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of those who have passed over to righteousness and been exalted and of many righteous ones who have fallen from virtue and been humbled. What then did I find that was extraordinary in these things? Now, nothing, he says. For all is vanity except spiritual gladness, which is naturally produced by the works and virtues of man; for he who has fallen from this gladness will not return here again to do the things that contribute to its possession. 22 That the irrational soul is also called spirit.

23 4, 1 And I returned, and saw all the oppressions that were

done under the sun; and behold the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power, and they had no comforter. By oppressions he means our adversaries; "Receive your servant," he says, "for good; let not the proud oppress me"; and again concerning the savior Christ he says: "And he will humble the oppressor and shall endure with the sun." But the oppressed before Christ were the people who had no comforter, such as he who said these things: "I, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all humility and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love." 24 4, 2 And I praised the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still alive until now; 4, 3 and better than both of these is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun And I praised those who have already died with Christ and were delivered from their oppressors more than those living in wickedness and persisting in it until now. But he is good who neither needed such a death to separate him from wickedness, nor was in wickedness, who did not know the evil labor done by the oppressors of those under the sun. 25 4, 4 And I saw all toil and every skill of work, that it is a man's envy of his neighbor; this also is vanity and a striving after wind I saw, he says, all wickedness and the evil one who acts boldly in it; for this one he calls bold in impieties, oppressing the poor, and again a work "made to be mocked by the angels" of God. I also saw all his jealousy which he has toward men, that it is vain and fills his heart; for God must altogether become all in all, and the prayer of Christ must be fulfilled which says: "Grant to them that they also may be one in us, just as I and you are one, Father." 26 4, 5 The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh If hands are a symbol of practical work, everyone who does not work righteousness folds his hands; therefore such a one, he says, eats his own flesh, being filled with the evils that spring from the flesh. 27 4, 6 Better is a handful of rest than two handfuls of toil and a striving after wind The striving of the spirit seems to me to be a passionate desire of the soul; whence the good handful of virtue is preferred to the two handfuls of wickedness and ignorance and the striving of the spirit. Such also is "A little that a righteous man has is better than the great wealth of sinners" and "Better is a little getting with righteousness than great revenues with injustice." Similar to these is also "I chose to be an outcast in the house of my God rather than to dwell in the tents of sinners" and "It is better to live in a corner of a roof than with a quarrelsome woman in a shared house." And these will be followed by "Better is a dinner of herbs with friendship and grace than a serving of calves with enmity," as if one said: it is better to learn one spiritual theorem than a multitude

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μεταβάντων ἐπὶ δικαιοσύνην καὶ ὑψωθέντων καὶ πολλῶν δικαίων τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐκπεσόντων καὶ ταπεινωθέντων. Τί οὖν τὸ περισσὸν εὗρον ἐν τούτοις; νῦν, οὐδέν, φησίν. Πάντα γὰρ ματαιότης πλὴν τῆς πνευματικῆς εὐφροσύνης, ἥτις ἐπὶ τοῖς ποιήμασι καὶ ταῖς ἀρεταῖς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου πέφυκεν γίνεσθαι· ταύτης γὰρ τῆς εὐφροσύνης ὁ ἐκπεσὼν οὐκ ἐπανήξει πάλιν ἐνταῦθα ποιήσων τὰ συντελοῦντα πρὸς κτῆσιν αὐτῆς. 22 Ὅτι καὶ ἡ ἄλογος ψυχὴ λέγεται πνεῦμα.

23 4, 1 καὶ ἐπέστρεψα ἐγὼ καὶ εἶδον σὺν πάσας τὰς συκοφαντίας τὰς

γενομένας ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον· καὶ ἰδοὺ δάκρυον τῶν συκοφαντουμένων, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῖς παρακαλῶν, καὶ ἀπὸ χειρὸς συκοφαντούντων αὐτοὺς ἰσχύς, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῖς ὁ παρακαλῶν Συκοφαντίας λέγει τοὺς ἀντικειμένους ἡμῖν· «ἔκδεξαι γάρ, φησί, τὸν δοῦλόν σου εἰς ἀγαθόν· μὴ συκοφαντησάτωσάν με ὑπερήφανοι»· καὶ πάλιν περὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος Χριστοῦ φησι· «καὶ ταπεινώσει συκοφάντην καὶ συμπαραμενεῖ τῷ ἡλίῳ.» Οἱ δὲ συκοφαντούμενοι πρὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἦσαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι οἷς οὐχ ὑπῆρχεν ὁ παρακαλῶν, ὁποῖος ἦν ὁ λέγων ταῦτα· «παρακαλῶ ὑμᾶς ἐγὼ ὁ δέσμιος ἐν κυρίῳ ἀξίως περιπατῆσαι τῆς κλήσεως ἧς ἐκλήθητε, μετὰ πάσης ταπεινοφροσύνης καὶ πραότητος, μετὰ μακροθυμίας, ἀνεχόμενοι ἀλλήλων ἐν ἀγάπῃ.» 24 4, 2 καὶ ἐπῄνεσα ἐγὼ σὺν τοὺς τεθνηκότας, τοὺς ἤδη ἀποθανόντας, ὑπὲρ τοὺς ζῶντας, ὅσοι αὐτοὶ ζῶσιν ἕως τοῦ νῦν· 4, 3 καὶ ἀγαθὸς ὑπὲρ τοὺς δύο τούτους ὅστις οὔπω ἐγένετο, ὃς οὐκ εἶδεν σὺν τὸ ποίημα τὸ πονηρὸν τὸ πεποιημένον ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον Καὶ ἐπῄνεσα τοὺς ἤδη συναποθανόντας τῷ Χριστῷ καὶ ῥυσθέντας ἀπὸ τῶν συκοφαντούντων αὐτοὺς ὑπὲρ τοὺς ζῶντας ἐν κακίᾳ καὶ ἐπιμένοντας αὐτῇ μέχρι τοῦ νῦν. Ἀγαθὸς δὲ ὁ μήτε προσδεηθεὶς τοιούτου θανάτου χωρίζοντος αὐτὸν ἀπὸ κακίας μήτε ἐν κακίᾳ γενόμενος, ὃς οὐκ ἔγνω τὸν πονηρὸν κόπον τὸν ποιούμενον πρὸς τῶν συκοφαντούντων τοὺς ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον. 25 4, 4 καὶ εἶδον ἐγὼ σὺν πάντα τὸν μόχθον καὶ σὺν πᾶσαν ἀνδρείαν τοῦ ποιήματος ὅτι αὐτὸ ζῆλος ἀνδρὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ ἑταίρου αὐτοῦ· καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης καὶ προαίρεσις πνεύματος Εἶδον, φησίν, πᾶσαν κακίαν καὶ τὸν ἀνδριζόμενον ἐν αὐτῇ πονηρόν· τοῦτον γὰρ καὶ λέγει ἀνδρεῖον ἐν ἀσεβείαις συκοφαντοῦντα πτωχοὺς καὶ πάλιν ποίημα ὡς «πεποιημένον ἐγκαταπαίζεσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγγέλων» τοῦ θεοῦ. Εἶδον καὶ πᾶσαν αὐτοῦ τὴν ζηλοτυπίαν ἣν κέκτηται πρὸς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, ματαίαν οὖσαν καὶ πληροφοροῦσαν τὴν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ· δεῖ γὰρ τὸν θεὸν πάντως γενέσθαι τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσι καὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ πληρωθῆναι τὴν εὐχὴν τὴν λέγουσαν· «δὸς αὐτοῖς ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν ἡμῖν ὦσιν ἕν, καθὼς κἀγὼ καὶ σὺ ἕν ἐσμεν, πάτερ.» 26 4, 5 ἄφρων περιέλαβεν τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔφαγεν τὰς σάρκας αὐτοῦ Εἰ αἱ χεῖρες πρακτικῆς ἐργασίας εἰσὶ σύμβολον, πᾶς μὴ ἐργαζόμενος δικαιοσύνην περιλαμβάνει τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ· διόπερ καὶ ὁ τοιοῦτος, φησί, κατεσθίει τὰς σάρκας αὐτοῦ, τῶν ἐκ τῆς σαρκὸς φυομένων κακῶν ἐμπιπλάμενος. 27 4, 6 ἀγαθὸν πλήρωμα δρακὸς ἀναπαύσεως ὑπὲρ πληρώματα δύο δρακῶν μόχθου καὶ προαιρέσεως πνεύματος Ἡ προαίρεσις τοῦ πνεύματος ὡς θέλημα ψυχικὸν ἐμπαθὲς εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ· ὅθεν καὶ προτιμᾶται ἡ ἀγαθὴ δρὰξ τῆς ἀρετῆς τῶν δύο δρακῶν τῆς κακίας καὶ τῆς ἀγνωσίας καὶ τῆς προαιρέσεως τοῦ πνεύματος. Τοιοῦτόν ἐστι καὶ τὸ «κρεῖσσον ὀλίγον τῷ δικαίῳ ὑπὲρ πλοῦτον ἁμαρτωλῶν πολὺν» καὶ τὸ «κρεῖσσον ὀλίγη λῆψις μετὰ δικαιοσύνης ἢ πολλὰ γενήματα μετὰ ἀδικίας». Ὅμοιον τούτοις καὶ τὸ «ἐξελεξάμην παραρριπτεῖσθαι ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ θεοῦ μου μᾶλλον ἢ οἰκεῖν με ἐν σκηνώμασιν ἁμαρτωλῶν» καὶ τὸ «κρεῖσσον οἰκεῖν ἐπὶ γωνίας δώματος ἢ μετὰ γυναικὸς λοιδόρου ἐν οἰκίᾳ κοινῇ». Ἀκολουθήσει δὲ τούτοις καὶ τὸ «κρεῖσσον ξενισμὸς λαχάνων πρὸς φιλίαν καὶ χάριν ἢ παράθεσις μόσχων μετὰ ἔχθρας», ὡσεὶ ἔλεγέ τις· κρεῖσσον μαθεῖν θεώρημα ἓν πνευματικὸν ἢ πλῆθος