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to accomplish, of anyone else unless of God alone. "Therefore, there is no one who has authority over the spirit, to restrain it. And there is no one who has authority on the day of death. And there is no discharge on the day of war." As for the literal meaning, when war has broken out, it is not a good time to be sent out and to sail on a journey abroad. But as for the deeper meaning, He who in war was commanded to die by God, there is no one who sends him back again to this life here. Otherwise: When someone begins in judgment to be warred against by his own sins, there is no one who is able to say, ‘Send me back to life that I may repent.’ Nor can one who is about to die say, ‘Allow me to live, that I may repent.’ For there is no one who has authority on the day of death. "And impiety will not save its possessor." Instead of, the one tyrannized and ruled by your impiety. Knowing therefore that there is no one who has authority on the day of death, and there is no discharge on the day of war, let us not be impious. "And I have seen all these things." Having known these things accurately, the teacher reports them, for which reason we should all be persuaded by his words. "And I gave my heart to every work that is done under the sun, to all things in which man has exercised authority over man, to his harm. And then I saw the impious brought into tombs, and from the holy place." Without distraction, he says, I have given my mind to know the deeds of men, and for what reason man harms man. Then, since it is often considered unjust for the powerful to be impious and prosperous, having examined more deeply, I saw the fall of the impious, and the deadness of the soul. For, ‘into tombs,’ is now instead of, ‘into punishments.’ And their power did not help 93.580 them at all, nor did being considered to be holy, and being held among the ministers of God. He teaches, therefore, not to be scandalized at the seeming anomaly of the present life, looking to the retribution of the things to come. "And they went away, and were praised in the city, because they did so." These who seemed to be pious and holy, but who walked in impiety, were praised in their own life, either escaping notice, or being flattered for what they did. But the pretense of piety did not help them at all, nor the praise from flatterers; but for these too the matter turned out to be vanity as they were brought into tombs. And the phrase, ‘And this too is vanity,’ can also be applied to the following verses, so that it would be thus: "And this too is vanity, that sentence is not executed speedily against those who do evil; therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." This, he says, has worked vanity in life, that there are not those who speak against and rebuke those who do evil, speedily; instead of, not doing this with diligence, and checking wickedness with rebukes, or ‘speedily,’ instead of, those doing evil with haste and care. For this reason he says: Because the wicked are not rebuked, but are even praised, the heart of the sons of men was fully set and became accustomed to do evil. But see that he said, ‘of the sons of man.’ For the sons of God do not do evil. "He who has sinned, has done evil from that time, and from his youth." Sin has been brought in by the deceit of the evil one; wherefore when we pray we say: Deliver us from the evil one. The sinner therefore fulfills the will of the devil, who ‘from that time and from his youth,’ instead of, ‘who from the beginning led the way in evil things.’ Otherwise: Sin, he says, is not new, but old. Wherefore Noah also heard from God, that the imagination of man's heart is set on evil diligently. And ‘of youth,’ not according to age, but of a youthful and not stable character. Otherwise: The one who has a sinful disposition, and has consented in his mind to sin, begins to sin from the time he consented, even if he performs the act much later, or does not perform it at all, being hindered not by choice, but by some circumstance. Otherwise: The one sinning and doing evil, even if he became known to us by the result, yet to those

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ἀπεργάσασθαι, ἑτέρου τινὸς εἰ μὴ μόνου Θεοῦ. "Οὐκ ἔστιν οὖν ἐξουσιάζων ἐν πνεύματι, τοῦ κωλῦσαι αὐτό. Καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐξουσιάζων ἐν ἡμέρᾳ θανάτου. Καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀποστολὴ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ πολέμου." Πρὸς μὲν τὸ ῥητὸν, πολέμου κατειληφότος, οὐκ ἐστιν εὔκαιρον τὸ ἀποστέλλεσθαι καὶ πλεῖν ἐκδημίας. Πρὸς δὲ διάνοιαν, Τὸν ἐν πολέμῳ κελευσθέντα ἀποθανεῖν ὑπὸ Θεοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ πάλιν ἀποστέλλων εἰς τὴν ἐνθάδε ζωήν. Ἄλλως· Ὅταν ἐν κρίσει ἄρξηταί τις ὑπὸ τῶν ἰδίων πολεμεῖσθαι ἁμαρτημάτων, οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ δυνάμενος λέγειν, Ἀπόστειλόν με εἰς τὸν βίον ἵνα μετανοήσω. Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ μέλλων τελευτᾷν δύναται λέγειν· Συγχώρησόν μοι ζῆσαι, ἵνα μετανοήσω. Οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν ἐξουσιάζων ἐν ἡμέρᾳ θανάτου. "Καὶ οὐ διασώσει ἀσέβεια τὸν παρ' αὐτῆς." Ἀντὶ τοῦ, τὸν ὑπὸ σῆς ἀσεβείας τυραννούμενον καὶ κρατούμενον. Εἰδότες οὖν ὡς οὐκ ἔστι ἐξουσιάζων ἐν ἡμέρᾳ θανάτου, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι ἀποστολὴ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ πολέμου, μὴ ἀσεβήσωμεν. "Καὶ σύμπαντα ταῦτα εἶδον ἐγώ." Ταῦτα ἀκριβῶς ἐγνωκὼς ἀπαγγέλλει ὁ διδάσκαλος, ἐφ' ᾧ πάντας ἡμᾶς πείθεσθαι τοῖς αὐτοῦ λόγοις. "Καὶ ἔδωκα τὴν καρδίαν μου εἰς πᾶν ποίημα ὃ πεποίηται ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, τὰ ὅσα ἐξουσιάσατο ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ, τοῦ κακῶσαι αὐτόν. Καὶ τότε εἶδον ἀσεβεῖς εἰς τάφους εἰσαχθέντας, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἁγίου." Ἀπερισπάστως, φησὶ, δέδωκά μου τὸν νοῦν, εἰς τὸ εἰδέναι τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὰ ποιήματα, καὶ κατὰ τίνα λόγον ἄνθρωπος ἄνθρωπον κακοῖ. Εἶτα ἐπειδὴ ἄδικον νομίζεται τὸ πολλάκις ἀσεβεῖς εἶναι τοὺς δυνατοὺς, καὶ εὐθηνουμένους, βαθύτερον ἐπισκεψάμενος, εἶδον τῶν ἀσεβῶν τὴν πτῶσιν, καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς τὴν νεκρότητα. Τὸ γὰρ, εἰς τάφους, νῦν ἀντὶ τοῦ, εἰς τὰς κολάσεις. Καὶ οὐδὲν αὐτοὺς ὠφέ 93.580 λησεν ἡ δύναμις, ἢ τὸ νομισθῆναι ἁγίους εἶναι, καὶ κατέχεσθαι ἐν λειτουργοῖς Θεοῦ. ∆ιδάσκει. τοιγαροῦν μὴ σκανδαλίζεσθαι ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ παρόντος βίου δοκούσῃ ἀνωμαλίᾳ, ἀποβλέποντας εἰς τὴν τῶν μελλόντων ἀνταπόδοσιν. "Καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν, καὶ ἐπῃνέθησαν ἐν τῇ πόλει, ὅτι οὕτως ἐποίησαν." Οὗτοι οἱ δόξαντες μὲν εἶναι εὐσεβεῖς καὶ ἅγιοι, πορευθέντες δὲ ἐν ἀσεβείᾳ, ἐπῃνέθησαν ἐν τῇ ζωῇ ἑαυτῶν, ἢ λαθόντες, ἢ κολακευθέντες ἐφ' οἷς ἔπραττον. Ἀλλ' οὐδὲν αὐτοὺς ὠφέλησε τῆς εὐσεβείας τὸ πρόσχημα, ἢ ὁ παρὰ τῶν κολάκων ἔπαινος· ματαιότης δὲ καὶ τούτοις ἀπέβη τὸ πρᾶγμα εἰς τάφους εἰσαγομένοις. Τὸ δὲ, Καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης, δύναται καὶ τοῖς ἑξῆς ἐφαρμόζεσθαι στίχοις, ἵνα ᾖ οὕτως· "Καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι γινομένη ἀντίῤῥησις ἀπὸ τῶν ποιούντων τὸ πονηρὸν ταχύ· διὰ τοῦτο ἐπληροφορήθη καρδία υἱῶν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐν αὐτοῖς, τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ πονηρόν." Τοῦτο, φησὶ, τὴν ἐν βίῳ ματαιότητα εἰργάσατο, ὅτι οὐκ εἰσὶν οἱ ἀντιλέγοντες καὶ ἐλέγχοντες τοὺς τὰ πονηρὰ διαπραττομένους, ταχύ· ἀντὶ τοῦ, οὐ κατὰ σπουδὴν τοῦτο ποιοῦντες, καὶ τοῖς ἐλέγχοις ἀνακόπτοντες τὴν πονηρίαν, ἢ τὸ ταχὺ, ἀντὶ τοῦ, ἐν σπουδῇ καὶ ἐπιμελῶς τὰ πονηρὰ διαπραττομένους. ∆ιὰ τοῦτό φησιν· Ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ἐξελέγχεσθαι τοὺς φαύλους, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπαινεῖσθαι, ἐπληροφορήθη καὶ ἐν ἕξει γέγονε ἡ καρδία τῶν υἱῶν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, διαπράττεσθαι τὰ πονηρά. Ὅρα δὲ ὅτι, υἱῶν ἀνθρώπου, εἶπε. Οἱ γὰρ υἱοὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὰ πονηρὰ οὐ διαπράττονται. "Ὃς ἥμαρτε, ἐποίησε τὸ πονηρὸν ἀπὸ τότε, καὶ ἀπὸ νεότητος αὐτοῦ." Ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐκ τῆς ἀπάτης τοῦ πονηροῦ εἰσκεκόμισται· διὸ εὐχόμενοι λέγομεν· Ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ. Τὸ τοῦ διαβόλου τοίνυν πληροῖ θέλημα ὁ ἁμαρτάνων, τοῦ ἀπὸ τότε καὶ ἀπὸ νεότητος αὐτοῦ, ἀντὶ τοῦ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἡγησαμένου τὰ φαῦλα. Ἄλλως· Οὐ νεωτέρα, φησὶν, ἐστὶν ἡ ἁμαρτία, ἀλλὰ παλαιά. ∆ιὸ καὶ ἤκουσε ὁ Νῶε παρὰ Θεοῦ, ἐγκεῖσθαι τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων διάνοιαν ἐπιμελῶς ἐπὶ τὰ πονηρά. Νεότητος δὲ, οὐ τῆς καθ' ἡλικίαν, ἀλλ' ἤθους νεαροῦ, καὶ μὴ παγίου. Ἄλλως· Ὁ ἕξιν ἔχων ἁμαρτητικὴν, καὶ συγκαταθέμενος ἐν διανοίᾳ τοῦ ἁμαρτῆσαι, ἀπὸ τότε ἄρχεται ἁμαρτάνειν, ἀφ' οὗ συγκατέθετο, κἂν μετὰ πολὺ τὴν πρᾶξιν ἐργάσηται, ἢ καὶ μὴ ὅλως ἐργάσηται, κωλυθεὶς οὐ προαιρετικῶς, ἀλλ' ὑπό τινος περιστάσεως. Ἄλλως· Ὁ ἁμαρτάνων καὶ ποιῶν τὸ πονηρὸν, εἰ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἀποτελέσματος ἡμῖν ἐγνώσθη, ἀλλὰ τοῖς