, saying: But also the hearts of the children of men are filled with evil and insolence according to their hearts in their lives. But their ultimate end comes to the dead. For who can continue to live forever? Scripture repeats the same meaning that we discussed a little while ago, that when all things happen equally to everyone, and there is no distinction in enduring good or evil, or at least when we are taken from this world by equal death: nevertheless, we are still filled with errors, insolence, and wickedness, and after all these things we are suddenly snatched away by death, and we no longer can have fellowship with the living. Certainly, because common hardships oppress both the just and the unjust, therefore people are provoked to sin. And yet, after all their efforts, which are in vain unless they know, they descend into hell.

There is confidence, because a living dog is better than a dead lion: for the living know that they shall die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have already perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun. For he had previously said, the heart of the sons of men is filled with evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead. Yet further he observes, that while men live they may be righteous, but after death there is no opportunity for doing good. For a living sinner can become better than a dead righteous person, if they choose to adopt their virtues. Or certainly, someone who boasted in wickedness, power, and insolence, and has died, can become better than the poorest and most despised person. Why? Because the living, in fear of death, can perform good deeds; but the dead are unable to contribute anything to what they once carried with them in life, and everything is enveloped in oblivion, as it is written in the psalm: 'I have been forgotten, like the dead from the heart' (Ps. XXX, 13). But both their love and their hatred, and their envy, and all that they could have in the world, ends with the coming of death: nor can they do anything justly anymore, nor sin, nor add virtues, nor vices. Although some may contradict this explanation, asserting that even after death we can still grow and decline, and in that which he now says: And there will be no part for them still in the world, in everything that has been done under the sun, they understand it in such a way as to say that in this world, and under this sun that we perceive, they have no communion; but rather have it under another world, of which the Savior says: I am not of this world (John 8:23); and under the sun of justice; and not excluding the opinion, which contends that after we have departed from this world, we can still harm rational creatures, and deserve punishment. The Hebrew interprets this verse differently, in which it is said: For a living dog is better than a dead lion, so it is explained among his own people: It is more useful for even an ignorant person who is still alive and can teach, than a perfect teacher who is already dead. For example, to understand the dog as any one of many teachers: and the lion as Moses, or any other prophet. But because we do not like this explanation, let us move on to something greater: and let us say that the Canaanite woman, to whom it was said: Your faith has saved you (Matthew 9:22), is the dog according to the Gospel; and the dead lion is the people of circumcision, as the prophet Balaam says: Behold, the people shall rise up as a young lion, and as a lion exulting (Numbers 23:24). Therefore, we are like living dogs among the nations: but the dead lion is the people of the Jews abandoned by the Lord. And this living dog is better with the Lord than that dead lion. For we, being alive, know the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; but the dead know nothing, nor do they expect any promise or reward; their memory is complete. They do not remember what they should have known, nor does the Lord remember them anymore. Moreover, the love by which they once loved God has perished, and the zeal with which they boldly spoke: 'Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?' (Psalm 139:21). And also their zeal, like that of Phinehas, and their trembling knees, like those of Mattathias. It is clear, however, that not all of them are part of this world. For they cannot say, 'My portion is the Lord' (Psalm 73:26).


Go and eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved your works. Let your garments be white at all times, and let not oil be lacking on your head (Ecclesiastes 9:7). Until that place where it says: Like fish caught in a cruel net, and like birds trapped in a snare, so are the sons of men trapped in an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them. Before we argue about each point, let us briefly summarize everything, so that it becomes clear in what sense all things are being said together. Because in the previous chapter it was stated that after people die, they are removed from the hearts of the living, and neither love nor hatred should be had towards them, according to the poet (Aeneid, II).

There is no struggle or escape for the defeated: and because they cannot do anything beyond the sun: now as if it were human error and habit, which urge each other to enjoy the goods of this world, it introduces, and it personifies (prosopopoeia) in the manner of rhetoricians and poets, saying: O man, because after death you are nothing, and death itself is nothing, listen to my advice, and while you live in this short life, enjoy pleasure, use feasts, suppress your worries with wine, and understand that they were given to you by God for your use. Wear white garments, anoint your head with ointments: enjoy the embrace of whatever women please you, and race through this vain and brief life with vain and brief pleasure. For beyond these things you will have nothing more to enjoy: whatever can delight you, seize it quickly, lest it perish. For you should not fear meaningless comments, for the account of each work, whether good or evil, must be rendered to you in the underworld. For there is no wisdom in death: no sensation remains after the dissolution of this life. And someone may say, as Epicurus and Aristippus and the Cyrenaics do, and the rest of the beasts called philosophers. But reflecting carefully within myself, I find that not, as some mistakenly believe, everything is done by chance, and that fortune plays a varied role in human affairs, but rather that everything is done by the judgment of God. For even if a swift runner were to think that he determines his own course with his feet, he does not. Nor let the strong trust in their own strength, nor let the wise esteem riches and wealth as being gathered by prudence; nor let the eloquent and learned think that they can find favor with the people through eloquence and learning; but let them consider that everything is done by God's disposition. And unless He governs all things according to His will, and builds the house, in vain do those labor who build it. Unless He keeps the city, in vain do those watch who keep it (Psalm 127:1). And so, it is not, as they think, one event and the uncertain state of this life: because when they do not consider it, they will come to judgment when suddenly taken by death. And just as fish are caught by a hook and birds are trapped in nets, and free birds are bound by a snare while they are unaware: so too, humans will be led to eternal punishments according to their deserts, when suddenly death comes and judgment falls upon them, who believed that all things were tossed about in an uncertain state. These things, according to the interpretation that we wanted to summarize briefly, are now to be understood individually, as if they were spoken not from someone else's, but from one's own person: Go, eat your bread in joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already approved your works. For you have learned that all things come to an end in death, and there is no repentance in the realm of the dead, nor any opportunity for turning to virtue, while you are in this world, hasten, strive to repent: while you have time, work. For willingly God receives the repentant. Otherwise: And simply understanding is profitable, according to this: Whether you eat or drink or do anything, do all in the name of the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:31). And in another place: Drink wine with counsel. For true joy and good heart does not belong to one who excessively uses creatures. But it is better to think thus: Whose works have pleased God, will never lack for true bread and wine, which is tread from the vineyard of Sorek. Therefore, given this precept which says: You have desired wisdom, keep the commandments, and the Lord will minister it to you (Sirach 1:33): let us keep the commandments, and we will be able to find spiritual bread and wine. But whoever does not keep the commandments and boasts in the abundance of bread and wine, it is said to him through Isaiah: Do not say, 'I know it'; neither have you known, nor do you know, nor have I opened your ears from the beginning. For I know that you reject it (Isaiah 48:8, LXX version). Furthermore, what is said in the Septuagint: Come, eat your bread with joy; this is the voice of Ecclesiastes, who speaks in the Gospel: Whoever is thirsty, let them come to me and drink (John 7:37). And in Proverbs: Come, eat my bread and drink the wine I have mixed (Proverbs 9:5). Let your garments always be white, and let oil not be lacking on your head. And he says, have a clean body and be merciful. And so: Let there be no time in which you do not have white garments; beware lest you put on polluted clothing. For the sinful people are described to have rejoiced in dark clothing. But you must put on light and not the curse that is written over Judah: Let him be clothed with a curse, as with a garment (Ps. 109:18). Put on the bowels of mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, patience (Colossians 3). And when you have stripped off the old man with his deeds, put on the new man, who is renewed day by day. And as for what he says: And let not oil be lacking on your head: it must be understood that the nature of this oil is such that it nourishes both the light and dissolves the labour of the weary. It is a spiritual oil, oil of rejoicing, of which it is written: Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions (Ps. 45:7). Our face is to be refreshed with this oil. This is to be anointing the head of the fasting person, which sinners cannot have, to whom it is said: 'It is not right to apply salve, nor oil, nor bandages' (Isaiah 1:6). For they have a contrary oil, which the righteous man detests, saying: 'The oil of the sinner shall not anoint my head' (Psalm 104:5). This oil the heretics have, and with it they desire to pour over the heads of the deceived.

Look at the life with the woman whom you loved all the days of your vain life, which were given to you under the sun: for this is your portion in life and in the labor that you labor under the sun. Follow wisdom and the knowledge of the Scriptures, and bind yourself to it in marriage, as it is said in Proverbs: Love it, and it will keep you; embrace it, and it will surround you (Prov. IV, 8). But the days of vanity, the days of this wicked world, signify. About this the Apostle does not remain silent. But what he says: See the life with the woman whom you have loved, is ambiguously spoken, whether see and contemplate life, and your wife herself with you (for you cannot see life alone without such a wife), or consider both, and see life, and the woman in the days of your vanity. And he rightly advises that in the days of our vanity we seek true life with a wise wife. For this is our part, and this is the fruit of our labor, if in this shadowy life we are able to find true life.


Do everything that your hand finds to do, do it in your strength: for there is no work, thought, knowledge, or wisdom in the underworld where you are going. Do whatever you can now and labor, for when you descend to the underworld, there will be no opportunity for repentance. This is similar to what the Savior commands: Work while it is day, for the night is coming when no one can work (John 9:4). And when it says 'in the underworld where you are going', understand that Samuel truly believed to have been in the underworld, and before the coming of Christ, all the righteous were held by the law of the underworld. Furthermore, the Apostle testifies that the saints are not held in hell after the resurrection of the Lord, saying: It is better to be dissolved and to be with Christ (Philippians 1:23). But whoever is with Christ is certainly not held in hell.

I turned and saw under the sun that there is no swift course, nor strong battle, nor bread for the wise, nor wealth for the prudent, nor favor for the knowledgeable: because time and chance happen to them all. He who is bound with iron fetters and burdened with heavy chains of lead: For iniquity sits upon a talent of lead (Zech. 5:7): and in the Psalm it says: As a heavy burden they have been burdened upon me (Psalm 38:5): he is not fit for that course, of which it is said: I have finished the course, I have kept the faith (2 Tim. 4:7). But whoever is light and his soul is not burdened, nevertheless he himself cannot reach the end without the help of God. And even when there is a battle against contrary powers, about which it is written: Sanctify the war (Jer. VI, 4): although he may be strong, he will not be able to overcome them by his own strength. Likewise, even a perfect man among the children of men and wise cannot have living and heavenly bread, unless he is encouraged by wisdom, saying: Come, eat my breads. And because they are riches, of which the Apostle says: Be rich in good works (I Tim. VI, 18): And elsewhere: You have become rich in every word and in all knowledge (I Cor. I, 5): it must be known that a prudent man cannot gather these riches unless he receives them from the Lord, whose riches they are. About which it is also said elsewhere: The redemption of a man's soul is his own wealth (Prov. XV, 8). Moreover, grace, unless it is accompanied by knowledge and granted by God, even though a learned man will not be able to find it. This is also known by Paul: I have labored more than all of them, but not I, but the grace of God that is with me (I Cor. XV, 10). And again: His grace in me was not empty. And finally, it is not known by man when the time comes, in which various events and the end of all follow. This is according to ἀναγωγήν.

Moreover, to speak more simply, the Letter to the Romans is relevant to this place: Because it depends not on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God who shows mercy (Rom. 9:16). And what he says: Bread is not for the wise, is proven daily by the example of many who, though they are very wise, still need the essentials. And, Grace is not for the knowledgeable. For you might see in the Church even the most ignorant people flourishing, who, because they have nourished the audacity of their forehead and the agility of their tongue, while they do not consider what they say, consider themselves to be wise and learned: especially if they have the favor of the crowd, which delights and is moved more by frivolous words. And on the other hand, a learned man hides in obscurity, suffering persecutions; and not only does he not have favor among the people, but he wastes away in poverty and need. These things happen because everything is carried on in an uncertain state, and there is no retribution for merits in the present, but in the future.

And indeed, man does not know his own time, like fish that are caught in a terrible trap, like birds that are trapped in a snare: in the same way, the sons of men will fall in a bad time, when it will suddenly come upon them. Now we have already said that while men do not know, such distress or destruction will come to them. Furthermore, according to the allegory, it must be understood that the kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea (Matthew 13). And on the other hand, heretics have a net by which they catch fish for their destruction. Their net is affable speech, flattering language, feigned or forced abstinences, humble clothing, imitation of virtues. And if they begin to discuss higher things and raise their voices in the air and seek the heights of God, they set a snare in the high places. Therefore, just as fish and birds are quickly caught by such a net and by such a snare: so when iniquity has multiplied and the love of many has grown cold, and signs and wonders have been done so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect (Matthew 24): it must be understood that even Ecclesiastical men, who are called sons of men and are of little faith, can quickly fall. It should also be noted that throughout the entire book, wherever it says 'sons of men' in Latin, it has 'son of man' in Hebrew, that is, 'son of Adam'. And almost the entire Scripture is full of this expression, calling the entire human race 'sons of Adam'.

But I have seen this wisdom under the sun, and it is great in me. A small city with few men in it, and a great king came to it and surrounded it and built a great siege engine against it. And he found in it a poor and wise man, and this man saved the city by his wisdom, but no one remembered that poor man. While others say that everything is uncertain and the just have no advantage over the unjust, I have also proven wisdom in this: that it often happens that a city is small and its inhabitants few, and it is surrounded by a countless army of enemies, and the people inside are killed by siege and famine. And suddenly, contrary to everyone's expectations, a humble and poor man is found, who, because he has greater wisdom than all the rich, great, powerful, and proud people in danger, and fearing siege, thinks and investigates, and finds how to deliver the city from evil. And, oh ingratitude of mankind! After they have been set free and their captivity has been lifted, and their freedom has been restored to their homeland, no one remembers that wise poor man, no one gives thanks for their salvation. Instead, they honor the wealthy, who were unable to help in any danger. The Hebrew interpretation of this passage is different: 'A small city is a man, who is also called the microcosm among philosophers. And there are few men in it, who are the limbs that make up the man himself.' But when the great king, the devil, comes against her, and seeks a place by which he can break in, he finds within her a humble and wise, and quiet thought of the inner man, and he saves the city which was being besieged by enemies. And when a man is rescued from danger or persecution, or distress, or any adverse event or sin: that outward man, who is the enemy of that poor and wise man, does not remember the inner man, nor submits to his counsels: but again enjoys his own freedom. Otherwise: The city is small, and there are few men in it compared to the whole world. It is the Church: against which the great king, the devil, often rises up (not because he is great, but because he boasts of being great) and surrounds it with siege, either of persecution or some other kind of distress. And he finds in it a poor and wise man, the Lord Jesus Christ, who became poor for us (2 Corinthians 8:9) and is himself wisdom: and that poor man frees the city by his wisdom. How often have we seen the cunning lion sitting in ambush with the wealthy, that is to say, with the senators and princes of this age, and plotting against the Church, while the wisdom of this poor man crumbles? And when this poor man conquers and the city is restored to peace, hardly anyone remembers him, hardly anyone takes his commands into consideration. But yielding themselves entirely to luxury and pleasures, they seek riches, which do not free them in times of need.


And I said, wisdom is better than strength, and the wisdom of the poor is despised, and his words are not heard. Although no one remembers the wisdom of that poor man, when all things are happy; but everyone admires power and wealth: yet I, according to all interpretations, honor contemptible wisdom and words that no one deigns to hear.


The words of the wise are heard in silence, more than the shouting of a powerful person among fools. Whoever you see as a declaimer in the Church, and with a certain charm and elegance of words, excites applause, evokes laughter, and stirs the emotions of joy in the listeners: know that it is a sign of folly, both of the speaker and of those who hear. Indeed, the words of the wise are heard in silence and moderation: but the foolish, even if they are powerful, and have either the noise of their own voice or the acclamation of the people, will be counted among fools.


Wisdom is better than the weapons of war, and one who sins will lose much goodness. Now wisdom is also preferred over strength, and it is said to be more valuable in battles than the weapons of the fighters. But if one is foolish, even though small and insignificant, frequently through their foolishness, great wealth and riches are destroyed. And indeed, in Hebrew it can be read: And one who sins will lose much goodness, it must also be understood in this way: that because of one sin, many righteousnesses may be lost in retrospect, and virtues follow one another, and whoever possesses one, possesses them all. And whoever shall offend in one point, is become guilty of all.

(Chap. X.)

(Chapter X.) Flies pollute the oil of composition: a little foolishness is precious above wisdom and glory. An example of the previous passage is given, in which it is said that by one fool many good things can be overturned, just as a bad person mixed with good things contaminates many, just as flies, if they die in ointment, destroy both its scent and color. And because wisdom is often mixed with cunning, and prudence has malice, it advises that we seek simple wisdom, and that it be mixed with the innocence of doves: that we be wise for good things, but simple for evil things. And the sense is: It is fitting for the just to have little of simplicity, and because of excessive patience, while reserving vengeance to God, to prefer to appear foolish rather than exercise malice immediately by avenging themselves under the veil of prudence. Otherwise: The flies which are mentioned near Isaiah (Chapter 7, 18) in the region of the river of Egypt, lose the sweetness of oil, leaving in each believer the odor and traces of their filth. From these flies, the prince of demons is also called Beelzebub (Matthew 12, 24), which is interpreted as either the idol of flies, or the man of flies, or the one who has flies.


The heart of a wise person is in their right hand, and the heart of a foolish person is in their left. But on the way, when a fool walks, their heart diminishes: and they say, everyone is foolish. And in the Gospel, it is commanded that the left hand does not know what the right hand of the wise person does (Matthew VI, 3; V, 39). And when we are struck on the right cheek, we are not commanded to offer the left cheek to the one who strikes, but the other right one (Matthew V, 39). For the righteous person does not have the left hand in them, but everything in them is right. And when the Savior comes to judge, the lambs will stand on the right, but the goats will be on the left (Matt. 25:33). And in Proverbs it is written: The LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish (Prov. 4:27). Therefore, whoever is wise always thinks about the future age, which leads to the right. But whoever is foolish, thinks about the present, which is placed on the left. The same philosopher and poet followed this, saying (Virgil, Aeneid VI):

The right hand leads us beneath the walls of the great God (or great rich man) ((Alternative: stretches)). This path leads us to Elysium: but the left hand inflicts punishments on the wicked and sends them to impious Tartarus ((Alternative: leads)).

Our own Firmianus also mentions the letter Y in his excellent work of his Institutes, and he extensively discusses about the right and left, that is, about virtues and vices. And we may not consider this little sentiment to be contrary to that in which it is said: Do not turn to the right hand, nor to the left (Prov. IV, 27). For here the right hand part is understood as good: but there, not so much the right hand, as the turning of the right hand, is being accused: let us not think ourselves wiser than necessary: because virtues are in the middle, and excessive behavior is always a vice. But in the following verse, where it says: But when a fool walks along the way, his heart lacks understanding, and he says: all foolishness is, or the fool, here is the meaning: The fool, as he himself sins, hopes that everyone sins in the same way, and judges everyone according to his own nature. Finally, Symmachus interpreted it thus: But when a fool walks along the way, he himself suspects everyone, because they are fools. But the Seventy translated it to another sense, saying: All that the fool thinks is most vain.


If the spirit with power ascends above you, do not abandon your place, for health causes great sins to rest. This Scripture now signifies the prince of this world and the ruler of these darknesses, and the one working in the children of diffidence, whom the Apostle also mentions (Ephesians 2:2 and 6:12). But if it ascends into our heart and the soul receives a wound of evil thought, we should not give it any further place, but fight against the very worst thought and free ourselves from the greatest sin, so that we do not fulfill the thought in deed. For it is one thing to sin in thought, another in deed. About which great sin is written in the psalm: If they have not dominated me, then I will be blameless, and I will be cleansed from the greatest offense (Psalm 18:4). Symmachus translated the Hebrew word 'Marphe', which all others translated as 'ἴαμα', that is, health or healing, according to sense, and he said: If the spirit of the prince rushes upon you, do not leave your place: for modesty restrains great sins. That is, if the devil tempts your mind and incites you to lust, do not follow evil thoughts and enticing pleasure: but stand strong and firm, and extinguish the flame of pleasure with the coldness of chastity. The Hebrew in this place suspected something unknown. If you should receive any dignity in the world, and you are ordained greater among the people, do not leave your previous works, and do not begin to forget the virtues of old, and do not consider your previous labor as insignificant: because the remedy for sins is born from good conduct, and not from inflated and excessive dignity.

It is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as if ignorance were coming forth from the face of the powerful: to give foolishness in great heights, and for the rich to sit in lowly places. I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking like slaves on the earth. For what reason, we have set forth: As if ignorance coming forth from the face of the powerful, Aquila and Theodotio and the Seventy were interpreted: As if not voluntary, that is, as involuntary, from the face of the prince. To this Symmachus adds, saying: It is a foolish thing to be placed in great elevation: for the rich ought to sit low. And he recalls perceiving this injustice in the world, in that it seems unfair the judgment of God: and whether by ignorance, or without His will, that in the powers of the world or in the leadership of the Church, those who are rich in speech and wisdom, may also be rich in good works, yet the lowly sit, and that any ignorant person may hold authority in the Church. However, the Apostle does not remain silent about this happening from the devil, who in this world has power, so that he may suppress even the powerful and learned men and not allow them to appear among the people. But those whom he knows to be imprudent in the churches, he makes them into elders, so that the blind may be led by the blind into the pit. This is also the meaning of what follows: I saw servants riding on horses, and princes walking like servants on the earth. Those who are slaves to vices and sins, whether so humble as to be counted as slaves by men, suddenly exalted by the devil, tread the public ways. And every noble and wise person, oppressed by poverty, walks in the path and performs the duties of a servant. The Hebrew exposed God as powerful and princely, from whose face ignorance seems to depart, because people think in this inequality of things, that he does not judge them justly and as is right. Furthermore, others think that they should be joined with the higher ones, that he himself may be powerful, of whom it is said before these verses: If the spirit of the one having power has ascended upon you, do not abandon your place. Therefore, let us not be sad if we seem humble in this world, knowing that we are being lifted up from the face of the devil and fools, and the rich are being thrown down; slaves are having the insignia of the masters, and princes of the slaves are entering into lowliness. However, it should also be noted that here the horse is taken in a good sense, as it says there: And your riding is salvation.


He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who destroys a fence, a snake will bite him. The understanding is both simple and mystical. Indeed, elsewhere Solomon himself says: He who sets a trap will be caught in it (Eccli. XXVII, 29). And in the seventh psalm: He opened a pit and dug it, and fell into the hole he made. The breaking of the fence and the wall are the teachings of the Church, and the institution founded by the Apostles and Prophets, which he who dissolves and wishes to pass by, in that very act of neglect, is struck by the serpent. Concerning which serpent it is written in Amos: If it descends into the underworld, I will command the serpent, and it will bite them.

Whoever removes stones will grieve over them, and whoever splits wood will be endangered by them (Zech. IX, 16). The holy stones roll in Zachariah upon the earth. For they do not remain steadfast in that place, but they pass by and always strive for higher things, hastening to depart from here. Of these living stones, the city of the Savior is built in the Apocalypse (Ch. XXI, 18 seqq.), and the Apostle does not remain silent about the building of the Church. If therefore someone, perverted by heretical art, takes away these stones from the building of the Church (wherefore also Aquila and Symmachus expressly said: he who takes away stones, will be pained in them), afterwards he will suffer torments. But because the Scripture absolutely says: he who takes away stones, or he who transfers stones, and does not add good or bad ones; therefore, on the contrary, it must be understood that the ecclesiastical man, namely the bishop and presbyter, if according to the commandment of Leviticus (Chapter 14, 45), he takes away a stone from a leprous house, it must be crushed into ashes and dust: he will be pained in himself, because he is compelled to remove a stone from the Church of Christ, saying according to the Apostle: Rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12, 15); and, Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is scandalized, and I am not on fire? Also, by splitting wood, one will be in danger in them. Heretics are useless wood, and a forest without the usefulness of fruits. Therefore, even though he may be a wise and learned man, if he cuts down these woods with the sword of his speech, he will be in danger in them unless he pays close attention, especially if what follows happens to him: If the iron is rejected and its face is troubled, that is, if his argumentation is found to be weaker and lacking sharpness to separate opposing things: but the sharpness of his heart is dulled; it will pass over to the opposing side, and perverse strength will strengthen him. For this is what the Septuagint translators rendered: And by strength it shall be strengthened; and by excessive wisdom it shall begin to have strength, and wisdom, which is excessive, does not aid the possessor.

If iron is sharpened; and if it is not as before, but becomes dull, it will be strengthened by its virtues: and the remaining strength is wisdom. If, he says, someone realizes that they have lost knowledge of the Scriptures due to negligence, and the sharpness of their intelligence has become blunt: and if they do not remain disturbed, as they had already begun to be: it happens sometimes that when someone has a little knowledge, they become proud, cease to learn and read, and gradually, as nothing is added to them, it is taken away, and an empty heart remains devoid of teachings, and the iron that was sharp becomes dull: for idleness and laziness are like a kind of rust on wisdom. If, therefore, anyone has suffered this, let him not despair of a remedy for his health, but let him go to the doctor, and let him be instructed by him again, and after labor and industry, and excessive sweating, he will be able to regain the wisdom that he had lost. This is what is more significantly said in Hebrew: And he shall be strengthened by strengths, that is, by labor and sweating, and industry, and daily reading, he will attain wisdom, and his strength will have this end, to receive wisdom.


If a serpent bites in silence, it no longer has a tongue. The meaning here is simple: the serpent and the detractor are equal. Just as the serpent secretly inserts venom when it bites, so does the detractor, by secretly criticizing, pour out the poison of his own heart into his brother, and he has nothing more from the serpent. For when the tongue of a man is created to bless and build up his neighbor, he makes it equal to the serpent when he abuses its virtues for evil purposes. Otherwise: If someone, without anyone else knowing, is secretly bitten by the devil serpent and infected with the poison of sin; if the one who is struck keeps silent and does not repent, and does not want to confess his wound to his brother and master, the master and brother, who have the language to heal, will not be able to help him easily. For if the sick person is ashamed to confess his wound to the doctor, the medicine that the doctor does not know cannot heal it.

The words of a wise mouth are pleasing, and the lips of a fool will bring him down. If foolishness were content with its own simplicity, it would have less evil. But now it wages war against wisdom, and whatever it sees of prudence in a learned man, driven by jealousy, it does not accept. For the wise man speaks words of knowledge and words of grace, which can provide benefit to the listeners, and the ears of a fool do not receive what is said as it is said; but on the contrary, they attempt to overthrow the prudent man and tear down one like themselves. And truly a wise man falls headlong when he speaks into the ear of the imprudent, and his words perish in the depths, so to speak. Therefore blessed is he who speaks into the ear of the listener.

The beginning of his words is foolishness, and the end of his mouth is the worst error. And a fool multiplies words. A man does not know what has been done, and what will come after him, who will declare it to him? Still, there is a debate about the fool, whose lips bring down the wise, or according to another interpretation, make the fool himself fall. For the beginning of his speech is foolishness, and the end is the worst error; or as Symmachus translated, turmoil and a certain inconsistency of words; while he does not remain in the meaning, but thinks that he can escape sin in the multiplication of words. For when he does not remember the past, nor know the future, and is carried about in ignorance and darkness, promising himself false knowledge; in this he believes himself to be learned, in this he believes himself to be wise, if he multiplies words. This can also be applied to heretics, who do not understand the sayings of prudent men; but, preparing themselves for contradictory disputes, they mingle the beginning and end of speech with frivolity, noise, and error: and when they know nothing, they speak more than they know.


The toil of fools afflicts those who do not know how to go to the city. Also, join these previous verses: either generally about all fools who are ignorant of God, or specifically about heretics. Read Plato; examine the cleverness of Aristotle, look closely at Zeno and Carneades, and you will prove that what is said is true: The toil of fools afflicts them. Indeed, they searched for truth with all their efforts; but because they did not have a guide and a path, and they believed that they could comprehend wisdom with human senses, they did not reach the city at all, of which it is said in the psalm: O Lord, in your city you will disperse their image (Psalm 73:20). For the Lord will scatter all the shadows and various images and personas that they have taken on in their various doctrines. Concerning this, it is written elsewhere: The rushing of the river brings joy to the city of God (Psalm 46:5). And in the Gospel: A city set on a hill cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14). And in Isaiah: I am a strong city, a city that is under attack (Isaiah 27:30, LXX). Indeed, all the wise of the world and the heretics strive to attack this city of truth and wisdom, even though it is strong and robust. And what we said about philosophers, the same must be thought about heretics, who labor and afflict themselves in the study of the Scriptures in vain, since they wander in the desert and are unable to find the city. About their error the psalmist also speaks, saying: 'They have wandered in the desert, in a place without water; they have not found the way to the city and its habitation.' (Psalm 106:4).

Woe to you, land, whose young king and leaders devour in the morning. Blessed is the land, whose king, your son, feasts with nobles in due season, in strength and not in confusion. It seems indeed to condemn the rule of the young and to condemn the extravagant judges, that in some the wisdom of age is weak, and in others even mature age is weakened by pleasures. And on the contrary, it approves a prince of good character and a liberal education, and it proclaims judges who by no means put pleasure before the affairs of the citizens, but after much toil and the administration of the state, they are compelled to take food as if by necessity. But what seems more sacred to me is hidden in the letter, that young people are called in Scripture, who depart from the ancient authority and despise the hoary precepts of their parents: who, neglecting God's commandment, desire to establish the traditions of men. Concerning whom, in Isaiah (Chapter VIII), the Lord of Israel threatens, because he did not want the water of Siloam, which flows gently, and he turned away the ancient pool, choosing for himself the streams of Samaria and the torrents of Damascus. And I will give, saith he, their princes in youth: and their wise men shall rule over them (Isaiah 3:4). Read Daniel, and you will find the God of ancient days (Daniel 7). Read the Apocalypse of John, and you will find the head of the Savior white as snow, and his hair white as wool (Revelation 1). Also, Jeremiah, because he was wise, and his grey hairs were considered as wisdom, is forbidden to say that he is young (Jeremiah 1). Woe to the land whose king is the devil, who is always eager for new things and even rebels against his parent in Abessalon: which has judges and rulers who love the pleasures of this world, who say before the day of death comes: Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we shall die (Isaiah 22:13). Behold the blessed land of the Church, whose king is Christ the Son of the nobles: descending from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as the lineage of prophets and all the saints, to whom sin did not have dominion; and therefore they were truly free. From them was born the Virgin Mary, more free, having no root, no offspring from her side: but all her fruit blossomed, speaking in the Song of Songs: I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys. The princes also include the Apostles and all the saints, who have the king as their son, born of free women, not of the slave Hagar, but of the freedom of Sarah. They do not eat in the morning, nor quickly. For they do not seek pleasure in the present age, but they will eat in their own time when the time of retribution comes, and they will eat in strength, and not in confusion. Every good of the present age is confusion, the future is perpetual strength. This is what is said in Isaiah: Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry: and again, behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame.

In laziness, the building will be humbled, and in the weakness of our hands, the house will drip. Our house, which was built with the stature of man, and the dwelling we have in the heavens, if we are lazy and slow to good works, will be humbled. And every building that should bear the summit aloft, falling to the ground, will oppress its inhabitant. And when the help of our hands and virtues is numb, all the storms from above rush down upon us like a whirlwind of rain. Furthermore, what we have interpreted in one man can be better applied to the Church: that through the negligence of its leaders, all of its greatness collapses, and there vices may be found where virtues were thought to exist.

For they make bread and wine with laughter, so that the living may feast. And they obey silver in all things. I think that what follows depends on what has come before. For in laziness and in the negligence of the magisters, the Church is humiliated, and its highest point is brought down, and its beams are washed away, as we have explained above. Now, therefore, he speaks about these same magisters. And because it had been seen that he was accusing them, why they were silent and did not use the office of magisters, and the bishops and presbyters who were established in the Church did not labor in speech and teaching, as Titus is admonished to do (Titus 1:5), and Timothy is instructed not to neglect the grace which he had received by the laying on of hands: and also that they should value the presbyters and bishops in that they receive what is beneficial and seek double honor for those who labor in teaching and speech (1 Timothy 4:14); now, on the contrary, he accuses those who speak indeed in the Church and teach the people, but they teach those things which please the people to hear, that they may touch sinners in vice and stir up the noise of the listeners. Surely, when in the Church prayer (or speaker), and promises of blessedness, and the kingdoms of heaven to the multitude, it seems to you to make bread in laughter, and mix wine for the joy of the living? Whether it be that those who teach, acquire riches, and food, and wealth through pleasing promises: or that they make the bread of the Church, which is the bread of mourners and not of those who laugh (for blessed are those who mourn, for they themselves will laugh), in joy and rejoicing. But that which follows: everything obeys money or silver, is to be understood in two ways. Either that the doctors, once enriched by flattery, exercise dominion over the people: or certainly, because silver is always accepted in place of speech: For the words of the Lord are pure words: silver refined by fire, purified sevenfold. (Ps. II, 7): this confirms that the common people readily yield to eloquence and speech, which is composed of the foliage of words. Otherwise: Those who have a spouse with them, and therefore are prohibited from mourning and fasting, make bread with laughter. From this laughter, both Isaac received his name and they prepare the wine for those drinking in joy. Therefore, every holy man, who, as Christ commanded, is the teacher of the Church, makes bread with laughter and serves cups of wine in joy. Moreover, the money, to which all things obey, are the five talents from the Gospel, and the two, and one, which are given to the head of the household, and the ten minas, which are entrusted to the servants in business (Matt. XXV, 15. et seqq).


In your mind, do not curse the king, and in the secrecy of your bedroom, do not curse the rich, for the bird of the sky will carry the message, and with wings, it will proclaim the word. And a simple instruction builds those who listen: let us not be overcome by anger and fury, to burst into curses and slander against kings and princes, for sometimes it happens against all expectation that those to whom we have cursed are informed, and we incur the danger of immoderate speech. But when he says, 'The bird of the sky will take away the voice, and having wings will proclaim the word,' it is to be understood hyperbolically, just as we often say that even the walls, to which we speak knowingly, will not conceal what they have heard. But it is better to hear this precept in such a way that we know it is a commandment for us: not only should we speak nothing rashly against Christ, but even in the secret depths of our hearts, though we may be weighed down by various tribulations, we should think nothing blasphemous or impious. And because we show love to Christ, we also owe it to our neighbor: For you shall love the Lord your God, and your neighbor as yourself, we are also commanded, so that we may not easily detract from the saints after the king: and that we may not harm those whom we see to be enriched with wisdom, knowledge, and virtues with the sharpness of our tongues: for the angels who go around the earth and are the administrators of spirits, speak in Zechariah: We have gone around the earth, and behold all the earth is inhabited, and silent (Zechariah 1:11): like birds, let our words and thoughts be carried to heaven: and let what we secretly think not escape the knowledge of God.

(Chap. XI.)

(Chapter XI) Send your bread upon the face of the water: for in the multitude of days you will find it. He encourages almsgiving because it should be given to everyone who asks and done discreetly. For just as the one who sows Beside the waters expects the fruit of the seed to come, so the one who gives to the needy does not sow a grain of seed, but himself sows bread, expecting a certain interest to be multiplied. And when the day of judgment comes, he will receive much more than he had given (or found). Otherwise: in whomever you see that water, of which it is said: Rivers of living water will flow from his belly (John 7:38), do not hesitate to provide the bread of wisdom, the reasonable bread, the bread of discourse. For if you do this frequently, you will find that you have not sown the seed of teachings in vain. I think something similar is said in Isaiah: Blessed is he who sows upon the water, where the ox and the donkey tread (Isaiah 32:20). That teacher is considered worthy of blessedness who sows upon the receptive hearts of the listeners, gathered from both the Jewish and the Gentile people.

Give a part (Al. parts) of seven, and indeed eight: because you do not know what evil may come upon the earth. And in Ezekiel, seven and eight steps are read for the ascent to the temple (Ezek. 40:26, 31). And after that ethical psalm, that is, the one hundred and eighty-fifth, fifteen steps of the psalm are counted, by which we are first instructed in the law, and when the number seven is completed, then we ascend to the Gospel by the number eight. Therefore, it is commanded that we believe with equal veneration in both instruments, namely the old and the new. The Jews accepted seven parts, believing in the Sabbath; but they did not accept eight parts, denying the resurrection of the Lord's day. On the contrary, heretics such as Marcion and Manichaeus, and all who tear apart the old Law with rabid mouth, accept eight parts, embracing the Gospel; but they do not attribute the same number to the sevenfold, rejecting the old Law. Therefore, let us believe in both Testaments. For we cannot understand worthy torments and a worthy punishment with our minds now, which are set aside for those who dwell on the earth, both for the Jews and for the heretics, one of whom denies one of the two. The Hebrews understand this place in the following way: Observe both the Sabbath and circumcision, lest if you should perhaps not do this, an unexpected evil come upon you.

If the clouds become full, they will pour rain upon the earth. And if a tree falls to the south or to the north: where it falls, there it will be. Keep the commandments that have been given to you above, so that the clouds may pour their rain upon you. For wherever you have prepared a place for yourself and a future dwelling, whether to the south or to the north: there, when you have died, you will remain. Otherwise: Therefore, we have said above: Send your bread upon the face of the water, and give to everyone who asks of you: for when the clouds are full, they bestow their riches upon mortals, and you, like a tree, even if you are long-lived, will not be forever, but suddenly, as the winds, so overturned by the storms of death, wherever you fall, there you will constantly remain, whether the final time finds you stern and fierce, or kind and merciful. Otherwise: It is said in the Psalms to God: Your truth reaches to the clouds (Psalm 36:6). And in Isaiah, God threatens the sinner of the vineyard: I will command the clouds, so that they do not rain on it (Isaiah 5:6). Therefore, the clouds are the Prophets, and every holy man, who, when he has gathered many disciplines in his heart, then he will be able to make the precepts of teachings rain and to say: Let my speech be awaited like rain, let it pour down on the earth (Deuteronomy 32:2): to which it is said: Let the earth hear the words of my mouth. But what follows: And if a tree falls to the south or to the north: in the place where the tree falls, there it will be: let us take the example of Habakkuk, in which it is written: God will come from Teman (Hab. III, 3), which other interpreters have stated as, God will come from the south. And as far as I can tell, the south is always understood in a positive sense. Hence, in the Song of Songs it is said: Arise, O north wind (Song 4:16), that is, go away, and come, O south wind. Therefore, the wood that falls in this life and is cut by the condition of mortality either sinned before it stood and is placed in the northern part afterwards or if it brought forth worthy fruits from the south, it will lie in the southern region. There is no wood that is not either towards the north or towards the south. This same thing is also signified by that which is written in Isaiah: I will say to the north: Give up, and to the south: Do not withhold (Isaiah 43:6). For the south and east winds never drive ships to their destination, because it is necessary for them to be on other coasts, which are then led to the east and south. Therefore, the north wind brings its inhabitants to the south, and the southwest wind to the east. For they cannot make progress if they persist in their former abodes.

Whoever watches the wind will not sow, and whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. Whoever considers whom to benefit and does not grant himself to everyone who asks often passes by the one who deserves to receive (Luc. VI, 30). Otherwise: Whoever preaches the word of God only at the time when the people willingly listen and the second breath of rumor blows, is a neglectful and lazy sower. For in prosperity itself, while we are ignorant, adversity arises. But at the right time, or at the wrong time, in its own way, the word of God must be preached (2 Timothy 4:2): and the storm of adversities must not be taken into account at the time of faith. Concerning which it is said in Proverbs: Like a violent and useless rain: so those who abandon wisdom and praise wickedness (Proverbs 28:3-4). Therefore, without considering the clouds and fearing the winds, we must sow in the midst of storms. And we must not say: this time is convenient, this one is useless, since we do not know which way and which will is the spirit of the one who orders all things.


How do you not know the way of the spirit, and like the bones in the womb of a pregnant woman, you do not know the works of God, who creates all things? Just as you do not know the path of the spirit and the soul entering into the child, and you are ignorant of the varieties of bones and veins in the womb of a pregnant woman, how from a humble element the body of a man is transformed into various forms and limbs, and from the same seed, one part becomes soft in flesh, another hardens in bones, another throbs in veins, and another is bound in nerves: in the same way, you will not be able to know the works of God, who is the maker of all things. From this, it teaches that the opposite should not be feared, nor should judgment be made rashly about winds and clouds, which we have mentioned above: since the sower should proceed with his own course and path, and leave the outcome of the Lord's sentence. For it is not of the one who wills or the one who runs, but of God who shows mercy (Rom. IX, 16).

In the morning, sow your seed, and in the evening, do not let your hand rest: for you do not know whether this, or that, will please, although both, as one good, is. And it is sweet to see the light, and good for the eyes to behold the sun: for if a man shall live many years, let him rejoice in all these, and remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that comes to pass is vanity. Do not choose to whom you may do good, but even when you have done good, never cease from doing good deeds. May morning find justice, and evening gather the rising mercy of the sun. It is uncertain which work is more pleasing to God, and from which the fruit of justice is prepared for you. However, it may happen that both please God, not just one. Otherwise: Let there be equal effort for you in youth and in old age. Do not say: while I was able, I worked; I must rest in old age. For you do not know whether you please God in your youth or in old age. Frugality in youth is not profitable if old age is spent in luxury. For on whatever day the righteous man may have erred, the ancients cannot free him from death. But if you have always acted well according to both interpretations, and have followed an equal course in every age, you will see God the Father, the most sweet light; you will see Christ, the sun of righteousness. Moreover, if you live for many years and have all good things, or perform good works, and know that you will always die and before your eyes the coming of darkness always turns about: you despise present things as if they were fleeting, fragile, and perishable. Symmachus interpreted the end of this sentence as follows: If a man lives for many years and rejoices in all these things, he must remember the days of darkness: for they will be many, and in all of them it will come to an end. Another: Scripture promises in another place, God saying: I will give you both the former and the later rain (Deut. XI, 14), that is, the old Testament and the new, and with both I will water you by rain. Hence we are now admonished to read the old Law in this way, so that we do not despise the Gospel; to seek spiritual understanding in the old Instrument, so that we do not believe that the only thing that is said in the Gospel, in the Evangelists and the Apostles. For indeed it is ignorance for us in what manner knowledge is attributed to us by God and grace, and for him to be happy, who has shared both in common, and has made them as one body. He who has achieved this will see the light, will see Christ, the sun of justice. And if he lives for many years, he will be in the highest joy and delight, having knowledge of the Scriptures, and will be more compelled to this labor by the remembrance of the future judgment: because a perpetual time of darkness will come, and eternal punishments will be prepared for those who have not sown in the morning and in the evening, and have in no way shared in both: neither have they seen the light, nor the sun, from which the same light proceeds.

(Chap. XII.)

(Chapter 12) Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart be good in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes. And know this, that God will bring you to judgment above all these things. And remove anger from your heart, and take away malice from your flesh, because youth and foolishness are vanity. And remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of evil come and the years approach in which you will say: I have no pleasure in them. In this chapter, there was an explanation of various things and almost as many opinions as there are people. Because it would be tedious to list all the opinions and explain the arguments by which they wanted to support their opinions, it is enough to indicate to the wise what they thought and, as it were, to paint a brief map of the lands, showing the vastness of the whole world and the extent of the ocean in a small space.


The Hebrews consider it pertinent to the Israelite people's commandment, which instructs them to enjoy their wealth before the time of captivity arrives and to exchange their youth for old age: to indulge in whatever is pleasurable or delightful to the heart and eyes while it is available, but in such a way that they know they will be judged by everyone. They should also flee both evil thoughts and desires, aware that folly is associated with youth. They should always remember their Creator before the days of Babylonian and Roman captivity arrive, when they will not be able to have their own will. And all this place from what he says: Before the sun is darkened, and the moon, and the stars, up to that place where Scripture commemorates: And the dust will return to its earth as it was, and the spirit will return to the Lord who gave it: they explain about the state of their condition. These things, as we have said above, are disjointed and lengthy, so we will touch on them briefly and succinctly. Rejoice therefore in your youth, O Israel, and do those things which have already been mentioned before captivity comes and your honor and glory fade away, and your judges and holy ones (whom they wish to be understood as the sun, moon, and stars) are taken away. Before Nebuchadnezzar comes, or Titus, son of Vespasian, called by the prophets and their prophecies fulfilled. On the day when the angelic guardians of the temple depart, and the strongest warriors in your army are troubled, and the words of the teachers and prophets, who used to receive the light of their visions from the heavens, will grow dim: when the gates of the temple are closed, and Jerusalem is humbled, and the Chaldeans come, provoked by the voices of Jeremiah like the song of a bird (Jeremiah 9), and the daughters of song in the choir of psalmists are silenced in the temple. At that time, when they come to Jerusalem, the enemies of God themselves will fear the greatness, and on the way they will hesitate, they will fear the destruction of Sennacherib. For this is what is said: They will fear the high places and be afraid on the way (Isaiah XXXVII). In those days, the almond tree will flourish, the staff and rod that Jeremiah saw in the beginning of his prophecy, and the caper will bear fruit (Jeremiah I), the friendship of God with Israel. What the caper desires for itself, however, will be more fully explained when we begin to speak of individual things. But all of this will happen to Israel: because man is about to depart to his eternal home, and to return from God's protection to the heavenly places. As he departs to his tent, they will go about in the street weeping and lamenting, and being surrounded by the siege of enemies. Therefore, rejoice, Israel, in your youth, before the silver cord is broken, that is, before your glory departs from you, before the golden ribbon is unraveled, that is, before the ark of the covenant is taken away: before the water jar is shattered at the spring, and the wheel is rolled upon the pool, that is, before you transgress the holy commandments of the law and the grace of the Holy Spirit departs, and before you return to Babylon, from where you came out of Abraham's loins, and you begin to be oppressed in Mesopotamia, from where you once set out: and may all the grace of prophecy, with which you were once inspired, return to its giver. The Jews still argue about this today, and they apply their own understanding to the meaning of this chapter.

But we, returning to the order of the previous discussion, will strive to explain each point. Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart be cheerful in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes. And know this above all: God will bring you to judgment. It has been said that the light of this world is very sweet, and that man should rejoice in the days of his life and pursue pleasure with all his might. For the eternal night of death will soon come, when we will no longer be able to enjoy the things we have gathered and, like a shadow, everything we have experienced will pass away. Now therefore he encourages the man, and says: O young man, before old age and death approach you, rejoice in your youth, and take whatever seems good to your heart, and enjoy it as you please, with the things of the world. Again, lest it be thought that in saying this he is inciting man to luxury and falling into the doctrine of Epicurus, he removes this suspicion, adding: And know, that for all these things God will bring you to judgment. So, he said, abuse the things of the world, so that you know that you will be judged in the end. And remove anger from your heart, and take away malice from your body: because youth and foolishness are vanity. In anger, all disturbances of the mind are included. In the malice of the body, all the pleasures of the flesh are indicated. So therefore, he said, enjoy the goods of this world, so that you do not sin either by desire or by the flesh. Leave behind the old vices, with which you served vanity and foolishness in your youth: because youth is joined to foolishness. And remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, 'I find no pleasure in them'— before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain; when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim; when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when people rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint; when people are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire no longer is stirred. Then people go to their eternal home and mourners go about the streets. Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 'Meaningless! Meaningless!' says the Teacher. 'Everything is meaningless!'

Before the sun, and light, and moon, and stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain. If we understand this in the context of the general consummation of the world, this chapter is consistent with the words of the Lord, in which he says: 'There will be tribulation and distress, such as has not been from the beginning of the creation, but will never be. For the sun will grow dark, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken' (Matth. XXIV), referring to the guardians of the house, so that the house may be understood as this world, and strong men, deceived by error, and the opposing strengths will be destroyed. But if the perfection of each individual is referred to the end of this life: both the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the clouds, and the rain will cease for him who is dead. Otherwise: Rejoice, young man, O Christian people, and enjoy the good things that have been granted to you by God, and in all these things know that you will be judged by the Lord. And do not think that because the previous branches were broken off, and you have been grafted into the root of the good olive tree, that you are therefore secure: but remove from your heart and body pleasures and other vices, remembering your Creator, before the day of evil comes upon you, and the incurable, in which punishments are prepared for sinners: lest when you sin, the sun of justice at midday kills you, and the light of knowledge perishes, and the brightness of the moon, that is, the Church, is taken away, and the stars fall, of which it is written: In which you shine as luminaries in the world having the rule of life (Philippians 2:15). And elsewhere: one star differs from another star in glory. Before the clouds return after the rain (III Cor. XV, 1), [so that] the Prophets, who water the hearts of believers with their words and their rains, may not return to their seat once they have perceived that you are unworthy of their rain: to Him, namely, from whom they were sent.

On the day when the guardians of the house are moved, and the men of valor perish. The guardians of the house can be understood as either the sun and moon, and the rest of the chorus of stars, or as the Angels who preside over this world. But the men of valor, whether interpreted as the strong men who will perish according to Symmachus, or as the demons who will wander according to Aquila, are also felt, having derived the name of the strong ones themselves from the strong devil. The Lord overcomes and binds him, as the parable of the Gospel says, and lays waste to his house (Luke 11). Otherwise: The guardians of the house, who refer everything that is written back to the body of man, believe that the ribs are meant, because the intestines are enclosed by them, and the entirety of the soft stomach is preserved. But they consider strong men to be the legs: they connect the sun, the moon, and the stars to the eyes, ears, nostrils, and all the senses of the head. However, they do this because they are compelled by necessity to understand not about angels and demons, the sun, the moon, and the stars, but about the body parts of man that follow.


And the grinding will cease: for they are diminished: and they that look out of the windows are darkened. And in the consummation of the world, when the charity of many shall grow cold, and the souls of the masters, who can provide celestial food to the believers, shall be diminished and translated into heaven, then those who have partially looked upon the light of knowledge in this world shall be enveloped in darkness. For if it is said to Moses, 'I will put thee in a hole of the rock, and I will cover thee with my hand until I pass.' (Exod. XXXIII, 22): how much more does each soul see the truth through a hole and some dark caves! Alternatively: There are two grinding mills, of which one will be taken and the other left, the Gospel does not remain silent (Matthew 24:41). When these are diminished and have stopped, it is necessary that all the light of knowledge be taken away from the eyes. Alternatively: They think that the saying about milling teeth refers to the mills stopping because they have been diminished. When extreme old age has arrived, teeth also either wear down or fall out: with these ground up, the food is sent into the stomach. But as they grow darker, they believe they see through holes: because in those worn by age the eye grows dim, and the sight is obscure.

And they will close the gates in the street in the humility of the grinding voice: and the voice of the bird will rise; and all the daughters of song will be silenced. When the voice of the grinder is weakened, and the teaching of the masters ceases, consequently all things will cease: among which, the gates will be closed in the street, so that, like the foolish virgins of the Gospel (Matthew 25), each one may have their street doors closed, and they will not be able to buy oil. Certainly, foolish virgins wandering in the street close the chamber of the bridegroom when they enter with him. For if the way that leads to life is narrow and confined, and the way that leads to death is broad and spacious (Matthew VII), then rightly, with the cooled charity of many, the door of teachings is closed in the streets. In the following verse, in that which he says: 'And he will rise at the voice of the bird, or the sparrow, let us use in time, if and when we see a sinner rising at the voice of the bishop or the priest through penance.' Moreover, we can also understand this extraordinarily, although we do not follow the context of the chapter, and accept it concerning the final resurrection when the dead will rise at the voice of the archangel. It is not surprising if we compare the trumpet of angels to a sparrow, since every voice compared to Christ is weak. And as far as I can recall, I have never known a sparrow to be read in a negative sense of the law. The righteous man speaks in the tenth psalm: In the Lord I trust; how do you say to my soul, 'Fly away to the mountain like a sparrow.' And elsewhere: I have watched, and have become as a solitary sparrow on the housetop (Psalm 101:8). Also, in another place: Even the sparrow has found a home for herself (Psalm 83:4). In another way: Closed doors in the streets want to receive the steps of the weak old man: that he may always sit and not be able to walk. Moreover, the humility of the grinding voice is interpreted from the jaws, because it cannot chew food and its voice is barely heard with constricted breath. Furthermore, he gets up at the sound of a bird, because, with the blood already freezing and the moisture drying up, which are the substances that nourish sleep, he awakens at the slightest noise, and in the middle of the night, when the rooster crows, he quickly gets up: unable to turn his limbs on the bed any more. He also becomes mute, or as it is better expressed in Hebrew, he becomes deaf to daughters of song, meaning that the hearing of the elderly becomes heavier, and they are unable to distinguish between voices, nor to take pleasure in songs. Indeed, this is what Berzellai says to David, not wanting to cross the Jordan.

But even those from on high will fear and be afraid on the way. That is, they will not be able to enter the difficult path, and with weary knees and trembling step, even on a level road, they will fear stumbling.

And the almond tree shall blossom, and the locust shall fatten, and the caper plant shall be dispersed: for man shall go to his everlasting home, and they shall go around the streets weeping. By metaphor, even now, the sermon is about the limbs of man. When old age comes, the hair turns gray, the feet swell, desire cools, and man is dissolved by death. Then he shall return to his own land and to the house of his everlasting tomb: with proper funeral rites, let a crowd of mourners precede the funeral procession. However, the flower of the almond, which we have placed for the dogs, is interpreted by some as a sacred thorn, because as the flesh of the nuts diminishes, the thorn grows and blossoms. Furthermore, when it says 'the locust will fatten up', it should be understood that in our codices it is written 'locust', which is an ambiguous word for them. It can be translated as either 'anklebone' or 'locust'. So how, in the beginning of Jeremiah, does the word 'Soced' mean both 'nut' and 'vigils' when the accent is changed? And it is said to him: Jeremiah, what do you see? And He answered: A nutcracker. And the Lord said to him: You have seen well: for I will watch over my word to perform it (Jerem. I, 11), or that one: and it has the etymology of a nut, that God will watch and repay the people what they deserve (Als. it is owed), and this is the occasion of the word. So now the ambiguity of the word through its etymology indicates swollen legs of the old and burdened with gout humors. Not that this happens to all old men, but that it often occurs, συνεκδοχικῶς on one side, may be called the whole. In that place where we have it, it is called capparis in Hebrew (): which itself is also ambiguous, and is interpreted as love, desire, or longing, or capparis. And as we have said above, it signifies that the libido of old men diminishes and the organs of intercourse are weakened. This is because these words, when pronounced in their own terms, and almond, and locust, and capparis, have different meanings, and they are derived figuratively to refer to the senses that are fitting for an old man. It should also be known that where the Seventy Interpreters now placed the almond, the word itself is Soced, which is in the beginning of Jeremiah; but there it is turned into a hazelnut, here into an almond. Symmachus, sensing something different in this place, interpreted it much differently. For he says: 'Upon these things also they shall see from on high, and there shall be terror in the way, and the vigilant shall fall asleep, and the spirit of strength shall be dissolved. For a man shall go into the house of his eternity, and they shall go around in the street mourning.' Following the interpretation of Laodicea, it is neither pleasing to the Jews nor to the Christians: as it is far from the Hebrews, and it rejects following the Septuagint translators.

Before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. He concludes the sentence begun with the grand parenthesis (which he had inserted after the words: And remember your Creator in the days of your youth: before the days of trouble come and the years draw near when you will say, \"I have no pleasure in them\"), with a similar ending, saying: Before the silver cord is snapped, or this or that happens. But the silver cord, this white life, and the breath that is given to us from heaven, it shows. The returning of the golden thread also signifies the soul that returns to where it came from. Furthermore, the two remaining things that follow, the breaking of the water jar above the fountain, and the breaking of the wheel above the lake, are mysteries of death by metaphor. For just as a water jar that is broken ceases to draw water, and a wheel by which water is lifted from a lake and wells, if it is broken: or as the Seventy Interpreters ((Others)) wished, if it is rolled up in its cord, the use of water is interrupted: so also when the silver cord is interrupted, and the stream of the soul returns to the source, the human being will perish. And as it follows more clearly: Dust will return to its own earth from which it was taken: and the spirit will return to the Lord who gave it. From this it is clear how ridiculous it is to think that souls are produced together with bodies and not by God, but by the parents of the bodies. For when the flesh returns to the earth and the spirit returns to God, who gave it, it is evident that God is the parent of souls, not humans. After describing the mortality of human beings, beautifully repeating the opening of his book, he says: Vanity of vanities, says Ecclesiastes, all is vanity. For when all the labor of mortals, which has been discussed throughout the entire volume, comes to this point, that they return as dust to their own earth, and their soul returns to the place from which it was taken, it is of great vanity to toil in this world and acquire nothing profitable.

And furthermore, because the wise Ecclesiastes became: he taught knowledge to the people, and caused them to hear: and searching, he composed proverbs. Ecclesiastes sought much, in order to find the words of the will, and to correctly write the words of truth. The wisdom which Solomon surpassed all the human race with, now also in the end of his small work he professes that he was not content with the institution of the old Law: but he plunged himself into deep questions, and composed proverbs and parables to teach the people, promising one thing in the core and another on the surface. Indeed, we learn in the Gospels (Matthew 13 and 15) that proverbs do not always mean what is written. The Lord spoke to the people in parables and proverbs, but he explained them privately to the Apostles. Therefore, it is evident that the Book of Proverbs contains not straightforward instructions as some may think, but rather hidden teachings that need to be diligently sought out, like gold in the earth, a kernel in a nut, or a hidden fruit in the prickly coverings of chestnuts. In them, the divine meaning must be searched deeply. Moreover, he added that he wanted to understand the causes and nature of things, as well as the arrangement and wisdom of God: why each thing was made, or how it was made. He desired to know this so that, after the dissolution of body and soul, he hoped to see the return to heaven, saying: I will see the heavens, the work of your fingers (Psalm 8:4). This is what Solomon endeavored to find in the present, to comprehend with the human mind, enclosed in the barrier of the body, the truth known only to God.


The words of the wise, like goads, and as if nails driven deep, are given by one shepherd to those who gather. Lest it seem that after the law of God a presumptuous teacher should suddenly burst forth and claim for himself the doctrine which Moses, not so much of his own accord as moved by the wrath of God, first undertook, and then was inspired by Him: he declares that his words are the words of the wise, which correct transgressors in the likeness of goads, and stir up the sluggish steps of mortals with the sharp sting. And so they are firm, as if nails driven deep into a solid surface, not to be presented by the authority of one, but by the counsel and consent of all the masters. And in order that human wisdom might not be despised, He said that it was bestowed by one Shepherd; that is, although many teach, yet the author of teaching is the Lord alone. This passage is directed against those who consider one God of the Old Testament and another of the Gospel, because one Shepherd has instructed the council of the wise. But both Prophets and Apostles are wise. It should also be noted that the words of the wise are said to sting, not to fondle, nor to touch lasciviously with a gentle hand, but to inflict pain and wounds upon those who are straying and, as we said above, are slow in repentance. Therefore, if someone's speech does not sting, but gives pleasure to the listeners, that is not the speech of a wise person. The words of the wise are like goads. Since they provoke the sinner to conversion, they are both strong and given by the counsel of the saints, and granted by one shepherd, and founded on a solid root. With this goad, not yet Paul, but still Saul, I believe he heard on the way the rebuke of error: 'It is hard for you to kick against the goad' (Acts 9:5).


And, my son, beware of being absorbed in these things. Making many books is not an end in itself, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Besides these words which have been given by one shepherd and approved by the counsel and consensus of the wise, do nothing, claim nothing for yourself. Follow in the footsteps of the ancients and do not deviate from their authority. Otherwise, as you search through many things, an infinite number of books will confront you, pulling you into error and making you labor in vain. It certainly teaches that we should strive for brevity and focus more on the meaning rather than the words, against the philosophers and the learned men of this age, who try to assert the falsity of their doctrines through the vanity and multiplication of words. On the contrary, divine Scripture is contained within a concise circle, and the more it expands in meaning, the more it contracts in speech. For God has made the perfect and concise word on earth, and His word is near in our mouth and in our heart (Romans 10:8; Deuteronomy 30:14). Otherwise: Frequent reading and daily meditation tend to be more work for the soul than for the body. For just as whatever is done by hand and body is completed by the labor of the hand and body, so what pertains to reading is more the labor of the mind. From which it seems to me that things pertaining to the multitude of books should be understood differently than most people assume. It is customary with the Scriptures, even though there are many books, if they do not disagree among themselves and are written on the same subject, to call them one volume. Indeed, both the Gospel and the Law of the Lord, which converts souls (Psalm 18:8), are singularly called so, even though there are many Gospels and many commandments of the law. Thus, the volume sealed in the Book of Isaiah is all divine Scripture (Isaiah 29), and in one chapter of the books, Ezekiel and John partake (Ezekiel 8; Revelation 10). The Savior, also prophesied by the voices of all the saints who came before, says: In the book it is written about me (Psalm 39:9). Therefore, according to this understanding, I believe the command now is to not let more books be written. For whatever you say, if it is referred to Him who was in the beginning with God, and God the Word (Joan. I, 2), it is one volume: and countless books are called one Law, one Gospel. But if you argue about different and conflicting things, and with excessive curiosity you bring your mind here and there, even in one book, there are many books. Where it is said: From much talking you will not escape sin (Prov. X, 19). Therefore, in such books there is no end. For every good thing, and truth, has a certain end; but malice and falsehood are without end. And the more they are sought, the greater their series becomes. Concerning this matter, it is the study and meditation that is the labor of the flesh. Of the flesh, I say, not of the spirit. For indeed, the spirit also has its labor, according to what the Apostle says: But by the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace in me hath not been void. But I have labored more abundantly than all they: yet not I, but the grace of God with me (I Cor. XV, 10). And the Savior: I have toiled, crying out (Psalm 68:4).

The end of the discourse of the word is very easy to hear: Fear God and keep His commandments. This is the duty of every man, because God will bring every deed into judgment, whether it is good or evil. The Hebrews say that among the other writings of Solomon, which have become old and have not remained in memory, this book seemed to be worthy of being forgotten, because it asserts the vanity of God's creatures and considers everything to be nothing, and it prefers passing food, drink, and worldly pleasures to everything. From this one chapter, it earned authority to be included in the number of divine volumes, as he condensed his entire argument and catalog into this recapitulation, and declared that the end of his discourse is very easy to hear and does not contain anything difficult in itself, namely that we should fear God and keep His commandments. For indeed, man was created ad hoc so that, understanding his creator, he might worship him with fear, honor, and the work of his commandments. For when the time of judgment comes, whatever has been done by us will stand before the judge and await a long-awaited sentence, and each one will receive according to his own work, whether he has done something evil or good. But for what we have set forth: Symmachus and the Seventy translated it as 'concerning every hidden thing, whether it be good or evil,' or certainly 'concerning every despised thing,' or at least 'concerning every unknown thing,' which we will also give an account of on the day of judgment, even of idle words and actions not done out of volition but out of ignorance. On the other hand: Because the fear of slaves is, and perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18), and in divine Scripture both for beginners and for the perfect, fear is called twofold: I think now that fear is said of the one who is perfected in virtues, according to this: Those who fear him lack nothing (Psalm 34:10). Or certainly, because he is still a man and has not yet received the name of God, he has this reason for his existence, that being placed in a body, he may fear God. Because every deed, that is, all men, God will bring to judgment over all things, which were arranged and spoken by him differently, whether in this way or that. Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil (Isaiah 5:20).