The Dangers of Spiritual Slumber
These children. Similar to this is what lies with David: 'An angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and rescues them' (Ps 34:7).
A passionless mind, being filled with spiritual knowledge, or a wise mind having an angel of God beside it, is a sharp thorn. And it is also good that it does not say 'he will not be torn away,' but 'he will not be torn away quickly'; for the logical nature is changeable.
A good child is poor and wise, better than a king who is older and foolish, who did not know to pay attention (Ec 4:13). A child is the one who has preserved the teaching from youth, but the older one is the one who has abandoned the teaching from youth and is forgetting the covenant and has grown old in wickedness; and the former is of Christ, but the latter is of the evil one.
Because he will come out from the house of prisoners to reign, because he was even born poor in his kingdom (Ec 4:14); the sensible world is a house of prisoners, in which 'each one is bound by the chains of his own sins.'
Guard your foot wherever you walk into the house of God, and be near to listening (Ec 4:17); your sacrifice is better than the gift of the foolish, because they are not knowing how to do evil; 'they do not know how they stumble,' nor even knowing this, that they transgress.
Do not hasten upon your mouth, and let not your heart be quick to bring forth a word before the face of God (Ec 5:1); for God is in heaven, and you are upon the earth; because of this, let your words be few.
Because a dream occurs in a multitude of temptation and the voice of a fool in a multitude of words: 'For what we ought to pray for, we do not know' (Ec 5:2). Or perhaps now he does not intend to say this, but he sets forward not to theologize without reflection; for it is not possible for one being in sensible things and receiving from them the thoughts about God who is in the intelligible, to have been discussed touchlessly, fleeing all sensation. Because of this he says: 'And let your words be few,' that is, true and...
Having been stripped of vigilance; for the little amount seems to me to signify something like this: both 'better is a little with the righteous than much wealth of sinners' (Proverbs 15:16) and 'better is a little gain with righteousness' (Proverbs 15:17). For to those not guarding this, he says: 'a dream comes in a multitude of temptations and a voice of a fool in a multitude of words,' saying that a dream approaches the sleeping souls with a multitude of demons and unsettling the soul, about which also Job says to the Lord: 'You terrify me with dreams and strike me with visions' (Job 7:14); and David, turning away this enemy, entreats the Lord saying: 'Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep unto death, lest my enemy say: I have prevailed against him' (Psalm 138:3, 40:14); and in the Proverbs: 'Give not sleep to your eyes, nor let your eyelids slumber, that you may save yourself like a dove from the snare and like a bird from the trapper' (Proverbs 6:5). And he also says of it a voice of a fool, coming with a multitude of false words and deceiving the soul; and this is the 'from the voice of one reproaching and speaking against one.' And it is also possible to apply to the voice of the fool that which says 'from much talk sin shall not escape.'
And the Savior also in the Gospels commands the man to be watchful and to pray, so that he might not fall into temptation (Matthew 26:41); for sleep is ignorance and wickedness of the rational soul; therefore also Paul awakens those sleeping thus, saying: 'Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine upon you' (Ephesians 5:14). As for whatever prayer you might offer to God, do not delay in fulfilling it; for there is no will in foolishness, so whatever you might vow, fulfill it. It is good not to have vowed, or to have vowed and not to fulfill. The good gifts are offered to God from the soul, and from the body, and from the surroundings of the body. And from the soul we offer to Him right faith and true doctrines, righteousness and courage and temperance; and from the...
Greek
τὰ παιδία ταῦτα.» Ὅμοιον τούτῳ καὶ τὸ παρὰ τῷ ∆αυὶδ κείμενον· «παρεμβαλεῖ ἄγγελος κυρίου κύκλῳ τῶν φοβουμένων αὐτὸν καὶ ῥύσεται αὐτούς.» 31 Σπαρτίον ἔντριτόν ἐστι νοῦς ἀπαθὴς πνευματικῆς πληρούμενος γνώσεως ἢ νοῦς σοφὸς ἄγγελον θεοῦ παρεπόμενον ἔχων. Εὖ δὲ καὶ τὸ μὴ φάναι αὐτὸν «οὐκ ἀπορραγή σεται», ἀλλ' «οὐ ταχέως ἀπορραγήσεται»· τρεπτὴ γάρ ἐστιν ἡ φύσις ἡ λογική. 32 4, 13 ἀγαθὸς παῖς πένης καὶ σοφὸς ὑπὲρ βασιλέα πρεσβύτερον καὶ ἄφρονα ὃς οὐκ ἔγνω τοῦ προσέχειν ἔτι Παῖς ἐστιν ὁ τὴν ἐκ νεότητος διδασκαλίαν φυλάξας, πρεσβύτερος δὲ ὁ καταλελοιπὼς τὴν διδασκαλίαν τὴν ἐκ νεότητος καὶ τῆς θείας ἐπιλαθόμενος διαθήκης καὶ γεγηρακὼς τῇ κακίᾳ· καὶ ὁ μὲν πρότερός ἐστι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ δὲ δεύτερος τοῦ πονηροῦ. 33 4, 14 ὅτι ἐξ οἴκου τῶν δεσμίων ἐξελεύσεται βασιλεῦσαι, ὅτι καί γε ἐν βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ ἐγεννήθη πένης Οἶκος δεσμίων ἐστὶν ὁ κόσμος ὁ αἰσθητός, ἐν ᾧ «σειραῖς τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ἁμαρτιῶν ἕκαστος σφίγγεται». 34 4, 17 φύλαξον τὸν πόδα σου, ἐν ᾧ ἂν πορεύῃ εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ἐγγὺς τοῦ ἀκούειν· ὑπὲρ δόμα τῶν ἀφρόνων θυσία σου, ὅτι οὐκ εἰσὶν εἰδότες τοῦ ποιῆσαι κακόν «Οὐκ οἴδασι πῶς προσκόπτουσιν», μηδ' αὐτὸ τοῦτο εἰδότες ὅτι παρανομοῦσιν. 35 5, 1 μὴ σπεῦδε ἐπὶ στόματί σου, καὶ καρδία σου μὴ ταχυνέτω τοῦ ἐξενέγκαι λόγον πρὸ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ· ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, καὶ σὺ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· ἐπὶ τούτῳ ἔστωσαν οἱ λόγοι σου ὀλίγοι. 5, 2 ὅτι παραγίνεται ἐνύπνιον ἐν πλήθει πειρασμοῦ καὶ φωνὴ ἄφρονος ἐν πλήθει λόγων «Τὸ γὰρ τί προσευξώμεθα καθὸ δεῖ οὐκ οἴδαμεν.» Ἢ τάχα νῦν οὐ τοῦτο βούλεται λέγειν, προστάσσει δὲ μὴ ἀπερισκέπτως θεολογεῖν· οὐ γὰρ δυνατὸν τὸν ἐν αἰσθητοῖς ὄντα καὶ ἀπὸ τούτων λαμβάνοντα τὰ νοήματα περὶ τοῦ ὄντος ἐν τοῖς νοητοῖς θεοῦ καὶ πᾶσαν διαφεύγοντος αἴσθησιν ἀπταίστως διαλεχθῆναι. ∆ιὰ τοῦτό φησι· «καὶ ἔστωσαν οἱ λόγοι σου ὀλίγοι», τουτέστιν ἀληθεῖς καὶ περιεσκεμμένοι· τὸ γὰρ ὀλίγον τοιοῦτόν τι σημαίνειν μοι φαίνεται, ὡς καὶ τὸ «κρεῖσσον ὀλίγον τῷ δικαίῳ ὑπὲρ πλοῦτον 5 ἁμαρτωλῶν πολὺν» καὶ «κρεῖσσον ὀλίγη λῆψις μετὰ δικαιοσύνης». Τοῖς γὰρ μὴ τοῦτο φυλαττομένοις φησί· «παραγίνεται ἐνύπνιον ἐν πλήθει πειρασμοῦ καὶ φωνὴ ἄφρονος ἐν πλήθει λόγων», ἐνύπνιον λέγων τὸν καθευδούσαις ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἐφιστάμενον μετὰ πλήθους πειρασμῶν δαίμονα καὶ ἐκταράσσοντα τὴν ψυχήν, περὶ οὗ καὶ Ἰώβ φησι πρὸς τὸν κύριον· «ἐκφοβεῖς με ἐνυπνίοις καὶ ἐν ὁράμασί με καταπλήσσεις»· καὶ ∆αυὶδ τοῦτον ἐκκλίνων τὸν ἐχθρὸν παρακαλεῖ τὸν κύριον λέγων· «φώτισον τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς μου, μήποτε ὑπνώσω εἰς θάνατον, μήποτε εἴπῃ ὁ ἐχθρός μου· ἴσχυσα πρὸς αὐτόν»· καὶ ἐν ταῖς Παροιμίαις· «μὴ δῷς ὕπνον σοῖς ὄμμασι μηδὲ ἐπινυστάξῃς σοῖς βλεφάροις, ἵνα σῴζῃ ὥσπερ δορκὰς ἐκ βρόχων καὶ ὥσπερ ὄρνεον ἐκ παγίδος.» Λέγει δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ φωνὴν τοῦ ἄφρονος, μετὰ ψευδῶν παραγινόμενον λόγων καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἀπατῶντα· καὶ τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ «ἀπὸ φωνῆς ὀνειδίζοντος καὶ καταλαλοῦντος». ∆υνατὸν δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ἐφαρμόσαι τῇ φωνῇ τοῦ ἄφρονος τὸ «ἐκ πολυλογίας οὐκ ἐκφεύξεται ἁμαρτία». Καὶ ὁ σωτὴρ δὲ ἐν τοῖς εὐαγγελίοις προστάσσει ἀγρυπνεῖν τὸν ἄνθρωπον καὶ προσεύχεσθαι, ἵνα μὴ ἐμπέσῃ εἰς πειρασμόν· ὕπνος γάρ ἐστι λογικῆς ψυχῆς ἄγνοια καὶ κακία· ὅθεν καὶ ὁ Παῦλος τοὺς οὕτω καθεύδοντας διυπνίζει λέγων· «ἔγειρε, ὁ καθεύδων, καὶ ἀνάστα ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, καὶ ἐπιφαύσει σοι ὁ Χριστός.» 36 5, 3 καθὼς ἂν εὔξῃ εὐχὴν τῷ θεῷ, μὴ χρονίσῃς τοῦ ἀποδοῦναι αὐτήν· ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν θέλημα ἐν ἄφροσιν, σὺ οὖν ὅσα ἂν εὔξῃ ἀπόδος. 5, 4 ἀγαθὸν τὸ μὴ εὔξασθαί σε ἢ τὸ εὔξασθαί σε καὶ μὴ ἀποδοῦναι Τῶν ἀγαθῶν δώρων τὰ μὲν ἀπὸ ψυχῆς προσφέρεται τῷ θεῷ, τὰ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος, τὰ δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν πέριξ τοῦ σώματος. Καὶ ἀπὸ μὲν ψυχῆς προσφέρομεν αὐτῷ πίστιν ὀρθὴν καὶ δόγματα ἀληθῆ, δικαιοσύνην καὶ ἀνδρείαν καὶ σωφροσύνην· ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ
About this text
Evagrius's notes on Ecclesiastes: vanity, toil, and where lasting meaning hides.
Original English Translation of Evagrius Ponticus’s Scholia in Ecclesiasten — new OET from PG 40 Greek.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 40 (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.