Ecclesiastes 5

Since the vanity of fault is deadly and pestilential, therefore here the remedy against that vanity is treated. And because a threefold vanity preceded, namely of malice, avarice, and imprudence, therefore here he sets forth three remedies. And first he gives the remedy against malice; second, against avarice, at the passage: "The covetous man shall not be satisfied"; third, against imprudence, at the passage: "What more has he" etc. But since the disease of malice is in itself irremediable and can further corrupt others, therefore the remedy is set forth here not against malice, but against the corruption of malice or the evil that follows in others from the sight of another's malice.

From this there arises a threefold disorder, namely: in deed, through the disobedience of transgression; in speech, through the foolishness of utterance; in the heart, through erroneous thought. Into all of which the incautious observer of another's malice rushes headlong. For when someone considers the wicked unpunished, he believes there is no providence: behold, erroneous thought; and through this he freely speaks foolish things, because he believes there is no one to reprove; and further he transgresses the commandments, because he does not believe there is one who punishes.

First, therefore, he gives the remedy against disobedience; second, against foolish speech, at the passage: "Do not rashly speak anything" etc.; third, against erroneous thought, at the passage: "If you see the oppressions of the poor" etc.

In the remedy against disobedience, an exhortation is introduced, and the reason for the exhortation is subjoined. He exhorts to diligent guarding of the feet, lest one transgress the divine commandments; therefore he says: "Guard your foot, lest perhaps it turn aside from the right way": Hebrews 12: "Make straight steps with your feet, that no one limping may go astray." "Entering the house of God," that is, into the Church, or into the service of God, into which a man ought to enter with fear; whence in the Psalm: "I will enter into your house, and I will worship toward your holy temple in your fear." Thus he ought to keep his foot from disobedience and have it ready for obedience; on account of which he says: "And draw near, that you may hear," that is, obey: "draw near," because Deuteronomy 33: "Those who draw near to his feet shall receive of his teaching"; "hear," by obeying: Jeremiah 17: "Hear the word of the Lord, all you who enter through these gates. Thus says the Lord: guard your souls."

And there is subjoined the reason for the exhortation: "For obedience is much better than the sacrifices of fools, who do not know what evil they do," who do not recognize their transgressions nor care to obey. Gregory: "Obedience is better than sacrifices, because in obedience one's own will is slain, in sacrifice the flesh of another." Improper is the comparison, because obedience is good, and therefore pleasing; whence Lamentations 3: "It is good for a man when he has borne the yoke from his youth"; but the sacrifices of fools displease: Proverbs 15: "The sacrifices of the wicked are abominable to the Lord"; whence Saul was rebuked, because out of love of offering he transgressed the divine command: 1 Kings 15: "Does the Lord desire holocausts or sacrifices, and not rather that he be obeyed? For obedience is better than sacrifices, and to hearken rather than to offer the fat of rams."

Moreover, it is a good thing to use the tongue sparingly, and to keep a calm and rightly balanced heart in the exercise of speech. For it is not right to give utterance in words to things that are foolish and absurd, or to all that occur to the mind; but we ought to know and reflect, that though we are far separated from heaven, we speak in the hearing of God, and that it is good for us to speak without offense. For as dreams and visions of many kinds attend manifold cares of mind, so also silly talking is conjoined with folly. Moreover, see to it, that a promise made with a vow be made good in fact. This, too, is proper to fools, that they are unreliable. But be true to your word, knowing that it is ranch better for you not to vow or promise to do anything, than to vow and then fail of performance. And you ought by all means to avoid the flood of base words, seeing that God will hear them. For the man who makes such things his study gets no more benefit by them than to see his doings brought to nought by God. For as the multitude of dreams is vain, so also the multitude of words. But the fear of God is man's salvation, though it is rarely found. Wherefore you ought not to wonder though you see the poor oppressed, and the judges misinterpreting the law. But you ought to avoid the appearance of surpassing those who are in power. For even should this prove to be the case, yet, from the terrible ills that shall befall you, wickedness of itself will not deliver you. But even as property acquired by violence is a most hurtful as well as impious possession, so the man who lusts after money never finds satisfaction for his passion, nor good-will from his neighbours, even though he may have amassed the greatest possible wealth. For this also is vanity. But goodness greatly rejoices those who hold by it, and makes them strong, imparting to them the capacity of seeing through all things. And it is a great matter also not to be engrossed by such anxieties: for the poor man, even should he be a slave, and unable to fill his belly plentifully, enjoys at least the kind refreshment of sleep; but the lust of riches is attended by sleepless nights and anxieties of mind. And what could there be then more absurd, than with much anxiety and trouble to amass wealth, and keep it with jealous care, if all the while one is but maintaining the occasion of countless evils to himself? And this wealth, besides, must needs perish some time or other, and be lost, whether he who has acquired it has children or not;Job 20:20 and the man himself, however unwillingly, is doomed to die, and return to earth in the selfsame condition in which it was his lot once to come into being.Job 1:21; 1 Timothy 6:7 And the fact that he is destined thus to leave earth with empty hands, will make the evil all the sorer to him, as he fails to consider that an end is appointed for his life similar to its beginning, and that he toils to no profit, and labours rather for the wind, as it were, than for the advancement of his own real interest, wasting his whole life in most unholy lusts and irrational passions, and withal in troubles and pains. And, to speak shortly, his days are darkness to such a man, and his life is sorrow. Yet this is in itself good, and by no means to be despised. For it is the gift of God, that a man should be able to reap with gladness of mind the fruits of his labours, receiving thus possessions bestowed by God, and not acquired by force. For neither is such a than afflicted with troubles, nor is he for the most part the slave of evil thoughts; but he measures out his life by good deeds, being of good heart in all things, and rejoicing in the gift of God.

"Be not rash with your mouth, and let not your heart be hasty to utter a word before God; for God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. For a dream comes from much concern, and foolish talk from many words." Several men think that this teaches here that we should not promise something too quickly in the presence of God, and without due consideration of our strengths we vow things, which we cannot then fulfil. God though is present in heaven, but we seem to be on earth, yet he hears what we say and accuses that our foolishness comes from our love of speech. But some men understand this better, affirming that this teaches that, either speaking or thinking more about God than we are able, we hold to our opinions; but we know our stupidity, since, as much as the heavens differ from the earth, so our thoughts are separated from His character. And therefore our words ought to be checked. Just as he that is much in thought frequently dreams about those things about which he thinks during the day; thus he, who wanted to teach more from divinity, falls into foolishness. Or indeed it could mean this: our words ought to be few therefore, since even those things, which we think we know, we see through a mirror and in mystery, and as we understand a dream, which we think we can grasp. Although we have done many things, as it appears to us, the end of our argument is foolishness. For we do not escape sin by too much speaking [Cfr Prov. 10, 19.].

Second, a remedy is given against foolish speech, which occurs in a threefold manner.

"Do not rashly speak anything." Here he gives a remedy against foolish or disordered speech. Now speech is disordered either because it is inconsiderate; or because it is false, and this he prohibits there: "If you have vowed anything," etc.; or because it is erroneous, and this he prohibits there: "Do not give your mouth, so as to cause to sin," etc.

Regarding inconsiderate speech, he prohibits rashness and adds the reason and provides confirmation by example.

He therefore prohibits rashness; whence he says: "Do not rashly speak anything," that is, inconsiderately; Sirach 9: "He who is rash in his speech will be hateful"; and again Sirach 28: "Make a balance for your words and a bridle for your mouth." And because a man who is hasty cannot deliberate, therefore he adds: "Nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word," indeed one ought to deliberate at length; whence Proverbs 29: "Have you seen a man hasty in his speech? Folly is to be expected rather than his correction." Whence there ought to be a distance between mouth and heart; against which Sirach 21: "In the mouth of fools is their heart." Whence it is said in James 1: "Let every man be swift to hear and slow to speak"; and Seneca: "I want you to be slow of speech."

And the reason is added, namely the divine judgment, which sees all things; therefore he says: "For God is in heaven," supply: seeing all things; whence in the Psalm: "The Lord looked from heaven upon the earth"; "and you are upon earth," placed in plain sight before Him, so you do not escape His notice; Sirach 23: "The eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun, looking round about all the ways of men." "Therefore let your words be few," because namely you speak before God, because He Himself will demand an account of all things; Matthew 12: "Of every idle word that men shall have spoken, they shall render an account thereof on the day of judgment."

"We do not know how to pray as we ought." He is not so much talking [about prayer] at this point as issuing a command not to theologize thoughtlessly. Indeed, anyone who belongs to this material world and whose thoughts have their origin in this world cannot speak about God without error—or on other matters that elude the senses. That is why he says, "And let your words be few," that is, they should be true and well chosen. I think also that "few" means the same as in the following texts: "Better a little with righteousness than an abundance of riches with sinners." And, "Better is the receiving of a little with righteousness." But to those who do not observe this, he says, "For as a dream comes when there are many cares, so is the fool's voice with many words." …He also talks about "the voice of a fool," coming up with false words and beguiling the soul. This is "the voice of the slanderer and reviler." He is also able to apply this to the voice of the fool who "by a multitude of words you will not escape sin."

Listen to the Preacher exhorting not to be hasty to utter anything before God, "for God," (says he), "is in heaven above, and you upon earth beneath."He shows, I think, by the relation of these elements to each other, or rather by their distance, how far the divine nature is above the speculations of human reason. For that nature which transcends all intelligence is as high above earthly calculation as the stars are above the touch of our fingers, or rather, many times more than that. Knowing, then, how widely the divine nature differs from our own, let us quietly remain within our proper limits. For it is both safer and more reverent to believe the majesty of God to be greater than we can understand, than, after circumscribing his glory by our misconceptions, to suppose there is nothing beyond our conception of it.

[It might be that] a person dedicates himself rashly, without comprehending what is esoteric of the wisdom of God and of the Word who is "in the beginning with God" and who is himself God. And … it is by means of the Word and God and by means of the wisdom with him that one must examine and discover these things. [Then] it must happen that he, by falling into myths and nonsense and fictions, submits himself to the danger that surrounds impiety. For that reason one must remember also the commandment from Solomon in Ecclesiastes concerning such things, which says, "Do not hasten to express a word before the face of God. For God is in the heaven above, and you are on the earth below. Therefore let your words be few."

The passage in Ecclesiastes "Be not in haste to utter speech before God, because God is in heaven above and you on earth below" is intended to show the gap which separates those who are in the "body of humiliation" from him who is with the angels exalted by the help of the Word and from the holy powers with Christ himself. For it is not unreasonable that he should be strictly "at the Father's throne," allegorically called heaven, while his church, termed earth, is a footstool at his feet.

Truly, if a person guards his mouth and acquires humility, the angels will be his friends here below; his soul will be a perfume poured out; the angels will carry his remembrance before God day and night, whether he is a monk or a secular. Besides, many persons in the world are watchful on this point. As for me, I know many who have acquired a great humility and have watched themselves not to speak evil of anyone. On the contrary, they underestimate themselves constantly and praise the others, saying, "It is within the power of God that we should find a little place in heaven."

And it can scarcely be that he who speaks much does not displease God. Whence he makes this clear by example and similitude, saying: "Dreams follow many cares," and therefore it is foolish to attend to them; Sirach 34: "Dreams have led many astray." "And in many words folly is found"; Sirach 20: "He who uses many words injures his own soul"; and Proverbs 10: "In much speaking sin will not be lacking"; but on the contrary, below in chapter 10: "The fool multiplies words."

"When you make a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for He has no liking for fools; what you vow, pay. Better that you not vow at all, than that you vow and not pay. "A simple man does not need understanding by interpretation. It is better not to promise than not to keep promises, since they displease God and are numbered among fools, who do not fulfil their vows. But since he says, "There is no will in fools" underneath we hear "of God", like the word of the apostle, who says, "and just as there was no will, that I should now come to you" [I Cor. 16, 12.]. For even if we want to say something more inquiring, it is taught to a Christian, that he should fulfil his faith by work, and not be like the Jews, who pledge and say, "we will do all that God commands" [Ex. 24, 3.], and yet worship idols. And afterwards they beat those slaves and cast stones at them, and immediately killed the very son of the father of their house. It is better therefore to hold a doubtful opinion for a while, which is easy to say in words, but difficult to put into practice. For the slave, who knows the will of his God and will not do it will be defeated by many.

The second mode of taking the name of God in vain is through breaking of a vow made. And here there is likewise a threefold degree. The first is through irrational delay, as when I promise to go to Saint James by an oath and do not assign myself a fixed term, and thus always procrastinate. In the second way, breaking of a vow occurs through a contrary will, as when someone promises something to God and afterward repents of it. In the third way, breaking of a vow occurs through apostatic rebellion, as when a man apostatizes from religious life. The first of these modes is evil, the second worse, the third worst, because it is said: "An apostate man is a worthless man;" on account of which it is said in Ecclesiastes: "If you have vowed anything to God, do not delay to pay it; for an unfaithful and foolish promise displeases God."

"If you have vowed anything," etc. Here secondly he prohibits false speech, by which namely that is promised which is not fulfilled.

He therefore exhorts one to fulfill what has been promised: whence he says: "If you have vowed anything to God," that is, you have promised by a vow: "do not delay to render it:" whence in the Psalm: "Vow, and render to the Lord your God, all you who round about him bring gifts"; and the Gloss says: "To vow is voluntary, but to render is necessary," because otherwise a man is false in his promise; whence he adds: "For an unfaithful and foolish promise displeases God: unfaithful," in which there is no truth: "foolish," in which there is no judgment, because a foolish promise is not to be kept: whence Isidore says: "In evil promises, break faith; in a base vow, change your decree." Therefore he adds that truth is to be kept in a promise, when he says: "But whatever you have vowed, render it," without wavering; Leviticus twenty-seven: "A clean animal that can be sacrificed, if anyone has vowed it, shall be holy and cannot be changed, neither for better nor for worse."

Here a question arises concerning what he says: "Whatever you have vowed, pay it:" whether one who has vowed indiscreetly is bound, supposing that he intends to obligate himself: because, if not, then he gains an advantage from his own indiscretion. Likewise, one is bound to practice truth: but he who does not do what he promised does not practice truth, indeed he lies: therefore such a person is bound to do what he vowed. Likewise, Jephthah vowed indiscreetly and fulfilled it, and he is commended by the Apostle in Hebrews 11: therefore we ought to pay and fulfill indiscreet vows.

On the contrary: What is indiscreet to say is indiscreet to do: if therefore he who vows thus, by the very fact that he says it, is indiscreet, if he does it he is much more indiscreet and sins more greatly: therefore by omitting it he does well. Likewise, a preceding evil does not excuse a following one: therefore if someone vowed something foolish and does it, he is no less blameworthy than if he did it without a vow: nor is the vow less blameworthy than if he did not fulfill it. Likewise, Isidore says: "In evil promises break faith, in a shameful vow change your resolve."

I respond: it must be said that one is not bound: indeed, if he does it, he adds sin upon sin: whence Jephthah too, by fulfilling his vow, sinned more than if he had not fulfilled it; because in vowing he was foolish and in fulfilling he was impious, as Augustine says. To the objection that he is commended: it must be said that he is commended neither for his vow nor for the fulfillment of his vow, because the Apostle commends there faith, and commends the faith of Jephthah, namely that he believed he would triumph over his enemies by the Lord's help. To the objection that it brings advantage: I say that this is false; because immediately in the vow itself he sins and is worthy of punishment. To the objection concerning truth, it must be said that truth lays judgment beneath itself: because therefore he vowed without judgment, he cannot fulfill it with truth: and for this reason there cannot be truth in such a vow, and therefore there is no obligation.

It is also asked whether one can commute a vow. That one cannot seems to be shown by that passage in the last chapter of Leviticus: "It cannot be changed, neither for worse nor for better." But that one can seems to be shown: because it is permitted to make the Lord's portion better: therefore, even if it is not permitted to change for the worse, it is nevertheless permitted to change for the better.

I respond: it must be said that there is changing a vow entirely for the worse, and there is changing it for the better in a way that includes the original, as when one who vowed to enter a less perfect religious order enters a more perfect one that encloses the former within it. There is also changing it for the better in a way that does not include the original, as changing a pilgrimage to Rome into a journey overseas. The first is in no way permitted, but is prohibited: the second is permitted of itself: the third is permitted, but not without the authority of a superior. For because I am obligated to the Lord, I cannot change it except at his discretion: and because he does not speak to me except through his minister, who holds his place, I cannot change it without the authority of a superior, unless the Lord himself most certainly inspires it interiorly. And thus that passage is clear.

Before we consider this modern view in its relation to chastity, we must not forget to consider it in relation to another virtue, namely justice. Justice, as I said before, includes the keeping of promises. Now everyone who has been married in a church has made a public, solemn promise to stick to his (or her) partner till death. The duty of keeping that promise has no special connection with sexual morality: it is in the same position as any other promise. If, as modern people are always telling us, the sexual impulse is just like all our other impulses, then it ought to be treated like all our other impulses; and as their indulgence is controlled by our promises, so should its be.

To this someone may reply that he regarded the promise made in church as a mere formality and never intended to keep it. Whom, then, was he trying to deceive when he made it? God? That was really very unwise. Himself? That was not very much wiser. The bride, or bridegroom, or the 'in-laws'? That was treacherous. More often, I think, the couple (or one of them) hoped to deceive the public. They wanted the respectability that is attached to marriage without intending to pay the price: that is, they were impostors, they cheated. If they are still contented cheats, I have nothing to say to them: who would urge the high and hard duty of chastity on people who have not yet wished to be merely honest? If they have now come to their senses and want to be honest, their promise, already made, constrains them. And this, you will see, comes under the heading of justice, not that of chastity.

If people do not believe in permanent marriage, it is perhaps better that they should live together unmarried than that they should make vows they do not mean to keep. It is true that by living together without marriage they will be guilty (in Christian eyes) of fornication. But one fault is not mended by adding another: unchastity is not improved by adding perjury.

It does a person no good to say that he possesses faith if he neglects to fulfill in deed what he promises in word. As the Scriptures say, "If you have vowed anything to God, defer not to pay it. For an unfaithful and foolish promise displeases him. It is much better not to vow than after a vow not to perform the things promised." In order that we may understand these facts clearly from our relations with our servants, let someone tell me whether it is enough for him if his servant says all day that he is his lord and ceases not to commend him with praises but refuses to do what has been commanded. Therefore, if words without deeds do not please us, how much more can faith without works fail to benefit us in the sight of God? Above all, we must fear lest someone believes so strongly that he will receive God's mercy that he does not dread his justice. If a person does this, he has no faith. Likewise, if he dreads God's justice so much that he despairs of his mercy, there is no faith. Since God is not only merciful but also just, let us believe in both. Let us not despair of his mercy because we fear his justice or love his mercy so much that we disregard his justice. Therefore we should neither hope wrongly nor despair wickedly.

The idea, or at any rate the ideal, of the thing called a vow is fairly obvious. It is to combine the fixity that goes with finality with the self-respect that only goes with freedom. The man is a slave who is his own master, and a king who is his own ancestor. For all kinds of social purposes he has the calculable orbit of the man in the caste or the servile state; but in the story of his own soul he is still pursuing, at great peril, his own adventure. As seen by his neighbours, he is as safe as if immured in a fortress; but as seen by himself he may be for ever careering through the sky or crashing towards the earth in a flying-ship. What is socially humdrum is produced by what is individually heroic; and a city is made not merely of citizens but knight-errants.

This will be fulfilled in this way by each one of us. We pray when we renounce this world and promise that being dead to all worldly actions and the life of this world we will serve the Lord with full purpose of heart. We pray when we promise that despising secular honors and scorning earthly riches we will cling to the Lord in all sorrow of heart and humility of spirit. We pray when we promise that we will always maintain the most perfect purity of body and steadfast patience, or when we vow that we will utterly remove from our heart the roots of anger or sorrow that bring about death. And if weakened by sloth and returning to our former sins we fail to do this, we shall be guilty as regards our prayers and vows, and these words will apply to us: "It is better not to vow than to vow and not to pay," which can be rendered in accordance with the Greek: "It is better for you not to pray than to pray and not to pay."

Concerning virginity we have received no commandment; but we leave it to the power of those that are willing, as a vow: exhorting them so far in this matter that they do not promise anything rashly; since Solomon says, "It is better not to vow, than to vow and not pay." [Ecclesiastes 5:5] Let such a virgin, therefore, be holy in body and soul, as the temple of God, [1 Corinthians 7:34] as the house of Christ, as the habitation of the Holy Spirit. For she that vows ought to do such works as are suitable to her vow; and to show that her vow is real, and made on account of leisure for piety, not to cast a reproach on marriage. Let her not be a wanderer abroad, nor one that rambles about unseasonably; not double-minded, but grave, continent, sober, pure, avoiding the conversation of many, and especially of those that are of ill reputation.

Otherwise it would have been better not to vow: therefore he says: "And it is much better not to vow," that is, it is less evil, because without fault: "than after a vow not to render what was promised:" Second Peter two: "It would have been better for them not to have known the way of truth than after knowing it to turn back"; because Luke nine: "No one putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God."

"Let not your mouth bring guilt on your flesh, and do not tell the messenger that it was an error. Why should God be angered by your speech and destroy the work of your hands? "What the Hebrew means is that if you are not able to do these things, do not promise to do them. For the words do not transgress to the spirit but are carried at once to the Lord by the angel present, who sticks to one man only as a companion. You who think to disregard God, since you have promised, you will anger Him, with the result that all your work will be destroyed. But in that place where he says: "to bring guilt upon your flesh" and he understood this, though not caring diligently, as if he had said "let not your mouth cause you not to sin." But there seems to me however another meaning, which is argued by those, who complain about the strength of the flesh and say they are compelled by the necessity of the body to do those things that they don't want to do, according to the apostle: "for I do not do what I want, but what I do not wish" and so on. [Rom. 7, 15.] And so he says, 'don't seek vain excuses and give occasion to your flesh to sin'. Then in that place where he says "and do not tell the angel that it was a madness" Aquila takes the Hebrew word "segaga" to mean ignorance, and translates it with the Greek word "akousion", that is, not of ones will. For if you say this, he says, you provoke God, as if to say He is like the creator of evil and sin, and anger Him, so that if you seem to have anything good, He will take it from your possession. Or indeed he translates such things with the meaning of reproof, so that you do those things, which are not appropriate.

For as unbounded glory hereafter is promised to those who faithfully serve God and cleave to him according to the rule of this system, so the severest penalties are in store for those who have carried it out carelessly and coldly and have failed to show to him fruits of holiness corresponding to what they professed or what they were believed by people to be. For "it is better," as Scripture says, "that one should not vow rather than to vow and not pay"; and "Cursed is he that does the work of the Lord carelessly."

Concerning virginity we have received no commandment, but we leave it to the power of those that are willing, as a vow. [We exhort] them so far in this matter that they do not promise anything rashly, since Solomon says, "It is better not to vow than to vow and not pay." Let such a virgin, therefore, be holy in body and soul, as the temple of God, as the house of Christ, as the habitation of the Holy Spirit. For she that vows ought to do such works as are suitable to her vow, and to show that her vow is real, and made on account of leisure for piety, not to cast a reproach on marriage. Let her not be one who wanders idly around, or one that rambles about unseasonably; not double-minded, but grave, continent, sober, pure, avoiding the conversation of many, and especially of those that are of ill reputation.

"Do not give your mouth" etc. Here thirdly he prohibits erroneous speech: and he dissuades from error of speech, and then adds the reason, and afterward reveals the root of the error.

He dissuades from error of speech, saying: "Do not give your mouth to cause your flesh to sin," that is, do not speak erroneous speech by which you may be cast headlong into sins. And he specifies what kind of speech he means, adding: "Neither say before the Angel: There is no providence," that is, do not say it, neither in secret nor in hidden places, because in hidden places the Angels hear, who are appointed for guardianship; whence below in chapter ten: "Do not detract from the king in your thought, and in the secret of your bedchamber do not curse the rich, for the birds of the sky will carry your voice." And the reason for the exhortation is added: "Lest perhaps the Lord, being angry, destroy your works," that is, render them useless: "angry," not through a disturbance of the soul, but through a rigid punishment of fault. So he was angry over the words of Rabshakeh and destroyed all the works of the kings of the Assyrians through an Angel by night: Isaiah thirty-seven: "If only the Lord your God would hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of the Assyrians sent to blaspheme the living God"; Proverbs twenty: "A wise king scatters the wicked" etc.

It is also asked concerning what he says: "Do not say before the Angel: There is no providence." On the contrary: it seems that there is no providence. First, because providence gives due order to things; but this order does not exist in the world, below in the tenth chapter: "I saw servants on horses and princes walking upon the earth like servants." Likewise second: because providence gives due recompense, but this does not exist in the world, below in the ninth chapter: "The same things happen to all." Likewise third: because it gives due duration; but this simply does not exist in the world, below in the seventh chapter: "The impious man lives a long time in his impiety."

But that it is necessary to posit providence is shown: Because it belongs to the wise man to provide for his household; therefore much more so to the supremely wise. Likewise, it belongs to the wise artisan not only to make but also to preserve; thus God preserves and governs; but he is wise, and the wise man governs everything that he governs through providence; therefore, etc. Likewise, because God is supremely wise, he cannot fail to see our evils; therefore, since he is supremely just, he cannot fail to punish evils and reward good things; therefore there is recompense for all things, and therefore also providence.

Likewise it is asked who sins more: whether he who denies providence, or he who criticizes divine providence. It seems that he who denies sins more, because he who believes that providence exists, by the very fact that he believes, does well; therefore he has something of good; but he who simply denies has nothing; therefore he is more blameworthy. On the contrary: Jerome says that he who posits providence and accuses God sins more than he who simply denies providence.

I respond to the first point that providence exists. To what is objected concerning due order, the response is that order is twofold, namely particular and universal: something can be deprived of particular order, but not of universal order, as Boethius says. Universal order embraces all things; whence he who falls from the order of nature falls into the order of punishment; just as Augustine's example is of the cloud, in which there is a whirlwind and a turning that is disordered in itself, but ordered toward the breaking of the earth; so the wicked rule over the good for the exercise of the good and the punishment of the wicked. Similarly concerning recompense it must be said that in the present life good things come to the wicked in a just manner, so that they may be rewarded here and eternally tormented in the future; and evil things come to the good, so that they may be purified here and eternally rewarded. To what is objected concerning life, it must be said that the wicked live long for the aforesaid reason, but the good die; because it is said of Enoch that "he was taken away, lest wickedness should change his understanding." Since therefore the divine judgments are hidden in the present life for the testing of men, and since the simple and unlearned do not perceive hidden things, it seems that all things are disordered; and therefore Ecclesiastes teaches us to look to him under whom all things are ordered.

To what is asked, who sins more greatly: I respond that it must be said that to deny providence can be twofold: in one way, because we believe God to be ignorant, or because we believe that He does not care about the deeds of mortals. Likewise, to accuse is also twofold: either because He does not care, or because He perverts. In both ways, to accuse providence is worse, because one not only errs but indeed reviles and blasphemes God; and thus one sins more greatly absolutely speaking, and knowledge there does not excuse but rather aggravates.

"In spite of all dreams, futility and idle chatter, rather: Fear God! "The Hebrews explain this passage in great detail, and in the following way: and you should not do the things detailed above, about which he has already spoken, lest you believe too readily in dreams. For when you see different things, your mind will be troubled by many fears throughout your night's rest, or aroused by promises, you despise those things that are dream-like. You should only fear God. For he, who believes in dreams, gives himself over to vanities and nonsense. Another meaning of this passage is, since I have said and admonished, "you should not let your mouth bring guilt on your flesh", and to seek this or that excuse; I introduce this now, since in the dream of that life, and in the appearance, shade, cloud in which we live, we are able to find many things, which seem true to life to us and excuse our sins. Therefore I advise that you beware that alone, lest you think God is absent, but fear Him, and know He is present in all your toil, and do not force yourself to be hidden in free will, but want whatever it is that you do.

And the origin of this speech is added: because it does not arise from right reason, but from the illusion of dreams; on account of which he says: "Where there are many dreams, there are very many vanities," because a dream is vanity: Isaiah twenty-nine: "The hungry man dreams and eats, and afterwards, when he has awakened, his soul is empty." "And innumerable words," which follow upon dreams, because nothing certain can be known from them: because Ecclesiasticus thirty-four: "Divination of error and lying auguries and dreams of evildoers are vanity." And therefore one should not be concerned with such things, but with God: whence he adds: "But you, fear God," because he alone is the one who can destroy and save us, not dreams, not auguries: Luke twelve: "I will show you whom you should fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has the power to cast into hell."

"If you see oppression of the poor, and the suppression of justice and right of the State, do not be astonished at the fact, for there is One higher than the high Who watches and there are high ones above them. The advantage of land is supreme; even a king is indebted to the soil." Christ's garment, woven on top, was not able to be torn by those who crucified him; and the Saviour threw him from that demon, and advised him to go away having put on the clothes of the apostles. So we believe that the clothes of our Ecclesiastes are not to be torn, nor should we sew on here and there patches in place of our free-will of opinion, but use the one text itself in dispute, and follow the same meaning and arrangement all the way through. Above this he had said: "do not tell the messenger that it was a madness, lest God become angry over your speech", and regarding the remaining things, he had spoken against those, who do not know that providence rules over human affairs. Since therefore the question arises many times about the precept, why the righteous sustain disaster, and why the unjust become judges over all the world, but God is not vengeful: now he introduces and finishes this argument, saying, 'if you see the calamity of a pauper, who is said to be blessed in the Gospel, and the situation is assessed according to his strength and not in justice, do not be astonished or let anything seem new to you. God, who is highest above the high, sees these things, He that placed His angels above the judges and kings of the earth, to prevent injustice and they are more important on earth, than any of man's potentates. But since he will be the Saviour at the end of the judges, and in the end of the world when the cornfield will be ripe, and the harvesters will come, he will be ordered that the wheat be separated and the darnel thrown on the fire. Therefore he now awaits and differs in opinion, although the field of the world is cultivated carefully more fully. But since that field is interpreted as the world, the Lord expounds about them in the parable of darnel and wheat. [Cfr Matth. 13, 24-30.]

Third, a remedy is given against erroneous thinking.

"If you see the oppressions," etc. Here thirdly he draws back from erroneous thinking, namely so that from seeing the malice of men one should not believe that providence is lacking: whence he says: "If you see the oppressions of the needy:" above in chapter four: "I saw the oppressions that are carried on under the sun, and the tears of the innocent." "And violent judgments," which he saw, above in chapter three: "I saw under the sun, in the place of judgment, wickedness." "And justice overturned in the province:" which he had similarly seen above in chapter three: "I saw in the place of justice, iniquity." From this consideration, I say, one should not wonder, as though there were no one who governs nor who corrects: whence he says: "Do not wonder at this matter," as though there were no one who governs, because there is one orderer of all things: whence he adds: "Because one higher than the high watches over, and there are others yet more eminent above these:" whence in Matthew eight the centurion said: "I am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to this one: Go, and he goes."

"And moreover the king of all the earth commands one who serves him:" although therefore they do not serve one another and are not ordered through themselves, they are nevertheless ordered by God, who knows how to use evils well: in Genesis forty-one it is signified: "I am Pharaoh; without your command no one shall move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." Whence it is said in Revelation nineteen: "He had written on his garment and on his thigh: King of kings and Lord of lords." And he himself perverts nothing: whence it is said in Deuteronomy ten: "The Lord our God, he is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the Lord great, mighty, and terrible, who does not accept persons nor gifts: he executes judgment for the orphan and the widow"; and therefore, if he commands, justice is not perverted.

Regarding the literal interpretation: No one is lord, owner and ruler over a field that lies fallow where thorns and thistles grow; but the field that is well tilled has a king. Thereby the owner is called a king.…When the defenders of the teaching that God's providence rules over everything argue that there is providence, they generally say, Like a weave clearly shows that there is a weaver—whether or not he is seen—in the same way he who sees a well tilled field gets the impression that it has someone who leads and rules over it.… When you, therefore, see a soul that is well tilled, that sows with tears and is ready to reap with shouts of joy, then this tilled field has a king, the Logos, who leads, rules and reigns.

"A lover of money will never be satisfied with money; a lover of abundance has no wheat. This too, is futility! As goods increase, so do those who consume them; what advantage, then, has the owner except what hi eyes see?" Wherever we read 'silver', according to the ambiguity of the Greek term, it can be translated as 'money', since each has the meaning of the Greek "argurion. "More precisely Tullius is said to have called these men 'pecuniary', who have many small savings, that is wealth in cattle. [(because the Latin for cattle is pecus)] For they were called this in antiquity. But little by little the word devolved into the one used here through misuse. Therefore he is described as greedy because he is never sated by wealth, and the more he has, the more he desires. Horace also agrees with this sentiment, who says, "always the miser is wanting" [Horat. Epist. I. 2, 56.], and too the noble historian, since "avarice is diminished neither by possessions, nor by lack of them" [Sallust Catil. 11, 3.]. Nothing therefore, says Ecclesiastes can aid a man who possesses riches, unless only this: that he sees what he possesses. For the greater his wealth, the more he will have a larger number of servants, who use up his amassed wealth. But if he will only see what he has, he will be able to take more than the food of one man.

"The covetous man shall not be filled with money." Above he set forth the remedy against the vanity of malice; here he adds secondly the remedy against the vanity of avarice. Now the remedy against avarice is contempt of earthly goods; therefore here he urges contempt of riches. And he does this indeed by a threefold reason: for first he shows that riches are not to be desired, because they do not enrich their possessors; second, because they are not frequently transmitted to posterity, at the passage: "There is another grievous evil"; third, because they frequently devolve to strangers, at the passage: "There is also another evil which I have seen under the sun," etc.

First, riches are to be despised because they do not enrich their possessors, and this for a threefold reason. First, therefore, he detests avarice, because the riches that are desired neither help nor enrich their possessors, because they do not suffice; second, because they do not profit; third, because they afflict.

Riches are therefore to be detested and spurned, because they do not suffice for the covetous man, and this is what the covetous man first desires, namely sufficiency. Therefore he says: "The covetous man shall not be filled with money:" Sirach 14: "The eye of the covetous man is insatiable." Whence Jerome: "The miser lacks both what he has and what he does not have"; and Seneca: "If you wish to make yourself rich, you must not add to your money but subtract from your desire."

Here secondly he dissuades from the love of riches, because they do not profit. Therefore he says: "And he who loves riches shall not reap fruit from them," and thus they do not profit: Sirach 10: "There is nothing more wicked than to love money. For such a one has his soul for sale"; and thus riches profit the miser nothing, because he gives his soul for money: whence Matthew 16: "What does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, yet suffer the loss of his own soul"? as if to say: nothing. And from this he infers the vanity of loving them: "And this therefore is vanity," both of fault and of punishment: concerning the first, the Psalm: "Sons of men, how long will you be heavy of heart" etc.; concerning the second, the Psalm: "Their days were consumed in vanity" etc. The Psalm: "Behold the man who did not make God his helper, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and prevailed in his vanity."

The world with its things is vain, because it does not provide fullness to the one who possesses it: whence it is said in Ecclesiastes 5: The covetous man shall not be satisfied with money. And the reason for this is that all worldly things are vain, and vain things do not satisfy: whence it is said in Ecclesiasticus 34: Vain hope and falsehood to the senseless man, as one who grasps at a shadow and pursues the wind: so is he who attends to lying visions: whence just as the wind does not satisfy the stomach, nor does a shadow fill it, so neither do temporal things, which are the shadow of eternal things, for which the soul was created.

Vain also, because the world does not yield fruit to the one who loves it: whence it is said in Ecclesiastes 5: He who loves riches shall not reap fruit from them: and this therefore is vanity. He reaps no fruit, but rather loss, because by gaining the world he loses God and loses himself: and according to what is said in Matthew 16: What does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, yet suffer the loss of his own soul?

If, he says, you see among people those on the one hand who are oppressed and those on the other who do wrong in judgment, and still others who practice justice, do not be amazed that this occurs as if there were no divine foresight. Rather, know that God guards everything through Christ and that he also exercises his provision over everything through his holy angels, who excel in their knowledge of earthly events. God is the ruler of the world that he created, and he allots suffering to those who prefer greed and the vanity of this life to knowledge of Christ. But to those who live their lives in goodness, conduct themselves with courage and serve justly, he grants the knowledge of God and a peaceful rest. He grants this whether their knowledge was small or great here, for "we know in part and we prophesy in part." But in the end, he will receive these, while those who were filled with wickedness will find no rest from the worm produced by their evil.

When they are intent on increasing money, let them hear what is written: "The covetous man is not filled with money, and he that loves riches shall not reap fruit thereof." For indeed he would reap fruit of them, were he minded, not loving them, to disperse them well. But whoever in his affection for them retains them shall surely leave them behind here without fruit. When they burn to be filled at once with all manner of wealth, let them hear what is written: "He that makes haste to be rich shall not be innocent." For certainly he who goes about to increase wealth is negligent in avoiding sin; and, being caught after the manner of birds, while looking greedily at the bait of earthly things, he is not aware in what a noose of sin he is being strangled.

And he shows that riches profit the possessor nothing: because they are consumed, and the master has nothing more than the servant: therefore he says: "Where there are great riches, many also are those who consume them:" thus all things are consumed. Whence Seneca: "Wolves follow corpses, flies follow honey: that crowd follows the prey, not the man"; Job 39: "Its young ones lap up blood, and wherever there is a carcass, it is immediately present"; because, according to what is said in Proverbs 19, "many honor the person of the powerful and are friends of the one who gives gifts." "And what does it profit the possessor, except that he beholds his riches with his eyes?" as if to say: nothing more for himself than for others, because any one of the others eats as much as he alone: and thus he has no fruit above others, but rather loss, because he has more sin; whence Sirach 11: "If you are rich, you will not be free from sin. If you pursue it, you will not overtake it" etc.

But a question is raised concerning what he says, that riches do not profit the possessor. For below in chapter seven: "Wisdom is more useful with riches, and it profits more those who see the sun." Likewise, Proverbs thirteen: "The redemption of a man's soul is his riches:" therefore they avail for redeeming the soul.

On the contrary: Everything which it is simply better to relinquish than to retain is simply useless, because if the absence of something is useful, its presence is harmful: therefore if relinquishing riches is good, retaining them is useless. Likewise, all usefulness is measured according to its ordering toward the ultimate end: therefore what furnishes an impediment to arriving at the end is not useful but useless; but riches are of this kind, because it is impossible for one who loves riches to enter heaven, and it is difficult to have them and not love them: therefore the possession of riches impedes: therefore they do not profit but hinder.

I respond to this that, as Bernard says, "these temporal things are of themselves neither good nor evil, whose use is good, abuse evil, anxiety over them worse, and the pursuit of gain from them most base." If therefore it is asked whether riches are useful or useless, I say that to one using them well they are useful, but to one hoarding them they are useless, and to one using them badly they are harmful; whence it is said below in the same book: "Riches kept to the hurt of their owner;" but to one using them well they avail, namely when he distributes them in works of piety.

For thus they avail for the redemption of guilt: Daniel four: "Redeem your sins with almsgiving." They avail for the increase of grace: First Timothy four: "Exercise yourself unto piety," etc. They avail for the attainment of glory: Luke sixteen: "Make for yourselves friends from the mammon of iniquity, so that when you fail, they may receive you into eternal tabernacles."

To the objection that they are useless because it is good to relinquish them: it must be said that to relinquish is to give to God, and this is to use riches well; whence they are useful for relinquishing, for giving to the poor, for purchasing the kingdom. To the objection that it is difficult to have and not to love: I respond that from this it does not follow that they impede, because every virtue concerns what is difficult, and yet virtue does not impede but assists. Nevertheless, the more useful and safer practice is to relinquish everything at once rather than to give little by little, on account of avoiding the dangers that arise.

"Sweet is the sleep of the labourer, whether he eats little or much; the satiety of the rich does not let him sleep." So far the discourse has treated of riches and greed, and it is compared to a man who works and one who sleeps without worry, or eats little or a great deal. Because he eats any food obtained from the toil of work and from his sweat, he enjoys peaceful sleep. For a rich man indeed is busy with banquets and lacerated by many thoughts, is not able to sleep, and abounds in hangovers and uncooked food boils in the intestines of his stomach. More precisely, since it is called sleep, and is a common exit from life, that rest will be better for him, who is busy at present and reserves his strength for good work, than the riches of those men, about whom it is written: "woe to you, O rich, for you have received your consolation". [Luc. 6, 24.]

Ecclesiastes sees that riches are kept for ill by one who possesses them, for their loss causes a very great anxiety and disquiet. Indeed they are lost, for they are left here and can be of no advantage to one who is dead. And so, the dead man felt anxiety in regard to them and could not find rest; he left what would bring him shame and did not take with himself what he could keep. He was far different from him of whom it is written, "Blessed is the man that has filled his desire with them; he shall not be confounded when he speaks to his enemies in the gate." His inheritance is the Lord, his reward is from the offspring of the Virgin Mary, and he is extolled with praises in the going forth of wisdom.

Wherefore Ecclesiastes says, "There is a grievous illness which I have seen under the sun: riches kept to the hurt of the owner." … If you are desirous of treasure, take the invisible and the intangible which is to be found in the heavens on high, not that which is in the deepest veins of the earth. Be poor in spirit and you will be rich, no matter what your worldly goods are. "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions," but in his virtue and in his faith. This richness will enrich you if you are rich in your relations to God.

Here thirdly he shows that riches are to be spurned, because they afflict and do not permit a man to rest: whence they take away the sleep of quiet. Therefore he says: "Sweet is the sleep of the worker, whether he eats little or much." And thus the worker and laborer sometimes rests: Sirach 31: "The sleep of health is in a frugal man: he will sleep until morning, and his soul will delight in him." But on the contrary concerning the rich man: he does not rest: whence he adds: "But the fullness of the rich man does not permit him to sleep." Or, because he has many riches, he has many cares, which take away sleep: Job 15: "The sound of terror is always in his ears, and when there is peace, he suspects treachery"; whence above in chapter two: "All his days are full of labors and sorrows, nor does his mind rest through the night." Or also, because he eats and drinks much and does not labor, therefore he does not rest: whence Sirach 31: "Sleeplessness and bile and gripping pains are for the intemperate man," and thus on account of surfeit he does not rest.

Of what use is wealth that belongs to someone? He is obviously lord over his wealth. The wealth somebody owns is his amenity and he himself is lord over his wealth. As he himself can use wealth well by being lord over it and not its slave, so also wealth can become lord over him who owns it. Woe to that person. That is the case if he is greedy and becomes a slave of mammon.

People use their children as an excuse for gathering riches. At times they do injustice, rob and do similar things, saying: "I'm doing this for my children." … I have seen a person who struggled to become rich, but his riches were of no use. He did not enjoy them himself, nor did his son receive them, but he remained poor and in the same state as he had entered the world. After all, he was not born with money or with clothes.…Only the soul's goods can be taken away into heaven.… If he has done good with his money, if he has a good reputation and honor, and if he has tried to help the weak, then he takes with him something of what he has labored for, namely, that he has done good.

An abundance of evil can be revealed in wealth. But this type of evil should be viewed as more of a weakness. Therefore, everyone who guards his wealth for himself does not know the wisdom of God, nor is his heart inclined to insight, nor to instructing his children. He has neither received the words of God's commandments nor has he hidden them in his heart.

"There is a sickening evil that I have seen under the sun; riches hoarded by their owner to his misfortune, and he loses those riches in some bad venture. If he begets a son, he has nothing in hand. As he had come from his mother's womb, naked will he return, as he had come; he can salvage nothing from his labour to take with him. This too, is a sickening evil: Exactly as he came he must depart, and what did he gain in exchange for toiling for the wind? Indeed, all his life he eats in darkness; he is greatly grieved, and has illness and anger." Take what follows as linked to what is written above: while Ecclesiastes describes wealth, even he is not able to enjoy his riches and on many occasions endangers himself on account of them. Nor to his heir does he leave what he has amassed; but even he and his son, just as they came nude, will return nude to the earth and nothing of their toil will accompany them. Surely apathy is the worst, to be tortured by thought on account of riches, and wealth will perish. And are we able to take it with us when we die, in sadness, in mourning, in indignation, in laws or to seek it in vain toil? And all this is according to the apparent simple meaning of the text. But as we are lifted higher, it seems to me that it speaks about the philosophers, or the heretics, who amass riches of doctrines into their wickedness, and nor are authors able to follow any usefulness, nor leave perpetual fruit for their followers. But even they and their disciples return to the earth and lose their riches, from him who said, "I will lose the wisdom of the wise men, and I will reprove the prudence of the careful." [I Cor. 1, 19.] Truly in fact, just as they left their mother's womb, (apparently as from a heretical church), contrary to this about which it is written: "but Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of all." [Gal. 4, 26.] Thus they go nude to become a spirit, and work for nothing. Those who examine, lack examination, and they are carried on every wind of doctrine, nor do they have the light, but eat their sacraments in the darkness. They are always ill, and are easily moved to anger, storing up anger for themselves for the day of anger, and they do not have the favour of God.

The same thing happens as every one may perceive with regard to sleep. For not a soft couch, or a bedstead overlaid with silver, or the quietness that exists throughout the house, or anything else of this kind are so generally likely to make sleep sweet and pleasant, as labor and fatigue, and the need of sleep, and drowsiness when one lies down. And to this particular the experience of facts, nay, before actual experience, the assertion of the Scriptures bears witness. For Solomon, who had passed his life in luxury, when he wished to make this matter evident, said, "The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much." Why does he add, "whether he eat little or much"? Both these things usually bring sleeplessness, namely, indigence and excess of food; the one drying up the body, stiffening the eyelids and not suffering them to be closed; the other straitening and oppressing the breath and inducing many pains. But at the same time so powerful a persuasive is labor, that though both these things should befall them, servants are able to sleep. For since throughout the whole day, they are running about everywhere, ministering to their masters, being knocked about and hard pressed, and having but little time to take breath, they receive a sufficient recompense for their toils and labors in the pleasure of sleeping. And thus it has happened through the goodness of God toward humanity, that these pleasures are not to be purchased with gold and silver but with labor, with hard toil, with necessity, and every kind of discipline. Not so the rich. On the contrary, while lying on their beds, they are frequently without sleep through the whole night; and though they devise many schemes, they do not obtain such pleasure. But the poor person, when released from his daily labors, having his limbs completely tired, falls almost before he can lie down into a slumber that is sound, and sweet, and genuine, enjoying this reward, which is not a small one, of his fair day's toils. Since therefore the poor person sleeps, and drinks, and eats with more pleasure than the rich person, what further value is left to riches, now deprived of the one advantage they seemed to have over poverty?

Second, riches are to be despised because they are frequently not transmitted to posterity.

"There is also another infirmity," etc. Above he showed that riches do not enrich their possessors; here he adds secondly that they are to be despised because they are frequently not transmitted to posterity; and indeed he does this in the following order. First is noted the consideration of future poverty in one's offspring. Second, from this he denounces the toilsome anxiety of acquiring money. Third, in denunciation of this, he commends the enjoyment of present gladness, adding that this is a gift of divine generosity.

He considers therefore first the future destitution in the offspring of the rich man, because, when they are preserved for a long time by the father, they do not remain for the son. Therefore he says: "There is also another most grievous infirmity, which I saw under the sun," another, namely, from the aforementioned one, which, I say, is in the possession of riches: whence he says: "Riches kept to the hurt of their owner," because they cannot be gathered without the evil both of punishment and of fault: Ecclesiasticus thirty-one: "Blessed is the man who is found without blemish, and who has not gone after gold nor hoped in the treasures of money. Who is this? and we shall praise him: for he has done wonderful things in his life." Or: "to the hurt," for they make a man come into the evil of punishment; James five: "Come now, you rich, weep and howl in your miseries which shall come upon you." "Of their owner," nay rather in reality of their slave, because avarice makes the avaricious man a slave: whence Ephesians five: "Avarice, which is the service of idols."

"These, I say, perish in the worst affliction," because it is necessary that he relinquish them with sorrow: Job twenty-seven: "The rich man, when he shall sleep, shall take nothing with him." Nor are they only left behind by their owner, but they are also lost by the son, whence he adds: "He has begotten a son, who shall be in the utmost destitution." There is an utmost destitution, and this is of all goods, concerning which Proverbs six: "Want shall come upon you like a traveler" etc.

And thus riches that are preserved are not left to the heir, nor can they be carried away by the possessor: whence he adds: "As he came forth naked from his mother's womb, so shall he return," not into the womb, but into the earth. "And he shall take nothing with him of his labor:" Job one: "Naked I came forth from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither."

And this is greatly to be lamented: whence he adds: "A most miserable infirmity indeed: as he came, so shall he return:" whence 1 Timothy last chapter: "We brought nothing into this world, and there is no doubt that neither can we carry anything away."

Here secondly he reproves the solicitude of increasing money by consideration of the destitution that is to come: whence he infers as if from the aforesaid things that it is vain to afflict oneself with such great labors in the acquisition of things. Therefore he says: "What then does it profit him," namely the avaricious rich man, "that he labored into the wind?" that is, in vain, if it is so that "as he came forth naked from the womb, naked shall he return," both he himself and his son, as if to say: nothing. Therefore in the Psalm: "O sons of men, how long will you be heavy of heart? Why do you love vanity and seek after lying?" Riches are compared to wind on account of their vanity: whence Ecclesiasticus thirty-four: "As one who grasps at a shadow and pursues the wind, so is he who attends to lying visions"; he labored therefore into the wind, when he labored for acquiring riches.

And he adds the magnitude of the toil: "All the days of his life he eats in darkness," on account of loneliness; "and in many cares," on account of anxiety; "and in distress," on account of the scantiness of expenditures; "and sadness," on account of the necessity of expenditures. For he is saddened because he must eat something: Ecclesiasticus 14: "The wicked and envious eye will not be satisfied with bread, and the needy one will be in sadness at his own table." Riches cause a man to be in cares and distresses, because Matthew 13: "The anxiety of this world and the deceitfulness of riches chokes the word."

"So what I have seen to be good is that it is suitable to eat and drink and enjoy pleasure with all one's labour that he toils beneath the sun during the brief span of his life that God has given him, for that is his lot. Furthermore, every man to whom God has given riches and possessions and has given him the power to enjoy them, possess his share and be happy in his work: this is the gift of God. For he shall remember that the days of his life are not many, while God provides him with the joy of his heart." This is in comparison to him, who consumes his wealth in the darkness of his worries, and carries those things which are about to die throughout the great tedium of his life, and says that that man is better, who enjoys what he has. For here there is but a small desire of enjoyment, but there in the latter indeed there is a great magnitude of worries. He also gives the reasons why the gift of God is to be able to enjoy riches. Since "he will not remember much of the days of his life". For God turns him to the happiness of his heart's desire: he will not be sad, he will not be worried by thought, since he is led away by happiness and desire for present things. But it is better understood as according to the apostle [Cf I Cor. 10, 2-4.], seen as spiritual food and spiritual drink which is given by God and I understood to see goodness in all of his toil, since we are only able to consider true good things with great toil and enthusiasm. For what is permitted to be good, though, until Christ appears in our life, is not yet openly considered good. And therefore God will not remember much of the days of our life. We should also note that here "perispasmos" is used in a better way, in the place of the occupation of the spirit and true happiness.

"This therefore seemed good to me." Here thirdly he commends the enjoyment of gladness in detestation of the affliction of avarice. For since the miser afflicts himself, and nothing profits him, therefore it seemed good to him to eat; and for this reason he says: "This therefore seemed good to me, that one should eat and drink," as regards exterior pleasantness; "and enjoy gladness from his toil, with which he has toiled under the sun:" "gladness," as regards interior pleasantness; and this, while he can; whence he also adds: "The number of the days of his life, which God has given him," as if he should not expect another time. "And this is his portion." Concerning all these things, Isaiah 22: "Behold joy and gladness, slaying rams, eating flesh and drinking wine; let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die," as if that were one's portion.

But here a question arises first concerning what he says: "This seemed good to me, that one should eat." Against: Below in chapter 10: "Woe to you, O land, whose king is a child, and whose princes eat in the morning:" therefore he contradicts himself. Furthermore, he says: "And let him rejoice." On the contrary: Below in chapter seven: "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting," and again: "The heart of the wise is where sorrow is." Likewise, Truth itself says in Luke 6: "Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall weep;" therefore it is evil to rejoice, and all of Scripture condemns the joy of the flesh: what then does it mean that he commends it here?

To this one responds by means of the manner of proceeding in this book, which is singular among all the books of Sacred Scripture. For he speaks as a preacher weaving together his disputation, in which diverse opinions are brought forward according to diverse persons in whose character he speaks: whence he speaks one way in the person of the carnal man, as here, and another way in the person of the wise man, as below: "It is better to go," etc. But afterward he speaks in his own person, where he says: "Let us all hear together the end of the discourse," where he as it were renders judgment upon those whose case he had previously examined: "Fear God," and that God will judge all things. Whence whatever is read in the book that opposes that judgment is annulled by that judgment; and such are all the things said in commendation of present pleasure; and thus by one solution all objections are answered.

Otherwise it can be said that Ecclesiastes himself, whatever he says, says in his own person; but nevertheless, to understand the things he says, two things must be attended to, namely the reason for speaking and the manner. The manner of speaking varies in two ways: for some things he says truly, and some ironically; truly, as that passage: "Cast your bread upon the passing waters," below in chapter eleven; ironically, as that passage: "Rejoice therefore, O young man, in your youth." And this is clear from what follows: "And know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment," below in chapter eleven.

Another variation is noted in manner, because some things he says by way of approving: "Do not rashly speak anything," etc.; and some things by way of recounting that he himself did thus, as he said above in chapter two: "I did not restrain my heart from enjoying every pleasure," etc. This he does not approve, but recounts that he did thus, just as the Apostle also says of himself that he was a blasphemer. Similarly, some things he says by way of recounting that he thought thus, as when he said above in chapter two: "Is it not better to eat and drink," etc. And he uses this kind of speech frequently in this little book, as though narrating his temptations; whence this book was as it were a certain meditation of Solomon. And just as a man falls from one meditation into another according to diverse considerations, as when someone thinks this to be good and afterward falls into another estimation, so Solomon narrates in this book as well.

As for the reason for speaking, it should be noted that some things he says simply for their own approval, but certain things he says not in approval, but in comparison with and detestation of other things, just as one who wished to censure avarice would praise prodigality: so also in this book he praised the dead in comparison with the living, and pleasure in respect to avarice, because in avarice there is both punishment and guilt. He did this, however, in order to call back from the one, not to attract to the other.

Furthermore, as for the reason for speaking, it should be noted that some things he says to all, and some to certain persons who presuppose something, and from their presupposition he argues against them, as he said above, that there is no memory of the wise man as of the fool. He said this to those wise men who placed their entire reward in the praises of men.

This rule, therefore, is to be generally observed in his words: that what he says truly and approvingly, he says by commending in itself, he says to all—that is, truly and assertively, universally and absolutely—and these things are indeed to be adduced as authoritative. But what he says ironically and what he says by way of recitation, he says for the detestation of other things, or from some presupposition, or toward the contrary. That statement, therefore, was spoken not assertorily, but by way of recitation: for he recites his own trial, which he intends to narrate. Or it was said not absolutely, but for the detestation of avarice.

And he approves this consideration, as though it pleases God; whence he also adds: "And to every man to whom God has given substance and riches:" for these things are from God; whence Ecclesiasticus 11: "Good things and evil, life and death, poverty and honor are from God." "And has given him power to eat thereof," delighting outwardly; "and to enjoy his portion," resting in these things; "and to rejoice in his toil," joyfully expending what has been acquired. "This is the gift of God," for this power is from God, because John 15: "Without me you can do nothing." And he shows that it is a great gift, because the torment of cares and anxieties, which are great punishments, are tempered through delights. Therefore he adds: rightly do I say that "it is the gift of God," insofar as it frees from the torments of avarice.

Likewise, there is a question about what he says, that it is a "gift of God" that one should enjoy riches: but this is sin. I respond: it must be said that the goods of fortune, of nature, and also of grace are all gifts of God: but those of fortune are the least, those of nature are intermediate, and those of grace are the best. Among the gifts of nature are counted health and strength; among the goods of fortune, prosperity and tranquility. For God gives riches to some, to whom he does not give health or tranquility, and these do not enjoy their goods; to some he adds in addition tranquility and health, and such persons have the power of enjoying them; and because those things are gifts of God, so also is the power; but furthermore, the evil misuse of that power—this is not from God.

This is the literal interpretation. If someone has much money, if he has lots of good food and many wines, he still cannot eat and drink all of it. But he doubtless has a gift: whatever he can consume, if he has enough food to satisfy him and enough drink, this is a gift from God. But when someone eats and drinks more than necessary, then it is not a gift from God but a gift from desire.Regarding the spiritual interpretation: God gives wisdom along with the riches and capabilities inherent in wisdom, that is, wisdom's insights, so that people eat and drink from the things they have received: the bread of wisdom, its water, the wine, which he mingled into a cup. This is a gift from God. If one takes the spiritual in the right way, it is, finally, the grace of his lot.