The Vanity of Material Life
An admonition to the son: for he neither received the utterances of God's commandments, nor did he hide them in his heart. And that wealth will be lost through a harmful distraction; and he fathered a son, and there is nothing in his hand.s hand.
An evil distraction is ignorance which, through punishment, separates the unclean from spiritual contemplation. Just as he went out from his mother's womb naked (Eccl 5:14), he will return to go his way as he has come, and he will take nothing from his labor, so that he may go with nothing in his hand (Eccl 5:15). And this too is an evil sickness; for just as it came to be, so it will depart.
And Job says: 'Naked I came out from the womb of my mother, and naked I will depart there' (Job 1:21); but the one here says 'just as he went out from his mother's womb naked, he will return to go his way as he has come' (Eccl 5:14). But Job, as a righteous man, goes naked, free from malice and wickedness; but this one, with that ignorance by which he came into this world, with this also he will depart there.
Behold, what I saw was good, which is beautiful: to eat and to drink and to see goodness in all his labor (Eccl 5:17), by which he labors under the sun, a number of the days of his life which God gave to him (Eccl 5:18); for it is a portion of Him. And indeed every man to whom God gave wealth and possessions, and empowered him to eat from it and to take his portion and to be joyful in his labor (Eccl 5:18), this is a gift of God (Eccl 5:19). For he will not remember many of the days of his life; for God distracts him with the joy of his heart.
The knowledge of God is called by the intellect food and drink and goodness and portion and wealth and possessions and joy and distraction of God and light and life and gift; and the Holy Spirit sets many other names upon knowledge, which it is not possible now to recount, unless the rule of the scholia permits.
To contrast those who indeed received wealth of wisdom and knowledge, but did not indeed preserve it, it is said, 'and empowered him' (Eccl 5:18). For even the traitor Judas received intellectual wealth and spiritual possessions, but he was not empowered by them, having given away wisdom and the truth of God for the sake of gain. When a man receives from God...
Regarding spiritual knowledge, few remember this kind of life and the sensory life, since his heart is always occupied with contemplation. A true knowledge, which separates the purified soul from sensible things, is a distraction from God.
There is an evil that I saw under the sun, and it is great upon man (Ecclesiastes 6:1); a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and glory, and his soul is not lacking in anything he desires, yet God does not allow him to enjoy it, because a stranger eats it; and this too is vanity and a wicked sickness (Ecclesiastes 6:2). If a man begets a hundred and lives many years, and his years are many, yet his soul is not filled with goodness, and even a grave does not become him, I say: the abortion is better for him (Ecclesiastes 6:3); because he came in vanity and walks in darkness, and in darkness his name shall be covered (Ecclesiastes 6:4); and he has not seen the sun and has not known it; let this be rest for him above that (Ecclesiastes 6:5). And if he lived a thousand years and saw not goodness, does he not go to one place for all things (Ecclesiastes 6:6)? In this chapter he speaks about those worthy of impassibility and knowledge who again fell through the envy of the devil. The second chapter contains the life of an unclean and much-toiling man, long-lived and not having known God, for whom the abortion is preferred to be, and for him after death a place of the same.
He who destroys the wealth enriched in all knowledge and all wisdom is evil, whom he also calls stranger and alien regarding the knowledge of God. The 'eating' is also said regarding food and regarding destruction: 'If you wish and listen to me, he says, eat the good things of the earth; but if you do not wish and do not listen to me, a sword shall strike you'—instead of 'destroys'. For the mouth of the Lord spoke these things. And this stranger, having also come to David, was persuaded to sacrifice the lamb of the poor; for Nathan the prophet called him a stranger then. All the labor of man is into his mouth (Ecclesiastes 6:7), and his soul shall not be satisfied. All the evil of man remains in his heart, and he will not say from the...
Greek
νουθέτησιν τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐδέξατο ῥήσεις ἐντολῶν θεοῦ οὐδὲ ἔκρυψεν αὐτὰς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ. 40 5, 13 καὶ ἀπολεῖται ὁ πλοῦτος ἐκεῖνος ἐν περισπασμῷ πονηρῷ, καὶ ἐγέννησεν υἱόν, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν χειρὶ αὐτοῦ οὐδέν Περισπασμὸς πονηρός ἐστιν ἄγνοια μετὰ κολάσεως ἀπὸ τῆς πνευματικῆς θεωρίας χωρίζουσα τὸν ἀκάθαρτον. 41 5, 14 καθὼς ἐξῆλθεν ἀπὸ γαστρὸς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ γυμνός, ἐπιστρέψει τοῦ πορευθῆναι ὡς ἥκει καὶ οὐδὲν λήμψεται ἐν μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ, ἵνα πορευθῇ ἐν χειρὶ αὐτοῦ. 5, 15.1–2 καί γε τοῦτο πονηρὰ ἀρρωστία· ὥσπερ γὰρ παρεγένετο, οὕτως καὶ ἀπελεύσεται Καὶ ὁ Ἰώβ φησιν· «αὐτὸς γυμνὸς ἐξῆλθον ἐκ κοιλίας μητρός μου, γυμνὸς καὶ ἀπελεύσομαι ἐκεῖ»· ὁ δὲ ἐνταῦθα «καθὼς ἐξῆλθεν ἀπὸ γαστρὸς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ γυμνός, ἐπιστρέψει τοῦ πορευθῆναι ὡς ἥκει». Ἀλλ' ὁ Ἰὼβ μὲν ὡς δίκαιος γυμνὸς ἄπεισι κακίας τε καὶ πονηρίας· οὗτος δὲ μεθ' ἧς ἀγνοίας ἦλθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον τοῦτον, μετὰ ταύτης καὶ ἀπελεύσεται ἐκεῖ. 42 5, 17 ἰδοὺ ὃ εἶδον ἐγὼ ἀγαθόν, ὅ ἐστιν καλόν, τοῦ φαγεῖν καὶ τοῦ πιεῖν καὶ τοῦ ἰδεῖν ἀγαθωσύνην ἐν παντὶ μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ, ᾧ ἐὰν μοχθήσῃ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, ἀριθμὸν ἡμερῶν ζωῆς αὐτοῦ, ὧν ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ θεός· ὅτι αὐτὸ μερὶς αὐτοῦ. 5, 18 καί γε πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ᾧ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς πλοῦτον καὶ ὑπάρχοντα καὶ ἐξουσίασεν αὐτὸν τοῦ φαγεῖν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ καὶ λαβεῖν τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ εὐφρανθῆναι ἐν μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ, τοῦτο δόμα θεοῦ ἐστιν. 5, 19 ὅτι οὐ πολλὰ μνησθήσεται τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ· ὅτι ὁ θεὸς περισπᾷ αὐτὸν ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ καρδίας αὐτοῦ Ἡ γνῶσις ἡ τοῦ θεοῦ λέγεται τοῦ νοῦ καὶ βρῶσις καὶ 7 πόσις καὶ ἀγαθωσύνη καὶ μερὶς καὶ πλοῦτος καὶ ὑπάρχοντα καὶ εὐφροσύνη καὶ περισπασμὸς θεοῦ καὶ φῶς καὶ ζωὴ καὶ δόμα· καὶ πολλὰ ἕτερα ὀνόματα τίθησι τῇ γνώσει τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ἅπερ νῦν καταλέγειν οὐ δυνατόν, μὴ συγχωροῦντος τοῦ τῶν σχολίων κανόνος. 43 Πρὸς ἀντιδιαστολὴν τῶν λαβόντων μὲν πλοῦτον σοφίας καὶ γνώσεως, οὐ μὴν δὲ διαφυλαξάντων, εἴρηται τὸ «καὶ ἐξουσίασεν αὐτόν». Καὶ γὰρ ὁ προδότης Ἰούδας ἔλαβε πλοῦτον νοητὸν καὶ ὑπάρχοντα πνευματικά, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐξουσίασεν αὐτῶν, κέρδους ἕνεκεν προδεδωκὼς τὴν σοφίαν καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν τοῦ θεοῦ. 44 Ὅταν ἄνθρωπος παρὰ θεοῦ δέξηται γνῶσιν πνευματικήν, ὀλιγάκις μέμνηται τούτου τοῦ βίου καὶ τῆς αἰσθητῆς ζωῆς, τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ ἀεὶ περὶ τὴν θεωρίαν ἀσχολουμένης. 45 Περισπασμὸς θεοῦ ἐστι γνῶσις ἀληθὴς ἀπὸ τῶν αἰσθητῶν πραγμάτων χωρίζουσα τὴν κεκαθαρμένην ψυχήν. 46 6, 1 ἔστιν πονηρία ἣν εἶδον ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, καὶ πολλή ἐστιν ἐπὶ τὸν ἄνθρωπον· 6, 2 ἀνὴρ ᾧ δώσει αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς πλοῦτον καὶ ὑπάρχοντα καὶ δόξαν, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὑστερῶν τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ παντὸς οὗ ἐπιθυμεῖ, καὶ οὐκ ἐξουσιάσει αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς φαγεῖν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἀνὴρ ξένος φάγεται αὐτά· καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης καὶ ἀρρωστία πονηρά ἐστιν. 6, 3 ἐὰν γεννήσῃ ἀνὴρ ἑκατὸν καὶ ἔτη πολλὰ ζήσεται, καὶ πλῆθος ὅ τι ἔσονται αἱ ἡμέραι ἐτῶν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐμπλησθήσεται ἀπὸ ἀγαθωσύνης, καί γε ταφὴ οὐκ ἐγένετο αὐτῷ, εἶπα· ἀγαθὸν ὑπὲρ αὐτὸν τὸ ἔκτρωμα, 6, 4 ὅτι ἐν ματαιότητι ἦλθεν καὶ ἐν σκότει πορεύεται, καὶ ἐν σκότει ὄνομα αὐτοῦ καλυφθήσεται, 6, 5 καί γε ἥλιον οὐκ εἶδεν καὶ οὐκ ἔγνω, ἀναπαύσεις τούτῳ ὑπὲρ τοῦτον. 6, 6 καὶ εἰ ἔζησεν χιλίων ἐτῶν καθόδους καὶ ἀγαθωσύνην οὐκ εἶδεν, μὴ οὐκ εἰς τόπον ἕνα τὰ πάντα πορεύεται; Ἐν τούτῳ τῷ κεφαλαίῳ λέγει περὶ τῶν ἀπαθείας καταξιωθέντων καὶ γνώσεως καὶ πάλιν ἐκπεπτωκότων φθόνῳ τοῦ διαβόλου. Τὸ δὲ δεύτερον κεφάλαιον περιέχει ἀνδρὸς ἀκαθάρτου καὶ πολύπαιδος βίον μακρὸν καὶ μὴ ἐπεγνωκότος θεόν, οὗ καὶ προτιμότερον τὸ ἔκτρωμα τίθεται εἶναι, καὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ μετὰ θάνατον αὐτῷ τόπου τυγχάνον. 47 Ὁ διαφθείρων τὸν πλοῦτον τὸν πλουτισθέντα ἐν πάσῃ γνώσει καὶ πάσῃ σοφίᾳ ὁ πονηρός ἐστιν, ὅντινα καὶ ξένον καὶ ἀλλότριον λέγει τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ θεοῦ. Τὸ δὲ φαγεῖν λέγεται καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς βρώσεως καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς διαφθορᾶς· «ἐὰν θέλητε καὶ εἰσακούσητέ μου, φησί, τὰ ἀγαθὰ τῆς γῆς φάγεσθε· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ θέλητε μηδὲ εἰσακούσητέ μου, μάχαιρα ὑμᾶς κατέδεται–ἀντὶ τοῦ διαφθερεῖ. Τὸ γὰρ στόμα κυρίου ἐλάλησε ταῦτα.» Οὗτος δὲ ὁ ξένος καὶ πρὸς τὸν ∆αυὶδ ἐλθὼν πέπεικεν αὐτὸν θῦσαι τὴν ἀμνάδα τοῦ πένητος· ξένον γὰρ αὐτὸν ὠνόμασε τότε καὶ Νάθαν ὁ προφήτης. 48 6, 7 πᾶς μόχθος τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εἰς στόμα αὐτοῦ, καί γε ψυχὴ οὐ πληρωθήσεται Πᾶσα κακία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μένει ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐ μὴ εἴπῃ τὸ «ἐκ 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.