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Just as a chorus looks to the chorus-leader, and sailors to the pilot, and the battle-line to the general, so too those in the congregation of the church look to the guide of the church. What then does the Preacher say? I became king over Israel in Jerusalem. When was this? Was it not surely when He was established as king by Him on Zion his holy mountain, declaring the decree of the Lord? to whom the Lord said, "You are my Son," and, "Today I have begotten you"; for he said that he had begotten 'today' the maker of the universe, the Father of the ages, so that by applying the temporal name to the time of his birth, the account might represent not the pre-eternal existence, but the birth in time through the flesh for the salvation of men. These things, then, the true Preacher recounts, teaching, I think, the great mystery of salvation, for the sake of which God was manifested in the flesh. For I gave, he says, my heart to seek out and to search out in wisdom concerning all things that have come to be under heaven. This is the reason for 5.300 the Lord's sojourning among men in the flesh, to give his heart to examine in his own wisdom concerning the things that have come to be under heaven. For the things above heaven had no need of one to examine them, just as that which is not held by disease has no need of one to heal it. Since, then, evils are on the earth; for the creeping beast, the serpent, that crawls on its breast and belly, makes the earth its food, eating none of the heavenly things, but crawling on what is trodden, it always looks to that which treads, watching the heel of the human path and injecting its venom into those who have lost The authority to tread upon serpents; for this reason he gave his heart To seek out and to search out concerning all things that have come to be under heaven; for in the things above the heavens the prophet sees the divine majesty unhumbled, saying that, Your majesty has been lifted up above the heavens. But since the part under heaven was humbled through wickedness; for so the psalmist says that they were humbled for their sins; this the Preacher came to examine: what has come to be under heaven that was not before, how vanity entered, how the non-existent prevailed, what is the dominion of that which does not exist. For evil has no substance, because it has its substance from non-being, and that which is from non-being is not 5.301 at all according to its own nature, but nevertheless vanity prevails over those who have been conformed to vanity. He came, therefore, to seek out with his own wisdom what has come to be under the sun, what is the confusion of the affairs here, how that which is was enslaved by that which is not, how that which has no substance holds dominion over that which is. And he saw, That God has given a grievous distraction to the sons of men to be distracted by it. But this is not, as one might readily think, pious to suppose, that God himself gave the grievous distraction to men; for then the cause of evils would be referred to him. For he who is good by nature is entirely a provider of good things, because Every good tree produces good fruit, and neither do grapes grow from thorns nor thorns from a vine. He who is good by nature, therefore, would not produce anything evil from his own treasures; for not even a good man speaks evil things out of the abundance of his heart, but speaks things suitable to his own nature; how much more, then, would the fount of good things not pour forth any evil things from its own nature? But the more pious understanding suggests we think this, that the good gift of God, and this is the self-determining movement, through the mistaken use of men became an instrument for sin. For freedom of choice and being unenslaved is good by nature, but that which is yoked to necessities one would not 5.302 number among good things. But this self-determining impulse of the mind, flowing untutored toward the choice of evil, became a distraction of the soul, as it was dragged down from high and honorable things to the passionate movements of nature. This is what "he gave" signifies,

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μὲν χορὸς πρὸς τὸν κορυφαῖον ὁρᾷ, πρὸς δὲ τὸν κυβερνήτην οἱ ναῦται καὶ πρὸς τὸν στρατηγὸν ἡ παράταξις, οὕτω καὶ πρὸς τὸν καθηγε μόνα τῆς ἐκκλησίας οἱ ἐν τῷ πληρώματι ὄντες τῆς ἐκκλησίας. τί οὖν φησιν ὁ ἐκκλησιαστής; Ἐγὼ ἐγενόμην βασιλεὺς ἐπὶ Ἰσραὴλ ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ. πότε τοῦτο; ἦ πάντως ὅτε Κατεστάθη βασιλεὺς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ Σιὼν ὄρος τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ διαγγέλλων τὸ πρόσταγμα κυρίου; πρὸς ὃν εἶπεν ὁ κύριος ὅτι Υἱός μου εἶ σύ, καὶ ὅτι Σήμερον γεγέννηκά σε· τὸν γὰρ ποιητὴν τοῦ παντός, τὸν τῶν αἰώνων πατέρα, σήμερον εἶπε γεγεννηκέναι, ἵνα διὰ τοῦ παραθεῖναι τὸ χρονι κὸν ὄνομα τῷ καιρῷ τῆς γεννήσεως μὴ τὴν προαιώνιον ὕπαρξιν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐν χρόνῳ ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων διὰ σαρκὸς γέννησιν παραστήσῃ ὁ λόγος. Ταῦτα οὖν ὁ ἀληθινὸς ἐκκλησιαστὴς διεξέρχεται διδά σκων, οἶμαι, τὸ μέγα τῆς σωτηρίας μυστήριον, ὅτου χάριν ὁ θεὸς ἐν σαρκὶ ἐφανερώθη. Ἔδωκα γάρ, φησί, τὴν καρδίαν μου τοῦ ἐκζητῆσαι καὶ τοῦ κατασκέψασθαι ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ περὶ πάντων τῶν γενομένων ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανόν. αὕτη ἡ αἰτία τοῦ 5.300 ἐπιδημῆσαι διὰ σαρκὸς τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὸν κύριον, τὸ δοῦναι τὴν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ ἐπισκέψασθαι ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ ἑαυ τοῦ περὶ τῶν ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανὸν γενομένων. τὰ γὰρ ὑπὲρ τὸν οὐρανὸν οὐκ ἐδεῖτο τοῦ ἐπισκεπτομένου, ὡς οὐδὲ τοῦ ἰατρεύοντος τὸ μὴ τῇ νόσῳ κρατούμενον. ἐπεὶ οὖν περὶ γῆν τὰ κακά· τὸ γὰρ ἑρπυστικὸν θηρίον ὁ ὄφις ὁ ἐπὶ τῷ στήθει καὶ τῇ κοιλίᾳ συρόμενος βρῶμα ποιεῖται τὴν γῆν οὐδὲν τῶν οὐρανίων σιτούμενος, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ πατουμένῳ συρόμενος πρὸς τὸ πατοῦν ἀεὶ βλέπει, τηρῶν τὴν πτέρναν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης πορείας καὶ τὸν ἰὸν ἐνιεὶς ἐκείνοις τοῖς Τὴν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ πατεῖν ἐπάνω ὄφεων ἀπολέσασι· διὰ τοῦτο ἔδωκε τὴν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ Ἐκζητῆσαι καὶ κατασκέψασθαι περὶ πάντων τῶν γενομένων ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανόν· ἐν γὰρ τοῖς ὑπεράνω τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀταπείνωτον βλέπει τὴν θείαν μεγα λοπρέπειαν ὁ προφήτης λέγων, ὅτι Ἐπήρθη ἡ μεγαλοπρέπειά σου ὑπεράνω τῶν οὐρανῶν. ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὸ ὑπουράνιον μέρος διὰ τῆς κακίας ἐταπεινώθη· οὕτω γάρ φησιν ὁ ψαλμῳδὸς ὅτι διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν ἐταπεινώθησαν· τοῦτο ἦλθεν ὁ ἐκκλησιαστὴς ἐπισκέψασθαι, τί γέγονεν ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανὸν ὃ μὴ πρότερον ἦν, πῶς εἰσῆλθεν ἡ ματαιότης, πῶς ἐπεκράτησε τὸ ἀνύπαρκτον, τίς ἡ δυναστεία τοῦ μὴ ὑπάρχοντος. τὸ γὰρ κακὸν ἀνυπόστατον, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος τὴν ὑπό στασιν ἔχει, τὸ δὲ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος ὂν οὐδὲ ἔστι πάν 5.301 τως κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν φύσιν, ἀλλ' ὅμως τῶν τῇ ματαιότητι ὁμοιωθέντων ἐπικρατεῖ ἡ ματαιότης. Ἦλθεν οὖν ἐκζητῆσαι τῇ ἑαυτοῦ σοφίᾳ, τί γέγονεν ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, τίς ἡ σύγχυσις τῶν τῇδε πραγμάτων, πῶς ἐδουλώθη τὸ ὂν τῷ μὴ ὄντι, πῶς δυναστεύει κατὰ τοῦ ὄντος τὸ ἀνυπό στατον. καὶ εἶδεν, Ὅτι περισπασμὸν πονηρὸν ἔδωκεν ὁ θεὸς τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοῦ περισπᾶσθαι ἐν αὐτῷ. τοῦτο δὲ οὐχ, ὡς ἄν τις ἐκ τοῦ προχείρου νοήσειεν, εὐσεβές ἐστιν οἴεσθαι, ὅτι αὐτὸς ἔδωκεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν πονηρὸν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις περισπασμόν· ἦ γὰρ ἂν εἰς ἐκεῖνον ἡ τῶν κα κῶν αἰτία ἐπαναφέροιτο. ὁ γὰρ τῇ φύσει ἀγαθὸς καὶ ἀγαθῶν πάντως παρεκτικὸς γίνεται, διότι Πᾶν δένδρον καλὸν καρποὺς καλοὺς ποιεῖ, καὶ οὔτε ἀπὸ ἀκανθῶν σταφυλὴ οὔτε ἐξ ἀμπέλου ἄκανθα φύεται. ὁ οὖν τῇ φύσει ἀγαθὸς οὐκ ἄν τι πονηρὸν ἐκ τῶν θησαυρῶν ἑαυτοῦ προχειρίσαιτο· οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τοῦ περισσεύματος τῆς καρδίας κακὰ λαλεῖ, ἀλλὰ κατάλληλα τῇ ἑαυτοῦ φθέγγεται φύσει· πόσῳ οὖν μᾶλλον ἡ τῶν ἀγαθῶν πηγὴ οὐκ ἄν τι τῶν πονηρῶν ἐκ τῆς ἰδίας φύσεως προχέοι; ἀλλὰ τοῦτο νοεῖν ὑποτίθεται ἡ εὐσεβεστέρα διάνοια, ὅτι τὸ ἀγαθὸν τοῦ θεοῦ δόμα, τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν ἡ αὐτεξούσιος κίνησις τῇ διημαρτημένῃ τῶν ἀνθρώπων χρήσει ὄργανον εἰς ἁμαρτίαν ἐγένετο. ἀγαθὸν γὰρ τῇ φύσει τὸ αὐτεξούσιον καὶ ἀδούλωτον, τὸ δὲ ὑπεζευγμένον ἀνάγκαις οὐκ ἄν τις 5.302 ἐν ἀγαθοῖς ἀριθμήσειεν. ἀλλ' ἡ αὐτεξούσιος αὕτη τῆς διανοίας ὁρμὴ ἀπαιδαγωγήτως πρὸς τὴν αἵρεσιν τῆς κακίας ἀπορρυεῖσα περισπασμὸς τῆς ψυχῆς ἐγένετο ἀπὸ τῶν ὑψηλῶν τε καὶ τιμίων πρὸς τὰς ἐμπαθεῖς τῆς φύσεως κινήσεις κατασπασθείσης. τοῦτό ἐστιν ὃ σημαίνει τὸ ἔδωκεν,