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Indifferent things are supplied by God to men, such as wealth, health, good reputation. Therefore Ecclesiastes, taking up the persona of one who objects, says that if these things are given by God to men, then there is nothing good among men, except the enjoyment of food and drink. Then again, resolving the objection, he adds: "Because to the man who is good in His sight He has given knowledge, and wisdom, and gladness; but to the sinner He has given distraction, to add and to gather, to give to him who is good in God's sight, because this also is vanity and a striving of the spirit." Do not say, he says, O men, that the passionate enjoyment of food is a good thing; for to the good man God has given knowledge and wisdom, so that he may rejoice in these things before the face of God; that is, being protected by the overseeing power of God. But to the sinful man He has given distraction concerning sensible things, so that he might suffer hardship in toiling and gathering. And if he continues toiling and gathering, this also is vanity, and a striving of the spirit. But it should be known that God gave the distraction to the one sinning and gathering, not so that he might sin and gather, but so that, reflecting and growing weary of this vain effort, he might come to a perception of this toilsome life, and long for the ageless and painless life, which is reserved for the saints in the age to come 93.508 CHAPTER 3. "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the sun." Of existing things, some are temporary, others eternal; the eternal and invisible, then, are also above the sun. The discourse is about these things that are under the sun, that exist in time; since they also began from time, coming into being at the proper season. And time is the interval in which something is done. But a season is the suitable time for the work. So that time can also be a season; and a season is time; but it is the opportunity of what is done, occurring in time. And all things from God have come to be opportunely, such as summer, and autumn, and winter, and spring; but our own things, if they should happen opportunely, are praiseworthy; but if out of season, or beyond the season, they are blameworthy. In season a man unites with his own wife, desiring to have children; out of season, when he does this for the sake of pleasure. The one who sows in summer, sows before the season; the one who is eager to reap in winter, attempts this out of season. From this lesson we are taught to flee in everything deficiencies and excesses, on account of the lack of measure attendant on each matter. A deficiency of courage produces cowardice, an excess, rashness. Understand, therefore, time in another sense, as being a certain symmetry; and a season as the opportunity; for he who does all things with symmetry and opportunely, as if using these as a certain rule and standard, will easily achieve all virtue. "A time to be born, and a time to die." Often for opposites the seasons are different; but it happens that both occur at the same time; physical birth, for the most part, has one season, and physical death another; but the spiritual birth through the laver of regeneration has one and the same season, for birth and for death. For those who are reborn in the divine laver were buried with Christ in baptism; and physical birth or death is not up to us, but we are born and we die by the authority of God; but the spiritual is up to us; for with the cooperation of God, our own choice is also needed, so that we might die to sin, and be born to righteousness. Admirably, Ecclesiastes began with birth and death, reminding us of this our temporary life. For this reason (he says) Moses also, having titled the first book Genesis, immediately named the second Exodus, through the history symbolically outlining for us our temporary life in this world. "A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted." After the sensible, to the intellectual; often at the same time one plucks up

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ἀδιάφορα ἐκ Θεοῦ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις χορηγοῦνται, οἷον πλοῦτος, ὑγεία, εὐδοξία. Τὸ τοῦ ἀνθυποφέροντος οὖν πρόσωπον ἀναλαβὼν ὁ Ἐκκλησιαστὴς, φησὶ, ὅτι εἰ ἀπὸ Θεοῦ δίδοται ταῦτα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, οὐδὲν ἄρα ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἀγαθὸν, εἰ μὴ ἡ τῶν βρωμάτων καὶ τῶν πομάτων ἀπόλαυσις. Εἶτα πάλιν ἐπιλύων τὴν ἀντίθεσιν, ἐπάγει· "Ὅτι τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ ἀγαθῷ πρὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ ἔδωκε γνῶσιν, καὶ σοφίαν, καὶ εὐφροσύνην· καὶ τῷ ἁμαρτάνοντι ἔδωκε περισπασμὸν, τοῦ προσθεῖναι καὶ τοῦ συναγαγεῖν, τοῦ δοῦναι τῷ ἀγαθῷ πρὸ προσώπου τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅτι καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης καὶ προαίρεσις πνεύματος." Μὴ λέγετε, φησὶν, ὦ οὖτοι, ὅτι ἡ ἐμπαθὴς τῶν βρωμάτων ἀπόλαυσις ἀγαθή ἐστι· τῷ γὰρ ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ ἀγαθῷ ὁ Θεὸς γνῶσιν καὶ σοφίαν ἔδωκε, ἵνα ἐν τούτοις εὐφραίνηται πρὸ προσώπου τοῦ Θεοῦ· τουτέστι ὑπὸ τῆς ἐπισκοπικῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ Θεοῦ σκεπόμενος. Τῷ δὲ ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ τὸν περὶ τὰ αἰσθητὰ περισπασμὸν ἔδωκεν, ἵνα ταλαιπωρῇ ἐν τῷ μοχθεῖν καὶ συνάγειν. Καὶ ἐὰν μείνῃ μοχθῶν καὶ συνάγων, καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης, καὶ προαίρεσις πνεύματος. Ἰστέον δὲ ὡς τὸν περισπασμὸν ἔδωκεν ὁ Θεὸς τῷ ἁμαρτάνοντι, καὶ συνάγοντι, οὐχ ἵνα ἁμαρτάνῃ καὶ συνάγῃ· ἀλλ' ἵνα ἐνθυμούμενος καὶ ἀποκάμνων περὶ ταύτην τὴν ματαιοσπουδίαν, εἰς αἴσθησιν ἔλθῃ τῆς ἐπιμόχθου ταύτης ζωῆς, καὶ ποθήσῃ τὸν ἀγήρω καὶ ἄλυπον βίον, τὸν ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι αἰῶνι τοῖς ἁγίοις τεταμιευμένον 93.508 ΚΕΦΑΛ. Γʹ. "Τοῖς πᾶσιν ὁ χρόνος, καὶ καιρὸς τῷ παντὶ πράγματι ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον." Τῶν ὄντων τὰ μέν εἰσι πρόσκαιρα, τὰ δὲ αἰώνια· τὰ μὲν οὖν αἰώνια καὶ ἀόρατα τυγχάνουσι, καὶ ὑπὲρ τὸν ἥλιον. Περὶ τούτων ὁ λόγος τῶν ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, ὑπὸ χρόνον ὄντων· ἐπειδὴ καὶ ἀπὸ χρόνου ἤρξαντο, ἐν καιρῷ τῷ καθήκοντι γιγνομένων. Καὶ χρόνος μέν ἐστι τὸ διάστημα καθ' ὃ πράττεταί τι. Καιρὸς δὲ, ὁ ἐπιτήδειος τῆς ἐργασίας χρόνος. Ὥστε ὁ μὲν χρόνος καὶ καιρὸς εἶναι δύναται· ὁ δὲ καιρὸς χρόνος· ἀλλ' εὐκαιρία τοῦ πραττομένου ἐν χρόνῳ γινομένη. Καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐκ Θεοῦ πάντα εὐκαίρως γέγονε ὡς θέρος, καὶ μετόπωρον, καὶ χειμὼν, καὶ ἕαρ· τὰ δὲ ἡμέτερα εἰ μὲν εὐκαίρως γίγνοιντο, ἐπαινετά· παρὰ δὲ τὸν καιρὸν, ἢ ὑπὲρ τὸν καιρὸν, ψεκτά. Ἐν καιρῷ τις μίγνυται τῇ ἱδίᾳ γυναικὶ, παιδοποιίας ἐρῶν· παρὰ καιρὸν, ὅταν δι' ἡδονῆς τοῦτο ποιῇ. Ὁ ἐν θέρει σπείρων, πρὸ καιροῦ σπείρει· ὁ ἐν χειμῶνι ἀμῆσαι σπουδάζων, παρὰ καιρὸν τοῦτο ἐπιχειρεῖ. Ἐκ δὲ τούτου τοῦ μαθήματος διδασκόμεθα ἐν παντὶ φεύγειν τὰς ἐλλείψεις καὶ τὰς ὑπερβολὰς, διὰ τὰς παρακειμένας ἀμετρίας ἑκάστῳ πράγματι. Ἀνδρείας ἔλλειψις δειλίαν ἐργάζεται, ὑπερβολὴ θρασύτητα. Νόησον οὖν τὸν χρόνον καὶ καθ' ἑτέραν νόησιν, συμμετρίαν τινὰ ὅντα· καιρὸν δὲ, τὴν εὐκαιρίαν· ὁ γὰρ συμμέτρως καὶ εὐκαίρως ἅπαντα πράττων, ὥσπερ τινὶ τούτων κανόνι καὶ στάθμῃ χρώμενος, κατορθώσει ῥᾳδίως τὴν ἅπασαν ἀρετήν. "Καιρὸς τοῦ τεκεῖν, καὶ καιρὸς τοῦ ἀποθανεῖν." Πολλάκις ἐπὶ τῶν ἐναντίων διάφοροί εἰσιν οἱ καιροί· συμβαίνει δὲ ὅτι καὶ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν καιρὸν ἑκάτερα γίνεται· ἡ μὲν οὖν σωματικὴ γέννησις, ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πλεῖστον ἕτερον ἔχει καιρὸν, καὶ ὁ σωματικὸς θάνατος ἕτερον· ἡ δὲ πνευματικὴ γέννησις ἡ διὰ τοῦ λουτροῦ τῆς παλιγγενεσίας ἕνα καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν καιρὸν ἔχει, τοῦ τῆς γεννήσεως καὶ τοῦ θανάτου. Οἱ γὰρ ἐν τῷ θείῳ λουτρῷ ἀναγεννώμενοι συνετάφησαν τῷ Χριστῷ ἐν τῷ βαπτίσματι· καὶ ὁ μὲν σωματικὸς τόκος ἢ θάνατος οὐκ ἐφ' ἡμῖν, ἀλλ' ἐν τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐξουσίᾳ καὶ τικτόμεθα, καὶ ἀποθνήσκομεν· ὁ δὲ πνευματικὸς ἐφ' ἡμῖν· μετὰ γὰρ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ συνεργείας, καὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας προαιρέσεως χρεία, ἵνα ἀποθάνωμεν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, τεχθῶμεν δὲ τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ. Θαυμαστῶς δὲ ὁ Ἐκκλησιαστὴς ἀπὸ τόκου ἤρξατο καὶ θανάτου, τῆς προσκαίρου ταύτης ἡμῶν ζωῆς ἐπαναμιμνήσκων. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο (φησὶ) καὶ μωσῆς Γένεσιν ἐπιγράψας τὸ πρῶτον βιβλίον, τὸ δεύτερον εὐθὺς Ἔξοδον προσηγόρευσε, διὰ τῆς ἱστορίας συμβολικῶς τὴν ἐν τῷδε τῷ βίῳ πρόσκαιρον ἡμῖν ὑπογράφων ζωήν. "Καιρὸς τοῦ φυτεῦσαι, καὶ καιρὸς τοῦ ἐκτῖλαι τὸ πεφυτευμένον." Μετὰ τὸ αἰσθητὸν, πρὸς διάνοιαν· πολλάκις μὲν κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν καιρὸν ἐκτίλλει τις