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has often been interpreted; after He has often prevented it, when He no longer prevents it while that evil remains, a handing over happens to him. and sinning he will be caught in it. no one who is sinless is caught by it. the beginning of being caught is to sin. For it approaches even the saints; but since they do not sin, they are not caught by it, but are outside of it, they trample it. Query: the allegorical meaning; "I went about to know"? it is all allegory; we were saying this. It is not far from what has been said, that, since "from the greatness and beauty of created things their original author is seen," the one who goes around the whole cosmos and sees all things, which God made, sees them that "they are very good." But if he does not go around, but takes one by one, he does not see the beauty of the one who made them. So then, if someone does not go around all the doctrines and all the virtues and 230 find their sequence and all of creation and through that very creation know the creator, of what sort of power he is. At other times also, taking all things together in his mind analogically and as if going around them, he finds true wisdom. Behold, this I have found, said the Preacher, one by one to find the reason, which my soul sought, but I did not find. The Preacher is the teacher of the whole assembly. "This the Preacher found"; "to find" here is "to comprehend." Query: Which one? This very thing, that the woman who is a trap has nets in her heart and has a bond in her hand. It is for the Preacher to know this.

For this will be of benefit to the hearers of the Preacher. "One by one," since here he speaks in the plural; for it is not said about one alone, that "one by one." We speak either concerning her nets; he says that these snares of hers and nets find and give the evil reasoning. At any rate, these women also act as pimps for one another and lead on, not to find good reasoning, but to act deceitfully. Query: Did he not say one above? Evil is not of a single kind, but is indeed many-branched and multifarious. It must be understood in addition that he says these things not about some specific woman, but about every one having such a zeal, "one by one to find the reason." But if you take it in reference to the nets, you say that the nets also seem to have agreement. For indeed those who hold false opinions try to say their own false opinions are in agreement. which my soul sought, but I did not find. Their reasoning my soul sought, but I did not find. It is hard to hunt. It is similar to what has been said: "we are not ignorant of his designs"? "Who can enter into the fold of his breastplate?" Query: What then is the "I found" in the preceding? Here then he says: "one by one to find the reason." This reasoning I wished to detect, so that I might also escape them. And "I did not find" can also be said according to such a principle as "not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy." From myself I found nothing. But God revealed to me, He showed me the deceit of this reasoning. For he does not say that he who runs and he who wills accomplishes nothing.231 And one man among a thousand I have found, but a woman among all those I have not found. Many copies have "man"; "but a woman among all those I have not found." And you can take it literally, that a worthy man is scarcely found among a thousand, but among all these it is not possible to find a worthy woman. Or thus: I found one man among a thousand, one reasoning of a man from many, but a woman not, because of her being hard to hunt, because of her being hard to comprehend- Query: Does he say he has found this? Since it is a trap. It is one thing to know someone is a sophist, and another to comprehend his sophisms. For he who guards himself, lest he fall for sophisms, knows that he is dealing with a sophist; but he is not in every case able also to solve his sophisms. But to find truly is this: to detect his art, to reveal his deceit. But behold, this I have found, that God made man upright, and they

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πολλάκις ἑρμήνευται· μετὰ τὸ πολλά κις κωλῦσαι, ὅτε οὐκέτι κωλύει ἐνμένοντος ἐκείνου τοῦ κακοῦ, παράδοσις αὐτῷ γίνεται. καὶ ἁμαρτάνων συνλημφθήσεται ἐν αὐτῇ. οὐδεὶς ἀναμάρτητος συνλαμβάνεται ἀπ' αὐτῆς. ἡ ἀρχὴ τοῦ συνλημφθῆναι τὸ ἁμαρτῆσαί ἐστιν. ἐνγίζει γοῦν καὶ τοῖς ἁγίοις· ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ οὐχ ἁμαρ τάνουσιν, οὐ συνλαμβάνονται ὑπ' αὐτῆς, ἀλλ' ἔξω αὐτῆς εἰσιν, πατοῦσιν αὐτήν. ἐπερ· τὴν ἀναγωγήν· ἐκύκλωσα ἐγὼ τοῦ γνῶναι; ὅλη ἀναγωγή ἐστιν· ἐλέγομεν τοῦτο. οὐκ ἔστιν μακρὰν τοῦ λεχθέν τος, ὅτι, ἐπεὶ "ἐκ μεγέθους καλλονῆς καὶ κτισμάτων ὁ γενεσιουργὸς αὐ τῶν θεωρεῖται", ὁ κυκλεύων τὸν σύνπαντα κόσμον καὶ ὁρατῶν πάντα, ἃ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεός, ὁρᾷ αὐτὰ ὅτι "καλὰ λίαν ἐστίν". ἐὰν δὲ μὴ κυκλεύ σῃ, ἀλλὰ ἓν καθ' ἓν λάβῃ, οὐχ ὁρᾷ τὸ κάλλος τοῦ πεποιηκότος. οὕτω οὖν, εἰ μὴ κυκλεύσῃ τις πάντα τὰ δόγματα καὶ πάσας τὰς ἀρετὰς καὶ 230 ἀντακολουθίαν αὐτῶν εὕρῃ καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν κτίσιν καὶ δι' ἐκείνου του῀̣ κτίσματος εἰδείη τὸν δημιουργὸν, οἵας δυνάμεώς ἐστιν. ὁτὲ καὶ ἀναλ̣ό γως πάντα ἅμα λαβὼν ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ καὶ ὥσπερ κυκλεύσας τὴν τὴν σοφί αν εὑρίσκει τὴν ἀληθῆ. ἰδέ, τοῦτο εὗρον, εἶπ̣εν ὁ ἐκκλησιαστής, μία τῇ μιᾷ τοῦ εὑρεῖν λογισμόν, ὃν ἐπεζήτησεν ἡ ψυχή μου, καὶ οὐχ εὗρον. ὁ ἐκκλησιαστὴς ὁ διδάσκαλός ἐστιν τῆς πανδήμου συνόδου. "τοῦτο εὗρεν ὁ ἐκκλησιαστής"· τὸ "εὑρεῖν" ὧδε τὸ "καταλαβεῖν" ἐστιν. ἐπερ· τὸ ποῖον; τοῦτο αὐτό, ὅτι ἡ γυνὴ ἡ οὖσα θήρευμα σαγήνας ἔχει ε ἐν καρδίᾳ ἑαυ τῆς καὶ δεσμὸν ἔχει ἐν τῇ χειρὶ ἑαυτῆς. ἐκκλησιαστοῦ ἐστιν τ̣ο̣ῦτο γνῶναι.

τοῦτο γὰρ συντελέσει τοῖς ἀκροωμένοις τοῦ ἐκκλησιαστοῦ. "μία τῇ μιᾷ", ἐπεὶ πληθυντικῶς ὧδε λέγει· οὐδὲ γὰρ περὶ μιᾶς μόνης λέγεται, ὅτι "μία τῇ μιᾷ". λέγομεν ἤτοι περὶ τῶν σαγηνῶν αὐτῆς· λέγει ὅτι αἱ πάγαι αὐτῆς αὗ ται καὶ αἱ σαγῆναι τὸν φαῦλον λογισμὸν εὑρίσκουσιν καὶ διδόασιν. ἀμέλει γοῦν καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες αὗται μαστροπεύουσιν ἀλλήλας καὶ προάγου σιν οὐ τοῦ εὑρεῖν λογισμὸν ἀγαθόν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ πανουργεύσασθαι. ἐπερ· οὐ μίαν εἶπεν ἄνω; οὐ μονογενές ἐστιν τὸ κακόν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολύχουν γε καὶ πολυσχιδές. προσ υπακουστέον, ὅτι οὐ περί τινος ῥητῆς γυναικὸς ταῦτα λέγει, ἀλλὰ περὶ πάσης τοιαύτην σπουδὴν ἐχούσης "μία τῇ μιᾷ τοῦ εὑρεῖν λογισμόν." ἐὰν δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν σαγηνω῀̣ν λάβῃς, λέγεις, ὅτι δοκοῦσιν καὶ αἱ σαγῆναι συμ φωνίαν ἔχειν. πειρῶνται γοῦν καὶ οἱ ψευδοδοξοῦντες τὰς ψευδεῖς ἑαυτῶν δόξας λέγειν συμφωνεῖν. ὃν ἐπεζήτησεν ἡ ψυχή μου, καὶ οὐχ εὗρον. τὸν λογισμὸν αὐτῶν ἐπεζήτησεν ἡ ψυχή μου, καὶ οὐχ εὗρον. δυσθήρατός ἐστιν. ὅμοιόν ἐστιν τοῖς εἰρημένοις· "οὐκ αὐτοῦ τὰ νοήματα ἀγνοοῦμεν"; "εἰς πτύξιν θώρακος αὐτοῦ τίς ἂν εἰσέλθοι;" ε᾿̣περ̣· ποῖον οὖν ἐστιν τὸ "εὗρον" ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν; ὧδε λοιπὸν λέγει· "μία τῇ μιᾷ τοῦ εὑρεῖν λογισμόν." τοῦτον τὸν λογισμὸν ἠθέλησα φωράσαι, ἵνα καὶ διαδιδράσκω αὐτάς. καὶ "οὐχ εὗρον" δύναται καὶ κατὰ τοιοῦτον λόγον λέγειν ὡς τὸ "οὐ τοῦ θέλοντος οὐδὲ τοῦ τρέχοντος ἀλλὰ τοῦ ἐλεῶντος θεοῦ." ἀπ' ἐμαυτοῦ οὐδὲν εὗρον. θεός μοι δὲ ἐφανέρωσεν, ἔδειξέν μοι τὸ πανοῦργον τοῦ λογιςμ̣οῦ τούτου. μὴ γὰρ λέγει ὅτι ὁ τρέχων καὶ ὁ θέλων οὐδὲν ἀνύει.231 καὶ ἄνθρωπον ἕνα ἀπὸ χιλίων εὗρον, καὶ γυναῖκα ἐν πᾶσιν τούτοις οὐχ εὗρον. πολλὰ ἀντίγραφα "ἄνδρα" ἔχει· "γυναῖκα δὲ ἐν πᾶσιν τούτοις οὐχ εὗρον." και`̣ ἐπὶ ῥητοῦ λαβεῖν αὐτὸ δύνῃ, ὅτι μόλις ἀνὴρ ἀπὸ χιλίων εὑρίσκε ται σπουδαι῀̣ος̣, γυναῖκα δὲ ἐν πάσαις ταύταις οὐκ ἔστιν εὑρεῖν σπουδαί αν. ἢ οὕτως· ἄνθρωπον εὗρον̣ ἕνα τῶν χιλίων, λογισμὸν ἕνα ἀνθρώπου ἀπὸ πολλῶν, γυναῖκα δὲ οὔ, διὰ τὸ δυσθήρατον αὐτῆς, διὰ τὸ δυςκατάλημπτον αὐτῆς- ἐπερ· τοῦτο λέγει εὑρηκέναι; ἐπεί ἐστιν θηρεύματα. ἄλλο ἐστὶν τὸ γνῶναί τινα σοφιστήν, καὶ ἄλλο τὸ καταλαβεῖν αὐτοῦ τὰ σοφίσματα. καὶ γὰρ ὁ τηρῶν ἑαυτόν, μὴ ὑποπέσῃ σο φισμοῖς, ἔγνω, ὅτι πρὸς σοφιστὴν ἔχει· οὐ πάντως δὲ καὶ λύειν αὐτοῦ τὰ σοφίσματα δύναται. τὸ δὲ εὑρεῖν ἀληθῶς τουτέστιν̣ τὸ φωράσαι αὐτοῦ τὴν τέχνην, τὸ τὴν ἀπάτην αὐτοῦ φανερῶσαι. πλὴν ἰδέ, τοῦτο εὗρον, ὃ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς σὺν τὸν ἄν θρωπον εὐθῆ, καὶ αὐτοὶ