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not having seen goodness; nor again is the good vision of the eyes vanity, but the one who walks in the soul. 52 6, 10 If something has come to be, its name has already been called, and it is known what man is, and he will not be able to be judged with one who is stronger than him; 6, 11 because there are many words that increase vanity. What is the advantage for man? 6, 12 For who knows what is good for man in life, the number of the days of his vain life? And he has made them in shadow; for who will tell man what will be after him under the sun, and how it will be, who will tell him? Of names, some are of a bodily nature, and some of an incorporeal one; and the names of a bodily nature signify the quality of each thing, which consists of size and color and shape; but the names of incorporeal things declare the state of each rational being, being either praiseworthy or blameworthy; but the former names are simply given to things, while the latter are not simply; for they depend on choice. For it belongs to free will to incline toward virtue and be deemed worthy of the knowledge that makes one an angel or archangel or throne or dominion, or to incline toward evil and be filled with the ignorance that makes one a demon or a satan or some other world-ruler of this darkness. If anything, therefore, he says, came to be at the time of the world's creation, it received a name signifying its state, and man too received the name proper to his state. Let not man therefore say, he says: for what reason was I joined to such a body and why have I not become an angel, unless perhaps there is partiality with God or we have not been made with free will? For such words increase vanity. But how shall the thing formed say to him who formed it: why did you make me thus? Or how does it answer back to God? But let him cease from these words, and do those things that contribute to virtue and knowledge, for as long as he is in this shadowy age, considering all things here to be vanity and a shadow, and that the things of this life will be covered by oblivion after the departure. 53

7, 1 A good name is better than good oil, and the day of death than the day of one's birth. Names by their own nature are neither good nor evil; for they are composed of different letters, and no letter is good or evil; but when applied to good things they are called good, and to evil things, evil. Here, therefore, "a good name" signifies a good thing; and Solomon calls nothing that has come to be good except virtue and the knowledge of God. Now, "the oil" signifies bodily luxury, which seems to be good to those who live in luxury. For the good by nature is said to be good, such as virtue, but for some it is such as gold and silver; thus also the rich man received his good things in his life, "and Lazarus likewise the bad." And that "the oil" is taken to mean luxury, David shows when he says of men that "they were increased by the fruit of their wheat and wine and oil." 54

If the praiseworthy death, by which the righteous die with Christ, is by nature to release the soul from evil and ignorance, so again the birth opposite to this death joins the soul to evil and ignorance; for which reason such a death is more to be preferred than such a birth. 55

7, 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of every man, and the living will lay it to his heart. The end of man is blessedness. And if the Lord in the gospels calls mourning blessed: "for blessed," he says, "are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted," Solomon rightly says mourning is the end of man, which fills those who live in it with spiritual goods. 56 7, 3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for by a sad countenance the heart will be made better. 7, 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 7, 5

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ἀγαθωσύνην μὴ θεασάμενος· οὐδ' αὖ πάλιν τὸ ἀγαθὸν ὅραμα τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἐστι ματαιότης, ἀλλ' ὁ πορευόμενος τῇ ψυχῇ. 52 6, 10 εἴ τι ἐγένετο, ἤδη κέκληται ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐγνώσθη ὅ ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος, καὶ οὐ δυνήσεται τοῦ κριθῆναι μετὰ τοῦ ἰσχυροῦ ὑπὲρ αὐτόν· 6, 11 ὅτι εἰσὶν λόγοι πολλοὶ πληθύνοντες ματαιότητα. τί περισσὸν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ; 6, 12 ὅτι τίς οἶδεν τί ἀγαθὸν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐν τῇ ζωῇ, ἀριθμὸν ἡμερῶν ζωῆς ματαιότητος αὐτοῦ; καὶ ἐποίησεν αὐτὰς ἐν σκιᾷ· ὅτι τίς ἀπαγγελεῖ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τί ἔσται ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, καὶ καθὼς ἔσται, τίς ἀπαγγελεῖ αὐτῷ; Τῶν ὀνομάτων τὰ μὲν τῆς σωματικῆς ἐστι φύσεως, τὰ δὲ τῆς ἀσωμάτου· καὶ τὰ μὲν τῆς σωματικῆς φύσεως ὀνόματα σημαίνει τὴν ἑκάστου πράγματος ποιότητα, ἥτις συνίσταται ἐκ μεγέθους καὶ χρώματος καὶ σχήματος· τὰ δὲ τῶν ἀσωμάτων ὀνόματα δηλοῖ τὴν ἑκάστου λογικοῦ κατάστασιν, ἤτοι ἐπαινετὴν οὖσαν ἢ ψεκτήν· ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν πρότερα ὀνόματα ἁπλῶς τοῖς πράγμασι τέθειται, τὰ δὲ δεύτερα οὐχ ἁπλῶς· τῆς γὰρ προαιρέσεως ἤρτηται. Τοῦ γὰρ αὐτεξουσίου ἐστὶ τὸ ῥέψαι πρὸς ἀρετὴν καὶ καταξιωθῆναι γνώσεως τῆς ποιούσης αὐτὸν ἄγγελον ἢ ἀρχάγγελον ἢ θρόνον ἢ κυριότητα ἢ ῥέψαι πρὸς κακίαν καὶ πλησθῆναι ἀγνοίας τῆς ποιούσης αὐτὸν δαίμονα ἢ σατανᾶν ἢ ἄλλον τινὰ κοσμοκράτορα τοῦ σκότους τούτου. Εἴ τι οὖν, φησίν, γέγονε κατὰ τὸν τῆς κοσμοποιΐας καιρόν, ἔλαβεν ὄνομα σημαῖνον αὐτοῦ τὴν κατάστασιν, ἔλαβε δὲ καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος τὸ οἰκεῖον τῆς καταστάσεως αὐτοῦ ὄνομα. Μὴ τοίνυν λεγέτω, φησίν, ὁ ἄνθρωπος· τίνος χάριν τοιούτῳ σώματι συνεζεύχθην καὶ διὰ τί μὴ γέγονα ἄγγελος, εἰ μὴ ἄρα προσωποληψία ἐστὶ παρὰ τῷ θεῷ ἢ αὐτεξούσιοι οὐ γεγόναμεν; οἱ γὰρ τοιοῦτοι λόγοι πληθύνουσι ματαιότητα. Πῶς δὲ ἐρεῖ καὶ τὸ πλάσμα τῷ πλάσαντι· τί με ἐποίησας οὕτως; ἢ πῶς ἀνταποκρίνεται τῷ θεῷ; ἀλλὰ τούτων μὲν παυσάσθω τῶν λόγων, τὰ δὲ συντελοῦντα πρὸς ἀρετὴν καὶ γνῶσιν ποιείτω, ἐφ' ὅσον ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ σκιώδει τούτῳ αἰῶνι, πάντα τὰ τῇδε μάταια καὶ σκιὰν λογιζόμενος καὶ ὡς λήθῃ καλυφθήσεται τὰ τοῦ βίου τούτου μετὰ τὴν ἔξοδον. 53

7, 1 ἀγαθὸν ὄνομα ὑπὲρ ἔλαιον ἀγαθὸν καὶ ἡμέρα τοῦ θανάτου ὑπὲρ ἡμέραν

γενέσεως αὐτοῦ Τὰ ὀνόματα τῇ ἰδίᾳ φύσει οὔτε ἀγαθά ἐστιν οὔτε πονηρά· ἀπὸ γὰρ διαφόρων συνέστηκε γραμμάτων, οὐδεμία δὲ γραμμή ἐστιν ἀγαθὴ ἢ κακή· τιθέμενα δὲ πράγμασιν ἀγαθοῖς λέγεται ἀγαθὰ καὶ πονηροῖς πονηρά. Ἐνταῦθα οὖν τὸ ὄνομα τὸ ἀγαθὸν πρᾶγμα σημαίνει ἀγαθόν· οὐδὲν δὲ τῶν γεγονότων ἀγαθὸν λέγει ὁ Σολομὼν εἰ μὴ ἀρετὴν καὶ γνῶσιν θεοῦ. Τὸ δὲ ἔλαιον νῦν τὴν σωματικὴν σημαίνει τρυφὴν ἥτις τοῖς τρυφῶσι φαίνεται εἶναι ἀγαθή. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἀγαθὸν τῇ φύσει λέγεται εἶναι ἀγαθὸν ὡς ἡ ἀρετή, τὸ δέ τισιν ὡς ὁ χρυσὸς καὶ ὁ ἄργυρος· οὕτω καὶ ὁ πλούσιος τὰ ἀγαθὰ αὐτοῦ ἀπέλαβεν ἐν τῇ ζωῇ αὐτοῦ «καὶ Λάζαρος ὁμοίως τὰ κακά». Ὅτι δὲ τὸ ἔλαιον ἀντὶ τρυφῆς παραλαμβάνεται, παρίστησιν ὁ ∆αυὶδ λέγων περὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὅτι «ἀπὸ καρποῦ σίτου καὶ οἴνου καὶ ἐλαίου αὐτῶν ἐπληθύνθησαν». 54 Εἰ ὁ ἐπαινετὸς θάνατος καθ' ὃν συναποθνῄσκουσιν οἱ δίκαιοι τῷ Χριστῷ διαλύειν πέφυκε ψυχὴν ἀπὸ κακίας καὶ ἀγνωσίας, οὕτω πάλιν ἡ ἀντικειμένη γένεσις τούτῳ τῷ θανάτῳ συνάπτει ψυχὴν κακίᾳ καὶ ἀγνωσίᾳ· διὸ καὶ προτιμότερος ὁ τοιοῦτος θάνατός ἐστιν τῆς τοιαύτης γενέσεως. 55 7, 2 ἀγαθὸν πορευθῆναι εἰς οἶκον πένθους ἢ ὅτι πορευθῆναι εἰς οἶκον πότου, καθότι τοῦτο τὸ τέλος παντὸς ἀνθρώπου, καὶ ὁ ζῶν δώσει ἀγαθὸν ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ Τέλος τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἡ μακαριότης ἐστίν. Εἰ δὲ μακαρίζει τὸ πένθος ἐν τοῖς εὐαγγελίοις ὁ κύριος· «μακάριοι γάρ, φησίν, οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται», καλῶς τὸ πένθος ὁ Σολομὼν τέλος τοῦ ἀνθρώπου φησίν, ὅπερ τοὺς ἐν αὐτῷ ζῶντας πληροῖ τῶν πνευματικῶν ἀγαθῶν. 56 7, 3 ἀγαθὸν θυμὸς ὑπὲρ γέλωτα, ὅτι ἐν κακίᾳ προσώπου ἀγαθυνθήσεται καρδία. 7, 4 καρδία σοφῶν ἐν οἴκῳ πένθους, καὶ καρδία ἀφρόνων ἐν οἴκῳ εὐφροσύνης. 7, 5