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Nicene & Post-Nicene · AD 325–500
5,299 passages across 63 books of the Bible · Who was this?
On Ecclesiastes
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Ecclesiastes 9:9
"Enjoy
life with the wife you love through all the fleeting days of your life that He
has granted you under the sun, all of your futile existence; for that is your
compensation in life and in your toil which you exert under the sun. "Follow wisdom and knowledge of the Scriptures, while
you are joined in matrimony to your wife, as it is said in Proverbs: "love
her and she will serve you: embrace her and she will embrace you too" [Prov. 4, 8.]. But the day of vanity, the day of this world
means nothing. The apostle mentions this
too, and he says, "live life with the woman that you love", but this
is said in ambiguity, either live or contemplate life both you yourself and
your wife with you, for you will not be able to live life alone without such a
wife, or consider each one and live life, and consider the woman in the days of
your vanity. And he words this
carefully, so that we seek the true life with our wife and wisdom in the days
of our vanity. For this is our lot and
the fruit of our toil, if we, retired, are able to find this true life. -
Ecclesiastes 9:10
"Whatever
you are able to do with your strength, do it.
For there is neither doing, nor reckoning, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in
the grave where you are going. "Do whatever you are presently able to do,
and toil at it, because when you go down to the world of the dead there will be
no place for repentance. Similar to this
is what is taught by the Saviour: "work hard, while there is still day
left; for night will come, when none is able to work" [Ioh. 9, 4.],
but he says this: "to the grave where you are going", remember too
that you believe Samuel was also in the grave, and before the advent of Christ,
all men were retained by the law of the dead, however holy they were. More precisely, the holy were retained after
the resurrection of the Lord in vain in the grave, and the apostle notes this,
remarking, "it is better to die and be with Christ" [Phil. 1, 23.]. But he is with Christ, so that he might not
be held back in the grave. -
Ecclesiastes 9:11
"Once more I saw under the sun that the race is not won by the swift; nor the battle by the strong, nor does bread come to the wise, riches to the intelligent, nor favour to the learned; but time and death will happen to them all. "He who is bound by manacles and by heavy lead chains is oppressed: "for wickedness sits upon a talent of lead" [Zach. 5, 7.], and in the Psalm it says, "they weigh on me like a heavy burden" [Ps. 37, 5.]. It is not talking about that race, about which is said, "I took up the race, and I kept my faith" [II. Tim. 4, 7.]. But that man is swift and his spirit is not weighed down, nonetheless even he is not able to arrive at the goal without God helping him. But when there has been a war against adverse leaders, about whom it is written, "make war sacred" [Ier. 6, 4.], even a strong man will not be able to win with his own strength. This is also true of the sons of man and the wise who cannot have living bread for the spirit, except through encouraging wisdom: "Come, eat my bread" [Prov. 9, 5.]. And since there are riches, about which the apostle says, "riches…
"Once
more I saw under the sun that the race is not won by the swift; nor the battle
by the strong, nor does bread come to the wise, riches to the intelligent, nor
favour to the learned; but time and death will happen to them all. "He who is bound by manacles and by heavy lead chains is
oppressed: "for wickedness sits upon a talent of lead" [Zach. 5, 7.], and in the Psalm it says, "they
weigh on me like a heavy burden" [Ps. 37, 5.]. It is not talking about that race, about
which is said, "I took up the race, and I kept my faith" [II. Tim. 4, 7.]. But that man is swift and his spirit is not
weighed down, nonetheless even he is not able to arrive at the goal without God
helping him. But when there has been a
war against adverse leaders, about whom it is written, "make war
sacred" [Ier. 6, 4.],
even a strong man will not be able to win with his own strength. This is also true of the sons of man and the
wise who cannot have living bread for the spirit, except through encouraging
wisdom: "Come, eat my bread" [Prov. 9, 5.]. And since there are riches, about which the
apostle says, "riches come through good deeds" [I Tim. 6, 18.],
and in another place, "you have been made rich in every utterance and
knowledge" [I Cor. 1, 5.];
it must be understood that a wise man cannot amass these riches, unless he
receives them from God, who possesses them.
In another place these riches are mentioned too: "redemption of the
spirit for man is his own riches" [Prov. 15, 8.]. However learned a man is, he will not be able
to find grace too, unless accompanied by wisdom and given by God. Paul also knows this: "I worked more
than all men," he says, "yet not I but the grace of God which was
with me". Then again he says, "His grace in me was not in
vain". And right to the end man
does not know when the time will come, when the unknown fate and end of all
things will come. This reading is
according to "anagoge". But in order to explain this more easily, I
should mention that the epistle to the Romans agrees with this
verse: "So then it is not of him that wants, nor of him that runs,
but of God that shows mercy." [Rom. 9, 16.] He also says this: "there is no bread
for the wise", this example is proved every day for many people, who
although they are very wise, still do not have the necessary sustenance for
life. And: "there is no grace for
the knowledgeable". For you may see
in the Church that the ignorant and unskilled prosper. And this is both because they have nourished
their boldness, and followed the fluency of their tongue, while they do not
think about what they say, they think that they are wise and learned, and as if
they have the greatest favour of the populous, which delights and is brought
together more by more polished words. On
the other hand a learned man lies in obscurity and suffers persecution; and not
only does he not have grace in the people's eyes, but also fades away through
poverty and hunger. But these things
happen because all things occur by uncertainty, and there is no retribution of
merit in this world, but in the future. -
Ecclesiastes 9:12
" For man does not even know his time, like fish caught in a fatal net, like birds seized in a snare, so are men caught in the moment of disaster when it falls upon them suddenly. "I have already said above, that while men are yet unknowing, either disaster or death befalls them. More precisely we should look at this as allegory, that the realm of the sky is similar to a net cast into the sea; and on the other hand heretics have nets, in which they capture fish, leading to their death. Their net though is affable language, flattering speeches, feigned or forced fasting, poor clothes, and an imitation of virtues. And if they begin to argue about the divine and raise their face to the heavens to seek the heights of God, then they cast a noose into the heavenly abodes. So just as fish and birds are seized of a sudden by such a net, and by such a noose, so wickedness is increased many times and the kindness of many fails; and the signs and portents are seen in such a way as to entice even the chosen of God if possible. See too those men of the Church, who are called the children of men…
" For man does not even know his
time, like fish caught in a fatal net, like birds seized in a snare, so are men
caught in the moment of disaster when it falls upon them suddenly. "I have already said above, that while men are yet
unknowing, either disaster or death befalls them. More precisely we should look at this as
allegory, that the realm of the sky is similar to a net cast into the sea; and
on the other hand heretics have nets, in which they capture fish, leading to
their death. Their net though is affable
language, flattering speeches, feigned or forced fasting, poor clothes, and an
imitation of virtues. And if they begin
to argue about the divine and raise their face to the heavens to seek the
heights of God, then they cast a noose into the heavenly abodes. So just as fish and birds are seized of a
sudden by such a net, and by such a noose, so wickedness is increased many
times and the kindness of many fails; and the signs and portents are seen in
such a way as to entice even the chosen of God if possible. See too those men of the Church, who are
called the children of men, and are of modest faith, and who can be overcome
quickly. Note too, that the term "sons of men" is used throughout the whole
book, and the Hebrew has "sons of man",
this is 'the sons of Adam'. And almost
all scripture is filled with this idiom that sees the sons of Adam as the sons
of all men. -
Ecclesiastes 9:13-15
"This, too, I have observed about wisdom under the sun, and it affected me profoundly: there was a small town with only a few inhabitants; and a mighty king came upon it and surrounded it, and built great siege works over it. Present in the city was a poor wise man who by his wisdom saved the town. Yet no one remembered that poor man. "While some people say that all things are uncertain, and that the righteous have no more than the wicked, I see even the greatest wisdom in this verse, because it happens repeatedly that there is a small township with only a few inhabitants, and it is surrounded by an army of a very powerful enemy, and the people inside is killed by the siege and by hunger. And suddenly and unexpectedly a poor man is found, who has more wisdom than all the rich men, than all those powerful and pompous men who are in danger, and who fear the siege. And he thinks, seeks and finds an answer as to how the town might be saved from the oppressors. But O ungrateful oblivion of men, after they were freed from bondage and released from captivity, and the freedom was given back…
"This,
too, I have observed about wisdom under the sun, and it affected me profoundly:
there was a small town with only a few inhabitants; and a mighty king came upon
it and surrounded it, and built great siege works over it. Present in the city was a poor wise man who
by his wisdom saved the town. Yet no one
remembered that poor man. "While some people say that all things are
uncertain, and that the righteous have no more than the wicked, I see even the
greatest wisdom in this verse, because it happens repeatedly that there is a
small township with only a few inhabitants, and it is surrounded by an army of
a very powerful enemy, and the people inside is killed by the siege and by
hunger. And suddenly and unexpectedly a
poor man is found, who has more wisdom than all the rich men, than all those
powerful and pompous men who are in danger, and who fear the siege. And he thinks, seeks and finds an answer as
to how the town might be saved from the oppressors. But O ungrateful oblivion of men, after they
were freed from bondage and released from captivity, and the freedom was given
back to the fatherland, no one remembers that wise old man, no one gives thanks
for their salvation, but all show honour to the rich, who were able to do
nothing to help when in time of danger.
My Hebrew tutor interpreted this passage differently: the small town, he
says, is man, who even amongst learned men is called less clean. And the few men in the town, are the members
by which the man shields and covers himself.
But when a great king comes against it, that is the devil, and he
searches for a place by which he might break through, and in the town is found
a poor and wise man, that is the calm thought of that man on the inside, and
that is what saves the town, which is surrounded and besieged by the enemy. And the man has been saved from danger, or
persecution, or disaster, or any other kind of adverse sin. But that man on the outside, who is the enemy
of the wise and poor man on the inside, he does not remember the poor man, nor
does he remember his promises, but yet enjoys his freedom. Differently: the small town and the few
inhabitants in it is the Church in comparison to the whole world. And the great king the devil often comes against
it, not because he is great, but because he thought to be great, and he surrounds
the Church with a siege or persecution, or with another kind of disaster. He finds in it a poor man who is wise, that
is our Lord Jesus Christ, who was made poor for us and is wisdom itself. And that poor man frees the town with his
wisdom. How many times do we see a
reclining lion in a trap with rich men, this is with the politicians and
leaders of our time, who come against the Church, but fail at the wisdom of
that poor man? And when this poor man
has won and the town is restored to peace, scarcely anyone remembers him,
scarcely any of his requests are heard, but giving in to all indulgence and
pleasure, the inhabitants seek riches that are not necessary. -
Ecclesiastes 9:16
"So I
said: wisdom is better than might, although a poor man's wisdom is despised and
his words go unheeded. "Although no one remembers a poor wise man,
and everyone is happy, and admires power and riches; I however admire this
despised wisdom according to all of the interpretations given above, and the
words which none thinks worthy to be heard. -
Ecclesiastes 9:17
"The
gentle words of the wise are heard above the shouts of a king over fools. "Whosoever you see in the Church declaiming and arousing
applause by whatever refinery or charm, he who shakes off his laughter and
incites the crowd to feigned happiness, know that this is a sign of
foolishness, equally of him who speaks, and of those who listen to him. For the words of the wise are heard in peace
and respectful silence. He who is
foolish and is powerful speaks to fools and cannot hear himself because of
either the noise of his own voice or that of the applauding crowd. -
Ecclesiastes 9:18
"And
wisdom is better than weapons, but a single rogue can ruin a great deal of
good. "Now he also takes wisdom
in preference to strength and says that it is worth more in battle than
weapons. But if there is one fool,
however small and worthless, he will repeatedly destroy riches and great wealth
by his stupidity. But because the Hebrew
can also be read as: 'and he who sins once, will lose much goodness', much
righteousness will be lost in return and virtues will follow in turn, and he
who has one, has all [Cfr. Cic de Offic. II, 35.];
and he who sins at one time, leaves himself open to all vices [Cfr. Iac. 2, 10.].
<h2>CHAPTER 10</h2> -
Ecclesiastes 10:1
"Dead flies putrefy the perfumer's oil; a little folly outweighs wisdom and honour. "Here he gives an example to illustrate the idea expressed above, in which he says that many good things can be outweighed by one fool, since one evil mixed with good in this way will pollute the greater part of it, just as flies if they die in oil, make it lose its colour and smell. And since wisdom is often mixed with cleverness and prudence has wickedness, he teaches that we must search out wisdom alone, or that it be mixed with the innocence of doves. Let us then be prudent to the good, and simple in the face of the wicked. And this is the meaning: let the righteous man have little simplicity on account of his having too much suffering, and while he keeps his retribution for God, he seems foolish, and does wickedness at once in vindication under the guise of prudence. Another meaning could be those flies that according to Isaiah inhabit a part of the river of Egypt, and destroy the sweetness of oil and according to one source leave the smell of their uncleanness [Cfr. Is. 7, 18.]. The chief of the…
"Dead
flies putrefy the perfumer's oil; a little folly outweighs wisdom and
honour. "Here he gives an example to illustrate the idea
expressed above, in which he says that many good things can be outweighed by
one fool, since one evil mixed with good in this way will pollute the greater
part of it, just as flies if they die in oil, make it lose its colour and
smell. And since wisdom is often mixed
with cleverness and prudence has wickedness, he teaches that we must search out
wisdom alone, or that it be mixed with the innocence of doves. Let us then be prudent to the good, and
simple in the face of the wicked. And
this is the meaning: let the righteous man have little simplicity on account of
his having too much suffering, and while he keeps his retribution for God, he
seems foolish, and does wickedness at once in vindication under the guise of
prudence. Another meaning could be those
flies that according to Isaiah inhabit a part of the river of Egypt, and
destroy the sweetness of oil and according to one source leave the smell of
their uncleanness [Cfr. Is. 7, 18.]. The chief of these flies is called Beelzebub
of the demons, and is interpreted as either 'the idol of flies' or 'the man of
the flies', or 'he who has flies' [Cfr. Matth. 12, 24.]. -
Ecclesiastes 10:2-3
"A wise man's mind tends to his right; while a fool's mind tends to his left. Even on the road as the fool walks, he lacks sense, and proclaims to all that he is a fool. "And in the Gospel it is taught that a wise man's left does not know what his right is doing. And when we are hit on the right side of the face, we do not show the left cheek to he who hit us, but the other one. For a wise man does not have a left side in him, but is in fact completely the right side. And when the Saviour comes to judge us, the lambs will stand on the right, and the goats on the left. It is written in the prophets that "the Lord knows the ways to the right, which are wrong, and actually lead to the left." [Prov. 4, 27.]. Therefore he who is wise always thinks about the future, because it leads him to the right. But he who is foolish always thinks of the present, because it is set in the left. What follows has also been said by the philosopher poet, who says, "the right leads to the walls of the lower world, this is our path to Elysium, but the left is for the wicked. That gives out punishments and…
"A wise
man's mind tends to his right; while a fool's mind tends to his left. Even on the road as the fool walks, he lacks
sense, and proclaims to all that he is a fool.
"And in the
Gospel it is taught that a wise man's left does not know what his right is
doing. And when we are hit on the right
side of the face, we do not show the left cheek to he who hit us, but the other
one. For a wise man does not have a left
side in him, but is in fact completely the right side. And when the Saviour comes to judge us, the
lambs will stand on the right, and the goats on the left. It is written in the prophets that "the
Lord knows the ways to the right, which are wrong, and actually lead to the
left." [Prov. 4, 27.]. Therefore he who is wise always thinks about
the future, because it leads him to the right.
But he who is foolish always thinks of the present, because it is set in
the left. What follows has also been
said by the philosopher poet, who says, "the right leads to the walls of
the lower world, this is our path to Elysium, but the left is for the
wicked. That gives out punishments and
sends people down to the nether regions" [Virg. Aen. 6, 541/543.]. Firmianus of our time in the famous work of
his Institute recalls the passage about left and right, and argues that this is
about virtues and about vices. [Lactant. Divin. Instit. VI, 3,6-CSEL 19, p.486, 166sqq.] And we shouldn't think that this is contrary
to that passage, which says, "do not go to the right, nor to the
left" [Prov. 4, 27.]. In the first passage the right is taken to
mean good; but in the second it is not just right but also the decline to the
right. We should not know more than we
need to know, since virtues are in the middle and all excess in a vice. In the following verse though he says,
"but on the path that the fool walks, his heart is in need", and he
says: "all is foolishness" or "all are fools". This is the meaning: A fool hopes that all
others sin as he himself sins, and judges all others by his own standards. Then Symmachus has interpreted it in this
way: but when the fool walks along the road, he supposes that all are stupid as
he is. But the Septuagint has another
meaning, which says, 'all things which he thinks are foolish, are the most
vain'. -
Ecclesiastes 10:4
We also read in Ecclesiastes, “If the spirit of him that has power, ascend upon your heart, leave not your place.” From this it is clearly evident that we have committed a sin if we surrender our place to him who ascends upon us and if we have not cast down headlong the enemy ascending upon the walls. However, it seems to me that when you call down upon the heads of your brothers, that is to say, upon your slanderers, eternal fires with the devil, you are not so much dashing your brothers to the ground as you are elevating the devil, since he is to be punished in the same fires as Christians.
-
Ecclesiastes 10:4
"If the anger of a ruler flares up against you, do not leave your place, for defence appeases great offences. "Now the Scripture mentions the chief of that world, the creator of the darkness and he who toils for the sons of despair, whom the apostle also recalls. [Cfr. Eph. 2, 2; 6, 12.] For if he rises in our heart and the spirit of bad thoughts is wounded, we ought not to give way, but fight against the worst thoughts and free ourselves from the greatest sins, so that we do not fill our work with that thought, since it is one thing in thought, another in the deed of sinning. Reference to this great sin can also be found in the Psalm: "if they had not conquered me, I would be clean and purified from the greatest crime" [Ps. 18, 4.]. Symmachus translates the Hebrew word "marphe "as all the others do: "iama", that is, 'cleanliness' or 'neatness'. He has interpreted the meaning too, and he says, "if the spirit of a ruler defeats you, do not move from your place; since virtue wins over the greatest sin". That is, if the devil entices your mind and incites you to lust, do not follow the…
"If the
anger of a ruler flares up against you, do not leave your place, for defence
appeases great offences. "Now the Scripture mentions the chief of that
world, the creator of the darkness and he who toils for the sons of despair,
whom the apostle also recalls. [Cfr. Eph. 2, 2; 6, 12.] For if he rises in our heart and the spirit
of bad thoughts is wounded, we ought not to give way, but fight against the
worst thoughts and free ourselves from the greatest sins, so that we do not
fill our work with that thought, since it is one thing in thought, another in
the deed of sinning. Reference to this
great sin can also be found in the Psalm: "if they had not conquered me, I
would be clean and purified from the greatest crime" [Ps. 18, 4.]. Symmachus translates the Hebrew word "marphe "as all the others do: "iama", that is, 'cleanliness' or
'neatness'. He has interpreted the
meaning too, and he says, "if the spirit of a ruler defeats you, do not
move from your place; since virtue wins over the greatest sin". That is, if the devil entices your mind and
incites you to lust, do not follow the thought of sin and flattering desire,
but stand firm and fast and extinguish the flame of desire with the cold of
chastity. My Hebrew tutor suspected
certain things about this passage for a reason I do not know. If you take any high-up position in the
world, or are appointed a post higher than the other people, do not let go of
your former works and start to forget your former virtues, or cease from your
previous work, because the cure for sins is born out of doing good things, and
not from pompous and overflowing rank. -
Ecclesiastes 10:5-7
"There is an evil that I have observed in the world as if it were an error proceeding from the ruler: folly is placed on lofty heights, while rich men sit in low places. I have seen slaves on horses and nobles walking on foot like slaves. "Where we read "as if it were an error proceeding from the ruler" Aquila, Theodotion and the Septuagint have interpreted this as "as if not of their own will", that is "hos akousian", from the face of the ruler. Symmachus agrees with this, saying, "the fool is placed in great elevation, but humble riches remain fixed." And he remembers that he has seen this wickedness in this time, because the judgement of God seems to be unjust. And it happens either through not knowing, or without his will, that either in the rulers of the world, or in the leadership of the Church, often these men, who are rich in words and wisdom, rich too in good deeds, remain ignoble and foolish holding a position in the Church. But this happens in front of his face, he who has power in that time, while he oppresses the powerful and learned men, and he does not let them come ou…
"There
is an evil that I have observed in the world as if it were an error proceeding
from the ruler: folly is placed on lofty heights, while rich men sit in low
places. I have seen slaves on horses and
nobles walking on foot like slaves. "Where we read "as if it were an error
proceeding from the ruler" Aquila, Theodotion and the Septuagint have
interpreted this as "as if not of their own will", that is "hos akousian", from the face of the
ruler. Symmachus agrees with this,
saying, "the fool is placed in great elevation, but humble riches remain
fixed." And he remembers that he has
seen this wickedness in this time, because the judgement of God seems to be
unjust. And it happens either through
not knowing, or without his will, that either in the rulers of the world, or in
the leadership of the Church, often these men, who are rich in words and
wisdom, rich too in good deeds, remain ignoble and foolish holding a position
in the Church. But this happens in front
of his face, he who has power in that time, while he oppresses the powerful and
learned men, and he does not let them come out in public, but those whom he
knows to be foolish in the Church he makes greater, so that the blind are led
by the blind into pitfalls. The
following verse also has this meaning: "I have seen slaves on horses and
nobles walking on foot like slaves".
Because these men are slaves of vices and sins, or are so humble, that
they are thought to be slaves by other men, they are suddenly inflated by the
devil's pompousness, and they wear out the public roads with their ponies [Cfr. Horat. Epod. IV, 14.]. And each noble or wise man that is oppressed
by poverty takes the road and occupation of slaves. The Hebrew seems to say that ignorance seems
to leave the face of the powerful and rulers.
He explains this as God, because men think that in this inequality of
matter He is not acting justly, and judging as is correct. More precisely, some men believe as their
predecessors do that there must be judgement so that He himself is powerful, a
topic that is mentioned before these verses: if a ruler comes up against you,
do not give way. Should we not be sad
therefore if we seem to be humble in this world, and know from the face of the
devil, that the foolish are raised and the rich thrown down? If we know that
slaves have the ranks of their masters and rulers do the work of their
slaves. Remember though that this horse
is seen in a good context, just as in the verse, which says, "and riding
will be your salvation". [Hab. 3, 8.] -
Ecclesiastes 10:8
"He who
digs a pit will fall into it, and he who breaks down a wall will be bitten by a
snake. "This is partly unambiguous and partly to be understood in
a more complicated way. Since elsewhere
Solomon also says, "he that sets a trap will be caught in it" [Eccli. 27, 29.]. And in the seventh Psalm: "he laid out a
pond and dug it out, and then he fell into the hole he had made" [Ps. 7, 16.]. But the wall and the fence as well are the
doctrines of the Church, and the institution set up by the apostles and
prophets. And whoever knocks them down
or wants them to come to an end is bitten by a snake where he is not looking. Amos writes about this snake: "if he
goes down into the underworld, I will order a snake to kill him" [Am. 9, 3.]. -
Ecclesiastes 10:9
"He who moves about stones will be hurt by them; he who splits logs will be endangered by them. "In Zechariah sacred stones are moved about the earth. [Cfr. Zach. 9, 16.] For they do not stay firm in their place, but revolve, and always inclining to other places, they hasten to move away. The Saviour also teaches about these living stones in the city of the Apocalypse [Cfr. Apoc. 21, 18-27.], and the apostle doesn't forget to mention the building of the Church. Therefore if anyone doing wrong by their heresy, should take away those stones from the building of the Church, then he will suffer torture afterwards. Aquila and Symmachus write about this man, and where we have 'he who moves about stones, will suffer from them', both write, "he who moves stones, will be wounded by them". But because the Scripture says very clearly, "he who moves about stones", or 'moves stones', he does not add 'good' or 'bad'. Moreover and to the contrary it must be understood, that the man of the Church seemingly a bishop and elder, (if we are taking this according to the mandate of Leviticus), took a ston…
"He who
moves about stones will be hurt by them; he who splits logs will be endangered
by them. "In Zechariah sacred stones are moved about
the earth. [Cfr. Zach. 9, 16.] For they do not stay firm in their place, but
revolve, and always inclining to other places, they hasten to move away. The Saviour also teaches about these living
stones in the city of the Apocalypse [Cfr. Apoc. 21, 18-27.],
and the apostle doesn't forget to mention the building of the Church. Therefore if anyone doing wrong by their
heresy, should take away those stones from the building of the Church, then he
will suffer torture afterwards. Aquila
and Symmachus write about this man, and where we have 'he who moves about stones,
will suffer from them', both write, "he who moves stones, will be wounded
by them". But because the Scripture
says very clearly, "he who moves about stones", or 'moves stones', he
does not add 'good' or 'bad'. Moreover
and to the contrary it must be understood, that the man of the Church seemingly
a bishop and elder, (if we are taking this according to the mandate of
Leviticus), took a stone away from the house of lepers, and was obliterated in
dust and ashes. [Cfr. Lev. 14, 45.] And he will suffer for this himself, because
he was forced to take away a stone from the Church of Christ and saying,
(according to the apostle), "to weep with the weeping, to mourn with the
mourners" [Rom. 12, 15.],
and "who is weak, and I burn not?" [II Cor. 11, 29.]. Also cutting wood, he will be endangered by
it. Heretics are non-fruit-bearing wood,
and copse that do not bear fruit.
Pertaining to this too is that we must not plant a glade in the house of
God, and leafy openings, that is arbours of such sounding words are scorned. However learned and wise a man may be
therefore who chops this wood with the sword of speech, he will be endangered
by it, unless he diligently pays attention.
This is similar to what follows, this will happen, "if iron is
shaped" and its appearance is changed.
This means that if his argument is found to be weaker, or if he does not
have a point, in which each argument is well balanced, then the argument of his
heart is blunt. Then the strength of
wickedness will come upon him and fortify him.
For this is what the Septuagint interprets this passage to mean: it
says, "and he is fortified by strength, and he will begin to have more
wisdom than strength; his wisdom will become strong, and superfluous, but it
will not help him who possesses it. -
Ecclesiastes 10:10
"If a blade is blunt and one has not sharpened the edge, nevertheless it strengthens the warriors. Wisdom is a more powerful skill. "If someone, he says, has seen himself lose knowledge of the Scriptures through negligence, and the shrewdness of his intelligence has been blunted, nonetheless he remains disturbed, and he would be just as he had been when he started. But it happens, meanwhile, that he that has a little knowledge is led into pride and stops learning and reading, and little by little takes away from that which now adds nothing to him. Thus the heart of the pupil remains empty, and a blade that has been sharpened is made blunt. For rest and laziness are like a kind of rust of wisdom. So then if anyone has suffered this, let him not despair the remedy for his health, but let him go to his teacher and be instructed again by him, and then after much toil and hard work, and a great deal of much sweat, he will be able to regain that wisdom that he had lost. And this is what is said in the Hebrew more to the point: he will be strengthened by might, that is, by toil, by sweat, b…
"If a
blade is blunt and one has not sharpened the edge, nevertheless it strengthens
the warriors. Wisdom is a more powerful
skill. "If someone, he says, has seen himself lose knowledge of
the Scriptures through negligence, and the shrewdness of his intelligence has
been blunted, nonetheless he remains disturbed, and he would be just as he had
been when he started. But it happens,
meanwhile, that he that has a little knowledge is led into pride and stops
learning and reading, and little by little takes away from that which now adds
nothing to him. Thus the heart of the
pupil remains empty, and a blade that has been sharpened is made blunt. For rest and laziness are like a kind of rust
of wisdom. So then if anyone has
suffered this, let him not despair the remedy for his health, but let him go to
his teacher and be instructed again by him, and then after much toil and hard
work, and a great deal of much sweat, he will be able to regain that wisdom
that he had lost. And this is what is
said in the Hebrew more to the point: he will be strengthened by might, that
is, by toil, by sweat, by hard work, and daily reading, then wisdom will follow
suit, and his toil will come to an end, so that he might be able to receive
wisdom once more. -
Ecclesiastes 10:11
"If the snake bites because it has not been charmed, then there is no advantage to the charmer's art. "The meaning of this is very apparent: the serpent and the disparager are of the same ilk. For just as the hidden snake bites and injects its poison, so too the other disparages in private, and he pours out the poison of his heart against his brother, and there will be nothing between him and the serpent. For although the tongue of man was created for benediction and encouragement of others, the disparager makes it equal to that of the serpent, while he uses his virtues to bad purposes. Another meaning of this is, that if the serpent devil should bite anyone secretly, and he doesn't know it, he infects him with the poison of sin; and if he who has been struck keeps silent, and does not repent, and does not want to confess his wound to his teacher and brother, they who want to encourage him and see to it that he gets better, are not able to be of any use to him. For if an ill man is ashamed to confess his wound to a doctor, the doctor will not be able to cure what he does not know ex…
"If the
snake bites because it has not been charmed, then there is no advantage to the
charmer's art. "The meaning of this is very apparent: the
serpent and the disparager are of the same ilk.
For just as the hidden snake bites and injects its poison, so too the
other disparages in private, and he pours out the poison of his heart against
his brother, and there will be nothing between him and the serpent. For although the tongue of man was created
for benediction and encouragement of others, the disparager makes it equal to
that of the serpent, while he uses his virtues to bad purposes. Another meaning of this is, that if the
serpent devil should bite anyone secretly, and he doesn't know it, he infects
him with the poison of sin; and if he who has been struck keeps silent, and
does not repent, and does not want to confess his wound to his teacher and
brother, they who want to encourage him and see to it that he gets better, are
not able to be of any use to him. For if
an ill man is ashamed to confess his wound to a doctor, the doctor will not be
able to cure what he does not know exists. -
Ecclesiastes 10:12
"The
words of a wise man win favour, but a fool's lips devour him. "Foolishness, if it is happy in its rusticity, will know
less evil. But now he wages war against
wisdom, and whatever prudence he sees in a learned man, he does not take to be
incited by enthusiasm. For a wise man
speaks words of knowledge, words of thanks, which are of use to those that hear
them, but the lips of a fool do not receive what is said, as it is said; on the
contrary they try to trip up a wise man and make him similar to a fool. And in fact a wise man is taught when a
foolish man speaks in his ear, and you could almost say that his words are lost
in the deep swell. Therefore he is
blessed, who speaks in the ear of a wise man. -
Ecclesiastes 10:13-14
"His talk begins as foolishness and ends as evil madness. The fool prates on and on, but man does not know what will be; and who can tell him what will be after him? "So far the discussion has been about the fool, whose lips teach the wise man, or according to another interpretation, his lips make himself corrupt. The beginning and the end of his speech are foolishness and evil madness; or as Symmachus has translated it, confusion, or some kind of inconsistency of words. For while he doesn't keep to the one opinion, he thinks he can escape sin in the many arguments he speaks at the same time. But he does not remember all those who have gone before him, and does not know what will happen after him, and so is confused in ignorance and the darkness, promising himself false knowledge; by this he thinks that he is wise, and that he is learned, if he uses lots of words. This can be taken to refer to the heretics, who do not heed the words of wise men, but continue to argue different sides so they intertwine the beginning and end of their speech in vanity, confusion, and madness; and though…
"His
talk begins as foolishness and ends as evil madness. The fool prates on and on, but man does not
know what will be; and who can tell him what will be after him? "So far the discussion has been about the fool, whose
lips teach the wise man, or according to another interpretation, his lips make
himself corrupt. The beginning and the
end of his speech are foolishness and evil madness; or as Symmachus has
translated it, confusion, or some kind of inconsistency of words. For while he doesn't keep to the one opinion,
he thinks he can escape sin in the many arguments he speaks at the same
time. But he does not remember all those
who have gone before him, and does not know what will happen after him, and so
is confused in ignorance and the darkness, promising himself false knowledge;
by this he thinks that he is wise, and that he is learned, if he uses lots of
words. This can be taken to refer to the
heretics, who do not heed the words of wise men, but continue to argue
different sides so they intertwine the beginning and end of their speech in
vanity, confusion, and madness; and though they know nothing, they speak more
than they know. -
Ecclesiastes 10:15
"The toil of fools exhausts them, as one who does not know the way to town. "Join these lines with the verse above; either to those verses that speak in general about fools, who know not God, or in particular to that one which argues about heretics. Read in Plato for example: unravel the tricks of Aristotle, read Zeno and Carneas more diligently, and you will prove to be true what is written here: the toil of fools exhausts them. For they seek the truth in fact with all their enthusiasm, but since they have no leader or anyone to lead the way on their journey, they are led by their human instincts to think that they can understand wisdom, and thus they do not arrive at the town; the Psalm speaks of this too: "Lord, you will scatter their image in your town" [Ps. 72, 20.]. For the Lord will scatter in the town all shadows and strange appearances or characters, in which they clothe themselves in their many doctrines. In another place the Psalm says of this: "the force of a river causes the city of God to rejoice" [Ps. 45, 5.]. And in the Gospel: "a town built on a mountain cannot be…
"The
toil of fools exhausts them, as one who does not know the way to town. "Join these lines with the verse above; either to those
verses that speak in general about fools, who know not God, or in particular to
that one which argues about heretics.
Read in Plato for example: unravel the tricks of Aristotle, read Zeno
and Carneas more diligently, and you will prove to be true what is written
here: the toil of fools exhausts them.
For they seek the truth in fact with all their enthusiasm, but since
they have no leader or anyone to lead the way on their journey, they are led by
their human instincts to think that they can understand wisdom, and thus they
do not arrive at the town; the Psalm speaks of this too: "Lord, you will
scatter their image in your town" [Ps. 72, 20.]. For the Lord will scatter in the town all
shadows and strange appearances or characters, in which they clothe themselves
in their many doctrines. In another
place the Psalm says of this: "the force of a river causes the city of God
to rejoice" [Ps. 45, 5.]. And in the Gospel: "a town built on a
mountain cannot be hidden" [Matth. 5, 14.]. And in Isaiah: "I am a strong city, a
city which is attacked" [Is. 27, 3. (According to the LXX.)]. And all the wise men and heretics of this
world are trying to attack this city of truth and wisdom, although it is strong
and fortified. And that which I have
said about philosophers can also be said of heretics, that they toil in vain,
and are exhausted in their enthusiasm for the Scriptures, when they wander in
the desert and are not able to find the town.
The Psalmist also mentions their madness too, saying, "they
wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell
in." [Ps. 107, 4.]