9

For even if he labors for the sake of earning a livelihood, 93.504 he does not primarily expend all his effort on things seen, but only as much as he labors for necessary food; but he spends his whole effort on virtue, despising things that are not lasting and temporary, while laying claim to things that are eternal and not seen. "So I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? And whether he will have power over all my toil in which I have toiled and used my wisdom under the sun? This also is vanity." Hating the laborious collection of possessions and money, the Wise Man, after demonstrating his hatred, states the reason for it: first, that the possession is not permanent for the one who has it, but he himself will depart from life taking nothing with him, while another will inherit the things acquired by him with toil. Second, that he does not know who his successor will be: whether he will manage the wealth living in profligacy or in prudence. Third, that even if we grant that the one who receives the substance is prudent, it is uncertain if he will be master of it, since money is always passing from one to another for many and various reasons. And even if we grant, he says, that the heir will be prudent and will become master of the substance, yet this also is vanity. As to why, he left it for us to consider, that it is better for us to dispose of the wealth ourselves, and having spent it on the needs of the poor and needy, to have an unfailing treasure in heaven, than to pass the money on to others, whoever they may happen to be. "And I turned about to make my heart despair of all the toil in which I had toiled under the sun." Having condemned the aforesaid, the wise man runs to the evangelical life, almost saying to the Savior the very thing according to Peter: Behold, we have left everything and have followed you. Then he takes up the aforementioned reason, for the hatred of temporary things. And he says: "Because there is a man whose toil is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in manliness; yet to a man who has not toiled for it he will give his portion; this also is vanity and a great evil." For what, he says, is the benefit to a man toiling in human wisdom, and prudence, and manliness, and being wicked, that is, not sharing, but always adding to what he has, when another who has neither labored nor toiled inherits his wealth? It is also possible to understand it this way: I turned about to make my heart despair, of all my toil in which I toiled under the sun, considering that another will inherit my wealth, 93.505 while I shall undergo the anxiety. But by inserting in the middle, "Because there is a man whose toil is in wisdom, and in understanding, and in manliness," he teaches this: I despised the toil for vain things, he says, reasoning that there is another praiseworthy toil, which gathers the wealth that comes from virtue and is ever-abiding. And this is the toil, which a man toils, to acquire wisdom, and knowledge, and manliness. Therefore, preferring this toil to that one, I turned about to despair in my heart of all the toil in which I toiled under the sun, that is, concerning vain things. "For what comes to a man in all his toil and in the choice of his heart in which he toils under the sun? For all his days are of sorrows and his distraction is of anger. And even in the night his heart does not sleep; this also is vanity." The toil which a man toils by choice, he says, becomes for him either good or bad. For if the toil is expended on virtues, it is praiseworthy; but for him who does not toil for the good, all his days are full of pains, and anger, and distraction, and sleeplessness. For all these things accompany those who are distracted by the vain endeavors of this life; wherefore this also is vanity. "And there is nothing good for a man except what he will eat and drink, and show his soul good in his toil. And this I saw, that it is from the hand of God, for who will eat and who will drink apart from him?" And the things in between

9

Εἰ γὰρ καὶ διὰ τὴν βιοποριστικὴν χρείαν 93.504 κάμνει, ἀλλ' οὐ προηγουμένως τὴν πᾶσαν σπουδὴν περὶ τὰ ὁρώμενα καταναλίσκει, ἀλλ' ὅσα διὰ τὴν ἀναγκαίαν τροφὴν κάμνει· τὴν δὲ ὅλην σπουδὴν εἰς ἀρετὴν καταδαπανᾷ, τῶν οὐ μενόντων καὶ προσκαίρων καταφρονῶν· τῶν δὲ αἰωνίων καὶ μὴ φαινομένων ἀντιποιούμενος. "Καὶ ἐμίσησα ἐγὼ σύμπαντα τὸν μόχθον μου, ὃν ἐγὼ μοχθῶ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, ὅτι ἀφιῶ αὐτὸν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ γινομένῳ μετ' ἐμέ. Καὶ τίς οἶδ' εἰ σοφὸς ἔσται, ἢ ἄφρων; καὶ εἰ ἐξουσιάσεται ἐν παντὶ μόχθῳ μου, ᾧ ἐμόχθησα καὶ ἐσοφισάμην ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον; καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης." Μισήσας ὁ Σοφὸς τὴν τῶν κτημάτων καὶ χρημάτων ἐπίμοχθον συλλογὴν, καὶ τὸν ἐπὶ ταύτῃ καταβαλλόμενον πόνον μετὰ ἀποδείξεως τοῦ μίσους τὸ εὔλογόν φησι· πρῶτον μὲν, ὅτι οὐ διηνεκής ἐστι τῷ ἔχοντι ἡ κτῆσις· ἀλλ' αὐτὸς μὲν ἔξεισι τοῦ βίου μηδὲν ἐπαγόμενος· τὰ δὲ μετὰ πόνου αὐτῷ κτηθέντα ἕτερος διαδέχεται. ∆εύτερον, ὅτι οὔτε οἶδε τίς ὁ διαδεχόμενος· ἐν ἀσωτίᾳ ζῶν, ἢ ἐν φρονήσει, τὸν πλοῦτον διοικῶν. Τρίτον, ὅτι εἰ καὶ δῶμεν φρόνιμον εἶναι τὸν τὴν οὐσίαν παραλαμβάνοντα, ἄδηλον εἰ κύριος ἔσται ταύτης, τῶν χρημάτων ἀεὶ ἄλλοτε εἰς ἄλλους μεταπιπτόντων, κατὰ πολλὰς καὶ διαφόρους αἰτίας. Εἰ δὲ καὶ δῶμεν, φησὶν, ὅτι καὶ φρόνιμός τις ἔσται ὁ κληρονόμος, καὶ ἐγκρατὴς τῆς οὐσίας γενήσεται, ἀλλὰ καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης. Τὸ δὲ διὰ τί, ἡμῖν ἀφῆκε σκοπεῖν, ὅτι ἄμεινον ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς διαθέντας τὸν πλοῦτον, καὶ εἰς τὴν τῶν δεομένων καὶ πενήτων δαπανήσαντας χρείαν, θησαυρὸν ἔχειν ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἀνελλιπῆ, ἢ εἰς ἑτέρους τὰ χρήματα παραπέμψαι, ὁποῖοί ποτε τυγχάνουσιν ὄντες. "Καὶ ἐπέστρεψα ἐγὼ τοῦ ἀποτάξασθαι τῇ καρδίᾳ μου ἐν παντὶ μόχθῳ μου ᾧ ἐμόχθησα ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον." Καταγνοὺς τῶν προειρημένων ὁ σοφὸς, ἐπὶ τὸν εὐαγγελικὸν τρέχει βίον, μονονουχὶ καὶ αὐτὸ κατὰ τὸν Πέτρον λέγων τῷ Σωτῆρι· Ἰδοὺ ἀφήκαμεν πάντα, καὶ ἠκολουθήσαμέν σοι. Εἶτα τὴν προειρημένην αἰτίαν ἀναλαμβάνει, τοῦ μίσους τοῦ πρὸς τὰ πρόσκαιρα. Καί φησιν· "Ὅτι ἐστὶ ἄνθρωπος, ὅτι ὁ μόχθος αὐτοῦ ἐν σοφίᾳ, καὶ ἐν γνώσει, καὶ ἐν ἀνδρείᾳ· καὶ ἄνθρωπος ᾧ οὐκ ἐμόχθησεν ἐν αὐτῷ, δώσει μερίδα αὐτοῦ· καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης, καὶ πονηρία μεγάλη." Τί γὰρ, φησὶν, ὄφελος ἀνθρώπῳ ἐν ἀνθρωπίνῃ σοφίᾳ, καὶ φρονήσει, καὶ ἀνδρείᾳ μοχθοῦντι, καὶ πονηρευομένῳ, τοῦτ' ἔστι οὐ μεταδιδόντι, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ τοῖς οὖσι προστιθέντι, ὁπόταν ἅλλος μήτε καμὼν, μήτε μοχθήσας, τὸν αὐτοῦ διαδέχεται πλοῦτον; ἔστι δὲ καὶ οὕτως νοῆσαι· Ἐπέστρεψα ἐγὼ τοῦ ἀποτάξασθαι τῇ καρδίᾳ μου, ἐν παντὶ μόχθῳ μου ᾧ ἐμόχθησα ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, ἐννοήσας ὅτι ἕτερος ἐμὸν πλοῦτον δια 93.505 δέξεται, ἐγὼ δὲ τὴν φροντίδα ὑφέξω. ∆ιὰ μέσου δὲ παρενθεὶς τὸ, Ὅτι ἐστὶ ἄνθρωπος, ὅτι ὁ μόχθος αὐτοῦ ἐν σοφίᾳ, καὶ ἐν συνέσει, καὶ ἐν ἀνδρείᾳ, τοῦτο διδάσκει· κατεφρόνησα τοῦ περὶ τὰ μάταια μόχθου, φησὶ, λογισάμενος ὅτι ἐστὶ ἕτερος μόχθος ἐπαινούμενος, τὸν ἐξ ἀρετῆς, καὶ ἀεὶ μένοντα συλλέγων πλοῦτον. Ἔστι δὲ οὗτος ὁ μόχθος, ὃν μοχθεῖ ἄνθρωπος, ἵνα κτήσηται σοφίαν, καὶ γνῶσιν, καὶ ἀνδρείαν. Τοῦτον οὖν ἐκείνου προκρίνας τὸν μόχθον, ἐπέστρεψα ἐγὼ τοῦ ἀποτάξασθαι τῇ καρδίᾳ ἐν παντὶ μόχθῳ, ᾧ ἐμόχθησα ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, τουτέστι περὶ τὰ μάταια. "Ὅτι γίνεται τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐν παντὶ μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ προαιρέσει καρδίας αὐτοῦ, ᾧ αὐτὸς μοχθεῖ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, ὅτι πᾶσαι αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτοῦ ἀλγημάτων καὶ θυμοῦ περισπασμὸς αὐτοῦ. Καί γε ἐν νυκτὶ οὐ κοιμᾶται ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ· καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης ἐστί." Γίνεται, φησὶ, τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ὁ μόχθος ὃν μοχθεῖ προαιρετικῶς, ἢ καλὸς, ἢ κακός. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ περὶ τὰς ἀρετὰς ὁ μόχθος καταβάλλεται, ἐπαινετός· τοῦ δὲ μὴ διὰ τὸ καλὸν μοχθοῦντος πᾶσαι αἱ ἡμέραι ὀδυνῶν, καὶ θυμοῦ, καὶ περισπασμοῦ, καὶ ἀγρυπνίας εἰσὶ μεσταί. Ταῦτα γὰρ ἃ πάντα παρέπεται τοῖς περὶ τὴν κενοσπουδίαν τοῦδε τοῦ βίου περισπωμένοις· διὸ καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης ἐστί. "Καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀγαθὸν ἀνθρώπῳ εἰ μὴ ὃ φάγεται καὶ πίεται, καὶ δείξει τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτοῦ ἀγαθὸν ἐν μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ. Καί γε τοῦτο εἶδον ἐγὼ ὅτι ἀπὸ χειρὸς Θεοῦ ἐστι, ὅτι, τίς φάγεται καὶ πίεται πάρεξ αὐτοῦ;" Καὶ τὰ μέσα