Jerome

"Woe to
you, O land, whose king acts as an adolescent, and whose ministers dine in the
morning. Happy are you, O land, whose
king is a man of dignity, and whose ministers dine at the proper time- in
strength and not in drunkenness. "He seems in fact here to reprove the young
king and to condemn indulgent judges, which in another place has been called
wisdom that is weakened by age, and even in other places mature age which is
made frail by pleasure. On the other
hand he seems to approve the king with good morals, who is appointed
easily. He also seems to praise those
judges who nonetheless prefer pleasure to the business of the town, but after
much toil and the running of the township, are forced to eat as if by
necessity. But I find more holy what
seems to lie hidden in the text, because those who depart from old laws and
despise the precepts of their ageing fathers, are called young men in the
scripture; they who do not heed the commandments of God, and desire to change
the laws of mankind. The Lord of Israel
threatens in Isaiah [Cfr. Is. 8, 1-7.],
because the people did not want the waters of Shiloah that flows in silence,
and averted the ancient stream, choosing for themselves the rivers of Samaria,
and the surges of Damascus. "And I
will give", he says, "children to be their princes, and babes shall
rule over them" [Is. 3, 4.]. Read also Daniel and you will find the old
God of Days. [Cfr. Dan. 7, 9 sqq.] Or read the Apocalypse of John where the head
of the Saviour is said to be white and snowy, and you will find it to be like
white wool. Look at Jeremiah too because
he was wise and his hair was purported to be white because of his wisdom, and
he is forbidden to call himself a young man [Cfr. Ier. 1, 7.]. Woe to the land therefore whose king is the
devil, who always desirous of new things, and even rebels against its parent in
the case of Abessalon, who regards as judges and leaders those, who love the
pleasures of the world, and who say before the day of death comes, "let us
eat and drink, for tomorrow we die" [Is. 22, 13.]. For the other part is the blessed land of the
Church whose king, Christ, is the son of all peoples. He is descended from Abraham and Isaac, and
Jacob, also from the stock of all the prophets and saints, for whom sin was not
conquered. On account of this they were
indeed children. Born of these was the
virgin, more freely Saint Mary, who had no offspring, no seed from her flank,
but all of her fruit burst out in flower, speaking in the Song of Songs:
"I am the flower of the field and the lily of the valley" [Cant. 2, 1.]. His leaders too are apostles and all are
saintly, who see their king as the son of all men, the son of a free woman; not
of the slave woman Agar, but born of Sara in freedom. And they do not eat in the morning, or
quickly. For they do not seek enjoyment
in their time, but eat in their time, and when the time for retribution will
come, they will eat in strength, and not in disorder. Every good thing of this world is a disorder,
but an everlasting strength in the future.
Just this is said in Isaiah: "look at those who serve me, they will
eat; but you will go hungry." [Is. 65, 13.] And again, "look at those who serve me,
they will be happy; but you will shamed." [Is. 65, 14.]

"A feast
is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, but money answers
everything. "I think that what follows relates to the
preceding verses. For with regard to the
sloth and the indolence of teachers the Church is lowered, and its roof is made
to fall, and its timbers leak, as we have shown above. Therefore here he is speaking of the
self-same teachers. And he has been seen
to accuse them, asking why they remain silent and do not make use of their duty
as teacher, (that is both for bishops and elders in the Church), saying that
they neither work on their speaking nor doctrine, the same that even Titus
admonishes [Cfr Tit. 1, 5.],
and is taught by Timothy [Cfr. I Tim. 4, 14.],
so that one does not forget the grace of God, which is bestowed upon a great
man. But in this respect they see
themselves as elders and bishops, so that they receive an allowance, and many
teachers ask for a two-fold glory, which is owed in fact to those who work on
their speaking and doctrines. But now he
takes the other side and accuses those who even speak in the Church and teach
the congregation, but they teach the people that which they like to hear,
because he flatters the sinner in his crime and incites the listeners to
applaud. For surely when such a teacher
is giving a lascivious speech in the Church, does he not promise the blessing
and realm of heaven to the crowd, as it will seem to you that his laughter
makes bread, and he mixes wine with the happiness of those who drink? Or as those who teach and seek riches, food,
and wealth through the promised delights.
Or the bread of the Church, which is the bread of mourners, and not of
those who laugh, because those who weep are blessed, for they will laugh, and
will have joy in their happiness. He
also goes on to say: money or silver answers everything, and this must be taken
as two-fold: either that those learned men become rich after their praise, and
take their place at the head of the people, or indeed, since money is always
taken in return for a speech: for "the words of the LORD are pure words:
as silver extracted in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." [Ps. 12, 6.] He asserts this because the ignoble crowd is
always moved easily by eloquence and speeches, which are composed of a great
foliage of words. Differently: those
who have free-will and are forbidden to mourn and fast, make bread in their
laughter. Isaac gets his name from this
bread as well, and in the happiness of drinking they prepare wine. And so every holy man, who is teacher of the
Church, as Christ commanded, makes bread in his laughter and happiness, and hands
out cups of wine in his joy. Money also,
which answers everything, is given out as five, and two and one talent for the
head of the family in the Gospel [Cfr. Matth. 25, 15-30.]. And ten coins which are thought to be for
slaves in business.

"Even in
your thoughts do not curse a king, and in your bed-chamber do not curse the
rich, for a bird of the skies may carry the sound, and some winged creature may
betray the matter. "This simple example teaches the listeners
that we should not be overpowered by anger and fury, and curse and blame kings
and leaders, since it seems to happen against one's wish, that what we curse is
made known. And we run into danger by
the inability to hold our tongue. He
also says, "a bird of the skies may carry the sound, and some winged
creature may betray the matter", this is to be understood as a
exaggeration, just as we are accustomed to saying, 'walls have ears to hear
those things, which we think are said in private'. But it is better to hear a teaching in this
way, so that we know that we have a commandment to follow, not only that
nothing should be spoken rashly against Christ, but also in the secret places
of our heart, however we are troubled by our many problems, nothing should be
blasphemed, nothing thought which is impious.
And since we owe love, that we have for Christ, the next part says,
"love the Lord your God," and even " your nearest" and
"yourself". [Matth. 22, 37.40.] He even orders this, so that afterwards we do
not easily take the king away from the holy, and so that we do not slander by
the wickedness of our tongue those who are rich in knowledge, wisdom and
virtues, for they are the angels who fly around the earth and are
administrators of the spirit. They say
in Zechariah, "we have traversed the earth and look all the world is inhabited
and quiet" [Zach. 1, 11.]. And just like birds, our words and thoughts
are carried to heaven. And whatever we
think in secret, is not hidden from God's knowledge.

<h2>CHAPTER 11</h2>

"Send
your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it." He
encourages to mercy since it must be given to all that seek wisdom, and work
well. For just as he sows over the
well-watered fields and awaits the produce of his seed, so too he who is
generous to the needy does not sow the grain of his seed, but bread itself. And he waits for it to grow into his future
profit; and when the day of judgement comes much more will be found to have
grown than was at first sown.
Differently: in each and every man you can see this water, about which
is said, "rivers flow from his stomach, the waters of life" [Ioh. 7, 38.],
lest it should trouble you to display the bread of life, the bread of
reasoning, and of speech. For if you do
this many times you will find that you have not sown the seeds of doctrine in
vain. I think that this is what is
written in Isaiah too: "blessed is he who sows across the water, where the
ox and ass trample" [Is. 32, 20.]. This is also because that teacher (about whom
we have already spoken), is held to be worthy of blessing, because he sows
across the well-watered hearts of his listeners, the hearts of the Jews, as
those of the gentiles in the gathered congregation.

"Give a portion to seven, and also to eight;
for you do not know what evil shall be upon the earth. "And in Ezekiel there are found seven or eight steps
leading up to the temple. [Ez. 40, 26.31.] And after the 'ethical' Psalm, that is one
hundred and eighteen, all the psalms are of fifteen steps by which we are first
taught the law, and when the seventh is finished, we then climb to the Gospel
through the 'eight steps' [Ier. 'ogdoadem']. Therefore it is taught that we should believe
with equal respect in each, the same for the old as for the new. The Jews dedicated their seventh part,
believing in the Sabbath, but did not dedicate that eighth, denying the
resurrection on the day of the Lord. On
the other hand, heretics, Marcion and Manichaeus and all who rip up the ancient
law with their savage mouths, dedicate their eighth part, taking up the
Gospel. But they do not save as holy the
seventh, spurning the old law. For we
are not able to understand the worthy crucifixions, the worthy punishments
already in mind, which are reserved for those who are moved to wickedness on
earth, that is for the Jews and the heretics, and for those denying the other
of the two. The Hebrews understand this
passage in this way: keep both the Sabbath and the rite of circumcision, for if
you do not adhere to these wickedness will come over you unexpectedly. " "

"If the clouds are full of rain, they empty
themselves upon the earth: and if the tree falls toward the south, or toward
the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall be. "Keep the commandments that have been taught to you
above so that the clouds above you will break open in rain. For wherever you have made your home and seat
for the future, whether to the east or facing the north, when you die you will
remain there. Differently: as I have
said above 'send your bread over the water and divide it to all who ask'. Since when the clouds are full they pour
their riches down on mortals, and you are as a tree: however aged you may be,
you will not live forever, but one day suddenly struck by the storm of death
like a storm of winds, there where you fall you will lie forever. The time of your end will come whether you
may be stiff and savage, or mild and merciful.
Differently: God is addressed in the Psalms: "you are truth up to
the clouds" [Ps. 35, 6.],
and in Isaiah God warns the sinner of the vineyard, "I will command the
clouds not to rain down" [Is. 5, 6.]. Therefore the clouds are as prophets or holy
men, who have amassed many talents in their mind, so that he can rain his
teachings of doctrine down on others and say, "their speech should be
awaited just as rain, and they will pour out rain across the earth" [Deut. 32, 2.],
to which is replied, "let the earth hear the words of my mouth" [Deut. 32, 1.]. But this follows: "and if a tree falls
to the east, or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will
remain." We can take the example of
the book of Hebrews, in which is written, "God will come to Teyma" [Heb. 3,3.],
which some interpreters have taken to mean that God will come from the south,
and when I come to think about it the south is always used in a good
context. This can be seen in Song of
Songs: "arise oh north" that is 'return' and 'go away'; "and
come O south wind" [Cant. 4, 16.]. Therefore a tree, if in this life it falls
and is cut in its state of mortality, either must sin before while it stands
and is then placed in the north afterwards, or if the south winds takes away
all its worthy fruit, it will lie wounded in the south. The text does not mean any tree, but only if
it lies to the north or south. This
means the same as that which is written: "I will say to the north wind,
come, and to the south wind, do not hold back" [Is. 43, 6.]. Nowhere teaches about the south wind and the
east wind together, saying that they blow, since it is fitting for them to be
among those regions, because they are blown afterwards to the south and
east. Therefore it blows from the north
to the south and the south wind blows its inhabitants to the east. And they are not able to blow out if they
remain in their ancient palaces.

"In the morning sow your seed, and in the
evening withhold not your hand: for you know not whether shall prosper, either
this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant
thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:
But if a man lives many years, and rejoices in them all; yet let him
remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that which comes is
vanity. "Do not choose which good deeds you do, but once you
have started doing good, never stop. The
evening will reveal the justice of the morning, and the sunrise will collect
the mercy of the evening. For it is
uncertain which work pleases God more, and by what means you will obtain the
fruit of righteousness. But it can
happen that not one but each one will please God. Another meaning could be that both in
childhood and in old-age you will have equal work. Do not say therefore, "I worked while I
was able, I ought to rest in old-age", for you do not know whether you
please God more in youth or in age. And
the thrift of youth too is of no use if old-age is taken up by indulgence. For the righteous has erred, not even his
former virtues can free him from death.
And if you always do well according to each interpretation and work
equal amounts in each age, you will see God the Father, the sweetest light; you
will see Christ, the sun of righteousness.
More precisely if you live for many years and always have good things or
do good deeds, you will still know that you are going to die, and the coming of
darkness will continually surround you: you will despise the present things as
if they were transient, frail and failing.
Symmachus has interpreted the end of this idea in this way: if a man
lives for many years and if he has been happy in all this he ought to remember
the days of darkness, since they will be many, in which all will cease. Differently: in another place in the
Scripture God promises, saying, "I will give you timely rain and rain that
is late" [Deut. 11, 14.]. I will irrigate you with rain: the Old and
the New Testament. He warns about this
here so that we may read about the ancient law, lest we hate the Gospel, and in
this way ask about the spiritual understanding in the old text; lest we think
that what we read in the Gospels and apostles is only to be taken at face
value. For we do not know when more
knowledge and grace is divested to us by God, and he who is happy, who joined
both together to make it like one. For
he who has followed this will see the light, will see Christ, the light of justice. And if he lives for several years and with
knowledge of the Scriptures he will know the greatest happiness and enjoyment,
and he is forced more to this toil by the memory of his future judgement. Since the time of eternal darkness will come,
and perpetual punishments will be in stone for those who have not sown in the
morning and in the evening, and joined both in vain; they have not seen the
light or the sun, whence the light itself comes.

"Remember now your Creator in the days of
your youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when you
shall say, I have no pleasure in them; "In this chapter there were many explanations
of all things and almost as many opinions as men themselves. It would take too long however to recount all
the opinions of everyone and their arguments in which they want to prove their
opinions, the matter would require a volume to itself. But it is enough for wise men to have shown
what they feel, and like in a small picture, to have depicted the thirst of the
earth, the waste of the whole earth, and the belt of the ocean, and to have
shown them in such a small collection.
The Hebrews believe the imperative here refers to Israel, to whom it is
taught that she should enjoy her riches, and before the time of bondage comes
should change youth to old-age. She should enjoy whatever is pleasant or fun,
just as it seems to the heart so it seems to the eyes; at that time while she
still has them to hand. She knows
however that she will be judged in all things that she has done. And just as from bad thoughts she flees from
desires, knowing that foolishness is joined to youth, and will remember always
her Creator, and before the days of Babylonian and Roman captivity come, in
which she will no longer be free. And
all of this passage from the point which says, "before the sun, moon, and
stars become dark" [Eccl. 12, 2.],
until the place where the Scripture reminds us, "and dust will be swirled
on earth just as it used to be and the soul returned to God who gave it" [Eccl. 12, 7.],
they explain their condition. And since
as I have said above these things are tiresome and favourable, they should be
touched by us but briefly and superficially.
Therefore enjoy your youth O Israel, and do this or that, that has
already been mentioned before your time of bondage comes; and your glory will
leave you and pride, and judges, and your holy men who want to be interpreted
as the sun, moon, and stars, and are taken away. Before Nebuchadnezzar comes, or Titus,
Vespasian's son, before the call of the prophets and their prophecies are
fulfilled. In that day when the angels
that protect the temple leave, and the strongest men in your army are thrown in
confusion, and the speeches of the judges will be slow to come, and the
prophets, who are accustomed to receiving the light of their visions from
heaven, they all will become dark. When
the doors of the temple are closed Jerusalem will be made humble and the
Chaldeans will come as if by the song of a bird, called thus in the words of
Jeremiah, and the singing girls with the lute in the temple choir will become
silent [Cfr Ier. 9.]. At that time, when they will come to
Jerusalem, the enemies too will fear the greatness of God, and in the way of
doubt, they will fear the death of Sennacherib.
For they also believe the saying, "and from up high they will fear
and tremble in the road" [Cfr Is. 37.]. In those days "the almond tree will
flourish", that stick and staff which Jeremiah saw in his prophecy in the
beginning, "and the grasshopper will be a burden" [Cfr Ier. 1, 11.]. Nebuchadnezzar with his army, "and
desire shall fail ", the friendship between Israel and God. But what desire wants for itself, although we
have begun to speak about them individually will be explained more fully. But all this will happen to Israel, because
man will go out into the house of his eternity, and having returned from the
protection of God to the heavens, going to his tabernacle, the weeping and
crying will wander in the street and will be hemmed in by the enemy's
siege. Be happy therefore Israel in your
youth, before the silver cord is broken, (this is until your glory is with
you), before the golden ribbon breaks off, (that is before the arc of the
tabernacle is taken away); before the pitcher is worn away to the fountain, and
the wheel is turned around over the pool.
That is until you read the most sacred teachings, for the spirit of a
holy man is grace, and before you return to Babylon, from whence you left the
loins of Abraham, and you will begin to be worn away in Mesopotamia, which once
breathed life into you, and all is returned to He who gave it. The Jews have always taught these things and
have understood this chapter to pertain to themselves. But I prefer to return to the previous argument,
and try to explain each thing individually: "rejoice O youth, in your
adolescence, and let your heart be good in the days of your youth, and walk in
the way of your heart and in the sight of your eyes; and know above all these
things, since God will lead you into judgement". He has said that the light of this world is
the sweetest and that man ought to rejoice in the days of his life, and grasp
desire with all enthusiasm. For the
eternal night of death will fall when it's not permitted to enjoy ones amassed
wealth and like a shadow, all things that we possess, will die. Now therefore he encourages man and says,
"O youth, before old-age and death fall upon you, enjoy your youth, and
whatever you feel is good, and seems joyful to see, take it and enjoy as it
please you the things of this world."
Again so that he does not think these things say to provoke men to
indulgence, and thus fall into the doctrines of Epicurus, he takes this
suspicion, saying, "and know, since above all these God will lead you to
judgement". Thus, he says, take
advantage of the things of the world, so that you know you will be judged in
the end. "And force anger from your
heart and take wickedness from your flesh, since youth and foolishness are
vanity". In anger he sees all the
problems of the spirit. In the
wickedness of the flesh he sees every desire of the body. In this way therefore, he says, enjoy the
goodness of this world, lest you leave pleasure or flesh. Leave off your former vices, which you did in
your youth of vanity and foolishness, since youth is joined to
foolishness. "And remember in the
day of your youth Him, who created you, before the days of wickedness come and
the years approach, in which you will say, 'I have no will'". Always remember your Creator and walk the
route of your youth, so that you remember your end is death, before your time
comes, in which sad things will happen.

"While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or
the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain. "If we take this from the creation of the world, this
chapter agrees with the words of the Lord, in which He says, "there will
be trouble and difficulty as there has not been since the beginning of
creation, but this will not happen. For
the sun will grow dark and the moon will not shed light, and the stars will
fall from the sky, and the virtues of heaven will be moved" [Matth. 24, 21.19.]. Those things are the guardians of the house,
as we understand the 'house' to be this world, and the strong men, deceived by
wickedness and varied strengths must be dispersed. But if a particular consummation of any one
person is kept to the end of his life, then the sun, the moon, and stars,
clouds and rain will cease to be for him, who has died. Differently: enjoy youth, O Christian people,
and enjoy the goodness which has been given to you by God, and know that God
will judge you for all these. Do not
think that, since the earlier branches have been broken, you will be placed in
the root of a good olive tree, and therefore you will be without worry. But remove anger from your heart and desires
from your body, and when you have left all other vices remember your Creator
before the day of wickedness comes, the day of madness, in which punishments
have been made for sinners. This is so
that when you sin the sun of righteousness will set for you at midday, and the
light of knowledge will die, and the brightness of the moon, (that is of the
Church) will be taken away, and the stars will die, about which is written,
"in which you shine like the lights in the world having reason of
life" [Phil. 2, 15.]. And elsewhere: "star differs from star
in glory. Before the clouds return after
the rain" [I Cor. 15, 41.],
lest the prophets, who have watered the hearts of believers by the rain of
their speech, after they have seen you to be unworthy of their rain, return to
their seat, clearly to Him from whom they were sent.

" In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the
strong men shall bow themselves; "The keepers of the house can be interpreted as either
the sun and the moon, and the remaining choir of stars, or the angels who keep
watch over this world. The men of great
strength though, or the brave, as Symmachus has interpreted it, are those who
die, or as Aquila has translated it, those who err, and are felt to be demons,
for they are called those chosen by the powerful devil. The Lord overpowered him, and joining him,
according to the parable of the Gospel [Luc. 11, 14-26.],
destroys his house. Differently: the
keepers of the house, who relate all things, which are written to the body of
man, think that it means ribs, because the intestines are hemmed in by them,
and all of the fleshy parts of the stomach are protected in this way. They think that the strong men are to be
interpreted as legs; the sun and moon and stars therefore pertain to the eyes,
nose and ears, and receive all the sensations of the head. But they do not interpret this to such an
extent, because they are forced deeper by necessity, not by demons, or the sun,
moon, or stars, but to understand what follows according to the limbs of man. "And
the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows
be darkened. "In the beginning of
the world when the charity of most was cold and the spirits of teachers were
few, who were able to offer the food of heaven to believers, and they were
carried to the heaves; then those who in part see the light of knowledge in
this world began to be darkened. For it
is said to Moses: "sit yourself in this hole in the rock, and you will see
me pass" [Ex. 33, 22.]. Oh how much more one spirit saw the truth
through that opening and those dark caves!
Differently: there are two grinders, from whom one is taken, the other
is left, the Gospel is not silent in this matter [Cfr. Matth. 24, 41.]. And when they are few, and have ceased, it is
necessary that every light of knowledge is removed from our eyes. Differently: they think the grinders have
ceased because they are few, and that it is talking about teeth. And when at last old-age comes even teeth are
worn away, or they fall out, which usually grind down food to be sent to the
stomach. But seeing it grow dark in the
caves, they think it means eyes because sight darkens with old-age, and sight
is made difficult.

"And the doors shall be shut in the streets,
when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the
bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low. "When the voice of the grinder is weak and the teaching
of a tutor has stopped, then in turn all things will stop. Even the doors are closed in the streets, as
according to the unwieldy virgins of the Gospel [Cfr. Matth. 25, 1-12.],
and each one regards her doors as closed to her in the street, so that she can
not buy oil. Or even, while the virgins
are wandering in the streets, husbands close each room when they have entered
into it. For if the road is thin and
narrow, which leads to life and that which leads to death is wide and open,
justly, the charity of most being cold, the door of teachings is closed in the
streets. [Cfr. Matth. 7, 13.] But let us use the following verse, in which
he says, "and he rises to the sound of a bird", (or of a sparrow), if
we seem to be a sinner to the voice of the bishop or elder so to show that we
are in repentance. But this could also
be different again, if we do not follow the context of this chapter, it can be
taken to mean the real resurrection, when the death will rise up to the voice
of the arch-angel. And it is not
surprising, if we compare the trumpet of an angel to a sparrow, when all night
is compared to Christ, if it is clement.
And also this is not too surprising, if my memory serves me right, when
I have never read of a sparrow in a bad light.
In the tenth Psalm a righteous man says, "I trust in God, just as
you say to my spirit: fly to the mountain like a sparrow." [Ps. 10, 1.] And in another place: "I woke and I was
made as a sparrow alone on a roof" [Ps. 101, 8.]. Nor is it seen in a bad light in another
place: "and even the sparrow found a home for himself" [Ps. 83, 4.]. Differently: they want to see this as the
closed doors in the street, as the weak steps of an old man, because he always
sits and cannot walk. The weakness of
the voice of the grinder is interpreted as in his jaws, because he cannot chew
food, and scarcely reduced in spirit, his voice is heard only quietly. More precisely he shows him to rise to the
sound of a bird, because now with cold blood and dry organs by which sleep is
nourished, he wakes to a soft sound, and in the middle of the night, when the
cock crows, he rises quickly; but he is not able to move his limbs from his
bed. And he becomes silent too, or as it
is better put in the Hebrew, the daughters of song become deaf, (meaning ears),
because it is harder for old-men to hear noises and there is less distinction
between voices, or enjoy songs. Also
compare what Berzellai says to David, when he does not want to go to Jordan. [Cfr. II reg. 19, 32-39.]" "

"Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall
be in the way. "That is, they will not be able to enter on
difficult tasks and with tired knees and frightened footsteps, will not be able
to go out in the open, and will fear the offence of steps."
And the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a
burden, and desire shall fail: because man goes to his long home, and the
mourners go about the streets. "The
speech now explains the limbs of a man of the Church through a metaphor. And when old-age comes his hair will grow
white, his feet will swell, his lust will grow cold and he will be destroyed by
death. Then he will be returned to the
earth, and then in the house of his eternity you will remember his tomb and his
ashes with reverence, and a crowd will walk before the mourners at his
funeral. But the flower of the almond-tree,
which we have in place of grey hairs, some interpret as the sacred thorn,
because, while the flesh of the buttocks decreases, the thorn grows and
flowers. More precisely, in that verse
which says, "the grasshopper will be a burden", you must note that
where we have in our manuscripts 'grasshopper', the Hebrew has "aagab", which is rather ambiguous for
us. For it can be translated as 'heel'
or as 'grasshopper'. Just as for example
in the beginning of Jeremiah, the word "soced"
if the accent is changed can mean 'a nut' or 'wakefulness'. And this is said to him: "what do you
see, Jeremiah?" and he replies, "a nut". [Ier. 1, 11.] And the Lord says to him, "you have seen
well, for I will wake over my work so that I might complete it." [Ier. 1, 12.] Or that explanation: it also has the
etymology of the word 'nut', because God is about to keep awake. And what the people has deserved it will be
given, is what the text seems to say.
Thus now he shows the ambiguity of the word through its etymology,
showing that the legs of old men swell up and that gout weighs upon the organs. This does not happen to all men, but to most,
and this is "synecdoche" where a part
is called by the name of the whole.
Indeed where we read 'desire' the Hebrew has "abiona. "This in itself has
many meanings, and is interpreted as 'love', 'lust', 'longing', or
'desire'. And it has the meaning, as I
have said above, that the lust of an old man grows cold, and the organs of
intercourse sag. But this is said
because these words are ambiguous, for although they mean 'almond-tree', and
'grasshopper', and 'desire' in his language, they also mean other derived words
in our language, and are derived from the forms which pertain to old-age. You must note too, that where the Septuagint
has the word 'almond-tree' the word itself is "soced", which is found in the beginning of Jeremiah. But there it is meant 'nut' but here it means
'almond-tree'. Symmachus has
interpreted this passage in a greatly different way, (though I am unsure of what
he means): for he says, 'and they will see even above these things from on
high, and they will wander, and waking he will fall asleep, and the strength of
his spirit will be dispersed.' For man
will go to the house of his eternity, and the weeping will wander in the
street. Laodicenus [Apollinaris Laodic.]
followed the interpretation of Symmachus, which the Hebrews do not like, nor
the Christians; for while he is far from the Hebrews' view, he rejects too the
interpretations of the Septuagint.

"Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the
golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel
broken at the cistern. Then shall the
dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who
gave it. Vanity of vanities says Ecclesiastes;
all is vanity. "He returns to former matter and after a
rather large exaggeration, -which he interposes in this place, in which he
says, "and remember your Creator, in the day of your youth; before the
days of wickedness come, and before the sun, moon grow dark" and so on,
"in the day in which the keepers of the house are renewed". - now he
finishes the point he had begun in a similar way, saying, "before the
silver cord is broken", and this or that happens. But he shows the silver cord to be this white
band, and the space that divides us from heaven. It also means the gold band, which returns to
the place whence it came down. more
precisely the two that follow, the wearing of the jug on the fountain, and the
breaking of the wheel by the pond, are metaphorical images of death. For death is just like the jug, which is worn
down, stops to fill, and the wheel by which water is carried from a well or
pond, if it has been broken. Thus the
interpretation of the Septuagint has it that the usage of water is twisted in
this rope; thus when the silver cord is broken, and the river of the spirit
flows back to the fountain, the man will die.
He goes on more clearly: "the dust will return to the earth, whence
it was taken, and the spirit is returned to God, who gave it". From which there is enough to smile at in
those who think that spirits are produced with bodies, not from God, but are
made from the parent's body. For when
the flesh is returned to the earth, and the spirit goes back to God, who gave
it; it is obvious that God is the parent of all spirits, not man. Then after the description of man's death, he
goes back to the beginning of his book, saying, "vanity of vanities, says
Ecclesiastes, all is vanity" [Eccl. 1,2.]. For all toil of mortal men, which is argued
all through the books, is pertinent here, so that dust returns to the earth,
and the spirit returns to the place, whence it was taken, it is a great vanity
in this world to toil and obtain nothing for the future from it.

"And moreover, because the preacher was wise,
he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out,
and set in order many proverbs. The
preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was
upright, even words of truth. "The wisdom in which Solomon judges all kinds
of men he now professes at the end, because he was not happy with the use of
the old law, but therefore immersed himself in trying to solve difficult
problems of his own accord, and in teaching people; he composed parables and
proverbs, which say one thing superficially and yet have a deeper meaning. For proverbs often have different meaning to
that which is written, and this is the method used in teaching in the Gospels,
since the Lord spoke to the people in parables and in proverbs [Cfr. Matth, 13; 15.],
but He explained them to the apostles in secret. From this we clearly get the Book of
Proverbs, and we shouldn't think that they are but simple stories with
teachings, but rather as gold still in the earth, as a seed within a nut, or as
a fruit is found inside the hairy covering of its peel. Thus we must search for another meaning in
them which pertains to God. Before this
though he mentions that he desired to know the workings of the world and the
wisdom and mind of God. He wanted to
know why one thing or another should happen, as David after the death of the
body and spirit hoped he would see the path to heaven, saying, "I will see
the heavens, the work of your fingers" [Ps. 8, 4.]. But now Solomon strives to find this wisdom,
so that he may know and understand with his human mind, though confined by the
walls of the body, the truth only known by God.