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.