Chapter I.
The words of Ecclesiastes etc. This entire book is divided into three parts: into the title or proem and the treatise, which begins there: Vanity of vanities etc.; and the epilogue, which begins there: And since Ecclesiastes was most wise.
In the title the efficient cause is made manifest, in the treatise the material and formal causes, in the epilogue the final cause.
On the title.
(Vers. 1.). In the title, t herefore, the author is made manifest with respect to wisdom, with respect to goodness, and with respect to royal power.
By reason of wisdom he says: The words of Ecclesiastes, supply: what follows are the words of Ecclesiastes; because Ecclesiastes means preacher, and one cannot be a preacher unless he is wise, because it is said in Proverbs twenty-six: "As if a thorn should grow in the hand of a drunkard, so unfitting is a parable in the mouth of fools"; whence Proverbs seventeen: "Eloquent words do not befit a fool."
With respect to goodness it is made manifest when it says: Son of David. For David was holy, and sons by imitation are holy; whence in Scripture it is a name of kindness and gentleness: Matthew fifteen: (Have mercy on me, Son of David."
With respect to royal power, when it says: King of Jerusalem, because Jerusalem was the most noble city and the capital of the whole kingdom, below: I, Ecclesiastes, was king of Israel in Jerusalem, because there he chiefly dwelt.
QUESTIONS.
I. Here a question arises: since Solomon composed three books, why is it that he prefixes a title to the book of Proverbs and to this one, in which his name is expressed, but does not prefix one in the Song of Songs?
I respond: it must be said that in the book of Proverbs Solomon himself is introduced speaking as a wise man to a disciple, whence he calls his hearer son: similarly here he is introduced as a man who has experienced various things; but in the Song of Songs it is the bride and bridegroom who speak. Lest
therefore it should seem that they were the words of Solomon to his wife,
but rather they are of Christ to the Church,
he does not prefix his name there. But here, because he was for the most part speaking in his own person, and in the book of Proverbs, therefore he prefixes a title in which his name is specified and disclosed.
II. Likewise it is asked why in the book of Proverbs he says parables, but here he says words.
If you say that there he speaks parabolically and figuratively, but here openly: then I ask, why here and there he employs a different manner of proceeding.
I respond: it must be said that there is a certain mode of speaking that is proper and open, and another that is parabolic: and this latter is twofold: one through parables and open similitudes, another through hidden and profound ones. Since therefore Solomon in the book of Proverbs speaks to the little ones and the unlearned, he therefore speaks parabolically and openly: but since in Ecclesiastes he speaks to those who are advancing, therefore openly and properly: but in the Song of Songs, since he speaks to the perfect, whose food is solid food, therefore parabolically and hiddenly.
III. The question is: why in the title of Proverbs does he call himself by his own name, but here he calls himself Ecclesiastes ?
I respond: it must be said that, as Jerome says, Solomon had three names, which indeed suited him according to the threefold scripture which he produced. For he was called Solomon, called Ecclesiastes, and Jedidiah. Solomon, the peaceful one, because he possessed the entire kingdom in peace: whence he also handed down the teaching of proverbs to all. Ecclesiastes, the preacher, because he speaks in the persons of various people. Jedidiah means the same as beloved of the Lord.
Therefore he calls himself Ecclesiastes, because in this book he brings forward the opinions of various persons and accordingly persuades in diverse ways. He was called Jedidiah in the title of the Psalm Eructavit, which is about him according to the literal sense.
IV. Likewise it is asked: why here does he call himself son of David and king of Jerusalem, but in Proverbs he calls himself king of Israel?
I respond: one reason is taken from the side of the author, because, according to what the Hebrews believe, this book was written by Solomon when he was doing penance and humbling himself. And therefore in Proverbs he does not name himself from another,
but rather manifests the power of his entire kingdom: here however he humbles himself: therefore, naming himself from another, he indicates not the whole power but a part, and therefore etc.
Another reason was from the side of the work, because in Proverbs he leads to the knowledge of things to be done, but here to the contempt of present things. And because very many are those who wish more to be wise than to despise present things: therefore there he calls himself king of Israel, but here king of Jerusalem, because despisers of the world are citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, who do not have here an abiding city, but seek the future one.
V. And from this the solution to that question which can be raised is clear: why here he does not express the end, as in Proverbs. Because the end of Proverbs is wisdom, which attracts one to listen: the end of this book is contempt of the world, about which few wish to hear.