and the previous century have experienced, whoever, having thoroughly searched ancient library codices, has either first brought to light the works of ancient authors, or has seen to it that they are edited a second time with additions and corrections. For the editions of these have generally been so well received that everyone has eagerly embraced their copies, has been unwilling for them to be missing from his library, and holds them most dear and keeps them most diligently. I confess that for this reason I too have taken courage, and have not come unwillingly to the design of being the first to bring into the light of men and public renown, even if it be with work inferior, the Commentary of Saint Gregory II, Bishop of the Agrigentines, whom no one had yet drawn out from the shadows. I saw that, although I could offer only a few things from my own store, and nothing of great price, yet the ancient work itself, not yet worn by the hands of men, would be like a distinguished gift, with which learned men, having been presented by me, might rejoice; especially since it ought to be held in high regard for the very reason that it is the work not of a private man, but a document of a bishop. For the things we receive written by bishops do not only reveal their own spirit and insights, but also bear testimony to the Church over which they presided: as when we recognize catholic doctrine in the consensus of individual Churches, it is most important that the works of bishops be spread abroad and read. Therefore, I understood that those who are most aflame with zeal for the defense of religion, and who grieve that the monuments of Christian times and the illustrious decorations of the Churches lie hidden, would also be grateful that both the abundance of sacred doctrine has grown through me, and the index of the ancient Fathers has been increased. And that thought also occurred to me, that this ought to be pleasing and agreeable to the Agrigentines, and to the most eminent man, Anthony Branciforti, Cardinal, who most vigilantly presided over them for the sake of religion, because it seemed destined to contribute no small amount to their glory or dignity: for it has always been considered a chief merit of Christian cities to have brought forth some man whose doctrine has illuminated the Church; nor are those considered to be honored with less dignity to whom it has been granted to hold the same see in which holy and learned men have shone.
But yet, as one undertaking the care of an edition, lest I be accused of having added nothing of ornament to the volume with sterile labor, I had to strive entirely that something new, which was relevant, might accompany it, and that, as far as could be done, the whole work might be rendered acceptable by the very order of things and the diligence of the writing. In which matter I was excited by the examples of many who, while publishing the most splendid writings of the Fathers and bestowing care upon the edition of very many works, nevertheless deemed it their duty that whatever pertained either to the praise and fame of the author, or to some illustration and distinction of the writings, they should not only diligently seek out, but also accurately and clearly publish by discussing them. Therefore, starting from knowing the history of our author himself, because the Greek copy of his *Life*, which a certain Leontius—once the Hegumen of the Sabaite monks at Rome—wrote about Gregory, had not yet seen the light, I judged that this must be sought out by me above all others, and because of its antiquity, must be the one most of all to be edited: yet in such a way that, before inquiring about the author himself, I might discover who he eventually was, in what place, and in what age he had existed. And in this our investigation, it was permitted to bring forth something new about the distinguished Roman monastery, which in ancient times the great monk Sabbas inhabited with much praise: in which our Gregory is also said to have stayed for some time as a guest. The writing of Leontius itself, however, furnished much richer material for discussion. For it was necessary to inquire both about the men who were mentioned, and to enter into a calculation of the times, beyond which the history could not run, and to designate the very places in which something distinguished or worthy of knowing was reported to have occurred. Nor indeed could anyone say that these things were few or small, which, partly being new and not known before, and partly corrected and restored, are now finally to behold the light.
Because Leontius had inscribed no years to his history, it was necessary for the life of Gregory to be arranged, and in a proposed annalistic way, his deeds were to be referred, as far as it was permitted, to certain intervals of time. Hence it happened that the contrary opinions which had up to now prevailed among others concerning his age were thoroughly overturned, and a third way was introduced, which seems to stand on clearly firm arguments: for we have not rashly grasped at the testimony of any more recent writer to confirm it, but we have sought out monuments of antiquity and the evidence of those who had been contemporaries of Gregory, from which alone authorities could be sought to resolve the question, and as it were, could be drawn from the fountains of truth. After these, we also deemed it must be investigated how ancient the opinion concerning the sanctity of this man had been in the Church. For the sake of which matter, we searched first the ancient Martyrologies of the Latins, and the Menaea of the Greeks...
A, B and it was necessary to work: whence we took the testimonies that we could find, both ancient and illustrious, and nothing that could be sought from elsewhere was neglected, so that we might show the sanctity of our Gregory to be more attested and long since known and manifest.
Finally, the authorities of old writers also had to be added to these, whosoever had celebrated the praises and teaching of Gregory. Although indeed the paucity of writers who followed next after his age, and no less the silence of those who were thereafter, caused us not to be successful in our searching, yet it was permitted to find some things which declare that, in the very perturbation of the times and in those great shadows of ignorance, the memory of his virtue and wisdom had remained among men for a long time.
Having finished with these, I judged it to be a principal and most opportune thing to discuss something about the writings of Gregory, whose titles I could bring forward, and more lengthily concerning his Commentary on Ecclesiastes, complete in ten books, which was to be brought to light so late by my efforts. Therefore I wished everyone to know into whose hands it first came, to whom it was subsequently known, and to whom it was finally brought. I also thought it mattered if I taught more accurately than he himself had done the labor I had spent in editing and illustrating it: what were the writer’s principal praises, what the sum of the work, what its grace, what its utility might appear to be. And here, an opportunity also arose to inquire about the ancient copies of the Holy Scriptures, which were in use by the ancient Fathers of the Church, when, of course, manuscripts were everywhere of great price, and there was not always a store of the best scribes available to everyone. Afterward, I also thought it necessary to investigate and bring forward the reason why Gregory should have thought his Commentary must be written in the Greek language, C who, born in the Latin Church and made a bishop according to the Latin rite, ought truly to have known and employed Latin. I wished all these things to precede the Gregorian Work, so that those who approached to read might be moved in some light, and with the questions regarding its author explained, might yield more willingly to the reading.
You will find, therefore, the Commentary itself at last, a work truly learned and not unpolished: you will find at the same time the whole context of the book of Ecclesiastes, such as we have received it, read and inscribed by Gregory, which I profess to have been published religiously and in the same words by me, and augmented by no addition except for the numbers, which the custom of many and the very utility of the matter admonished me to insert. But indeed below, as is the custom, you will see things noted from time to time which I judged would be most useful and agreeable to the reader, from which some things contribute to the knowledge and understanding of the sacred book, others illustrate the sentiments and teaching of Gregory the interpreter. Furthermore, if you should think that most of these are taken from the middle, as they say, and cannot be called new or recondite; do not persuade yourself that they are sold by me as having more worth than their own value: but conclude that I have felt only this, that they would perhaps be of use and pleasure to readers, because they seem to be gathered in their own places and to take away the labor of searching, and to bring the pleasure of understanding. For who, after such great labors of learned men, could now receive this, that he would expose nothing that is not untouched, or undelibated by any commentary of others?
Finally, I did not want indices to be lacking, by which the labor of students is often lightened in large part: and I have brought it about that whatever is contained in the entire volume, whether of things or of words, which anyone might ever have need to know, or to ponder by rereading, anyone might find without any trouble, having been diligently placed before his eyes.
You have the sum of the edition, and a certain sketch and outline of my labor and study: whence, I think, you may understand that, even if other things were lacking, diligence at least has been employed, so that the edition of the new work might not be blamed by many. I wish it had been permitted to find more of the writings of this holy man, which we know were left by him, but which we scarcely believe have survived antiquity. For as much as we have been able to discover from the books of those who have searched ancient libraries, nothing inscribed with the name of our Gregory has emerged as yet, much less has it come to the use and hands of men.
Since these things are so, let the holy Church, the parent and nurse of the catholic name, freely accept even this one little gift from us: let it have this as a pledge of our good will, as a token of our love, by which we surely embrace her, and joyfully serve her, when we think it sweet and honorable to think with her, and to live and die in her bosom. If we cannot give more to her, if she possesses a great
[531] cannot hope for anything from us on account of the poverty of our talent and learning; let him know this, however, to be my prayer: that for the sake of His sacred things, for His laws, and for His dignity, it may be my lot, with God as the author, to undergo dangers, endure labors, and pour out my very life.
Hither, I pray, O noble Father of the Agrigentine people, Gregory, come; turn your called-for aid to us, Turn your twin gaze, while we treat of you, and of your fostering Wondrous work, the plan of which we dare to bring forth. If envious Antiquity had overwhelmed in darkness To the loss of many, not sated with the good things of the ancients: Be present now, for now by our labor your writings Shall live, approved ever by men of every sort: And what you desire, while you reign in heaven, to despise the earth, These men shall learn, tamed by your divine eloquence.
AN INVESTIGATION CONCERNING LEONTIUS, WRITER OF THE LIFE OF S. GREGORY, BISHOP OF AGRIGENTUM
A I. The Life of Saint Gregory II, bishop of the Agrigentines, which is now published by me in Greek for the first time, we have long had in a nearly complete Latin version, namely among the Lives of the Sicilian Saints, which in the previous century Octavius Cajetanus of the Society of Jesus left behind—partly collected from others, partly composed by himself, and each illustrated with some commentary—and which his companion Petrus Salernus published. This Life had been supplied to him by the formerly distinguished and very well-stocked library of the Basilian monks who are at Messina; and he had found the same work in another codex, which belonged to the Church of Cefalù, after it had already been rendered into Latin by his companion Francisco Rajato. But Cajetanus, though possessing two Greek copies, had not thought of publishing either, and he who brought his writings to light allowed both to remain hidden in the codices. Now, however, since that Life which was read in Latin did not sufficiently satisfy me, whether because of the codex or the translator, I decided that, having undertaken the plan for this Work, I must not spare any effort, and I judged that the Greek should be published in its entirety, and also rendered with a new interpretation: so that anyone might be able to recognize the author's words at the same time, and that the Latin might everywhere correspond to the Greek as much as was right.
But the judgment of Daniel Papebrochius regarding our Leontius, which was not very favorable, had almost deterred me from an edition of it. For he, in the Metrical Ephemerides of the Greeks, which he published in the first volume of the month of May, when he had brought back this verse referring to our Gregory, which says,
Εἰκάδ: ΓΡΗΓΟΡΙΟΝ θανάτου νέφος εἷλε τετάρτη, GREGORIUM involvit quarta et vicesima morte,
he appended a note of this kind: "This is the Agrigentine bishop, whose Acts, written by Metaphrastes, seemed to us not a little fabulous; and such things began to be believed far more once we arrived at their source, namely, others that are much more long-winded, bearing the name of Leontius, abbot of the Sabaïtes, as an eyewitness of many things. It is of such great importance, then, to have fables described in their origin, to make a distinction between the true and the false." Nor by any other
reason does this place favor Leontius A (4), where he narrates that he himself transcribed the Life of Gregory of Agrigento in the Laurentian Library in Florence, which, however, the Bandini Indices today do not mention.
II. But when I turned to Leontius and began to weigh his history, the reading itself added to my courage, and it had the effect of making me understand that Leontius had been read by Papebroch in haste. For, even granting that many things written by him appear to originate from the Greek imagination, yet nowhere—as was the custom of those Greek writers of this kind, whom we rightly hold of dubious reliability—did he truly affirm that he had been an eyewitness of those things which he related; having only prefaced this much: that he was born in the time next to those in which Gregory had flourished (5): in whose age, indeed, toward its decline, Leontius, I believe, had not yet passed his youth. He narrates, indeed, that our Gregory, when he was in his eighteenth year, was brought to Jerusalem by three monks, one of whom was named Leontius (6). But he makes B this man an abbot even then, and indeed at such an age that he could not have remained alive after Gregory, whom he writes died an old man (7). Then he further reports that those same monks were dwellers of a monastery twenty stadia distant from the city, whereas he himself calls himself Hegumen of the Monastery of Saint Sabas, which was within the city (8). Finally, in the very beginning, he says that Gregory was an object of admiration to the most religious Fathers who had existed before him (9): by which words he indicated not obscurely that he was not writing of things which he had seen, but was committing to memory what he had heard. These things being observed, the authority of Papebroch appeared to me less significant here: for as he did not attend to these matters, he is to be thought to have weighed Leontius on a popular scale, not, as they say, on a goldsmith's balance.
III. I do not wonder that other matters in Leontius, which offer themselves to suspicion at first sight, provided fuel for Papebroch’s narrative. Nor indeed do all things which he relates agree with history. Whence it came about that some have concluded that our Gregory lived in the age of Justinian I Augustus, while others have thought that he should be referred to much later times, to Justinian II, who began to rule as a youth after his father Constantine: although he was illustrious both before this man and after him. Yet this disruption of times seemed to me to have arisen from the addition of certain names, which were not by Leontius, but by a copyist who, wishing to cast more light on the matters, and being unskilled in history and ignorant of the times to which those things pertained, [interpolated them]. Concerning this matter, more must be brought forward and explained by me forthwith in the commentaries which I shall append to the Life. C I have therefore taken the view that the narrative of Leontius, even though some things in it savor of the license of the Greeks, who pursue the marvelous rather than the certain, can nevertheless be retained and that the reason for its publication is probable, provided those things that one may rightly call into doubt are discussed and amended: especially since the very dignity and profession of the man should have some weight, and this upright doctrine and piety, which he, as Cajetan observed, displays in his writing, seem to demand of us that we judge him not to have lied.
IV. Indeed, for us to inquire about Leontius himself—which is of great importance—John Pinius has already shown by an instituted comparison that a different person from this one of ours left the Life of the monk Saint Sabas the wonder-worker (10): and he demonstrated that he wrote after the year 796 (11). Furthermore, our Leontius, in the title of his history, calls himself Hegumen of the Monastery of Saint Sabas, namely the one which was for a long time at Rome near the Ostian Gate, which was also called Saint Paul's from the very age of Procopius: the ruins of which even yet stand in part near the temple. Nor is it permitted to doubt the title: for the codices which I myself saw—three of them—and those which Cajetan and Allatius saw (12), as well as those which are in the Royal Library at Paris, all have appended to them τῆς Ῥωμαίων πόλεως; so that Fabricius (13) did not correctly think that Constantinople was designated by those words, which, when it is called Rome, is accustomed always to be called the New [Rome]: besides the fact that we do not know of a monastery of Saint Sabas at Constantinople, as was manifest to me while working through the entire opus of Du Cange (13*). But at what time Leontius fulfilled his prefectship seems most difficult to show and define by certain indications: for since he left nothing testified about himself in his History other than that he was born in an age that closely followed the times of our Gregory, and no monument of this age has thus far been brought forth that is explored and certain, it is clear that no light is brought to this question from his words. Wherefore the matter required much searching; and since even in an obscure subject there is a place for conjecture, I do not shrink from bringing forth what I have seen fit to find by attempting.
V. We do not know in what year the Sabaites monks came to Rome for the purpose of dwelling there. We do know, however, that after D the death of Saint Sabas, their author, whether from the year 532, they were gravely harassed in the East by the Origenists, and a great part were ejected from their lauras, and migrated into other places.
A From this, I would believe, it came about that some eventually crossed over into Africa as well: for it is certain that in the following century there was a laura of the Sabaites in Africa. From there, or, if you prefer, even from the East around the times of the supreme pontiffs Benedict I or Pelagius II, I hold it for certain that some migrated to Rome and found a seat on the Aventine. For the codex of Altemps, which Mabillon saw, provides a clue. In it, after the account of the sacred relics which Gregory the Apocrisiarius brought back to Rome when returning from Constantinople, the following is read: "Which Pope Pelagius is recorded to have deposited within his palace in the church of Saint Lawrence, which is the school basilica... He gave, however, a portion of the arm of the same Saint Andrew to the religious abbot of Saint Saba, which church is situated near the gate of Saint Paul the Apostle, where it is said that miracles occur daily."
The place, however, where the monks had settled with this religious abbot, was called *Cella Nova*, or also, because it was near the city walls, *Cella Muroniana*; for at that age, they called what we call monasteries, cells: and that place was most suitable for those leading a solitary life. For which reason it seems it was also pleasant for a long time to the most holy matron Silvia, who was the parent of Gregory the Great. For it is certain that she lived there, since there could be no lack of other houses for a most distinguished and opulent woman in the city. Concerning this lady, indeed, and concerning her son Gregory, when he lived as a monk at the Clivus Scauri, John the Deacon wrote: "The same man of almighty God, Gregory, while dwelling B at that time at the gate of the Blessed Paul the Apostle, in the place which is called Cella Nova—where an oratory dedicated to his name, and the famous monastery of Saint Saba the Confessor of Christ, whose praise is in the sixth and seventh synod, is seen to be established—was fed on raw vegetables." Very close to this *Cella Nova*, which perhaps had been built on Silvia's property and at her expense, was the ancient church, distinguished by an image of Our Lord Jesus, as two still-existing inscriptions attest.
VI. These, then, were the origins of the Sabaites in Rome. It must be asked now who built the famous monastery. I believe, however, that the founder of this was Gregory the Great, after he was proclaimed supreme pontiff: although he did it not for the sake of the Sabaites, but for the sake of his own monks, specifically so that they might dwell there, to whom he had previously granted their seat at the Clivus Scauri. These things are, indeed, in John the Deacon: the words of Peter the Presbyter concerning Gregory, taken from the *Spiritual Meadow*: "He, having become pope, built a great monastery of men." Nor does John reproach Peter for an error, or teach that we should understand it to mean that Gregory had built it in his own private house. Moreover, the reason is at hand why Gregory thought of building a new monastery. For when the number of holy women at Rome had grown to three thousand, and seeing that after mother Silvia had departed [this life], the house on the Aventine had fallen to him by inheritance—which was more suitable for housing monks than holy women—for that reason he destined the monastery of the Clivus Scauri for them, but decided the monks should be transferred to the Aventine. That holy women certainly lived there for some time, this same John the Deacon is the witness, who writes that a certain Eupraxia was withdrawn from the monastery of Saint Andrew the Apostle, which is called the Clivus Scauri. Nor should anyone correctly think that in the same place C there was also a dwelling of monks at the same time: since Gregory did not want monasteries of men and women to be near one another; and he praised Januarius, the bishop of Cagliari, because he had forbidden a monastery of men to be built near a monastery of women.
But when this great monastery of the Sabaites had been built near the Cella Nova, at the church of the Image of Christ, which itself was also restored at that time, that the monks had in very truth migrated from the monastery of Saint Andrew is a not light argument: the great altar of the same church is still distinguished by the effigy of Saint Andrew, the ancient patron: to which the new guests later added Saint Saba: as well as another, in which there are images of Gregory the founder and of his parents, Silvia and Gordianus, according to the pattern of those which are mentioned by John the Deacon.
VII. But those Gregorian monks soon left this new seat empty. For Maximianus of Syracuse became bishop of Ravenna, D and Marinianus [became bishop of Ravenna]. Probus was sent to Jerusalem for the purpose of establishing a hospice, and others [were sent] to the palace to serve the supreme pontiff.
Ordered to dwell there, while more were destined for the cultivation of Britain—the Maurini relate that there were forty, who first set out with Augustine (29)—and they write that many others subsequently migrated to the same island (30). Wherefore it must be admitted that either none or very few remained in Rome; these could have gone to Subiaco or elsewhere.
I think, therefore, that what happened is what John the Deacon indicates with these words (31): "Wherefore, as is established, the Gregorian monastery changed from Latinity to Greekness out of necessity rather than by choice; in the same way, while the Lord provides, it is faithfully expected to return to the Latin rite." Indeed, the Sabaïtes, who were inhabiting the New Cell—a narrow one, I think, and poor—were led, by the authority of Gregory the Great [VIII], into the new monastery that was already vacant, and from two houses one was made, because one was very near to the other. This was once held to be so certain that an opinion even prevailed, which that same deacon refutes, that Gregory himself had been a Greek monk. For after he spoke of the sepulcher of this man and of the anniversary feast, on which day the people were accustomed to kiss the pallium, the phylacteries, and the belt of Saint Gregory, he adds this: "Furthermore, in the thinness of the belt, which never exceeded the measure of one thumb, he shows more clearly than the light that he maintained a specimen of the regular ideal once established by Saint Benedict, whose life he had described in the *Dialogues* and whose Rule he had also praised; especially since this same venerable doctor Gregory did not know the Greek language, and he designated as monks for Saxony the monks of his own monastery, who were certainly bound by the rules of Benedict" (32).
And this substitution of Greek monks is also sufficiently indicated by the changes in the titles of the superiors, which change from that point on in the same deacon's account: for those who were previously called abbots, he now calls *hegumenoi* or *praepositi* (33). But nothing demonstrates this more than that inscription which, as I said above, is read behind the altar in the temple of Saint Sabas:
+ GGS EPS SERVVS SERVORV DT DILECTO FILIO NRO EVGENIO. A NOBS CSECRATO EGVMENO. SVBSCRIP TO LOCO Q NOMINAT CELLA MVRONIANA. SVPRA PORTA BE ATI PAVLI APLI VBI E ACCLA RECDITA. AD HONORE IMAGINIS DNI DI
The rest is missing, because perhaps it was inscribed only in ink, for on the stone, which is quite large, traces of the lines still appear, which seem to have been drawn so that the hand of the writer would not err in painting. Truly, you will find this inscription edited by Odericius (34); but he did not even think of Gregory the Great, judging, of course, that Greek monks flowed into the city much later. Thus, he thought it pertained to Gregory IV, or to some one of the other supreme pontiffs who followed, up to the seventh of the same name, since it was only after him that the Latin monks, as John the Deacon had hoped, returned to that monastery.
But it is manifest from the statement of John the Deacon, which I cited above, that Gregory the Great is designated in this title. For in those words, "the monastery of Saint Sabas, confessor of Christ, whose glory is in the sixth and seventh synods," this meaning lies hidden, as we shall show below: that from that monastery a man was chosen who would be sent as a legate by the supreme pontiff to the sixth synod, and again another to the seventh, and that each finished his legation with praise. But because the sixth synod, or the Council of Constantinople III, was convened in the year 680, that is, 35 years before Gregory II took the supreme pontificate, it is certainly clear that whoever was the first *hegumenos* of the new monastery of Saint Sabas could not have been consecrated by anyone other than Gregory the Great, and that thus the Great Gregory was the founder and constitution-giver of that monastery.
That Eugenius was made the first *hegumenos* of the new monastery, the diploma itself indicates, whose beginning is that inscription. It also indicates this by the implied mention of the "rebuilt church," and it also indicates this by the omission of the name of Saint Sabas, which later ones never omitted in naming that monastery. But we have a much clearer testimony from the supreme pontiff Lucius II, who, in the year 1134, as the Greeks were failing, wanted that monastery to be of the Cluniac monks. For thus he wrote to Peter the Abbot of Cluny (35): "The monastery of Saint Sabas is recognized to have been founded in religion [IX] and honesty from the times of the most holy Pope Gregory, and endowed with great and very extensive possessions." By these words he perhaps designates the diploma given to the *hegumenos* Eugenius, in which it is not to be doubted that it was written whatever Gregory had assigned to the monks (36); although, with that inscription for the most part deleted, we can know nothing else of these things from elsewhere (37).
The form of the letters, however, opposes the antiquity of the inscription, regarding which, although Odericius made many inquiries, he nevertheless brought forth nothing which might demonstrate that that monument is of a later age. Indeed, there are certain ligatures in them like those which can be seen on an ancient marble at Saint Paul’s on the Via Ostiensis, referring to an epistle of the same Gregory to Felix, subdeacon and rector of the patrimony of Appia, which you will find among the other Gregorian epistles (38).
Finally, it must be added that it was clearly a useful and wholesome plan for the Greek monks to be well treated by Gregory the Great and ordered to remain in Rome: since there was the greatest need for the sake of the entire East, that there should be no lack in Rome of pious and faithful interpreters of the Greek epistles, which were very frequently sent thence on account of frequent controversies and the deceits of various heretics. For rare indeed were they among the Romans at that time who knew Greek, nor were they always such that trust could be placed in them, as Gregory himself testified that he had experienced to Bishop Eusebius of Thessalonica (39). But those who attained the supreme pontificate after him also gained this advantage from that monastery, that they were able to select hence upright and learned men, whom they might safely and usefully send into the East for the sake of councils.
A VIII. Come now, having found such an ancient hegumen of the Sabaitic monastery, let us inquire about the others, so that, if possible, a place may be assigned to our Leontius as well. In the Lateran Council, which was assembled in the year 649, under Pope Martin I, we read these things brought forth in the second action or secretarium by Theophylact, the primicerius of the notaries: "I suggest to your beatitude, since there stand before the doors of the venerable secretarium of your holiness many most reverend Greek abbots, presbyters, and monks, dwelling for years now in this Roman city, and not arriving in the present—John, Theodore, Thalassius, George, and with them other venerable men—that they may be presented to your sight" (40), etc. All these having been admitted by Martin, they presented a libellus, in which, while professing the catholic doctrine, they asked that the errors of the Monothelites be condemned by the Fathers with common consent. At the end, B however, the subscriptions are of this kind:
John, abba and presbyter of the monastery of our Father Saint Sabas, asking, I have subscribed with my own hand. Thalassius, by the mercy of God, abba and presbyter of the holy Mother of God and the blessed Andrew, asking, I have subscribed with my own hand. Theodore, by the grace of God, abba and presbyter of the venerable laura of Saint Sabas, asking, I have subscribed with my own hand. [x] George, abba and presbyter, likewise. Theocharistus, by the mercy of God, presbyter, likewise. Theodore, by the mercy of God, deacon, likewise. Paullus, by the mercy of God, presbyter, likewise. Theodore, presbyter, likewise. John, presbyter, likewise. Theodore, monk, likewise. Polychronius, deacon, likewise. Constantine, deacon, likewise. 15 Petrus, deacon, likewise. Theodore, deacon, likewise. Sergius, monk, likewise. Thomas, deacon, likewise. George, deacon, likewise. Sergius, monk, likewise. Andrew, deacon, likewise. Eutychius, monk, likewise. Cosmas, monk, likewise. 25 Abrahamius, monk, likewise. John, monk, likewise. Anastasius, monk, likewise. Theodore, monk, likewise. Leontius, deacon, likewise. Paulus, monk, likewise. Petrus, monk, likewise. Joannes, monk, likewise. 35 Maximus, monk, likewise. Anastasius, monk, likewise. Leontius, monk, likewise.
That all these were monks, although the presbyters and deacons do not, according to the custom of those times, profess themselves to be monks, is apparent from the epistle of Pope Martin to John, Bishop of Philadelphia: "These very things," he says, "which were transacted by us here synodally for the establishing and defending of the catholic Church, along with our encyclical and synodal letters, we have sent through our presbyter and apocrisiarius (in the Greek it is *apocrisiariou*) and Abbot Theodore, and the monks of Saint Theodosius of the most religious house, John, Stephen, Leontius, who participated in this our apostolic synod" (41). But the one who subscribed in the twentieth place calls himself only a deacon, when he cannot possibly be another than the one whom Martin calls a monk: for there is only one who has the name Stephen.
Now, by what order or law these subscribed, I do not dare to define. However, of the one who is read first, there is no room for doubt, with regard for his dignity. For John was, as is stated in a. t. n (42), Abba and presbyter of the venerable laura of Saint Sabas established in the desert, which is near the holy city of Christ our God, or C [xi] Jerusalem, where the primary and greatest monastery of the Sabaites was, and from whence all the Sabaites derived their origin. Furthermore, the rest seem to have subscribed in such a way that each one who was older by birth subscribed earlier. For the third, who
was A a guest, has before him a Roman inhabitant: specifically, that Theodore who is called abbot and venerable presbyter of the Laura in the African province is established there; on the other hand, Thalassius, abbot and venerable presbyter of the monastery of the Armenissae established in this Roman city, who is called the Restored; the fourth is George, abbot and venerable presbyter of the monastery of Cilicia, which is situated at the Aquas Salvias, which is known to dwell in this city: the deacon precedes the presbyter, and the monks the deacons; the cause of which disturbance could scarcely be anything other than the account taken of age, whether of the monks or of the monasteries.
But indeed, to approach more closely, we do not read at what place the fifth held the prefecture: yet let no one teach me to err, if I assign to this Theodore the Roman monastery of Saint Sabas. Certainly, the number of Greek monasteries in the City had not yet so increased that another house had to be sought for him; and one who dwelt in the City itself, and was known to all, by the example of him who had subscribed next, George the abbot of the suburban monastery, he too could omit the designation of his monastery. Nor does the very legation which he is said to have performed aid my opinion little: for he is the very man whom Martin calls his apocrisiarius in the letter, which we mentioned above, to John, bishop of Philadelphia: a task which he would certainly not have imposed upon him if he had neither known the man well nor expected his return to the City.
There are also five other Theodores: of these, I am of the opinion that B the seventh in order is that same man whom, not many years later, Vitalian, Pontifex Maximus, created bishop and sent into Britain, as Bede is the author, who makes him both a Greek and a monk, and writes that he was sent from Rome (43): although the same author records that he had previously been made only a subdeacon in the Greek rite (44), while in the subscription he is called a deacon. But if you prefer this one to be he who is sixteenth in order, I cannot object. For there are no certain and explored indications. Of the three others who follow, I can speak even less in such great obscurity of affairs: just as I can hardly speak of the rest, except for those three whom Martin commemorates, namely John, Stephen, and Leontius, who were from the monastery of Saint Theodosius, of which mention is often made by Cyril, of Scythopolis, in the Life of Sabas. I think, however, that among those who subscribed, the eleventh, twenty-first, and thirty-first—for it pertained to the dignity of the legation that they should be sent who had ascended to some rank in the Church; and so it is credible that a presbyter was sent with two deacons. Yet I exclude two from the condition of the others and bring them into the open light: the twenty-ninth and the last, namely Theodore the monk and Leontius the monk, both of whom I contend served at different times as prefect of the monastery of Saint Sabas in the City.
IX. I have as a witness that these were from the Roman monastery Martin, Pontifex Maximus, to whom both lent their services. For thus he writes in his letter to the Church of Carthage: "But in order that we might make the precious work of our sacrifice of this kind thoroughly certain to you yourselves as well, we have sent these things which have been done by us at the present time, containing, as has been said, the splendor and radiance of your sermons, along with our encyclical letters, to you through Theodore and Leontius, religious monks of the holy Laura (45)." For thus were the monasteries of the Sabaites living apart called. That they later became hegumens of the Roman Laura, I shall show easily.
And first, I shall speak of Theodore, whom it is permissible to believe was senior to Leontius in the series of subscriptions. I consider him to be the one whom the Supreme Pontiff Agatho later sent as a legate to the Third Council of Constantinople, or the Sixth Synod, so that he might preside over it and act in his place. To which he certainly subscribed first with these words: C "I, Theodore, the least presbyter of the holy Roman Church and legate of the most blessed Agatho, oecumenical pope of the city of Rome, have subscribed (46)." The single and solitary name does not move me: the authority of John the Deacon, whose statement I brought forward above, moves me. He, mentioning the monastery of Saint Sabas, inserted that [reference], whose praise is in the sixth and seventh synod. Indeed, it is beyond controversy that Peter, hegumen of Saint Sabas, was sent to the seventh synod by Pope Adrian I, Pontifex Maximus, so that as legate he might preside over the council: for thus are the subscriptions of the Second Nicene, or seventh synod, held: "I, Peter, an unworthy presbyter and hegumen of the monastery of the holy father our Sabas situated in Rome, and taking the place of Adrian, pope of senior Rome, have subscribed as I defined." Since therefore the deacon testifies that praise was won for that monastery in both synods, and we have discovered from the seventh synod what he wished to signify in few words; I believe we rightly conclude that the same matter is indicated by him concerning the sixth synod also. Nor indeed should it be considered a wonder that Agatho thought of sending this Theodore of ours, since he had already participated in the Lateran Council convened against the same heretics against whom the one at Constantinople was being indicated: especially since, being a Greek by origin, he knew Greek, and on that account was more suitable than the others to move usefully and without offense among the Greek bishops: most especially at that time when hardly anyone was at hand for Agatho who could be equal to such a task. For thus he complains of this matter in his letter to the Augusti: "Therefore, because your most tranquil fortitude commanded that persons from the episcopal number be sent, endowed with the life and knowledge of all the Scriptures; although one might argue concerning the purity of life, however cleanly someone may have lived, D
yet he does not presume: true knowledge, if it is led back to the knowledge of true piety, is the sole cognition of truth; if it is led to secular eloquence, we do not estimate that anyone can be found in our times who might glory in the summit of knowledge, A seeing that in our regions the fury of diverse nations rages daily, now by fighting, now by roaming and plundering. Whence our whole life is full of anxieties, because the hand of the nations surrounds us; and our sustenance comes from the labor of the body, because the original support of the churches has gradually succumbed, failing through various calamities. Indeed, for this very reason, he had also desired that the other Theodore, that is, the Archbishop of Canterbury, a Greek and himself formerly a monk in the city, of whom I spoke above, should come to Rome from Britain: "We hoped," he says, "to join to our humility Theodore, our fellow servant and fellow bishop from Britain, the archbishop and philosopher of the great island of Britain, with others who remain there even until now, and to bring in the various bishops of this council established in different regions, so that our proposal might be made by the generality of the whole council." B Wherefore, if anyone finally objects that that Theodore of ours, in the subscription of the Council of Constantinople, did not profess himself—otherwise than Peter did after him at Nicaea—to be the hegumen of Saint Sabas, I will not therefore depart from my opinion; I would rather say that the cause for this was that, having been chosen among the cardinal presbyters, he had already had a successor in the prefecture of the monastery, Leontius.
X. Indeed, that this is our Leontius, who in the title of the *Life of Gregory* calls himself hegumen of Saint Sabas, his history plainly confirms. He himself writes that he lived in those times which but little differed from the age of Saint Gregory of Agrigento. Indeed, these words sound thus: *Καὶ τοῦτο θαυμασιώτερον, ὅτι ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις ταύταις καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ γενεᾷ τοιοῦτον ἑαυτῷ ὁ Χριστὸς ἀπέδειξεν ἐργάτην*, that is: "And this is even more wondrous, that in these last days and in the last generation, Christ has chosen for Himself such a laborer from this age nearest to us." But Gregory, as we shall show below, was born in the year 548, and, since he is said to have lived to a great old age, he had reached at least the year 630. C Therefore, Leontius, who was a contemporary of the legate Theodore, whom we know to have gone to Constantinople in the year 680, or about fifty years after Gregory had flown to his heavenly home, was closest to his age. For this reason, there is no cause why we should think that another than he existed as a monk named Leontius at the same time and in the same monastery. Nor indeed do the other things differ, which someone might perhaps require to confirm the matter. For the age of Leontius, who had subscribed last as a younger man to that supplicatory libel in the Lateran Council, must already have been in the times of Agatho such as would befit a hegumen. For that council had been held in the year 649, so that in the year in which the Second Council of Constantinople was indicted, Leontius would have had to number at least fifty years; then also, one who, even while still a youth, had been a legate to Africa for the sake of the Christian cause, could deservedly have seemed worthy to his monks to be adorned with the prefecture of the monastery as one older in birth. Since these things are so, it will now be permitted to count our Leontius among the others whom Basnagius, while discussing the Byzantine Leontius, found to have existed in the sixth and seventh centuries with the same name, and to have published something in their writings.
XI. As for what remains, since some hegumens of the monastery of Saint Sabas have now been detected and designated by me, I do not think it will be unwelcome if I also exhibit the others, whom I have been able to find, in some established series, approaching as closely as possible to the times of Pope Lucius II, who in the year 1144, the Greeks having slipped away, brought Cluniac monks into that monastery. D Although the list must necessarily be vacant for many intervals: for historians are silent, and the monuments of those ages have perished. But as far as the years are concerned, I warn that they are not assigned by me as being all certain and explored, but rather as those which seem to pertain to some one of the years of their prefecture: the start of which itself was unknown to me, nor could it perhaps be found even with long labor.
Hegumens who presided over the Roman monastery of Saint Sabas.
ANNO DLXXX. — A religious abbot, perhaps from Africa, founder of a sacred colony, and dweller of the Cella Nova, who received Saint Gregory of Agrigento as a guest on his return from the East. Of him I spoke above in n. 5. His name is unknown. DXCVI. — EUGENIUS, whom Gregory the Great consecrated as hegumen in the new monastery of Saint Sabas. Of him I spoke in n. 8. DXCVIII. — CYRIACUS I, whom Gregory the Great mentions in lib. 9, epist. 120, to Claudius in Spain: "For this reason," he says, "we commend our most beloved son Cyriacus, Father of our monastery, to Your Glory, so that once what has been enjoined upon him is finished, no delay of returning may hinder him." The same also was sent as a legate by the same man on another occasion, as appears from epist. 107 of the same book. [XIV] DCXLV. — THEODORUS I, who subscribed to the supplicatory libel of the Greek monks in the Lateran Council, as I taught above in n. 8. DCLXX. — THEODORUS II, whom Pope Agatho sent as a legate to the Sixth Synod. Of him I spoke above at n. 9.
[DCLXXX]. — LEONTIUS, who wrote the Life of Saint Gregory of Agrigento. I have dealt with him at n. 9 and n. 10.
[DCCXX]. — MARCUS, whose name I learned from Allatius alone. Truly, in his *Diatriba de Simeonibus*, page 109, he testifies that he saw a codex of Marcus, monk and hegumen of our holy Father Sabas, eis ton bion kai ta thaumata tou en hagiois Patros hemon Gregoriou tes Akragantinon Ek klesias. Regarding the library in which he read this, he says nothing; yet he brings forth this opening of the codex: "A treasure and incomprehensible wealth, and for the world profitable." However, from these things it is manifest that he had before his eyes the *Life* written by Leontius; therefore he should have been listed after him, especially since Leontius declares himself the first writer through his designation of the Gregorian times.
[DCCLXX]. — PARDUS, whose mention is in the *Liber Pontificalis* where, concerning Hadrian I, Supreme Pontiff, n. 21, it is written: "His beatitude directed his legates continuously to the same King Desiderius to recover the same cities, namely Pardus, religious hegumen of the monastery of the blessed Sabas, and Anastasius, first defender." See also *Cod. Carol.*, vol. I, ep. 51.
[DCCLXXVII]. — PETRUS I, who presided over the Second Council of Nicaea by the order of Hadrian I, Supreme Pontiff, as I stated at n. 9. Concerning him the *Liber Pontificalis* in [the life of] Hadrian I, n. 88: "This most elegant prelate and most valiant preacher of the true faith directed his legates, namely Peter, venerable archpriest of the holy Roman Church, and Peter, religious abbot of the venerable monastery of Saint Sabas, which is called Cellanova, to the Emperor Constantine and his mother Irene."
[DCCCVII]. — BASILIUS, to whom Saint Theodore the Studite wrote with this title: [Basileio to eusebestato kai archimandrite Rhomes]. Lib. I, ep. 35, and to whom, while he was not yet hegumen, he had sent other letters, [Basileio monazonti]. Lib. II, epist. 28. Leo III, Supreme Pontiff, sent him as a legate to Charlemagne Augustus in the year 807. See *Cod. Carol.*, vol. II, epist. 10.
[DCCCXLVII]. — JOANNES I, whom John the Deacon mentions in the *Life of Saint Gregory the Great*, lib. iv, n. 85, in these words: "Where also in the time of Peter the archdeacon and John the hegumen, the monk Saturninus painted the images of the holy apostles to the right and left of the blessed Gregory, just as they are seen now."
[DCCCLIII]. — ATHANASIUS, of whom the same John the Deacon [writes] these things in the same *Life*, lib. iv, n. 88: "Also in the time of the same pontiff (Leo IV), Athanasius presided over the monastery of the same Father (Gregory), a man indeed conspicuous in charity, and a most careful manager of his monastery."
[DCCCLX]. — EUTHYMIUS, whom the same John mentions in the same place at n. 93, although he does not designate the time in which he lived. For he says, "I arrived at the gates which Euthymius the hegumen had made for this monastery." Which words are those of a certain Ursellus telling of a miracle.
[DCCCLXXIII]. — CYRIACUS II, whom the same John, lib. iv, n. 97, calls by the Latin name Dominicus. "Recently," he says, "a certain Dominicus, a priest, while Bishop Zacharias, of whom I have spoken before, was managing the care of the Gregorian monastery, stood as superior of the monastery; he, corrupted by the fragility of the flesh, snatched or carried off a certain Eupraxia, a nun, from the monastery of the holy Apostle Andrew, which is called Clivus Scauri," etc.
[DCCCCXC]. — ANONYMUS, of whom mention is made in the *Acts of Saint Adalbert, Bishop of Prague*, written by an author contemporary with his times, in Bolland., vol. III April., p. CLXXXII, and in Mabillon, *Annal. Bened.*, lib. I, n. 49, to whom Nilus, Abbot of Grottaferrata, is said to have written letters on behalf of Adalbert—he who later founded the monastery of Crypta Ferrata. Perhaps his name was Petrus II, since an abbot by this name signed for the cardinals at the Roman Council under Gregory V, in the year 998. (In Baluz. *Misc.*, vol. II, p. 118, ed. Luc.)
[MXXXVI]. — GREGORIUS, who signed first after the cardinals at the Roman Council under Benedict IX, with these words: "Gregorius, Abbot of Saint Sabas." (*Hard. Conc.*, vol. VI, p. 915.)
[ML]. — JOANNES II, whom Mabillon mentions in *Annal. Bened.*, lib. LIX, n. 75, dealing with the Roman synod which was held under Leo IX: "The Roman abbots," he says, "were Johannes of Saint Sabas, Reinerus of Saint Cosmas, Petrus of Saint Boniface, etc." Whose subscriptions he also brings forth in the *Append.*, n. 64, vol. IV, from the codex of Saint Mansuetus.
[MLXXXI]. — MAURUS, who signed first after the cardinals at the Roman Council under Gregory VII (Baluz. *Miscell.*, vol. II, p. 119, ed. Luc.); to whom also letters of the same Gregory exist, lib. II, epist. 46 and 48. (In Hard. vol. VI, p. 1295, 1297.)
[MCXV]. — ANSELMUS, of whom Mabillon [writes] these things in *Annal. Bened.*, lib. LXXII, n. 102: "Then at Rome, Anselm, nephew by his sister of the recently deceased archbishop (of Canterbury), Anselm, very familiar to the pontiff (Paschal II), and not long ago created by him abbot of the monastery of Saint Sabas in the City: whom he later writes was made Bishop of London. This man, however, was an Italian, and he seems to have been the ornamental abbot of Saint Sabas after the Greek monks had ceased to be there."
XI. To return to Leontius, nothing is certain about his homeland. Some things persuade me to believe he stayed in Africa for some time: for first I noticed that those monks who presented a petition to Pope Martin I, to which petition Leontius also subscribed, are said to have indeed been living for years in this Roman city, but at the same time to have migrated to Rome from Africa; for thus they speak of their zeal and love for the apostolic throne: "And previously indeed in common, while we were inhabiting the province of the Africans, we have sought this apostolic and chief see." To which the Greek words of the same sort respond: Kai pro men koinos, henika ten Aphron paroikoumen choran, ton apostolikon touto kai koryphaion exetesamen.
A "For the Pope had gathered together all the bishops of those regions." Nor would Leontius, writing at Rome, have used the expression "those regions." You will seek in vain throughout this whole history for other indications from which you might recognize his homeland or his place of residence.
XII. But as to how truthful and how accurate the history of Leontius itself may be, we cannot know and judge from the monuments of the ancients. To pass over the others, neither the Agrigentines nor the remaining Sicilians had anything at hand to provide us. It is not even certain whether he drew what he wrote from the accounts of others or from the writings of some person. For he brings forward nothing to confirm what he narrates, so that he might seem to be writing in the manner of poets: yet I believe it is more true that he himself was the first to compose and embellish the entire Life, and that the others which exist are said to have flowed from it; a view which Papebroch also held. For those are indeed much shorter, and are interwoven with the very words of Leontius: nor, as far as I know, do they report anything that Leontius omitted: if some things dissent to any degree, you will find these both to be slight, and you will be able to attribute them to the negligence of the writers. Simeon Metaphrastes, in particular—that same man whom the younger Psellus heaps with such praise, as one who corrected the ancient hagiographies, and who, having rejected many false and lowly things, restored the true and illustrious ones—he, I say, received all the narrations of Leontius and retained the very order of the history to a hair, even though he took pains to be briefer. Nor do the learned suspect that the Life, which was rendered into Latin by Surius, B is a forgery: for I see that it is considered among the genuine works of Simeon by Cave, on the authority of Allatius, who reviewed all these things.
From this it is also clear that our Leontius was held in some esteem by Metaphrastes, nor did his writings seem to him to lack authority. This must also be said of those who, from this very history, excerpted the brief narrations which are read in the Menologia. Yet I have not judged that I should acquiesce in their opinion; and therefore, regarding individual matters that provide cause for doubt, I shall inquire diligently in the annotations, as is fitting.
XIII. I have taken the Greek, and have accurately described it from a very ancient parchment codex of the Roman Library of the Basilians, before those famous manuscripts were brought into the Vatican: which has been done while I write these things. That codex bore the number 4000, whose pages consist of two columns. I would date its writing to the ninth century, before the Lives of Metaphrastes had begun to appear; for he published his work at the beginning of the tenth century; upon which being published, says Montfaucon, those older Lives of the saints became obsolete among the Greeks. However, I also obtained another codex, likewise of parchment, from the same library, and I used it too; and if anything was missing in the former, or if anything was written differently, I have noted it. This one bore the number 25, which appears to be of a later age, although it is written quite correctly: you would call it one of the few which are found to have been written after the work of Metaphrastes. For, as the same Montfaucon says, if any contain more ancient Lives of the saints adorned before Metaphrastes, they were for the most part written in the ninth or the beginning of the tenth century. Finally, the Vatican library provided certain things that were missing in both codices, just as you will find noted in the place.
XIV. I shall also speak of my rationale for the Greek edition, which many perhaps will disapprove. Namely, I have taken care to have the Greek—peace be to those who have done otherwise—I repeat, the Greek published without accents, both that which is by Leontius and that which is by Gregory or other writers throughout the whole volume here. I have dared to commit such a deed, not so much because I observed many accents omitted in the specimens, but because I am in the opinion of those who think that they should all be eliminated from all books and writings. For I do not even see what purpose they serve, unless perhaps to disfigure the appearance of the letters, and, if any now have them as some sort of norm for pronunciation, to make a most sweet language resemble those of barbarians. Certainly ears do not have those systems by which such a recent method of pronunciation is a harmony. For as to what they say, that accents contribute a great deal to distinguishing the diverse meanings of similar words: first, I do not understand why they think there is greater strength of meaning in those arbitrary marks than in the sentence itself and the connection of the words. Secondly, this ought to be valid only if the accents were used when there was need for some distinction: which we can easily dispense with even then, by the example of other languages, in which without almost any accent the meaning and force of the words manifests itself from the very nature of the things. Truly, the Greek language is the less in need of accents for the reason that the ancient method of pronunciation, for the sake of correcting which the accents were invented, is not only unknown to everyone, but it cannot be recalled by any labor or study.
it is possible. For they are egregiously mistaken who think that accents are merely marks for the lengthening of vowels. Therefore, it seemed to me quite sufficient to have one sign for aspiration and that which is called the subscript iota, so that everyone might be able to read Greek with ease and understand everything; just as those other inventions of the grammarians were unknown for a long time in ancient times, when literature flourished, so today they may deservedly be returned to their authors without deception, and the ancient method of writing be recalled. [XVIII] Yet I do not wish for those most learned men to think that they should be despised, who, upon editing Greek texts, followed the laws of the grammarians and deemed that the apex marks should be added to the writings of the ancients entirely, even when they were publishing authors who had never used them: in my opinion, they are as much at fault in adding them as we are in removing them. Indeed, I do not dispute their intention or the reasons for it. It is enough for me if they bear with me as I agree with those who have already ventured since the fifteenth century to reject these marks: even though not many have subsequently wished to imitate them, and few have as yet withdrawn from common custom.
NARRATION OF THE LIFE AND MIRACLES OF OUR HOLY AND BLESSED FATHER GREGORY, WHO WAS BISHOP OF THE CHURCH OF THE AGRIGENTINES IN THE PROVINCE OF SICILY, BY LEONTIUS, PRIEST, MONK, AND PREFECT OF THE MONASTERY OF SAINT SABA IN THE CITY OF ROME
A [XIX] Lord, bless.
I. A 1. A fearful and incomprehensible wonder, and one profitable to the whole world, but even more so to those who with fear and B long to hear and receive it, I, a miserable wretch, having chosen to speak with greater precision of this prodigy—which, however, some scribe or other led into error, by substituting Gregory for George. For that writer makes this third Gregory the bishop of Agrigentum, who was present at the Roman synod under Pope Agatho. But it appears, in the copies of the Councils of the Royal, Labbean, and Harduinian editions, that he subscribed with these words: "George, the unworthy bishop of the holy Church of Agrigentum of the province of Sicily, in this proposal which we have unanimously constructed for our apostolic faith, have likewise subscribed." (Conc. Const. III, act. 4.) And he is likewise called George in another council held in Rome concerning British affairs (t. III, p. 1039, Hard. Coll.); nor do the ancient codices differ: among which significant is the Latin Bobbiensis, written in the eighth century and already long since deposited in the Ambrosian library: of the reading of which I was courteously admonished by the most learned doctor Cajetan Bugattus, not only a diligent guardian of those many great codices, but also an excellent interpreter. C D
A It is an altogether B admirable and singular thing, which, while useful to all the world, is most especially so to those who listen and embrace it with reverence and affection. My soul, O most distinguished ones, reflecting within itself, and contemplating with deep memory that which I bear in my mind—having brought forth, as it were, the shuddering heart of my own terrible and most dreadful soul—was not moderately punished, but was powerfully tormented, O beloved. For the memory of this great contemplation strikes my mind, as I am unable to recount or speak of his life and endurance. For who is sufficient to tell such a story? Or with what mouth shall I speak, or with what tongue shall I utter it? I desire indeed to speak, but I have no strength. I shall perhaps dare to speak of our blessed and holy Father, shepherd and teacher Gregory, who governed the Church of God piously. And I take heart, and yet I fear again. For I have no tongue to speak worthily of the great things done by him; and this is even more wondrous, that in these last days and in this final generation, Christ has shown such a worker to be his own. For what have I to say? Since his endurance and gentleness and long-suffering astonished even the holy and glorious men who were fathers before us, while he himself rejoiced and leaped with joy in spirit always, or rather also ran forward in the midst of his afflictions. Whence also the most gentle prophet David, like a swallow, chanted concerning the endurance of the righteous, in the Spirit of God: *The patience of the poor shall not perish for ever*; and again: *But those who wait for the Lord, they shall inherit the earth*; and again: *The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord, and he is their protector in the time of tribulation*. Many other prophets also have spoken everywhere of the blessedness of such righteous men.
B II. Moreover, O beloved, I shall begin to speak of the childhood of our blessed and venerable Father Gregory, and of his pure and immaculate manner of life and conduct before God from his youth. This blessed man was born in the village C called Praetoria, near the city of Agrigentum; and D [marginal note omitted regarding the etymology and location of Praetoria and Thyris].
A His father was one called Charito, and his mother was Theodote, who hailed from a village called Thyris. Being possessed of great wealth, they managed their affairs in the fear of God: for they were both hospitable and generous, merciful in all things, and sharing in the needs of the saints, as it is written, and having other virtues and good deeds, which I will pass over for the present. Thus they brought forth the blessed one. And he had as his sponsor from the holy and saving baptism the most holy bishop Potamion of the most holy Church of the Agrigentines.
B III. Then, when he had reached his eighth year, his parents took him to the city to hand him over to the school, that he might be taught the holy scriptures. And having brought him to the most holy bishop Potamion—that is, his spiritual father—and having brought worthy and many gifts into his hands for the bishop, they cast the little boy at his feet, saying: "Pray for him, most honored Father, so that the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who enlightens every man coming into the world, may also enlighten him."
The bishop, having summoned a certain pious man named Damian, whom both the rich and the poor of the city testified to be useful and capable in teaching, said to him: "Master Damian, I entrust this boy to you, with God and the whole Church as witness, that you may care for him and teach him the divine and holy scriptures, C which have the power, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, to stir the minds of all men to repentance."
Damian, having fallen at the feet of the bishop, said to him: "May the will of God be done in us, most holy and honored Father." And he, laying his hands upon the little boy, said: "May the grace of God, and the Father of the only-begotten Son, and the only-begotten Son himself, who is in the bosom of the Father, true God from true God, and the power of the all-holy and life-giving Spirit be with you unceasingly, my child, so that you may be able to escape the cunning and many plottings of the enemy." And when all had answered "Amen," Damian took him from the hands of the bishop; and all having prayed for him, his parents returned to their home, glorifying God for all things and praying for him.
D IV. Then Damian, having taken charge of him, took great care of him; and the little boy became very proficient in his studies, so that all who saw him marveled. Then, two years having passed in the meantime, he completely fulfilled all his learning, and besides the calculation and the cycles of the feasts—
A he also mastered the Psalter. He became tireless and diligent in the daily hymns of the Church, both morning and night praises, so that he was admired by all for surpassing both his own teacher in reading and knowledge, and, more than that, his own peers and even those who were older than him. When he reached his twelfth year, his parents came down into the city, and having embraced their child, they brought him to the most holy bishop Potamion, requesting him to tonsure the boy and make him a cleric. The bishop, having heard this and being filled with great joy, said to his parents: "Believe me, my children, that a great vessel of election is being offered to God on this day." And the most holy bishop, having offered the holy and sacred prayer over him, handed him over to Donatus, the archdeacon and librarian, charging him to instruct him to go through all the books every day and to see that he attended to the passages B spoken by them. The parents, having spent ten days in the city and rejoicing with the most holy bishop, seeing their child henceforth among all the clergy in the nightly and daily prayers, advancing in his readings undistracted, and standing with all fear and trembling and attending to what was said by them—for his father too was an educated man, and he himself also understood accurately the matters of reading, but also those of psalmody, and the blessed Gregory was also very sweet in his psalmody, so that all who heard him marveled—then after ten days, his parents, having bid farewell to the most holy bishop and all the brethren, returned to their home, giving thanks to God for this. "Behold my disciple, Cyril." And having made a prostration to me, he blessed me and raised me up, and said to the father, "Teach him the Psalter, for I have need of it."
It seems to me not that he intended this, but rather the great ease of reading which the boy had prepared for himself. To this pertains the passage from Isidore, which I have cited elsewhere (De S. Inscr. p. 527 a): "The beginnings," he says, "of the art of grammar are the common letters, which scribes and calculators follow, whose discipline is as it were a certain infancy of the art of grammar." (Orig. lib. 1, n. 5.) This is more evident from Julius Capitolinus concerning the childhood of Pertinax (in Pert. n. 1): "The boy, having been imbued with elementary letters and calculation, was also given to a Greek grammarian." C Capitolinus rightly distinguishes letters from calculation, because boys would first grow accustomed to knowing the letters drawn on counting-boards and their names and power, then begin to compose words from them, which was called *calculus*. And from this a "calculator" was called one who would set before boys calculated letters, and teach them the method of joining them: after which foundations they could easily read, write, and count. Augustine seems to indicate the questions of the calculator, where he says (Conf. lib. 1, c. 15): "If I ask by what letters the name of Aeneas is written, all who have learned these things will answer me correctly." Indeed, Damianus, when he saw that Gregory was already skilled in reading, proposed that he learn the Calendar by heart, so that he might distinguish feast days D from secular ones, and at once commit to memory the fixed and the movable solemnities. After this, as the custom was, he gave him the Psalter or book of Psalms. Cyril of Scythopolis, or the Metaphrast from him, when he had brought him, still a boy, to holy Sabas, writes these words uttered by that venerable old man: that is, "Behold my disciple, Cyril." I inclined myself in the manner of a penitent; he, after he blessed me and raised me up, said to the father: "Teach him the Psalter, for I have need of it." (In Sabæ Vita, n. 75; apud Cotel. t. III Mon Eccl. Gr.)
Although Leontius reports nothing concerning his studies of the Latin language, we cannot doubt that Gregory was learned in both tongues: for even if among the Sicilians there was great use of the Greek language, the clerics nonetheless had to know Latin, since they belonged to the Latin Church and even then followed Latin rites: as Joannes Joannius shows in many places in his treatise *De divinis Siculorum officiis*, ch. 4, and 5 (ed. Panormi an. 1736).
(66) I have found it written of the years: which I have rejected, since it appears that in the Cajetan codex it exists as it does in the Basil codex, and the thing itself fits better.
[V] V. The boy, meanwhile, was sitting assiduously in the church night and day, or rather, was searching into that saying of the Psalm which declares: "Be still, and know that I am God." A From that time, therefore, he began to inquire and to struggle to know how one must approach the mercies of God and enter into the kingdom of heaven. And while he daily pressed forward with this purpose, he would at the same time beseech God that He might grant him the knowledge and understanding of the Divine Scriptures. And as he was considering these things within himself, one day he found the Life of our holy Father Basil the Great, who had been bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia; and he read it diligently once, and twice, and many times over. Having understood his labors and the struggles which our common Father endured, he was struck with astonishment, and began to deliberate with himself, saying that he would not be able to attain his desire unless he too traveled to those holy places where this blessed and holy Father of ours received the grace of the Holy Spirit.
[VI] VI. When he was in his eighteenth year, one night, after he had conducted the archdeacon Donatus to the chamber of the sacristy to sleep, he entered the church and, casting himself upon his face, he began to implore God, saying: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the true God and Father, true God, the true offspring before the ages; and Thou, most holy Spirit, eternal with the Father and the Son, hear my prayers, miserable and sinful man that I am, and deem me worthy to reach the holy places which our holy Fathers traversed, and in which, having enjoyed a favored journey, they received from Thee the grace of the Spirit B which they sought, by which they might attain the way of truth.” Having repeated these things many times, he rose from the ground and went to the chamber, and placed himself before the bed of the archdeacon Donatus. Having slept for a short time, someone stood by him, saying: “Gregory!” “Behold, I am here,” he replied. And having gone before the archdeacon, he said to him: “Lord, why have you called me?” But he said, “I have not called you, my son.” And he went away again and rested. Again, after a second time, a voice called, saying: “Gregory!” He, once more running in, stood before the archdeacon and said to him: “Behold, I am here, Lord, why have you called me?” But he said: “I have not called you, son.” But in fear...
the archdeacon says to him: “Son Gregory, if he calls you again, answer him: ‘Lord, what is it? What do you command your servant?’” A Then, the boy having lain down again, the angel again stood over him and called him a third time, saying, “Gregory!” Rising with haste, he said: “Behold, I am here, Lord, what do you command your servant?” And he says to him: “Since you have besought the face of God that it might be granted you to see Jerusalem and to visit those holy places, know even now that at dawn you must go to the seashore, and there you will find those who can convey you to those regions.”
VII. Having shaken off sleep, Gregory was filled with joy, and at the same time gave thanks to God, and putting faith in Him who called him, he immediately went out from the room, leaving the archdeacon sleeping; and with no one seeing him, he went down quickly to the sea. And when he reached the river that flows by the city, by chance at that very hour he came upon a ship on the shore, whose crew wanted to enter the river B to draw water; I affirm that this happened by the providence of God. And Gregory, approaching the ship, says: “Greetings, brothers, may all be well in the Lord.” Those of the ship say to him: “And greetings to you; you have come well, brother.” And he says to them: “Where are you making your journey, my lords?” And they to him: “If the Lord commands, we are going to the city of Carthage.” And he to them: “Take me with you, brothers.” But the shipmaster asked him if he were a slave, and was preparing to flee from his master. To whom Gregory answered that he was indeed a servant of Christ, but of no man in any way. The shipmaster says to him: “Whoever you may be, come on board with us, and we will take you wherever you wish.” Reporting this, the shipmaster was—as it seems to me—meditating on some human [gain], wishing to sell him into slavery.
VIII. Then, after Gregory had boarded the ship and the sailors had brought on board whatever they needed, C a favorable wind immediately rose, and setting sail from the river, after three days they reached the city of Carthage. As they were sailing on the sea, the shipmaster observed Gregory constantly praying and keeping vigil, and incessantly singing psalms, and he was amazed, saying to himself: “In truth, this boy is a man of God. But forgive me, Lord, for my wicked thought which I conceived against this righteous boy.” When they had arrived in the city, the shipmaster took him into his own house, and assigned him a room for rest in a quiet and secluded place, and begged him to pray to God for him, that he might obtain forgiveness through his intercessions for the evil plan he had conceived against him. For indeed, the shipmaster had intended to sell the boy, and he D confessed this to him of his own accord and did not deny the reason for which he had quickly taken him onto the ship. But Gregory, answering with tears, says to the shipmaster: “You do well, my lord, that you have repented of your thought; for it is written
A “For the thought of man shall confess to Thee, and the remnant of the thought shall keep festival before Thee.” But may God forgive you, my lord, and may it be done unto you as I ask.”
IX. But Gregory himself did not go out from the cell which the shipmaster had given him, nor was he seen by anyone in the city, but, having given himself over to extreme asceticism, he sometimes partook of food every two days, sometimes every three, and sometimes he would fulfill a whole week; and this he did with a very small amount of bread, water, and herbs, dressing them with salt, without oil. The shipmaster, beholding the endurance of his patience, went to the bishop of the city and recounted to him everything concerning the man. B Having heard this, the bishop sent his archdeacon to bring him to him. The archdeacon, having arrived, found him inside the cell reading. For he had taken a book from a certain priest, the martyrdom of the holy Maccabees, who suffered martyrdom for the Law before Christ. The archdeacon says to him: “Hail, child, in the Lord, hail.” And he answered him: “Hail, most God-loving one, and you too in the Lord, always.” And the youth, rising, did him reverence. The archdeacon says to him: “Your father the bishop of this place calls you to come up to the episcopal residence.” And he says: “As you command.” Having gone with the archdeacon, he entered to the bishop, and having fallen at his feet, the bishop says to him: C “Hail, most beloved, what has brought you to us, my dear child?” But he to him: “Honored father and teacher, by the economy of God we have arrived here at your holiness, that you might pray for my wretchedness.” The bishop says to him: “May Christ the Son of God, child, accompany you in all your ways.” And after they had said “Amen,” he ordered him to sit. Then the bishop says to him: “Truly, child, from where do you come? And where are you going? And from what city are you? And what is your name?” But he says to him: “My name, I am called Gregory; I hail from the city of Agrigentum in the province of Sicily; I am traveling, if the Lord commands through your holy prayers, to holy Sion to pray in the holy places.” D The bishop says to him: “May our Lord Jesus Christ, child, fulfill all your desire in well-doing by the grace of the Holy Spirit.” And he, having fallen again at the bishop’s feet, replied, saying, “Amen, may it be done to us according to your word, master.” And after these things the bishop says to him...
“Remain with us, child, until the holy feasts; observe the days of the feasts, brothers, and first of all the Nativity.”
A X. And after some days, as he was sitting in the sanctuary of the holy Julian and was intent upon his reading, behold, suddenly three monks appeared, useful in appearance and countenance. Entering into the oratory and praying, and having fulfilled their prayer, Gregory, seeing them and becoming exceeding glad, arose and did obeisance to them. Then one of them sat, while the other two stood by him with great fear; and he himself also stood in great dejection—for he always had such a custom. B But the one who was sitting, looking at him, says to him, “What do you here, servant of Christ, Gregory, who have chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from you, according to the voice of the Lord?” And he, having become in an ecstasy at the marvelous speech of the abba, and at the same time having become trembling, was entirely filled with tears; and casting himself at the feet of the monk, he says to him, “Forgive me, honored Father, and pray for me, the sinful and wretched.” The monk says to him, “Would that your sins, child, were mine.” C But he, taxing himself more and more, permitted him and the other two brothers to sit. And after they had sat, the monk says to Gregory, “Child Gregory, know and understand that the man-loving God of ours has revealed to us all things concerning you. For this reason therefore rejoice, that the Lord has sent us to take you with us and lead you to those holy places which you desire. For we too are traveling to the same place.” D Then again Gregory cast himself at the feet of the abba, weeping and saying, “Blessed is God, who works all things for our profit; and now I am without excuse, being at a loss at the greatness of the God who has done this for his servant.”
And saying these and similar things, the abbot said to him, “Let us go, child, to your cell.” And rising, they went to the cell where Gregory was resting. And the shipmaster brought them bread and vegetables, arranged a table for them near sunset, and they ate. And they spent the time from evening until dawn sleeplessly, chanting psalms and speaking the word of God. The monks therefore marveled at the knowledge and the answers of the boy. And having spent four days in the city of Carthage, after this the abbot said to Gregory, A “Child, it is time for us to depart.”
XI. B Then, when evening came, the monks went out of the city, and Gregory with them. And having walked for twenty days, by the favor of God who worked with them, they arrived in Tripoli; and having turned back, they took up residence in the venerable temple of the holy Leontius. A certain pious priest received them into his house, and entertained them, and gave them rest, setting before them a table with bread and water. And Gregory was serving them; and the monks marveled at his extreme power of endurance and patience, especially since he would not eat except after two or three days, and even then only when compelled by the abbot. C But the abbot, wishing to test him, said, “Now, child Gregory, does the grief of your parents not trouble you?” But he said to him, “I do not dare to speak about this, Father, but if you command your servant to speak, I shall be ready to explain this also.” He said, “Speak, child, whatever you wish, freely.” And having offered him a prostration, he began to say, “Listen, honorable and spiritual Father, shepherd and teacher, since our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ has said in the Gospels: ‘He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,’ and the rest; D then again the same: ‘Whoever does not renounce father and mother, and brothers and children, and moreover his own soul as well, cannot be my disciple.’ I, Father, have not been able to fulfill any such part of that blessed commandment; but may the Lord grant to them, honorable Father, good consolation and encouragement, and deliver me, the sinner and humble one, through your all-holy prayers, from the snares of the enemy.”
A XII. After staying thirty days in Tripoli, being served by the priest from whom they had been received—for they had the opportunity to speak with no one else as long as they remained there—upon the completion of that time, once they had bid the priest farewell and prayed for him, they left Tripoli. Pursuing their journey, both the monks and Gregory arrived in Jerusalem after four months; for they had gone around to visit the monasteries that were nearby for the sake of greeting the brethren. When they had reached a monastery situated close to the holy city B (77), they observed the holy forty-day fast. There, Gregory gave not one, but many proofs of his virtue, so that the entire holy community of monks, together with its superior and the monks who had brought the young man there, offered great praises to God. The superior of that monastery was a man who was thoroughly upright and of far-seeing prudence; having undertaken the instruction of Gregory, he taught him the rules of his solitary and religious life (78), admonishing him to keep the fear of God perpetually before his eyes, not to despise any poor man, and not to be prideful in his own knowledge; to always think humbly of himself, and when oppressed by adverse circumstances, not to cast down his soul, but to accept cheerfully the assaults of the demons, and finally, not to be troubled by impending calamities. For the Father knew, through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, that it was necessary for the blessed one to undergo many and various temptations; and not only this, but also that he would ascend the episcopal throne, and would graze the flock of Christ well and easily. The blessed one, C accepting all things with a ready mind, became yet more diligent in divine instruction, and more fervent, becoming very sharp in his reading and in the study of the divine Scriptures, so as to pay attention to the ineffable things clarified by them, and at the same time...
(77) Since Gregory departed from Carthage in the month of January and sailed for twenty days, then stayed thirty days more in Tripoli, and the remainder of the journey is said to have been four months, it is clear that he could not have arrived in Jerusalem before July of the year 578, and thus this forty-day fast pertains to the following year.
Concerning the monastery near the city, in which he stayed and practiced his apprenticeship in the religious life, I have nothing certain. For at that time there was a great number of monasteries near Jerusalem, and the rumor prevailed then that John, the archbishop, in the year 517, had in one night gathered ten thousand monks from that vicinity against the governor of Palestine, as Cyril of Scythopolis reports, who wrote after the year 555 (in *Life of Sabas*, n. 56); we know that out of all those monasteries, seven were founded by St. Sabas, which the same Cyril enumerates (ibid., n. 58): namely, the Great Laura of his own, which stands at the head of all the lauras in Palestine: and the one that is called the New Laura after it, and the one called the Heptastomos; and among the coenobia, that of Castellium, and of the Cave, and those named Scholarii and Zannu. And the same Cyril mentions two others, of which one was called Euthymii, the other Theoctisti, older than the rest, which nonetheless were subject to St. Sabas. But, if you should defer to the authority of John Phocas, a writer of the twelfth century, in his description of *The Holy Places*, which Nibusius edited, and after him the Bollandists (in *May*), it is explicitly written that the *metochion* of St. Sabas was situated at the gate near those of the Palace; so that Gregory appears to have been hosted by the Sabaita monks.
(78) On account of this apprenticeship, our Gregory is numbered among the holy monks by the Greeks, and he is heard in their *Akolouthia* (ed. Venet. an. 1680, t. 1, p. 184), in which he is also adorned with many other praises; for thus they invoke him: D "O pattern of the Fathers Gregory, you are the model of the priesthood, the image of temperance, the pillar of the monks, the foundation of the Church, the lamp of charity, the throne of discernment, the fountain of miracles, the fire-tongued, a honey-sweet mouth, a vessel of the Holy Spirit, and you have become an intelligible paradise, O most blessed one."
A to glorify and praise God, who is compassionate, and who had not deprived him of His grace.
XIII. But when the Great Week of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ arrived, he saw great and fearful wonders and extraordinary things being performed in that monastery. He saw men ascending from earth to heaven, he saw the lifestyle of men that was equal to that of angels, he saw rivers of tears being poured forth, he saw those who remained without food for the whole week, and other such wonders, as I have said; and he was astonished, and he beat his breast saying: "Woe is me, what shall I do, miserable as I am? How shall I meet these holy men on the day of judgment?" And again, not wishing to cast himself into despair, he said: "The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and will save the humble in spirit." B God is able to save me too, and just as He saved those who had done nothing worthy even at the eleventh hour, so do I too hope to be saved in the ocean of the compassion of His goodness. Having spoken these and similar things for a long time, he went before the abbot. The abbot and the monk who had brought him there were sitting, and the rest of the brethren were all standing around them; and Gregory also stood with them. And the abbot who had brought him said to him: "At the command of my father and abbot, sit down, my child." And he, having made a prostration, sat down near the abbot. Then they began to exhort him, thinking that he was in grief because he was a stranger, saying: "O child, do not be sad that you have come here; for we hope in the all-good God, child, that if you seek your own, you will be reunited with them again." C But he, rising, stood before them and said: "Hearken, fathers and my lords, know that God never has strangers, but 'all things are naked and opened to the eyes of Him' as the blessed Apostle proclaims; but not, as you suppose, do I grieve because I am here; far be it from me to think this. But I entreat you, fathers, and all your God-gathered assembly, to pray for my wretchedness." Having said these things, the abbot dismissed him, and no one spoke another word to him, small or great, on this matter. D
XIV. When the holy and three-day solemnity of the Resurrection dawned, all the brethren came together with the abbot, and the three men who had ascended with Gregory, to the Holy City; the abbot having left five monks and a presbyter in the monastery. And they, having entered into the holy Resurrection,
A performed their veneration. Gregory truly rejoiced with incredible joy, and gave thanks to God, having beheld the angelic life of the people existing there. Then, having partaken of the holy and life-giving Body of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, and of his precious Blood, from the hands of the most holy Archbishop Macarius—for he was during those days governing the authority of the holy city of Jerusalem—he ordered that a house be given apart to the monks for them to rest; and to the three monks who were with Gregory, he arranged for a cell to be given apart near the episcopal residence. And having fulfilled the nocturnal matutinal psalmody, after the dismissal and the readings, the archbishop went up and sat down. And first, he ordered the monks to enter to him along with Gregory. Then, having fallen at his feet, both the monks and Gregory greeted him with the holy kiss in Christ. And thus he permitted bishops, presbyters, and monks to enter, and after that, the whole of the people as well. And having greeted all, the holy Archbishop Macarius, and having given to them the appropriate B discourse concerning repentance, he dismissed them all. When they had departed, the archbishop [concerning the abbot... ]
At that time, however, no Macarius was presiding over the Jerusalemites, nor was there any patriarch at all present who would receive Gregory. For he contends that he arrived in Jerusalem in the year 671; but in this year, that Church was being ruled even then by a vicegerent. For after Sophronius had died around the year 680 (at the end of the year), the Jerusalemite Church was administered with vicarious power by Stephen, Bishop of Dora, John, Bishop of Philadelphia, and Theodore the presbyter, who even through George the presbyter, his legate, subscribed to the acts of the sixth ecumenical council at the beginning of the year: and then he perhaps had other successors up to John V, who, more than sixty years after Sophronius, was the first announced as patriarch in the year 705. That all these things are plain, Le Quien will show you. (Orient. Chr. t. III, p. 280.)
C D Concerning John, Evagrius handed down to us better things, from whom these are: "But after Macarius, John was raised to the pontificate of the Church of Jerusalem, who had learned the unencumbered life in the monastery called that of the 'Sleepless' (the Acœmetoi); nor was anything new attempted in the Church." (Hist. eccl. l. v, cap. 16.)
Furthermore, regarding "Nocturnal" (Nocturnus) and "Matutinal" (Matutinus): but usage has softened these, with the meaning of "Orthros" being brought forward. For the Greeks call "Orthros" that also which is chanted in the night itself, although they sometimes call it "Mesonyction," and at the same time the "Lauds" (Ainoi), which they did not separate from the Matutinal. Fifth, "Orthros" was preceded by "Great Hesperinos," that is, Great Vespers, which they began from the setting of the sun: from all of which consisted the whole "Agrypnia," or Vigils. The typikon of St. Sabas teaches us this in chapter 2, whose title is
The form of the Great Vespers, and the ordinance of the Vigil. First, Third, Sixth, and the Service of Compline.
After these, the "apolysis" took place, or the dismissal of the assembly. Again, at the Hours they gathered, as the Latins are accustomed, except that after each of these Hours they had besides the "Mesoria," or "half-hours," which however in solemn days were partially omitted. After these, there were other daily Vespers, that is, the "Small Hesperinos," the tenth hour of the day: the final part, lastly, was what we call "Compline": it is also twofold, major and minor, but one or the other was chanted according to the solemnity of the day. All these things were performed with psalms, prayers, and hymns: and it was the custom to read the Gospel and the histories of the saints at certain intervals, whose memory was being celebrated. For more on these, if you have the time, read in Rayæus, *De acoluthia officii canonici pro Ecclesiis Orient. Græcor.* (in Act. SS. t. II Maii, p. 42).A And calling the abbot, the archbishop says to him: "Greeting, lord Mark, from where have you brought to us the true servant of Christ, the young Gregory, who has with longing reached these truly saving and holy places, in which the Lord received the passions for us?" But the abbot replied: "We did not bring him, Master, but Christ the Son of God, who wills all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth, and your prayer, most holy Father." Gregory was amazed at the calling of the name of the abbot; for he had not yet known his name, having spent so much time with them, nor the other two monks who were with him, nor had he dared to ask them what they were called.
And again the archbishop, having called also the two other monks, says to them: "Lord abbot Serapion, and you, lord abbot Leontius, I have grace toward God who has strengthened you in Christ Jesus, who has deigned, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, B to bring to the holy places this man, so vigilant in his zeal and not slothful, fervent in spirit and serving the Lord in sincerity, ever rejoicing in hope, and persevering unceasingly in prayer according to the divine and blessed Apostle, and to fulfill his desire; and finally also to the benefit of our own lowliness." Having said these things, the archbishop says: "I have indeed, my children, other things to discuss with you regarding the boy; but since it is the time to do service to the Lord, I will announce to you later regarding him what the Lord has made known to us."
C XV. And the archbishop having entered into the church to perform the divine mystagogy, commanded his archdeacon to place Gregory on the right side of the ambo. He was pierced in soul and in heart to a great degree, shedding rivers of tears, having his mind lifted up unceasingly. And the blessed Gregory saw also the grace of the Holy Spirit standing by the holy archbishop. Then, having partaken of the holy and immaculate mysteries, and after the dismissal, the archbishop commanded Gregory to be called to his table with the three monks; and likewise also the abbot of the monastery with the brethren, and they dined with the archbishop on the day of the holy and great Sunday.
Then, to conclude the account briefly, on the following day the abbot Mark entered D to the archbishop and fell at the feet of the archbishop saying to him: "Pray for me, Father, and dismiss us, so that having greeted the brethren, and the divine
will of God permitting, we may descend to our cell." The archbishop says to him: "Go in peace, Father, and do so; until the holy Lord’s Day of the Antipascha render your prayers to the Lord, and return to us, as He wills, that we may take leave of you and receive your blessing, and thus you may depart in peace, you also, to your cell." Now Gregory was not with them when the abbot was conversing with the archbishop. And having made a prostration, they went out from the archbishop and departed to where they wished.
XVI. B And Saint Macarius, having summoned Gregory, says to him: "Hear me, my child Gregory, be it known to you from me that lord Mark the monk, who brought you here, has gone to greet the brethren who dwell round about the holy Sion; and we have appointed him to return to us at the holy Antipascha and take leave of us, and thus depart to his cell." When Gregory heard these things from the archbishop, he was exceedingly grieved, and falling at the feet of the archbishop, with tears he began to ask him: "Most holy Father Macarius, beloved servant of Christ, whence are these great-hearted and most provident men? As it seems to me, master, they are from these holy places." The archbishop says to him: "My child, they are from the city of the Romans, from about twenty stadia away, and they wish to return there and depart to their own cell." Gregory says: "I fear, Father, that I shall not see the men again, and I, wretched, shall be deprived of their prayers." But the archbishop, answering, said: "By no means, child; they have to return from there; for thus did lord Mark promise me, that on the holy Lord’s Day that is to come, if God permits, they will arrive to us, as he said, and we shall both share in their prayers."
XVII. C Now Gregory was staying with the archbishop, sitting by him during his supplications, and striving to imitate his virtuous and honorable manner of life; for the man was dedicated to the divine oracles. Wherefore Gregory would daily, at the break of dawn, diligently fulfill the role of reader, to the great admiration of all, as he would read through the books without fault, and was keen and useful in understanding, and, when permitted by the archbishop, would show himself no less capable than modest in interpreting. And this was Gregory’s daily occupation, to devote himself both to the divine Scriptures and to exercise himself in supplications: he would eat food only once a day, sleep on the ground, watch D for the most part, and always abstain from the bath. Finally, on the holy Lord’s Day, toward evening, the monks returned to the holy city, and visited the archbishop and then Gregory himself.
A With them he spent the whole night in vigil; he kept begging them to pray incessantly on his behalf, that he might successfully complete the course of repentance and be deemed worthy, in the fearful day of the Lord Jesus Christ, to receive his reward along with them. At daybreak, they went together to the most holy archbishop; and there the abbot Mark, having fallen at his feet, said to him: "Pray for us, holy Father, and permit us to depart for our monastery, which will always be devoted to you." The holy archbishop, having laid his hand upon each one of them and lifted his eyes to heaven, said: "O God, who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them, who knowest all things before they come to exist, do Thou Thyself keep these Thy servants safe; for they have come hither for the sake of Thy holy name to behold and embrace these holy places, in which Thou didst endure saving sufferings for our sake. B And they have not only endured labors to this end, but have also brought forth fruit worthy of repentance, offering to Thee and to Thy Son Jesus Christ this Thy servant, who has stood with us in Thy presence. Grant them to depart in peace, according to what is well-pleasing to Thee, for Thou art holy unto the ages of ages." And when all had answered "Amen," he kissed Mark, Serapion, and Leontius with a holy kiss and sent them away.
XVIII. C Then Gregory, running up, seized their feet, weeping and saying: "Have you no pity on me, a wretched and humble man? What am I to do? Next to God, you have been the authors of my salvation; from you I was taught the symbols of a good way of life, though I have no strength to keep them; you have fulfilled my desire, and having found me wandering, you rescued me from a great storm and brought me into a calm harbor. What am I to do? How am I to be severed from you, my Fathers and brothers? Where are you leaving me as you depart, my masters?" Then, after these things, the abbot said to him: "Cease D from such lamentation, my child. We entrust you to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, whom you chose from your childhood, who called you with a holy calling, as He once called the prophet Samuel under Eli, and who counts you among the choir of the holy prophets; and furthermore, we entrust you to our common and spiritual Father, the holy archbishop Makarios, who will have charge to manage your affairs in whatever way he wills, in a good manner." And the abbot, having taken hold of his hand, cast him at the feet of the holy Makarios, saying: "Most precious Father, this man also is of the flock of the Catholic Church, as we are; for he too is destined to receive the rudders of the Church and, holding the tiller of doctrine, to steer it unscathed by any spiritual harm. But do you yourself, our Father, take care of his soul, that the brightness and purity of his mind may ever remain brilliant, so that it may not be stained by the defilement of his youthful age, by your...
help, but rather strengthen and establish him by the teachings of your great-hearted endurance. When the abbot had impressed this upon the holy archbishop for many hours, and he himself and the priests and laypeople who were standing by him, and all the people, were shedding many tears, holy Macarius says to Abbot Mark: "You yourself also know, Father, the manner of life and conduct of this boy, which he has possessed from his childhood toward God who set him apart for Himself even from his mother's womb; and you know the steadfastness and immutability of his mind, and how it is fortified on all sides by the fear of God: first, in that he has given himself over to extreme asceticism, for he fasts for the entire week; and in the study of the divine Scriptures he never ceases to labor, going through the books with skill, and reading and interpreting the passages therein with all seriousness, always possessing a humble state of mind." Then, taking the boy by the hand, he raised him up, saying: "Arise, child, and if it pleases you, choose a place for yourself here among us; for our Lord Jesus Christ will order your affairs as He wishes. But if you prefer to depart with the brethren, go in peace with them." B Gregory answered him: "Not so, my lord; I have no desire to depart from here as long as I live; but I am anxious for their prayers; yet I hope, if the Lord permits, that I may see them again in this life." When he said these things, the monks fell upon his neck, weeping, and kissed him; and having taken leave of all, the three monks went forth from the holy city on the fifteenth of the month of April, which was the third day after the Lord's Day following Passover. Gregory, however, remained in Jerusalem, occupied with visiting the sacred monuments, and the monasteries, and the stations of the holy men who are there.
Interea monachi Hierosolymis profecti, Tripolim Kalendis Juniis tenuerunt. Divino autem consilio factum est, ut ibidem Panormitani episcopi navem invenirent negotii nescio cujus causa appulsam, quæ in Siciliam quamprimum reditura erat. Itaque naviculario exorato, in navem conscenderunt, Deoque favente Siciliam primum attigerunt xvii Kal. Julias prope Plinthiadis D oras.
arrived in the regions of Sicily at the place called Passararia, and stayed there for a few days. Then resuming their journey, they set sail and came to the regions of Agrigentum, entering the river which flows through the suburb, which is called Emporium. B And the monks having left the ship, went away to the monastery that was there, and knocked; the gatekeeper informed the abbot, saying, "Certain monks, spiritual men, are outside, and say: We wish to meet with the abbot." The abbot, having heard this, came down and met them in the courtyard of the monastery; and after they had made a prostration to one another, he brought them into the church. And having prayed, the abbot and the abbot of the monastery sat down, and the two who were with him stood beside him. Then the abbot said to the abbot of the monastery, "How do you do, Lord Abba Paul?" And he, rising and being in amazement at the calling of his name, said to him, "I am well, by God, Father, and by your prayers." Again the abbot said to him, "How is the most holy Lord Potamio the bishop, our common Father?" And he said to him, "He is well, by the help of Christ and your prayers, most honorable Father." The abbot said to him, "Blessed be that man to the Lord." The brethren of the monastery having approached, greeted them, and when they asked for a cell, the abbot of the monastery gave one to them, and set before them a table and bread; and they ate, and drank water, as is the custom among them. And the brothers were greatly gladdened, along with the abbot, hearing the words of the man. Then the abbot sent to the most holy bishop, speaking to him and telling him about the monks, and how he had paradoxically called his name. C And they spent the time from evening until dawn sleepless, psalm-singing and reading. And the most holy bishop, having heard, rejoiced greatly, saying, "Blessed be God, that we have heard such good tidings."
XX. When it was day, the bishop sent the archdeacon Donatus to the Emporium, calling the monks to come up to the episcopal residence. And the abba, together with those with him, obedient to the word of the archdeacon, went up to the episcopal residence. The bishop met them; and falling on their faces, they worshipped him, saying, "Bless us, most honorable Father." The bishop said, "You, Father, bless us." D The abba said, "Master, the lesser is blessed by the greater." But as the bishop was being urged at length by the abba, he said, "May our Lord Jesus Christ, our true God, grant us to be shown mercy through your holy prayers." And when they had replied "Amen," they greeted one another with the holy kiss. And having gone up into the house, the bishop and the monks sat down, and the bishop said, "Whence..."
A has your God-fearing piety come to our mediocrity?" To him he replied, "We are strangers, most holy Father, and we wish to cross over to Rome, if the Lord permits." The bishop says to him, "Let the will of the Lord be done regarding us, Father." After they had sat for a while and conferred with one another regarding things that contribute to the benefit of the soul, the bishop took leave of the brothers and went into the church to perform the divine and holy mystery; B for it was the day of the holy and all-praised apostles Peter and Paul. And having partaken of the immaculate and life-giving mysteries, they ate bread at the bishop's table. He gave them a cell in a quiet place near the episcopal residence. Then, on the following day, the monks went into the church, and when the morning office was completed, they entered the episcopal residence; and having offered him the fitting prostration, they sat down and began to converse. It happened by chance that the parents of Gregory arrived in the city, carrying things necessary for performing his memorial; for on this very day Gregory had departed from those parts, on the thirtieth of the month of June. And seeing the boys of his age entering and exiting, and having grown to full stature, C his mother began to wail loudly and say, "Woe is me, my sweetest child, for a little while I was called your mother and rejoiced in you, and so quickly I was bereaved of you. Woe is me, child, who has hunted you? Perhaps some wolf has snatched my lamb for himself? What place is hiding my only-begotten child? If indeed he has become prey somewhere. But this region has no wild beasts. Maybe someone killed him during the night and threw him into the sea? I know not what to say; and if he was taken away by some other death, God alone knows."
XXI. As the woman was lamenting these things and the like, the citizens who had gathered joined her in weeping. D When the abbot heard the loud mourning, he asked the bishop to what this disturbance, which he heard in the city, pertained. But the bishop, who knew that the parents of Gregory had arrived and that they were the ones lamenting, sighed from the depths, and then, having shed tears, said, "Listen, Father, and I will recount to you the history of a most sad event which happened in this city two years ago. There was a certain man in a village near this city, who had taken a pious and God-fearing wife; and both were very wealthy, and they managed piously what they had received from God, feeding the needy, widows, and orphans with their own goods, and, to speak purely, were patient in failing no one in what was necessary, and eagerly assisting the needs of the saints. A child was given to them, whom I, the sinner, received, reborn through the divine and saving baptism. Having been blessed with this child, the parents ceased to have other children; and when the boy reached his eighth year, he was brought here by them and handed over to me for instruction. And to him Christ was so propitious that he learned the first elements of letters within two years, the use—
calculations, the reading, and the Psalter, so that we all marveled at such diligence of his, and saw him surpassing A all his young peers. When he was twelve years old, his parents came down here, and through my sinful hands they offered him to Christ, having made him a cleric by giving him the rank of reader. We entrusted him to our archdeacon and librarian to instruct him in reading. He was very diligent regarding the holy scriptures—something impossible to find here today, perhaps, I venture to say, or so I think, or indeed anywhere else in the whole of Sicily. What became of him, we do not know. Suddenly the boy disappeared from the city, and having searched many caves and ravines, and having run over this B whole island, we were unable to find anything concerning the boy. Now we have grief for him even unto death, God having not revealed to us, because of our sins, what became of the lad; and so his parents perform his memorial on this very day on which he perished.
XXII. Having heard these things from the bishop, the abbot was lost in thought, looking up at the sky; he remained without answering for an hour, or even two. And after this, the abbot and the monks who were with him wept, and the monk said to the bishop, "I suggest this to you, Father: I ask that you bid the boy's parents come in to us." He sent one of the deacons and allowed Gregory's parents to enter. Charito and his wife entered, and having fallen at the feet of the bishop and the abbot, they arose and stood before them. And the abbot said to C them, "Why are you lamenting, brothers? What is the cause that troubles you in this way?" But they were unable to answer him concerning these things. The monk, seeing them in such great distress, and looking upon Charito and observing him, perceived him in truth to be similar to Gregory; for Charito was also very beautiful in face, and was himself fair-skinned and comely. And he says to them again, "You ought, brothers, to rejoice rather and be glad at this, and give thanks to God—" D and then having baptized him, and having shorn his hair as much as the law prescribes for boys, he enrolls him in the rank of readers; having given [a] prayer for him.
A Or thus, lamenting unbecomingly for your child, who for the present is not appearing to you, but is always manifest to God and praying for you. Chariton, answering, says to him: "Listen, Father, all things are to this extent; for it is written in the Proverbs, 'Hades and destruction are manifest before the Lord, how much more the hearts of men?' Certainly, my Lord and Father, our child, even if his body has been slain by the hand of man, yet his soul has been handed over into the hands of God; for he died innocent." His wife kept her eyes fixed on the mouth of the abbot, what he would answer concerning this. The abbot, answering, says to Chariton: "Listen, brother Chariton, believe me, that if your child had given himself up to evil, or as you suppose, had been slain by someone—which has not happened—God would not have neglected the labors and the tears of his spiritual father, who is the common father for the healing of [our] souls; but in any case He would have revealed to him the things concerning him. But trust me, that his soul dwells among good things." Chariton, answering, says to the abbot: "Good and useful is your exhortation, Father; but the Lord has known the things concerning our child; and He will have mercy on us; and as He wills, He will direct his soul."
C XXIII. After these things were said, the abbot says to the bishop, "Bring the archdeacon into the midst." Then the archdeacon stood in the midst, and the abbot says to him: "Tell me, man, for what reason did you not disclose to the bishop the great things that God worked in the boy? But instead, you went and dug in the ground and hid the money of your lord, just like that wicked servant? Did your own evil mind pervert these things, or rather did the devil, who had sown this malicious thought in you, inject this into you, and persuade you to hide the gift of God? Have you never read that it is glorious to proclaim the works of God? And could you bring such and so many troubles upon the most holy bishop, and through him upon all the people and the boy’s parents? For if you had made them aware of the things which God had worked illustriously for the boy’s sake, they would surely have all rejoiced, and would not have arrived at such sorrow until now. Speak, therefore, before all, man."
D XXIV. The archdeacon began to grow pale in his face and to tremble, and his knees were knocking together; and falling on his face with bitter weeping, he said: "Have mercy on me, holy Fathers; I have sinned before God and before all this people, but especially against the most holy bishop, whom we have as our common parent: through him I beseech God, grant me pardon." The abbot says to him: "Rise and tell us what you saw and heard concerning the boy." The archdeacon, having risen from the ground, began to say: "Listen to me, Fathers and all brothers. While I was sleeping one night in the
A treasury cell, and I had fallen asleep, some terrible one called the boy. He, having risen, stood before me and said to me: 'Why have you called me, master?' And I said to him: 'I have not called you, child.' Then again after a little while, he stood by him a second time with a voice saying: 'Gregory!' And again, having approached, he said to me: 'Behold, here I am, master, why have you called me?' And I said to him: 'I have not called you, child.' But I recognized that he had seen a vision, and I said to him: 'If he calls you once more, child, answer him: "Behold, here I am; what do you command your servant?"' Then again for the third time the one calling him shouted to him; and he said: 'What is it, master? What do you command your servant?' And he commanded, as I heard in part, saying: 'Go to the seashore, and you will find there those who will ferry you across.' These things I heard from the terrible one who was calling him; but being afraid, I did not declare the vision to anyone, lest perhaps no one might believe me, but rather they might say that I had either sold him or murdered him." The abbas says to him: "May God forgive you, through the prayers of our common Father."
B XXV. Then the abbas began to say: "Listen, brothers and Fathers, and all the Church, to the paradoxical miracle that has come to pass in these days. We have heard in the Books of Kings, that while the boy Samuel the prophet was sleeping once before C Eli the priest, an angel of the Lord called him, saying: 'Samuel, Samuel!' And this voice happened for the third time to the boy, and he kept running to Eli, and he did as he was directed by him; and he was revealed as a great prophet before God. Thus also this blessed one became an emulator of him, and even if he, having beheld the glory of God, thought to keep it hidden, yet the philanthropy of God manifested the things concerning the boy to us, the unworthy, so that his works and his wonders might be made manifest to our Father, who is always praying for him. Hear, most venerable Father, and all you people, small and great, men and women, I will relate to you a terrible and paradoxical wonder. When we were in Rome, we went to pray in the all-venerable temple of the holy D and chief of the apostles, Peter; it fell to our lot to stay in a certain place with a certain monk brother. And in that night two terrible men appeared to me in a vision, saying: 'Abba!' I answered with fear: 'What is it, my masters?' They said: 'Rise quickly with the two monks who are with you, and sail to Africa, and having entered the city of Carthage, seek there in the house of a certain shipmaster named Varus, a certain stranger named Gregory, a Sicilian from the Church of the Agrigentines; for he prays to God and desires to see the holy Sion. Hasten, therefore, and go, and save him as far as Jerusalem to Bishop Macarius; for we have also given instructions to him concerning the man, so that he may receive him; for our spirit has rested upon him, just as also [the spirit of Elijah…]
in Elisha of old." And when they had said these things, they disappeared completely. Waking at that very hour, I went down to the river, and by the providence of God, I found a ship intending to sail to Africa; and having paid our fare, I embarked with these two brothers. By God's guidance, we crossed over in ten days to Carthage, and we found the boy in the shrine of Saint Julian intent upon his reading. After mutual greetings, we took him with us to Jerusalem, and there, on the holy day which is the New Sunday, A we committed him to the holy archbishop of Jerusalem, with whom he adopted a life so measured and full of virtues that all who were there wondered at the boy.
XXVI. The monk having set these things forth, and upon hearing them, the entire multitude of men and women of the city lifted up their voices and, with hands stretched out to heaven, cried out, "Lord, have mercy," pouring out a great flood of tears. But Chariton and his wife lay cast down upon the ground, faces prone as if dead; the monk, approaching them, took hold of them B and raised them up, saying: "Arise, my children, and give thanks to God, who has made you certain of the life of your son, especially given such a life, which is commended by the profession of virtue and piety." Presently, when the bishop had signed them with the sign of salvation, they sat down, rendering great praises and thanks to God, the author of our common salvation, who, through the ministry of holy men—whom He has held agreeable to Himself in every age—had revealed such distinguished and wondrous things. C The mother of Gregory, addressing the abbot, said: "Thou art beloved of God, holy Father, to whom have been revealed mysteries which might console us wretches: lives my son, then, my lord?" He, however, said: "Indeed, by God, he lives and is well; and in his countenance he clearly resembles his father, your husband, lord Chariton. For he too is of reddish complexion, and has beautiful eyes, a fair mouth, shapely nostrils, and elegant eyebrows, with very small lips; his face is indeed always cast down, but he directs his mind and thought toward God. In psalmody, he is most sweet and attracts everyone; D with sharp ears he listens to holy oracles; if a word is to be uttered, he is slow; he abstains completely from shameful laughter, and he always has the best and immortal things on his lips; he exercises his soul with the utmost zeal and possesses singular patience."
XXVII. When the abbot had set forth these and many other things, the whole city gathered, that it might render praises to God for all the things which it had heard from him; and so they spent a day full of joy, both because they had learned that Gregory was alive, and because they understood that his parents had been delivered from great and heavy sorrow. Soon, indeed, as quiet followed and the holy mysteries were finished, the city—
bishop, the monks, and the parents of Gregory partook of food. After this, having bid farewell to the bishop and the monks, they returned to their house with joy, glorifying God who had granted such grace to their child. The monks, having spent three days with the most holy bishop Potamion, bid him farewell; he dismissed them in peace and saw them safe as far as the city of Panormus. From there they boarded a ship and crossed over to the city of the Romans, and arrived safely at their monastery. A
XXVIII. Now, while Gregory was in Jerusalem, he was diligent in many tasks and in fervor, always keeping watch without sloth and occupying himself in the study of the divine Scriptures. When the holy day of Pentecost arrived, Gregory was ordained a deacon by the holy Macarius, Archbishop of Jerusalem. Then, after a few days, he requested the Archbishop to dismiss him, so that he might go out to the Mount of Olives B to greet the Fathers who were dwelling there. And he commanded him to go. He went away rejoicing and traveled through the monasteries there, having been greatly profited by their exhortations, and having been brought to greater compunction and more eager resolve to progress. Having spent one year there, he bid farewell to the brethren and asked to receive a blessing from them, for he was about to depart for the inner wilderness. All the brethren prayed for him and dismissed him, saying, "Go, child, in peace; C" [and they said,] "the faith and the love which you have toward God will be your salvation." D
(98) It is indeed amazing that a man should be received by the Archbishop of Jerusalem and made a deacon when he had been a Latin deacon, since the Council of Chalcedon had already edited canon 20: "If any bishop after this definition shall receive a cleric belonging to another bishop, it has pleased that both the one who received and the one who was received be deprived of communion, until the cleric who has moved shall have returned to his own Church." But perhaps the Archbishop thought he was not bound by this law, because he already had Gregory as a monk among his own, and counted him among his subjects. It is rather a matter of wonder that, having been made a cleric by a Latin bishop, he was soon instituted as a deacon according to the Greek or Syriac rite. However, not even this can be called entirely unusual or novel during those times. For we have received the reverse of this from Bede (Hist. Angl. lib. IV, c. 1) regarding Theodore, a Greek monk born in Tarsus in Cilicia, whom Pope Vitalian sent to Britain as archbishop: "Who, having been ordained subdeacon, waited four months until his hair could grow so that he could be tonsured in the form of a crown. For he had had the tonsure in the manner of the Easterns, of the holy apostle Paul: and he was ordained by Pope Vitalian in the year of our Lord’s incarnation 667." Conversely, Gerontius, a deacon of the Church of Milan under Ambrose, when he had betaken himself to Constantinople, had been made Bishop of Nicomedia: whom Ambrose, as is found in Sozomen (lib. VIII, cap. 6), in letters sent to Nectarius, judged should be removed from the priesthood, but for a far different cause than that he had been a Latin deacon. Moreover, as late as the time of Pope Celestine III, it seems the bishops thought this of religious consequence; since he wrote back to the legate of St. Lawrence in Sicily: "Although the Latin bishop is to be blamed who has his own clerics ordained by a Greek prelate; yet, as long as such a custom is tolerated by the Church, he ought not be hindered from the execution of the orders thus received." (V. Morin. De sacr. Ord. P. 1, c. 3, n. 3.) It is also strange that Gregory is designated as a twenty-year-old deacon. There are, however, some who think that Pope Siricius established that an acolyte and subdeacon after the twentieth year of his age, if he had first proved himself worthy by preceding continence, might attain to the rank of deacon (Epist. ad Himer. episc. Terrac. n. 9). But that reading is not sufficiently verified: since in other codices "thirtieth" is written instead of "twentieth," as Hardouin indicated in the margin (Conc. t. 1, p. 850). Whether, however, there was a universally defined number of years before which no one could be made a deacon, I do not find. But the Fathers of the Council of Aachen in the year 816 taught these things (apud Hard. t. IV, p. 1063): "It is commanded that from twenty-five years and above they [the Levites] shall serve in the tabernacle." Which rule the holy Fathers also established in the New Testament. V. can. 14, conc. Trull.
(99) Metaphrastes in the Life of Euthymius mentions the laws (n. 105), that the monastery of Gabriel the presbyter and hegumen was there, in the valley of the venerable temple to the East, which had been dedicated in the name of the holy Assumption. Of which temple, which was on the summit of the mount, he also makes mention in the Life of Sabas (n. 43).
A When, therefore, he had left the Mount of Olives, he set out on the road that led into the desert, and on the third day he found a monk performing the prayers of the sixth hour. I say that this happened by divine providence, as also it has been said to have occurred elsewhere: the monk, that is, who knew the youth’s journey and its cause, finished his prayers and called him, and asked him where he was going. He replied: "Wherever Christ leads me; for I wish, if the Lord allows, to penetrate into the desert." The monk said to him: "You must proceed with me, my son." And so, having travelled together for twenty days, they arrived at a certain place; and the monk pointed out to him from afar a cell having two palm trees in front of it, and said to him: B "My son, in that cell a great Father dwells; if you wish to be saved, go there and knock at the door; if he is reciting psalms, wait outside the cell and complete the rest of the psalms with him; after this, he will certainly admit you to conversation. I must depart to another place." And the monk, having exchanged the kiss of peace with him, departed and left him alone. Gregory, however, bending his knees, began to pray thus: "Lord Jesus Christ our God, who hast saved all the Fathers who have pleased Thee, who have set foot in this place, do Thou Thyself receive me, the humble and sinful, and forgive me my sins; for it is not Thy will that any should perish, but Thou willest that all men should come to the knowledge of the truth."
C XXIX. Having prayed thus, he rose, and having made the salutary sign, he approached the cell. Standing there and listening, he felt that the monk was intent on the psalms, and it seemed to him that he heard a multitude of people singing with him; but when he approached the cell more closely, he heard what were like three voices chanting together: and when he stood near the cell, he dared not knock; he merely recited the psalms with him until the ninth hour was completed. Then, he bent down to the door of the cell and called out, saying: "Father Gregory, enter to us." When he heard this, Gregory ran to the feet of the elder and fell down, and weeping said: "Have mercy on me, Father, and intercede for me, a sinner, that God may save my soul." And the elder said to him: "God D
A shall have mercy on you, my child, and shall reward you according to your labor." After that, he remained with the elder for four years, and from then on, having learned all the precepts of rhetoric and grammar, philosophy and astronomy, he became as it were a second Chrysostom. After these things, he took leave of the elder, and having received his prayer, he sent him away in peace, the elder having foretold to him the trials which he was about to endure. And he returned again to Jerusalem.
XXX. And the holy archbishop Macarius received him with great joy, and after Gregory had spent another year in Jerusalem, delighting in the society of the holy fathers who were there, after that time he besought the archbishop to let him depart, and to pray for him. And the archbishop and all the holy men prayed for him and sent him away with joy. He departed from Jerusalem on the tenth day of the month of April, and went to Antioch, and there, having received a cell from the holy archbishop of that city, B where our holy Father, the great Basil, interpreted the Hexaemeron, he began to set forth discourses on the dogmas, in such a way that those who were considered wise in Antioch could not answer him; for the man was possessed of a spiritual gift. And Gregory, having spent a year in Antioch, and having been greatly admired and commended by all, took leave of the bishop and the brethren, and arrived in Constantinople. And the hegumen received him C [alt-version omitted] D
A in the monastery of the Holy Sergius and Bacchus. There, having found the books of our holy Father John Chrysostom and carefully perused them, the blessed Gregory, lamenting himself, said: "Woe is me! What shall I do, wretched that I am? How shall I be able to escape the crafty schemes of the enemy? How shall I be able to attain even a few of his myriad and ineffable virtues? Yet I am unworthy to follow in the footsteps of his many and great achievements. Nevertheless, I beseech and entreat the most merciful God, and the gentleness of the Father himself, that He may forgive what I do each day."
B XXXI. But the prefect, seeing every day the man’s constant endurance, the sweetness and serenity of his psalmody, and again his extreme abstinence—for he would spend the entire week fasting until Saturday, and even then, he was content with only vegetables and salt—and furthermore his constant meditation on the divine Scriptures and his perpetual vigils, the hegumen reported all these things concerning him to the archbishop of Constantinople, saying to him: "Venerable Father, there has arrived at my monastery a certain deacon, a stranger, of most excellent mien, but still more remarkable for his profession of virtue; he is wise, both intent upon reading and interpreting the divine Scriptures—so much so, that in my opinion, there is not to be found another person in this city today who could equal him, unless it be your own divine and holy wisdom."
Hearing these things, the archbishop rejoiced exceedingly, and says to the hegumen: "We have here wise men; we shall send them to you, so that, without him knowing that they were sent by us, they may under some pretext come to see him and converse with the man, and so we too may observe him." The hegumen said to the arch- C bishop: "On the night, master, release us to ...
[index: entries preserved]
you as well; when he completes the midnight prayers, send them to us, for he cannot converse freely with anyone; so downcast is he in spirit, and he loves modesty.
XXXII. On that night, the archbishop, having summoned Constantine the chartophylax 12 and Maximus the philosopher, both of whom were deacons, says to them: "My sons, go to the monastery of Saint Sergius 13, and there meet a certain stranger who is a guest, and greeting him with the proper respect, salute him. And when the time for reading comes, first let one of you take a book and read. Then, for the second reading, offer the man the *Arcana* 14 of our holy Father Gregory the Theologian, and at the same time observe what the man’s wisdom is, taking care, however, not to give him any cause for offense." They, having answered, said: "May it be as you commanded, master." The two deacons, having gone and knocked, entered the monastery; and they found Gregory with three other monks chanting the midnight prayers, the verse: "O Lord, you have tested me and known me" [Ps. CXXXVIII, 1]. And having prayed with the proper respect, the men greeted the monks and Gregory. And when they had sat down, the hegumen also entered and sat down with them, and the hegumen said: "Let one of those from the patriarchal house take the book and read for our edification." And the chartophylax, having taken the book in his hands 15, read a discourse of Saint John Chrysostom 16.
[alt-version omitted]
Gregory sat in complete quiet and humility, attentive with all fear to what was being said, shedding tears without restraint into his lap. When the chartophylax had finished the discourse, they rose again to chant the psalms; during which time Gregory stood in the same place, motionless, with his eyes cast down to the ground, but with the mental eyes of his heart raised up to heaven. The men sent from the patriarch were watching him, gladly hearing the sweetness of his chanting and his quiet, motionless state. B
XXXIII. When the customary psalmody was completed, the superior and the deacons sent from the patriarch, and the rest of the monks as well, sat down again; but Gregory remained standing in the place he had chosen for himself. And the superior said to him, "Child Gregory, come, read, and edify us." And he immediately responded to the command, "As you order, Father." And as the deacons had the book of the Theologian in their hands, they handed it to him, and the superior added, "Read the hidden discourse, child." Having made a prayer as was proper, he began to read. Now the deacons were hesitating, anxious about the explanation of many of the terms, and through the superior they began asking him to give them the solutions to the hidden elements. However, as long as the blessed youth held the book in his hands, he answered them nothing, saying only this: "Forgive me, Father." But when the reading was finished and the assembly was being dismissed, and they had sat down, the superior asked him, "Gregory, child, why did you deny us the explanation of the hidden elements?" Gregory said to him, "Forgive me, Father; for I am a sinful and unlearned man." But being compelled by the superior, he began, even without the book, to declare from the beginning and resolve the meaning for each verse of the hidden discourse. In addition, when those men had put many other questions to the blessed youth, he answered everything to them with all quietness and gentleness. When the men had finished asking him everything they wanted, they took leave of him with the honor due, and went back to the archiepiscopate, rejoicing and at the same time giving praise to God for all that they had heard and seen in the man. And entering in, they reported to the archbishop everything they had heard from Gregory, saying, "We do not know if there is anyone in this city like this man, except for your God-preserved and praiseworthy beatitude." C
XXXIV. When the archbishop heard these things, at dawn he sent the chartophylax and summoned Gregory to the episcopal residence. He, however, when he understood that he was being summoned by the archbishop, was deeply grieved, for he wished to depart from there as quickly as possible and set out for Rome. D
A As they spoke, they both went out and walked together. Upon entering, Gregory worshipped the archbishop with due honor, falling upon his face to the ground, while at the same time weeping and saying, "Forgive me, my lord and holy Father, and pray for my wretchedness, for I am a sinful and humble man." Rising from the ground, he stood before the archbishop with all fear and trembling. The archbishop embraced him and bestowed upon him a holy kiss, saying, "You have come at a good time, my son, you who are truly a genuine servant of Christ; the alert mind and eye of the orthodox catholic Church has come to us at a good time." After this, he said to him, "Where have you come from, my son, and where are you going?" He said to him, "I have come from the holy city, my lord, to your venerable footsteps, and I intend to go to Rome, if the Lord wills it and your prayers are acceptable." B Having spent twenty days with the archbishop in the patriarchate, the man marvelled greatly at Gregory’s endurance, his patience, his unceasing prayer, and his extreme temperance. For it was impossible for him to take food until the Sabbath. Every day and night, the two were together, discussing the Word; the patriarch’s deacons, however—the chartophylax and Maximus—brought forth many difficult questions and examples into their midst. For these two were preeminent among all in the bishop’s house; yet there was nothing they proposed to which Gregory did not provide an interpretation, putting forward what was needed for each passage and offering their explanation with no small degree of dignity. C XXXV. After some days, Gregory requested through the chartophylax that the archbishop grant him permission to depart after having prayed for him. But the archbishop, having called Gregory to him, said to him, "My son Gregory, wait a little while, since the enemy has sown tares in the midst of the wheat of the catholic Church." He replied to him, "As you command, my lord." The archbishop did not allow him to leave or to separate from him for all the days that Gregory was in Constantinople; for he delighted greatly in his conversation. He also related to him the foulness of the heresy that had appeared by the hands of the impious (those around Sergius, and Cyrus, and Paul). D
A And the blessed one delivered many dogmatic discourses and panegyrics in Constantinople, so that his fame reached the ears of our most pious emperor. Not many days later, the bishops of Alexandria and Antioch arrived, as well as all those of the East. And the bishop of the Romans, being seized by a severe illness, sent by means of two bishops, who stood in his place, a document written in his own hand, in accordance with the will of those of his same mind, the orthodox bishops. Having taken their seats in the temple of Holy Great Irene, B where, when someone wanted to set these things forth, he ineptly added the rest in the margin. These things, when the codex was copied, were transferred into the text as if they were the genuine words of the author; although that word *tois*, which has no case to which it corresponds, ought to have prompted the scribe to be warned not to dare such a thing. The result thenceforth was that these things were carried over into the remaining codices, even into those which the Metaphrast had, who among the other names of heretics also added that of Pyrrhus. But all of them, after our Gregory, began to study new matters, concerning which Martin I, Supreme Pontiff, after the Lateran Council, wrote to the Church of Jerusalem and to the Church of Antioch (Hard. Conc. t. III, p. 658): "For I desire you to know, brothers, concerning current matters, that is, concerning the thieves who in our times have risen up against the orthodox faith, namely Theodore, who was bishop of Pharan, and Cyrus, who was of Alexandria, and Sergius, who was of Constantinople, and his successors Pyrrhus and Paul: because they, by their own heresy, have greatly labored to dig up and plunder the treasuries, or rather the dogmas, of the Catholic Church." It is established, moreover, that the Constantinopolitan pontificate was assumed by Sergius in the year 610, as is noted in the *Chronicon Paschale*. C (49) Why, he asks, this assembly of bishops? Since that heresy of the Monothelites had not yet erupted. Our Gregory had come to Constantinople in the year current. At that time, as Evagrius relates (*Hist. eccl.* l. VI, c. 7), Gregory, bishop of Antioch, on account of a dispute with Asterius, the Count of the East, had been subjected to the reproaches of many; and when Asterius was removed and John had succeeded him, being accused of not one crime, he had appealed to the emperor and to the synod. The council, therefore, was convened in the year 588, when our Gregory was already thinking of his departure; but because the cause of the patriarch had to be pleaded, all the primates were called to Constantinople; which Evagrius clearly testifies to in these words: *agōnas kratei*. That is: "Having me, therefore, as an advisor and companion, he came to Constantinople to answer these accusations." And when all the patriarchs who are everywhere, partly themselves, partly through their legates, were taking an interest in the question, as well as the senators of the royal city and very many of the most religious metropolitans, the business having been examined for a long time and in many ways, finally after many proceedings Gregory won his case. D That is not clear to me, whether the legates of Pelagius II, who at that time held the supreme pontificate, were truly present at the council, as Leontius records, nor does Evagrius deny it. For, if I am to reject the letters of Pelagius which were produced by Isidore, and which are not held to be genuine, Gregory the Great seems to contradict this, who speaks of this synod as if it had been convened without Pelagius's knowledge. For thus he wrote to Eulogius, bishop of Alexandria, and to Anastasius, bishop of Antioch, by the same example (lib. V, epist. 43): "Eight years ago, in the time of my predecessor of holy memory Pelagius, our brother and co-bishop John, in the city of Constantinople, seeking an occasion for another cause, held a synod in which he attempted to call himself universal. As soon as my same predecessor recognized this, he sent letters and by the authority of the holy Apostle Peter annulled the acts of that same synod." I add from the letter of the same (lib. IX, n. 68) to Eusebius of Thessalonica and others: "Beyond those things which were held there concerning the case of Gregory, bishop of Antioch, of venerable memory." But yet he did recognize those things as being able to be referred to the title of Ecumenical, which John had intended to be decreed for himself without Pelagius's opinion. Valesius (*ad Evagr. l. VI, c. 8*) argued that the synod was held in the year 589; against whom Pagius (*in Annal. Bar. t. II, ad an. 588*) says: "This synod, he says, was not assembled in the previous year (587) (which was indeed the opinion of Baronius), nor in the year 580, as Valesius cited, but in the current year, providing indubitable faith through Evagrius, who was then in Constantinople." But the words of Evagrius, from which the argument is drawn, are entirely: *tessarōn men diagenomenōn...* etc. That is: "But after his return (namely Gregory's), four months having passed, in the six hundred and thirty-seventh year of Antioch having gained its liberty, after the sixty-first year since the last earthquake, on the last day of the month of Hyperberetai, while I was receiving my virgin bride, and the city was keeping a holiday, and celebrating a public gathering for the procession and the bridal chamber, about the third hour of the night, an earthquake with a roar and a rumble struck and shook the whole city, etc." (ibid. c. 8). Now, however, Pagius adds this: "Evagrius begins the Antiochene year from the Kalends of September, and therefore in his opinion the Antiochene year 637 began on the Kalends of September of this year of Christ (588); and the earthquake, of which Evagrius speaks, shook Antioch on the last day of the month of October. Wherefore the Constantinopolitan synod, which had been completed four and more months before that earthquake, can in no way be moved from the current year." The last Antiochene earthquake had happened on the day of the month of November in the year of Christ 588, and therefore Evagrius rightly declares that after it years had elapsed, and Valesius is refuted in the cited place, where he writes with grave error (*ad lib. 1, c. Evagr.*) that the Antiochene years begin from the month of Dios, the sixth of our November, and therefore that this earthquake and the Constantinopolitan synod pertain to the following year.
A ...that city, dear to God, was summoned by the Fathers to occupy the throne of the Sardanian episcopate of Constantia in Cyprus (21) (22): for the bishop of that city also was ill. Thereupon, an inquiry began into the fraudulent heresy which had broken out; and the orthodox Fathers brought forward many things against the heretics on that day. But Gregory stood by, as the most modest of all, answering nothing to these things. And again, when they had sat down, the heretics began to lift themselves up against the orthodox: for there was a great multitude. Then, truly, the grace of the holy Spirit shone remarkably upon the blessed Gregory; and he began with all quietness to discourse against the evil-minded bishops concerning the holy, immaculate, consubstantial (23) and inseparable Trinity, and began to answer each one individually, and to challenge each one to explain what they were saying. And there was given to him such an abundance of wisdom and understanding, that from that company no one could answer him regarding those testimonies which he himself was bringing forward from the sacred Scriptures (24), and the mouths of the heretics...
B ...were stopped.
...terum Marcianus, oeconomus of the Great Church, had built it: and this was called the New Eirene, while that was called the Old Eirene. I would believe that this discourse is concerning the second, which the Emperor Justinian, having enlarged the grounds, restored with such munificence that, according to Procopius (De aedif. l. 1, c. 3), after the church of Sophia, it was held second to none in that city, and could therefore be called the Great Eirene; since even that old Constantinian [structure] surpassed [others] not only in beauty, but also in size. The name of both, as is my opinion, was derived not from the martyr Irene, but from peace, just as there were two others there, namely Sophia and Anastasia, whose names are clearly derived from something other than martyrs. Thus even now in Rome, and likewise in Brescia, there is a Temple of Peace, which ought to be considered monuments of Christian concord.
But from this passage of Leontius, it is manifest that he does not mean an oecumenical council, nor the one held at Constantinople under the watch—as Cajetanus wished—nor the one in Constantinople indicted under Agatho, as Lancia conjectured. For the first is said to have been held with the venerable bishops sitting in the secretarium, as is written at the beginning of the first Collation, and of the others as well, except that at the beginning of the seventh it is added: "in the secretarium of the venerable bishopric of this royal city." But the third Constantinopolitan [Council] was celebrated in the secretarium of the sacred palace, which is called the Trullus, as may be seen in the Prefaces of each of the actions.
...was prescribed, a journey by land and sea would have seemed too long by right, so that he might approach his metropolitan, especially since in times past the Cypriots, for the same reason, had refused to journey to their patriarch in Antioch, which is much less distant. (V. Conc. Nic. can. 37, interpr. Arab. et Conc. Ephes. act. 7.). Finally, these things are said by Lancia not only without any author or witness, but even against the authority of the Acts, and against the sixth synod itself, at which he contends Gregory was present. For in that [synod], as in other Actions, so also in the 18th, which was the final one, this stands out in the seventh place among the subscriptions of the Fathers: "Theodore, by the mercy of God, Bishop of the city of the Trimithuntians of the island of Cyprus, and as locum tenens of Epiphanius, my most holy archbishop of the island of Cyprus itself, I have likewise subscribed." And lest anyone doubt that this concerns the archbishop of Constantia, it is written in action 16: "Theodore, Bishop of the city of the Trimithuntians, representing the place of Epiphanius, venerable archbishop of Constantia of the island of Cyprus." Wherefore, no place at all is left for a Sardicensian bishop, nor for our Gregory, so that it might be said that the former obtained the rights of the Constantian Church, or that the latter served in his stead at the synod.
Concerning that city, Stephanus Byzantinus says: "Constantia, which is now Salamis in Cyprus; it comes from the genitive of Constans." Indeed, Constantia, which is now in Cyprus, was Salamis: the name was given to it from the paternal case of Constans. But it was already called by this name for a long time; for Jerome also wrote (Comm. in Epist. Pauli ad Philem. c. 11): "And sailing to Salamis of Cyprus, which is now called Constantia." Therefore it would seem to have had its name from the sons of Constantine the Great. But I consider that it received it rather from Constantius than from Constans; for Illyricum, Italy, and Africa belonged to the latter; but Asia, Syria, and Egypt to Constantius. Furthermore, we know that other cities were restored by this same man, who held the empire for a longer time, namely Seleucia, I think, and Pieria, and Antaradus in Phoenicia, which he called Constantia. (Tillem. in Constantio art. 10, ad an. 346.)
...I am ignorant, and I suspect he is trifling in this place, and that he invented what seemed probable to him rather than reporting what he had found handed down by others. For the Greeks of that time already loved [to do this], and we shall often find below that Leontius was not a stranger to them. Certainly, it is by no means certain that matters concerning heretics were treated in that council. Nay rather, concerning Maurice the Emperor, who at that time...
A administered the empire, and concerning his family, Gregory the Great wrote (lib. xi, epist. 46): "In whose times the mouths of heretics are silenced."
But it does not seem incredible that the Fathers in that convention, both for the sake of custom and dignity, asked the aforementioned [Gregory] to say something about the Catholic profession, and that at the same time an opportunity was offered to our Gregory to speak concerning what he felt about the true doctrine. Indeed, the fame of his name, and of his virtue and eloquence, having long persisted in Constantinople, is indicated by the writer of a later age, Nicephorus Callistus, whose words I shall not be unwilling to present, although he inaccurately referred to the age of Vigilius things that pertained to the times of Pelagius: a fact which is not the only example of his carelessness (Hist. Eccl. lib. xvii, c. 27). He says: "And so, while Vigilius was presiding over the throne of the elder Rome, but of the new [Rome first] Mennas, and then Eutychius; of Alexandria, Apollinaris; of Antioch, Domnus; and of Jerusalem, Eustochius: and while there was present with them Gregory of Agrigentum, a man in life, and word, and dogmas of truth almost excelling all others, the Emperor Justinian gathered the holy fifth ecumenical council."
However, in the Acts of this council, no mention at all is made of our Gregory, nor of any Agrigentine bishop, priest, or deacon. The same thing is true of the sixth synod, at which, nevertheless, Nicetas the monk of the Studite monastery—that very man whose libellus against the Latins was published by Canisius (tom. iii, p. 208, ed. Basnage)—affirms that Gregory the bishop was present; the Greek context of this libellus is missing, yet it is said to have been found in Constantinople by the apocrisiaries of the Apostolic See. The things that pertain to this are of this sort: "For if it was delivered to you by the apostles to eat unleavened bread, how is it that the most holy Agathon, your predecessor, when he was [present] at the sixth synod under the Emperor Constantine, and the divine Gregory, bishop of Agrigentum, did not abstain (specifically from leavened bread)?" But since Nicephorus and Nicetas write things that are contradictory, they nonetheless provide evidence that the memory of our Gregory persisted in Constantinople; and therefore, that he had lived in the royal city not without praise. B
XXXVI. Of the Holy Synod and the Speech of Gregory
When that holy synod had been brought to its conclusion, all began to admire Gregory; all began to pray well for him, and at the same time to praise the merciful God who, beyond expectation, had raised up such a man in their midst, by whose labors they were no longer burdened with cares. For there was need of a long time to root out those perverse counsels of the heretics: which the blessed man, by the favor of God the Father and the Son, and with the help of the holy Spirit, the author of life, destroyed within a few days, having, as was proper, revealed all the artifices of the heretics and compressed their ferocity. For he held the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments in readiness, and he knew perfectly the doctrine of the Church and the art of the rhetoricians. Wherefore many, when they heard him, said: "Whence is this man? Is he an angel who speaks, or some one of those great and holy Fathers?" And our most pious Emperor Justin C rejoiced greatly in him, as did all his house.
D
as having A fulfilled their duty to the synod, all the holy Fathers who had gathered for that holy council greeted him and, as we have previously stated, offered prayers over him. Each then returned to his own place, rejoicing and praising God, who never overlooks those who love Him and who keeps the Catholic Church unharmed.
XXXVII. When all the Fathers had departed from Constantinople, our most pious emperor one day called for the archbishop and said to him, "Father, whence has this young man come to us, adorned with such grace?" The archbishop, falling on his face, bowed before the emperor and said, "We give thanks to God, most pious emperor, that your faith and your pure devotion, which you always possess toward God, along with your own prayers, have—through this man—stopped the mouths of the heretics. This man, master, is a stranger and has arrived here from the holy city." B A few days later, the emperor ordered Gregory to come to the palace. Having entered, he stood before the most pious emperor, and the emperor said to him, "Whence have you come, and from what city, and of what people are you?" He replied, "Most pious emperor, your servant is from the province of the Sicilians, from the Church of the Agrigentines; he traveled to Jerusalem, and from there he pressed on to this illustrious city of your majesty." The emperor said to him, "Blessed are you, man of God, and blessed is your manner of life, and blessed is the arrival of your presence among us. For thus does God C reveal His mysteries in every generation to those who fear Him and do His will. Yet, in these days, He has displayed such a vessel of thanks, who has overthrown the deceitful engines of the heretics through the intercession of the Holy Spirit. Praise and glory be to His holy name."
XXXVIII. For many hours the most pious Emperor Justinian conversed on these and similar matters with the blessed Gregory, who, finally falling on his face before him, bowed three times to the ground before the emperor. The emperor then dismissed him to the archbishop. Having spent a few days there, Gregory D brought before the most pious emperor...
It must not be ignored that in most Menologies it is written that Gregory flourished under Justinian Rhinotmetus; nor should their testimony be summarily dismissed as belonging to a more recent age, since we read this very thing in the Basilian text, which we know to have been composed in the tenth century. But one must also note that the Basilian breviary of his life was derived from Leontius, whose copies, as we have warned, had long ago been interpolated to cite the names of Sergius and the other Monothelites who were condemned under Constantine Pogonatus at the Constantinopolitan Council; and it was recorded in the same place that this sect was vigorously refuted by our Gregory at that very synod. Therefore, the author of the Menology, knowing that Justinian Rhinotmetus was a contemporary of those times, and having read of "Justinian" in Leontius, rightly judged that it was no other than Rhinotmetus, and gave others the opportunity to record the same in writing; although Leontius nowhere specified the heresy of the Monothelites. Nor, moreover, does Lancia (Diss. n. 28) correctly make this Justinian an Augustus from the very times of the council, whom his father Constantine either never addressed as Augustus or did so only later. For neither Pope Agatho in his letters nor the Fathers of the council in any act or in the final prosphonetic address ever mention him as such, since they always referred to the brother of the Augustus Constantine.
A sought from the emperor, through one of his confidants named Marcian, that he might be permitted to go to Rome and venerate the holy and most celebrated apostles. The emperor along with the archbishop commanded him to go to Rome and again to return to Constantinople. Now Marcian had great friendship and acquaintance with the blessed Gregory. Then, having set out from Constantinople, Gregory arrived in the city of the Romans on the twenty-first day of the month of June, and having venerated the tombs of the holy and most celebrated apostles, and having traveled through every holy place there, he requested a cell from the hegumen of the monastery of Saint Sabas, and he lived in stillness in that same monastery, known to no one, nor being able to speak freely with anyone at all. But the bishops who had been sent by the Pope to the synod had arrived at Rome before Gregory, B and had related everything concerning Gregory to the Pope—how he had muzzled the mouths of the heretics.
Meanwhile, while Gregory was staying at Rome, the bishop C of that city of Agrigentum died.
D And as it seems that a sedition was arising among the people of that city, one might suspect that this is the same man who, still surviving in the age of Maurice, appeared among the spatharii or bodyguards of the Augustus: by which title he is indeed distinguished below. For the dignity of this order was not slight, since it is established that legates were sometimes chosen from its ranks. Alcuin, epistle 9 to the Augustus Nicephorus: "Having heard," he says, "of the arrival of the mentioned legate of your affection, Arsacius the glorious spatharius, we have greatly rejoiced." And this same degree of honor is called *spatharicon axioma* in the Synodica of the Orientals to the Augustus Theophilus (in Combefis, *Manip. Orig. CP.*, p. 121), which one could not reach except after long ambition, as is indicated by their order, who were called *spatharocandidati*: whom you will find mentioned also in the letters of Gregory II, or as some say, to Leo the Isaurian, and in at least three of the epistles of Photius. (See Cotelier, *Eccl. Gr. Mon.*, vol. II, p. 104.)
(30) Pelagius’s statement regarding the name of Saint Sabas troubles me: which argument I am surprised Lanccius neglected. For if our Gregory came to Rome while the Augustus Justinian was still alive, in what way could he find a guest-house at Rome for the hegumen of Saint Sabas, since Sabas had sent no colony outside of Palestine, nor had his monks at that time had any reason to migrate to Rome? Surely it must be said that Gregory came to Rome in the year 553, at which time the fifth council was already completed. That year was numbered the twenty-first from the death of Sabas; but the year which closely followed this was the year in which the Sabaites received the New Laura near Jerusalem, and also, as Cyril of Scythopolis says, the war which had been stirred up against piety had its end (in the *Life of Sabas*, no. 90). Wherefore, before Gregory’s arrival, time was lacking for the Romans to establish a monastery of Sabaites; especially since the flight of the monks began in the year 596, when Georgius the Origenian ejected them from the Great Laura; nor did they suddenly flee into distant lands, but to the Mount of Olives, and then throughout the regions, as the same Cyril wrote (ibid., no. 88); of which, those that were more remote are to be thought to have been visited last.
But in the year 589, in which we register the arrival of Gregory to the city, there was the "New Cell" on the Aventine, of which we discussed at greater length before Leontius’s history; and that Gregory had stayed in it, anyone would easily concede.
A While Gregory was meanwhile staying in Rome, the bishop of the Church of Agrigenti, named Theodore, happened to fall asleep in the Lord. And a great dissension arose among the people of that city; for some were proposing the presbyter Sabinus as their chosen candidate, while others preferred the deacon Crescentinus. But Euplus, who was then the archdeacon, and the greatest part of the people of the city and of the surrounding region, said: "Let it be the will of the Lord, whoever He wishes to reveal."
B XXXIX. Post-Election Consultations After this, all the chosen men of the Church and the leading men of the surrounding region set sail and crossed over to Rome, seeking to have a bishop appointed for them by the Pope himself; and Chariton, the father of the blessed Gregory, joined them. When the Pope learned that the people and the leaders of the city had arrived, he commanded them to come to him. They entered and paid homage to him, and they stood, those of Sabinus’s party in one place, and those of Crescentinus’s party in another place; but those around Euplus and the rest of the surrounding region, the lay nobles and the clergy, stood behind everyone else. Then the Pope said to them: "Whom do you wish to have ordained as bishop for you from among yourselves?" Those who were for Sabinus, demanding Sabinus, said: "We want this man, master." Those who supported Crescentinus likewise requested him, saying: "We also love this man, master." And they cried out, these in one way, and those in another.
C Then the Pope said to Euplus the archdeacon and to Chariton and the rest: "But you, my children, what do you say about this? What seems good to you?" Falling upon their faces, and then rising, they answered through Chariton, saying: "Most honorable Father, we dare to say that 'No man takes this honor for himself, but he who is called by God.' Nevertheless, may God, as He wills, and the pure and acceptable prayer of our lord and spiritual Father, govern our affairs and grant us, through your hands, a shepherd who ought to govern us." The Pope then, calling together the crowds that were with Sabinus and Crescentinus, said to them: "Bring with you one good plan, so that you may request with one accord whomsoever you wish, receiving [God's will]."
[Note: The remaining columns describe historical/canonical context regarding Eusanius and the election process, including citations of Gregory the Great’s letters.]
D You see, I think, that the bishop who had died at Agrigenti is this very Eusanius: since even his son had to think about inheriting his father's estate immediately upon his death; and the death of Eusanius himself could not be referred to an earlier time, against the decree of Pelagius who died recently, by which the goods of Eusanius, as soon as he had died, were attributed to the Church of Agrigenti. Furthermore, that the very controversy was referred to Maximianus at the time when our Gregory was being detained in Rome is declared also by the appeal of the Church of Agrigenti, without any mention of a bishop—from whom, indeed, had he been present, those goods should have been reclaimed. Whether this Euplus is the son of Eusanius and the same person whom Leontius calls archdeacon cannot be judged. For the name ought not to be of such importance that we should therefore believe one and the same man to be pointed out in both places: especially since that name was common in Sicily on account of the memory of the martyr Euplus of Catania, whose Acts Cotelerius published (Mon. Eccl. Gr. t. 1, p. 192). Gregory also mentions another Euplus in a letter of book 1.
(33) Since the Church of Sicily did not have a metropolitan in that age on the island, but they acknowledged him whom they also had as patriarch, the supreme pontiff, as Pirrus has already shown (Sic. Sacr. t. 1, disq. 2); in the election of bishops, if by chance they disagreed, they were accustomed to ask him, so that he himself might appoint the bishop whom he believed most suitable by his own authority. An example similar to this is shown to us by the letter of Gregory the Great, book V, to the noble Syracusans: "The letter which you have sent bears the testimony of your praise, which signifies that you have wisely declined the burdens of the election... but because Agatho is chosen by some from the clergy and people of the Syracusan Church, but another is chosen by others: it is necessary for this man, who has been chosen by the clergy and people, to come to us again; so that, with both presented face-to-face, he who pleases God and is seen to be more useful may be ordained."
(34) To the Hebrews V, 4. And in the vulgate text we read, "And no man takes the honor for himself, etc."
A And let him also have a good testimony, according to what is written. But they did not wish to listen to the Pope, but rather created disturbances, arguing over many things.
XL. When the Pope saw their impudent sedition, incensed with anger, he ordered them all to be cast out of his presence and forbade them to return to him for further questioning. Three days later, the Pope called for Euplus the archdeacon and Charito, along with the clergy and laity who were of the same mind as them, and addressed them thus: "What seems best to you, brothers, regarding those whom those seditious and turbulent men have chosen? They are surely quite like them: inept and useless." But the archdeacon and Charito replied: "This work, most holy Master, as we have already said, is not to be fulfilled by man, nor through man, but by the indication and sign of Jesus Christ. Yet, through your pure worship and your unceasing prayer to God, God will reveal to you what ought to be done for us." The Pope commended them for this response of theirs. B While the Pope was in distress over this matter, not long after, in the night, he saw in a dream two men in apostolic garb, who addressed him thus: "Why are you afflicted with grief that those Sicilians disagree regarding the bishop of Sicily? Those whom they have brought forward are truly unworthy to be ordained. But there is a stranger here in the city, a pious man named Gregory, who is staying in the monastery of Saint Sabbas. Having learned that those men had arrived here, he fled from the monastery where he was, and has hidden himself in the monastery of Saint Erasmus. C Send therefore and have the man brought to you, and, having consecrated him together with the bishops who are with you, command him to depart into Sicily with the orthodox people of that city. For in him the Holy Spirit of God has rested, and that place has need of him." When they had said these things, they showed him the features and appearance of the man whom they had set forth, and without adding anything more, they vanished from his sight.
XLI. The Pope, having awakened and being filled with tremor, called to himself Abbot Marcus—who at that time had incidentally arrived in the city—and the leaders D of the Church, and related to them what he had seen in his dream, and how much he had been struck with fear by the appearance of the Apostles. Abbot Marcus said to him: "Let us celebrate God with praises, venerable Father, who has not neglected your prayer,
A nor has He allowed you to be deprived of His mercy, but has revealed to you what you should do among your flock." He at once sent the protopresbyter of the Church and the two bishops who had come from the synod to the monastery of Saint Sabas. But when they did not find Gregory there, they asked the superior what had become of the man who had been there. He replied that two days ago he had left the monastery and gone to the monastery of Saint Erasmus. They followed after him and found the blessed Gregory in the monastery of Saint Erasmus just as he was preparing to leave. When he saw them from afar and recognized the bishops, he ran into the garden and hid among the plants. The men entered and urged the superior, saying with force: "What has happened to the stranger who was here?" The superior, being caught in a dilemma, begged them to wait for him a little while so that he might look for him and hand him over to them. The superior went down into the garden and found him hidden among the vegetables, and being indignant, B the superior said to him: "O man, whence have you come here, being a man under accusation and sought by such personages? Go up, and defend yourself concerning your accusations." But he did not answer him even a word to this. Gregory went up into the courtyard and found the men sitting there. When the bishops saw him and recognized him, both ran and threw themselves at his feet, for they knew how Gregory was revered by all the Fathers who were at the synod in Constantinople, and likewise how much honor was paid to him by the most pious emperor. Falling on his face before them, he said to them: "Forgive me, holy Fathers, for I am a sinful man; why do you bow down to our mediocrity?" They stood up, both kissed Gregory, and said to him: "Our common Father and chief of our order, who sits on the apostolic throne, has sent us, his domestic servants, to call you so that you may wish to go to him." Gregory obeyed and followed them. C XLII. While they were returning, Abbot Marcus related to the sovereign pontiff all the matters concerning Gregory, his conduct from childhood, his meekness and quietness, and how, through a divine revelation, he had guided him to Jerusalem. In return, the sovereign pontiff related to Abbot Marcus the things that had been accomplished by him at the synod in Constantinople, and how he had stopped the mouths of the heretics. Meanwhile, the bishops and Gregory with them arrived. As he entered and fell at the feet of the sovereign pontiff, he addressed him thus: "You have come in good time, my son Gregory; blessed be God who has assured us of you, my son; as we have heard, D so also have we seen." And rising, he greeted him with a holy kiss and bade him be seated; and as the sovereign pontiff looked at him, he recognized those features of his that had been pointed out to him by the saints who had appeared to him. After a little while, Gregory looked up and saw
A Saint Mark before him; rising quickly, he ran to him and threw himself at his feet, weeping and saying: "We give thanks to God through you, most venerable Father, for you were the author of our salvation; through you we were deemed worthy to attain the path of all wisdom. Truly, you promised that in this life I would see you, the one I longed for, and you did not lie, holy Father."
B XLIII. As Gregory was recounting these things for a long time with the abbot, all were amazed and wept with them. Thereafter, the sovereign pontiff ordered everyone to depart from his presence, and bade only Gregory, Abbot Mark, the two bishops, and a few others to remain with him. And calling Gregory to him, the pontiff said: "Child Gregory, our Lord Jesus Christ, having sent His holy apostles to us, has appointed you as president of the holy, catholic, and great Church of the Agrigentines, so that you may govern that people as their pastor. For that place requires you above all, so that through your work the remaining remnants of that people may be preserved." To which Gregory gave this response: "O master, I beseech you, forgive me; for I am not such a one as could be equal to so awesome a ministry." And when the sovereign pontiff none the less urged him, telling him not to doubt that God would be with him, and to remember that there was no light penalty C for those who had resisted, Gregory requested that some time be given to him before he would reveal his mind to him again. Then, following the abbot, he withdrew into his cell, and there both passed the whole night without sleep.
Gregory, however, wished to flee from there to Spain. But Gregory did not yet know that his own father was there as well, along with the rest of the people. The abbot said to him: "Do you know, child, that Master Chariton, your father, has arrived here with the other orthodox citizens, and is in high favor with our common father, the pontiff?" When Gregory heard this, he was much grieved and contemplated fleeing from the city all the more. But the abbot interrupted: "Beware, my son, lest you kindle the wrath of God; you certainly know what that blessed old man, with whom you spent four years, once commanded you. And he himself, even as he knew other things about you, likewise knew this by God's revelation: that if you dared to do anything contrary to it, wrath and ruin would menace you instead of divine favor." To these things, Gregory D yielded. Not long after, the sovereign pontiff, having gathered all the Sicilians into the pontifical house, addressed them thus: "What, finally, have you deliberated concerning your common salvation?" To which Euplus the archdeacon and Chariton gave this answer: "For our part, there is nothing that we can object; we only add this: what God has revealed to you, that decide concerning us."
XLIV. But when the sovereign pontiff [learned] through Abbot Mark that
Charito was the father of Gregory—a fact he had revealed to no one, though he himself observed them both and marveled at their likeness—three days later he summoned again the priests and laity of the city of Agrigentum and the leaders of the surrounding region. He said to them, "Let us all, monks and all the churches of the city alike, proceed with a supplication to the temple of the prince of the apostles; and whomsoever God shall designate by some sign, he shall be established in peace." The whole city went out with a litany, chanting; and when they had entered the temple of the prince of the apostles, Peter, Gregory was urged to go up into the ambon and proclaim the holy Gospel. He did this, and all the people marveled at the sweetness of his voice. A And when he had finished the litany, the pope arose and, having blessed the people, a dove came out from the holy altar and sat upon the head of Gregory. When they saw this, all were struck with amazement at the miraculous omen that had occurred before the blessed man. Yet his father did not recognize him, nor did any other of those from his city. B All those of his city rejoiced, however, and from that day on, all the people of Sicily, that is to say the crowd of the province of Agrigentum, loved him. Then on the next day, the bishops who had come for the synod assembled and ordained Gregory as bishop for the Church of Agrigentum, and all the clergy and the leaders of the surrounding region joyfully received him, giving thanks C to God. D They stayed in Rome for ten days more after his ordination, during which time the holy abbot was also with them, never ceasing to exhort Gregory to endure with a stout heart the afflictions and calamities that were impending for him.
XLV
. After this, one night Charito arose and went to the cell in which the holy Gregory and the holy Abbot Mark were living in quietness; having knocked at the door, he entered into the cell, and found both conversing about salvation. He fell at the feet of both and said to them, "Pray for me, holy Fathers, for I am consumed by great sorrow on account of my child, whom I have lost." And the blessed Mark said to him, "Did I not promise you, lord Charito, concerning your son, that you would yet see your child in this life?" He replied to him, "Yes, Father; but from the moment I saw you here, I burn with a singular desire to hear from you some word of consolation concerning my child." Here the blessed Gregory nodded very sweetly, hearing these things from his own father. Marcusthe abbot said to him: "I told you, brother, that if your child had given himself over to evil, God would not have disregarded your tears. However, as I promised you, it is granted to you to see your child in this life." The blessed Bishop Gregory then said to him: "My lord, does the mother of the child of whom you speak, that you say you have lost, still live?" Charito said to him: "Yes, master, by the grace of God she lives, but she suffers vehemently on account of her son." He said to him: "How much time has passed since you lost him?" He said to him: "It is thirteen years since we lost him." The blessed Gregory then began to exhort him, greatly comforting him with enigmatical teachings. Then, to be brief, the blessed Gregory arose and cast himself at the feet of his father, weeping with intensity and saying: "Forgive me, father, for what I have committed against you; for I wish from this day forward that you be free from anxiety regarding your wretched child—for I am he." And arising, he clung to the neck of his father, and both wept until they had no strength left. When they had [LXI] somewhat stayed their weeping, Abbot Marcus addressed them both: "Refrain from tears and groans, and rather render praise to God, both of you, who has joined you together in one place today." And Charito said: "I give thanks to our Savior Jesus Christ through you, Father, because what you promised us, you have fulfilled through your prayer." Having said these things, they sat down and conferred about the salvation of the soul until dawn.
XLVI. When day dawned, all those who belonged to the Agrigentine Church came to the Pope and did him reverence; and he addressed them thus: "Behold, what was the will of God for you has been accomplished, as you yourselves have known from that singular mystery which has shone forth before your eyes in these days. This man is truly very dear to God; it is now your duty, brothers, to obey him submissively and lovingly as a father and author of the best counsels: accomplish this, therefore, entirely, that you may always be obedient to his word." When they all accepted this, promising that they would fulfill it entirely, the Pope, with two bishops who had been present at the synod, praying for their prosperity, delivered the blessed Gregory to the people, saying: "May our Lord Jesus Christ grant you this grace, that you may be of one mind with each other to the glory of God the Father with the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen." And all having responded "Amen," he sent them off in peace, having added one of the bishops, by name Felix, who might install him upon his throne. To Charito, however, he added: "Behold your son, in whom your old age shall find rest." But those who stood by Charito did not perceive to what these things referred.
XLVII. Having now boarded the ship, they set sail from Rome on the seventeenth of the Kalends of September, and arrived in Sicily on the fourth of the Ides of September, disembarking at Panormus.
A And the bishop of the city of Panormus received them with great honor, together with his clergy, and all the people of the city, and the men and women of all the monasteries; for they had heard of the man's manner of life, and with all joy they welcomed him. But it happened that as he was entering the city, behold, a certain monk covered in leprosy, seeing that he was about to enter the church, ran up and fell at his feet, crying out and saying: "Have mercy on me, servant of Christ, and pray to Him, so that I may be relieved of this scourge, for I am grievously pained." He, looking upon him, said, "Child, believe that all things are possible with God; therefore I say to you, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, be healed of this scourge from this day." And immediately, the man was cleansed of the leprosy, and his flesh became like that of a little child, as it is also written elsewhere in the books of Kings (IV Reg. v, 14). Fear took hold of all at the paradoxical miracle that had occurred upon the monk, and they glorified God, saying: "Blessed is God who alone does wondrous things through those who love Him."
B XLVIII. They stayed, therefore, in the house belonging to the see, which is called after Saint George; for it had been from ancient times of the Agrigentine Church, called Libertinus. Having spent three days in the city of Panormus, rejoicing together with the bishop and the brothers, after this, the blessed Gregory, having bid farewell to the bishop and the brothers, departed from the city of Panormus, a favorable wind blowing for them. And they arrived within two days at the river which washes the suburbs of their city of Agrigentum, called the Emporium, about the eighth hour. And it became known to all those in the city that their own people had arrived with a bishop named Gregory; and they were amazed.
A For they were very distressed, since they were expecting that one of the two men who were spoken of would be their bishop. Therefore, the abbot of the monastery of the all-praised Theotokos went out with the brethren and the rest of the people who were in the precinct. They received the blessed Gregory immediately from the ship with a litany, chanting the "Holy God." B And the blessed man stood in one place, and having signaled with his hand for silence, they all stood still. He ordered the archdeacon Euplus to cry out, "Let us attend," and having signed the people with the sign of salvation, he said, "Peace to all." The people responded, "And to your spirit." And the archdeacon again said, "Wisdom." The holy Gregory knelt upon the ground, and prayed for one hour, or perhaps two, and rising from the earth, and again signing the people a third time, he cried out thus: "Blessed be the God who alone works wonders, now and forever, and unto the ages of ages." And all having responded, "Amen," they all approached and venerated his feet, and he greeted everyone with a holy kiss, from the small to the great, likewise even those who were nursing children; and placing his hand upon them, he blessed all, both men and women. C And they moved on to the monastery, chanting psalms, and having prayed in the temple of the Lady and all-praised Theotokos. And as he was leaving the door of the church, a certain monk fell at his feet; but the prefect tried to pull the brother away, and would not allow him to approach the feet of the blessed Gregory. Then the holy Gregory turned to the prefect and said to him, "Let him be, brother." He said, "He is insane, master, and is both dumb and deaf." But Gregory, having groaned deeply and wept, and having lifted his hands to heaven, prayed thus: "Lord Jesus Christ our God, maker of heaven and earth, who by your holy presence cured lepers, and opened the ears of the deaf, and dissolved the bonds of the tongue, you yourself also heal this your servant with your invisible power, so that your most holy name may be perpetually celebrated among us also, your servants." And having spoken these things, he took the brother by the hand and raised him, and said to him, "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who commanded the deaf and dumb spirit to go out from his own creation, speak correctly and hear, and praise God who made you." D And he immediately began to cry out and say, "Great are your works, O Lord, which have been accomplished through this just man, who looked upon my humility." And the blessed Gregory asked him, "How many years is it since you lost the use of speech?" To whom the monk, restored to health, said, "I do not remember, master, that I ever had the use of speech or hearing." But the prefect, after he fell before him...
stood before the blessed Gregory and said, "Master, it is twenty years since he was committed to my monastery; he was eight years old when he was tonsured here." A Fear and wonder seized everyone on that day, and they praised God who had visited them through this blessed man.
XLIX. After this, when they had gone up into the upper room of the monastery, he who had once been deaf and dumb attended them. Then the blessed Gregory commanded that no one should leave the city on that day. They remained, therefore, in the monastery and spent the whole night without sleep until dawn. When morning had come, the blessed Bishop Gregory set out, along with a great multitude of the common people, the monks with their abbot chanting, and all the clergy who had sailed with him from Rome; and the abbot who had been healed went before them, crying out, "I am he who was once deaf and dumb, healed now by the prayer of this holy bishop alone." B All who were in the monastery stood astonished, seeing the wondrous miracle that had happened to the deaf and dumb man—how he had been healed instantly by the prayer of our blessed Father. The multitude from the city went out—the tribunes, the archons, and a great crowd of people—to meet the holy man’s arrival, everyone applauding his entrance until he approached the gate of the city. The entire multitude of the people approached, bowed down to him, and were blessed by him; and he greeted them with the holy kiss. His mother stood inside the great gate of the city with the deaconesses and the elder women of the city; C and as the blessed man entered the city...
On the Prayer for the induction of archons, that is, patricians
One must observe that only the ecclesiastical order of deaconesses was needed, and he named them widows, and among them the even older ones, elder women, but he nowhere ordered presbyteresses or priestesses. For neither were the deacons in the ecclesiastical order entrusted to perform any mystery, but only to minister those things which are performed.
[Regarding the archons, in Goar’s Euchologion (p. 931), this title occurs, that is, *a Prayer when archons or patricians are promoted*. William of Tyre (lib. xx, c. 18) calls them by no other name, the leading men of the Constantinopolitan court, and Nicetas (Chron. in Isaac) calls their wives *archontissae*, as Anna Comnena says (Alexiad. l. 1).]
[That there were colleges of deaconesses both in the East and among us, Morinus’s opinion is well-examined (De s. ordin. p. III, c. 3, n. 5). Indeed, in the beginning they consisted of virgins, later on of widows (Coteler, ad Ignat. ep. ad Smyrn. n. 135; Joan. Pinius in Act. SS.). The ancient Fathers, as well as the Constitutions which are called apostolic, explain this more than once; and it is apparent that it consisted mainly in the direction, institution, and care of women. On the other hand, the same Morinus denied that there were ever presbyterae or presbytides, and granted only this, that wherever *presbytides* occurred, they were designated by that name as deaconesses who were more advanced in age. He supported his opinion with the authority of Epiphanius, but, I think, against his will. For these are the words of Epiphanius (Haer. 79, n. 4): That is, as Petavius renders: "However, this must be diligently observed, that the office of deaconess alone was necessary to the ecclesiastical order; and although widows were named by name, and among them those who were old women called *presbytides*, they were never made presbyteresses or priestesses." For not even to the deacons themselves is it granted to perform any sacrament in the ecclesiastical order, but only that they should be ministers of those things which are performed. You see, I believe, that the matter is indeed excluded by Epiphanius, but the name is not, and that this is especially taught by him, that women were never initiated into the sacred rites in the Church: which you will understand more clearly from the whole context of his speech, if you wish to consult it. Indeed, no one calls this into question. And yet, the women called *presbyterae* no less than *presbytides* have existed without any distinction. For they are mentioned by that name in the Apostolic Constitutions (lib. ii, c. 28); and Basil twice called them *presbyterae*, who directed the colleges of sisters (in Reg. brev., n. 110 and 111). Photius also in the Nomocanon (tit. 1, c. penult.) clearly says that they are *presbyterae*, who for the Laodicean Fathers are *presbytides*.]
A [The blessed man] having entered, and his mother having seen him, and discerning him from afar, she recognized him from the very features of his parent, and said: Truly, my son is this one, whom I had lost; nor did that blessed monk falsely foretell to us that there would be a time in this life in which we would look upon our son. Meanwhile, Gregory having moved on, when he had looked around, he saw his mother standing among the *presbytides* and deaconesses; and, filled with sweet joy, with his eyes raised to heaven, he says: I give thanks to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ our God, who hast deemed me worthy to see her who bore me. And they, having approached, fell upon their faces before him, and kissed his feet; and the blessed man having come near, laying his hands upon each of them, blessed them saying: Rejoice, my ladies, the *abbades* [nuns], who have nobly finished your course of virtue; let grace and peace from God the Father and Jesus Christ be multiplied unto you. And when they had replied with an "Amen," he turned toward his mother and said to her: Hail, Lady Theodote, mother of mine in truth according to the flesh; how art thou? But she, answering, says to him: Well, through God, my most sweet son; blessed be God who chose thee and manifested thee as pastor of His people. Then the blessed Gregory, approaching, fell at her feet, and kissed them, saying: Pray for me, my mother, to God, for me a wretched man who have sinned much against thee, and forgive me. And rising, he kissed her hands. And she said to him: Nay, rather, do thou pray for me, my son, that we who brought thee forth may also be deemed worthy of the forgiveness of our sins.
B C [L] All the people thereafter, singing psalms, ascended into the church. There, while the holy man performed the divine mysteries, Bishop Felix, who had come with him from Rome for his restoration, sees a dove descending and spreading its wings over the blessed man: for that bishop was indeed a participant in divine gifts. Moreover, all, having received the sacred body and blood from the hands of Gregory, were giving praise to God; and on that day they were received at the same banquet. After which, having bid health to Saint Gregory, they departed each to his own home, joyful and grateful to God for the recovered bishop. On the following day was the Exaltation of the venerable and life-giving Cross, D and many women were designated, such as priests had for wives: who in the penitential books of John the Faster and John the Monk, deacon, are called *presbytides*, as one may see at the end of the illustrious work *On Penance*, which Morinus himself edited. Who, therefore, were those *presbytides* or *presbyterae* whom our Leontius commemorates? They were certainly of the order of deaconesses, who nevertheless performed some kind of prefecture among them, as if they were the first order of that college. For there was one who acted as a mistress of admission to lead women to the bishop, who might minister in the baptism of women, who might instruct young girls, who might take care of the widows, and things of that kind. Concerning these, indeed, speaks the canon of the Council of Laodicea: "That it is not fitting for those who are called *presbyterae* or presidents to be ordained in the Churches." Therefore, when mention is made of them, they are thus named along with the deaconesses, so that they are nevertheless numbered in the first rank. (See Roman Council under Gregory II and under Zachary.) For just as deacons ministered to presbyters, so did deaconesses minister to them.
(51) For the solemnities of the Exaltation of the Cross did not first begin to be celebrated at the time when Heraclius Augustus recovered that venerable sign after King Chosroes was defeated and brought it back to Jerusalem; which happened after these times, in the year 628, but they were celebrated from the very age of Constantine Augustus, at least in the East, and not much later even in the West.
A Many who had sick and demon-possessed people brought them into the church, and the blessed Gregory laid his hands upon them, and they were healed, so that all marvelled and said: "Truly this man shows himself like our holy Father Gregory the Wonderworker." And there was great joy in that city and in all the surrounding region.
LI. Now the bishop who had traveled with him, seeing the signs that were done through the holy man, was giving many thanks to God on his behalf, admiring his virtuous conduct and his singular patience. B And after the bishop had spent six months with him—enjoying his company, and having bid farewell to him and to all those in the city, and having given him supplies for his needs—he sent him off in peace. The blessed Gregory meanwhile performed sacred ordinations in the city and created presbyters and deacons who were of the same mind as himself; and he sent them into the parishes, commanding them to keep the commandments, not to anger the poor, nor to despise anyone who was pressed by any necessity C. He himself, without intermission, admonished, instructed, taught, and cared for all the citizens, allowing neither widow nor orphan to remain unprovided for, but supplying the needs of all who were in want. Nor did he cease from sending up hymns to God in the Church every day, steadfast in fasts, and vigils, and sleeping on the ground. He ordained three youths as deacons, who were pious and bore good witness; and they proved both their character and their work—Smaragdus, Philadelphus, D and Platon. These three youths emulated his virtuous life...
Dedication of the Church of the Holy Cross
According to that very saving testimony, he richly and lavishly adorned the house of prayer—a vast, holy temple—with honors for the saving sign. When the people began to cry out, "Lord, have mercy," it was fashioned for the Exaltation.
(52) Since this bishop did not report his church, it is permissible to suspect that he was without a church, the city over which he presided having evidently been devastated by barbarians: especially since he spent six months in Sicily for no reason that would seem serious, and since he stated that he was legitimately absent from his Church. Such were also those who signed the second Council of Mâcon, in the year 585: Frothimius, Promotus, and Faustinianus, bishops, as we read there, not having sees (Hard. t. III, p. 466). And this Bishop Felix is perhaps the very same whom Gregory the Great sent a little later into Sardinia to convert the Barbaricini; of whom he indeed often makes mention, yet he never writes of which city he was bishop, content to call him brother and co-bishop. (Lib. iv, epp. 23, 24, 25, 26.)
Furthermore, I would take the Felix who was given as a companion to our Gregory to be a move to lend dignity to his age: for he was then in his thirty-first year, at which age, indeed, according to the law of Pope Innocent, which we have in the Council of Agde (can. 17), someone could be created a bishop; and at which age the Synod of Neocaesarea (can. 11) wished presbyters themselves especially to be designated, and not earlier at all.
(53) *Synataxesthai* is to be understood as *aspa-sasthai* (to greet).
A and Platonicus. These three youths emulated his virtuous manner of life, persevering at every hour in the miracles performed by him.
B NB’. After a few days, the blessed man went out to view the city and to visit the sick, the poor, and the widows within it. As he was walking through the middle of the city, those who had sick at home would place them in the street of the city where the blessed Gregory was about to pass. He would lay his hands upon them, and they were healed of whatever disease they were suffering from, in the name of the Lord Jesus. Now Sabinus the presbyter had a very beautiful young daughter, whom Satan had paralyzed nine years before; she lay in bed, unable to move herself at all, unless she was turned by others once a day. When her mother heard of the miracles taking place, she also brought out her daughter, being carried by others, and placed her outside the gate; for the blessed Gregory was about to pass by that place. Then, as the blessed man approached the gate of Sabinus, his wife went out, fell at the feet of the blessed man, weeping and saying, "Servant of God, have mercy on me and help my unbelief." He said to her, "What is the matter with you, daughter?" She again fell at his feet and said to him, "Have mercy on me, servant of God; my little daughter is paralyzed and cannot move at all." He said, "Who is she who lives with you?" Then Sabinus came out, threw himself at the feet of Gregory, and said, "She is your servant, my lord; she is my wife." He said to him, "How long has it been since this happened to her?" Sabinus answered, "It has been nine years, master, since this happened to her." The holy man knelt on the ground and prayed thus: "My Lord Jesus Christ, who created the heaven and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, look upon the prayer of your servant, and hear me, the unworthy and miserable one, and visit this girl by the power of your Holy Spirit." Having said this, he arose, signed the maiden, and said, "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, rise up and stand upon your feet." Immediately and at that very moment, the girl stood up and fell at the feet of the holy and blessed Gregory, saying, "I thank God through you, master, C that through your pure worship which you possess towards God, He saved me from my infirmity." The multitude of the city was following him, and they were amazed at the wonders performed by him. Having traversed the whole city and distributing what was needed to each person, he returned to the church at the ninth hour, accompanied by all the clergy and the people. After performing the divine mysteries, he set a table for D all the people—first for the sacred order, the clergy, and the common people—and likewise for the widows and the poor in particular. He himself was girded with a linen cloth, and together with three deacons, Erasmus, Philadelphus, and Platonicus, [he served] the entire multitude
His mother, along with her handmaidens, was unceasingly attending to the widows and every type of needy person, washing the feet of each one of them with her own hands. Charito, his father, did not depart from the church, but night and day served God with fasts and prayers, wearing ragged clothing, reading and going through the Scriptures; and the blessed one would interpret them to his father, line by line, for each passage. The blessed one was also instructing the deacons in reading, in psalmody, and in the interpretation of the divine Scriptures, both Old and New. And grace was given to the boys as well, so that they paid attention to everything he said with all exactitude, and they were admired not only by all who were in the city, but by those of the entire island. And they did these things every day.
LIII. But the author of evils, the devil, having seen the man’s pure and spotless way of life, being moved by envy, did not endure it; and he stirred up war against the righteous one, in order to cast him down from his throne. B There was enmity between Sabinus the presbyter and Crescentinus the deacon. But after those days, with Satan assisting and reconciling them, they formed a friendship with one another. And so, having gathered to deliberate, they began to say: "How long, pray, shall we endure the authority of this man, who delights in jugglery and witchcraft, and foists falsehoods upon the ignorant people of this city through his magical arts? And we do not know how he escaped from [the regions] here and crossed over to the nations, and there, as we heard, remained with a certain sorcerer and magician; and from there he drew out every magical, evil design, and is leading people astray, saying—like that Simon the Magician—that 'I am a man of God,' and yet he has become a demon. Do you not see C that he neither eats nor drinks, just as demons in no way eat or drink?" Having searched the whole city, they found among the entire populace thirty men from the clergy, and these [men were] simple and utterly illiterate, not knowing their right hand from their left, and twenty-five laymen. These conspired together against the righteous man to drive him out of the city and to ordain for themselves a certain Leucius, a heretic, an ex-presbyter, who had arrived as a stranger and had been anathematized, D a fountain of all heresy.
A Indeed, although the blessed Gregory had sensed nothing of this, he was lurking near a certain Theodorus Eulostrius, in a place they call Modiolus, where he lay hidden for three months like an abstruse serpent; and he himself stirred them up to envy against the just man.
LIV. All these men came together into a council with Sabinus and Crescentinus; and they paid them a sufficiently large sum of money so that they might accuse the holy Gregory. Now the blessed man had seen Leucius in the East, and when his opinion regarding the divine inhumation had been tested, he had silenced him, as I have said, and had taken care to have him expelled into exile. B From that time, they devised against him a council which was harsh, indeed, and full of cruelty, fury, wickedness, and impiety. There was in the city a harlot girl, by name Evodia, and she was very beautiful in appearance. When the impious men had intercepted her, they addressed her thus: "Put your faith in us, and keep secret what we wish to entrust to you; we will give you a great amount of money, and we will make you the first lady of the city." To whom she replied: "What is it, I ask, that you wish to say to me?" They said: "This is what we wish: that you affirm in the presence of the bishop that he has been with you." C But the girl said: "I fear the man, and I am afraid that no one will believe me, and that the citizens might kill me; for they venerate him as if he were an angel descended from heaven." But they said: "It is not so; only agree to us, and we shall keep you unharmed." Therefore, forced by the perverse men, she accepted that she would say what they wished. From that day, they began to look for an opportunity, if any should be given, to send the girl into the bishop's residence.
Now, one night, the blessed man went down into the church with Euplus the archdeacon and the junior deacons Erasmus, Philadelphus, and Platonicus, and two other very pious monks, to perform the customary midnight prayers. D Now there were always guards standing at the doors of the episcopal residence, a tribune and a danatzanus; but the impious and perverse men, Sabinus and Crescentinus, had corrupted them by also giving them gold. Therefore, they opened the doors and provided entrance into the cubicle where the holy man was accustomed to rest. There they introduced the harlot and placed her in a corner of the room.
A LV. Meanwhile, Gregory, having finished his prayers with his companions, returned to his own house, and when he had sat down, he asked for a book to be given to him, and he began to read the life and the outstanding examples of patience of our holy Father John Chrysostom. It happened, indeed, while he was reading the life and giving thanks to God, that the young woman fell asleep, not knowing that anyone had entered the house. Gregory then commanded the archdeacon to strike the wooden board, the sign for the morning psalm B calling the children, so that they might sound the early morning rising; immediately, both returned to the church, and having performed the customary prayers, all the clergy gathered with the rest of the people, for thus the blessed man was in the habit of admonishing them. Therefore, having completed the morning service and the dismissal having been made, he returned to the episcopal residence, and all the people with him to hear his teaching. For he used to do this every day, reading to the people after the dismissal of the church things that contributed to their benefit. But those most wicked men, the teachers of that treacherous counsel, stood apart from the rest of the orthodox and like-minded people, and they watched one another like wild beasts, stirred up against the righteous man; and they did not allow themselves to be led by custom into the interior where the blessed Gregory was. But those sacrilegious men, Sabinus and Crescentinus, along with ten others who were with them, rushed in, and having seized the harlot who was consorting with them, they stood her before the saint and cried out in a loud voice: "Come hither, all you people, and behold the lawless deed committed by our bishop, whom we used to call worthy, but from this moment on we declare to be unworthy of the honor of the apostolic throne." Then indeed fear took hold of everyone, and they remained as if they were stones, speechless, unable to utter a word to anyone. And they laid their hands upon the blessed man and dragged him outside into the courtyard of the episcopal residence; and the whole multitude of the people wept for the righteous man, and they lamented the calamity that had been brought upon him. C D LVI. But the tribunes and the city magistrates arrived, and they questioned the harlot, and commanded her to tell the truth, whether the bishop had truly been with her. She answered before them all: "Yes, he was with me this very night." The archdeacon and the monks asked her: "At what hour of the night was he with you?" She answered: "After supper"—for the wicked men had instructed her beforehand so that she would answer thus. When they had risen and struck the holy timbers, all were gathered in the venerable temple of the Theotokos. As the canonarch struck the wood, by which all the brothers are gathered, a summons [alt-version omitted]
A At the archdeacon and the monks and the remaining three deacons insisted, saying: "The Lord lives, this girl does not speak the truth." Then the wicked council of the lawless said: "You, his own household, are not to be trusted in whatever you say concerning him." When one of the deacons, Philadelphus by name, answered, saying: "Let lying lips become mute, which speak against the righteous with iniquity in pride and contempt," B the unholy Crescentinus rushed in and struck the young man upon his jaw; and all the people rose up against the lawless man to kill him, saying: "Do not strike the youth, you accursed man!" and they rushed upon him. But the saint, turning to the people, exhorted them, saying: "Leave him alone, my brothers and masters, that he may do what he wishes. For now his father, the devil, works with him for the present. But after this, his great fall shall be revealed." Again all the people were afraid, reasoning among themselves, lest the things being said by them were true. And the unholy and evil-minded men prevailed, and they cast him into prison, and secured him in the stocks, where had been confined the holy Gregory, bishop of the city of the Lilybaeans, who had suffered martyrdom there, and had been perfected by the sword under the tyrant Tyrcanus. All the multitude of the people of the city was gathered outside the prison, and they beat upon the door, wishing to break it; and some, having brought iron levers, sought to demolish the prison. C
LVII. And the rumor of the case had reached even those in the countryside: who, having taken counsel, gathered together to kill the most wicked and unholy Sabinus and Crescentinus, and their council. But the holy Gregory exhorted them, saying: "Do not, my beloved children, do anything of the kind to them; for vengeance is mine, says the Lord, brothers; since, as they say, I am in truth a sinful man, indeed." Then all the multitude of the people answered and said to him: "Let your sins be upon us, holy Father, and upon our children." D And he again answered them: "Do not, my beloved children, I beseech you, lay your hands upon them; only wait for me, brothers, lest they kill me." He said this with the intention of making them certain that he would rely upon Christ for his own protection.
A For the archdeacon and the monks, along with the young attendants, wished to enter with him, but those wild beasts would not allow them to be locked up with him. While the multitude persisted in remaining outside the prison, the blessed man himself prayed, saying: "I thank thee, Lord Jesus Christ, who hast deemed me worthy, for the sake of thy name, to be brought into this place." But at about the middle of the night, behold, a great light shone around within the prison. For an angel of the Lord came, broke the chains from the feet of the blessed Gregory, and, having strengthened him and embraced him, departed from him. The doors of the prison opened of their own accord. When the multitude of people saw the miracles that had taken place for the holy man, they all entered and began to kiss his feet, saying: "Now we truly know that God is with you." The people were in an uproar B among themselves, preparing themselves either to be killed for the sake of the just man or to kill.
LVIII. But Saint Gregory, not without tears, continued to exhort them all, addressing the tribunes, the archons, and the entire people with these words: "Do not, I beseech you, my brothers and children, inflict violence upon one another, nor on account of a miserable man shed your innocent blood. It is better that my blood be shed for you than that any one of you should be wronged. For I have Christ, who fights for me and vindicates all who have set their hope in him; and this I confirm to you, that it will never come to pass that the Lord will deliver me into their hands." After this he greeted everyone, prayed for them, and sent them away to refresh themselves with food. Then, calling his sacrilegious adversaries, Sabinus C and Crescentinus, he addressed them thus: "Lend your ears, brothers; what do you think of me? Why have you shut me up here? Either kill me now or send me where you wish." But they replied to him: "We have sent letters to the legate of the supreme pontiff; by him, to whom we have committed it, the authority shall be presented."
D (62) Touching deeds of this kind, which as that age held them to be, Leontius gathered in great number, let those who read them judge what ought to be thought. For my part, I do not rate this writer so highly as to contend that he is altogether to be trusted. I should believe that he largely narrated things haphazardly, as he had received them, and that he added nothing from his own store except for certain light and common things, which seemed to him most like the truth. The uniform and entirely unadorned simplicity of his writing, which savors of nothing exquisite and is very far removed from craft and cunning, brings me almost to this opinion.
(63) The term *Exarch* signifies someone who acts in the vice of the supreme pontiff in Sicily: I have called this man a legate to designate the same office. But the Greek word had a wider meaning also in the Church, for they were called metropolitans, and indeed patriarchs, as is well known: although among the Sicilians, who at that time did not have metropolitans, it could rightly be used to designate him to whom the duties of an exarch had in some way been delegated. Moreover, who should perform that office at that time is shown to us by the first epistle of Gregory the Great, which he sent to all the bishops of Sicily: "We have perceived," he says, "that it is very necessary that, just as was the judgment of our predecessors, so we commit all things to one and the same person; and where we ourselves cannot be present, we delegate our authorities through him."
A For they had sent letters to him asking him to arrive, since he was in the regions of the Philosophiani preparing the necessities for the ships; for they were ready to sail to Rome. Then, when the legate arrived in the city of the Agrigentines, on the next day he ordered everyone to assemble in the forum, which is in the middle of the city; and having sat down, he ordered the righteous man to be led out from custody. The whole multitude of the city followed him, arriving where the legate was sitting. He permitted the tribunes and the first men of the city to sit down, and thus for the righteous man to be examined. But they did not consent to sit, but answered him, saying: "We do not stand or sit for your sake, but because we see here our shepherd, father, and teacher, and who has shown many signs through the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in this city. And you yourself have become an eyewitness of many of them. Let the wife of this Sabinus, that second Judas Iscariot and traitor, speak. But you, while being a deacon of our common father the Pope, it is neither proper for you to examine such a man, nor is it fitting for him to stand before you, or rather to be judged, without a synod." B
59.
Having heard these things from the archons, the legate became afraid that they might rise up against him and kill him. And rising from the place where he was sitting, he himself also stood, and calling to the impious Sabinus and Crescentinus, he says to them: "Bring into the middle the girl, whom you say that your bishop was with." For we know this man to be pious and good, but in order that I might learn what to report to my lord the Pope concerning his case as a man, we shall know from this." The girl was brought into the middle, and she stood trembling in the sight of all. Then the legate says to her: "Is it true, what is said by you, that this bishop slept with you?" And she said: "Yes, master, it happened with me." C But when she answered these things, suddenly a great miracle occurred to her: she was seized by a fierce demon, and began to roll before everyone and foam at the mouth at the feet of the blessed man. Fear then seized everyone, and they cried out saying: "Believe us, master, that they are accusing him of a false crime." But the impious ones, acting shamelessly, said: "Did we not say that he is a magician and a sorcerer?" And simply, so that I may make the account short, the blessed Gregory says to the legate: "Man, if you wish, bring my case before the Pope, and having bound me, send me DA away, so that while the time is favorable, we may be saved. For it is impossible for us to remain here, until what is owed to us is fulfilled."
The wife of Sabinus, along with her daughter, and many others—and the man who had formerly been deaf and dumb—fell at the feet of the blessed one, weeping and saying: "Have mercy on us, servant of God, and do not hold a grudge against us, nor remember the evils which those impious men have inflicted upon you." The wife of Sabinus, turning to him, says: "From this day forth, be an outcast from my house; why did I dare to conceive such a wicked plan against this just man, who by his prayer alone restored our daughter to health before all this people? Depart from me, or I shall lay hands upon myself." Sabinus fell upon his face and remained mute as a stone. Then the holy Gregory said to the legate: "Since, man, no one has appointed you as judge and arbiter against me, order me to return to prison and to be secured in the stocks, until you investigate my case, as was the custom of the tyrants of old B." Then the legate says to him: "I do not order you to be secured; rather, those who accuse you are the ones who see to your confinement." The blessed one then got up of his own accord and went to the prison; and all that night the blessed one remained awake with the archdeacon and the rest of the deacons—Erasmus, Philadelphus, and Platonius—singing psalms, and he himself read, reciting much from memory without a book; for they had not allowed him to take anything out of the episcopal residence.
LX.
After this, the holy Gregory summoned the legate to the prison and says to him: "Whatever you wish to do to us, do it quickly." The legate says to him: "I have it in mind, along with your accusers, to send you to Rome to my lord the Pope, who holds the apostolic see." The holy man answered him: "I truly ask you for this very thing, that you do so, and send me from here quickly." When evening came, the holy Gregory persuaded the legate, while the people had quieted down a little, to bring him out through the side gate facing the sea, and to deliver him to the ships of the Pope. For they were about to set sail that very night from the river. The legate brought him out, along with his accusers Sabinus and Crescentinus, and ten others with him. And they went down to the shore where the ships were waiting C, about to set sail as soon as possible. But the parents of Gregory followed them, weeping D; whose concerns the Bishop of Rome addressed, as the letters of Gregory the Great testify. "To you," he says, "as you go to Sicily, the Capitulary which I have given must be assiduously read again, so that the greatest care should be taken regarding the bishops" (lib. 1, epist. 36). Again: "Regarding priests who have lapsed, or anyone else from the clergy, we wish you to observe that you do not involve yourself in any contamination of their affairs" (lib. 1, epist. 44). In another: "Moreover, we have seen fit to entrust you with the investigation of this matter, discarding the old custom which had already taken root, so that if any cities in the province of Sicily are found to be without pastoral government because of the sins of the priests, you should investigate if any are worthy among the clergy of those same churches or from the monasteries, who might be found for the priestly office" (lib. 1, epist. 48).(66) I do not dare to affirm that Peter had already received letters from the supreme pontiff by which he was ordered to send Gregory of Agrigentum and two other bishops to Rome. For the straits of time seem to rule it out. But Gregory the Great wrote to him thus in July or August of that year: "We wish that Gregory of Agrigentum, and Leo of Catania, and Victor of Palermo journey to us by all means before the winter" (lib. 1, epist. 72).
Falling at the feet of both, he began to implore them: "I beseech you, my lords, do not weep for me. For my Lord Jesus Christ would not have delivered me into the hands of my calumniators in vain. But I beseech you, pray for me, a sinner, so that God may forgive me my many wickednesses." As he was saying these things, the legate called one of the shipmasters, named Procopius, and A handed the bishop over to him; and he gave him the report which he himself had written against the holy man to the supreme pontiff, sealed with the signs of the legate himself and of the wicked accusers. They did not allow anyone to travel with the blessed man except for Platon, one of his deacons. Saint Gregory did not fail to warn the legate and those sacrilegious men [XXVII] that they themselves should see to whom they were entrusting the administration of the Church of God, lest they ravage it like wild boars, and that they would have to render an account for this to God on the day of judgment. To whom the legate said: "We have appointed a curator, he said, for all matters, who will piously administer each thing; moreover, in your place the people have already created a man clearly worthy to be established in that see." And while these things were being said by them, the archdeacon arrived, and at the same time two deacons, Erasmus and Philadelphus, who were begging the legate and those sacrilegious men, Sabinus and Crescentinus, that the power of departing with their Father and teacher be granted to them. To which they did not even lend an ear. Therefore, they called out only from the shore: "Help us with your prayers, holy Father"; and he, having prayed well for them and having dismissed them with a salutary sign from the ship, said: "Go in peace; for Christ, my children, will protect you and hold you dear." As they answered "Amen," the ships had already departed, night having now set in. And those sacrilegious men mocked the holy man with the legate, because the wretch did not weep for his own destruction and was concerned about those things which he B would never see again. Those unholy men laughed at him C just as he was departing, but he was concerned for those things which he would [not] see [again].
LXI. The departure of the blessed man
Meanwhile, the urban populace had perceived nothing, and the tribunes and archons knew nothing of the departure and voyage of the blessed man. The deacons, however, returned to the prison, and spent the night there. At the cockcrow, the entire multitude of the people gathered at the prison, and with them the tribunes and archons; and when they did not find the blessed man, they began to be in an uproar and to be carried away with lamentations and cries against the sacrilegious conspiracy of men, and against the legate himself, asking what had happened to their master, to the excellent shepherd, whether he had perished at their hands. To whom he replied: "It is not so, brothers, that which you think has happened to him; but he himself, as he requested of me, of his own accord withdrew..." D
having gone to my lord the Pope." They then, having called for the archdeacon Euplus and those with him, inquired of them whether what was said by them was true. They answered, "Yes, it is as the Exarch says; it happened thus." All the people, having taken up fire, burned the houses of the unholy men, Sabinus and Crescentinus; and the multitude of the people ran together to kill Sabinus and Crescentinus. They fled into the church and ran to them. Charito met them at the gate of the church and entreated them, saying: "Do not, brothers, I beg you, let these unholy men be killed, lest perhaps the things they are accused of against your bishop are true, and you yourselves be found to be judging unjustly." They listened to Charito and turned back. The Exarch also fled from their sight out of the city and went up to the village of the Philosophians. B
LXII. Now when the rest of the common people heard the word of Charito, which he had spoken to them, they restrained themselves a little and no longer insisted on pursuing that wicked assembly. But by common counsel, the archons and the tribunes went down to the city of Syracuse to the Praetor of Sicily, and also to the most holy archbishop of the same city; and they recounted to them all the things that had happened to Saint Gregory, and the rebellion of that unholy populace. The Praetor, the bishop, and all the people were astonished, for all of them knew the blessed man, and they were greatly filled with indignation. The archons and the tribunes asked him to send and secure the episcopium. The Praetor of Sicily and the bishop sent pious men—the bishop sent his own archdeacon, and the Praetor a certain Paul with a troop of two hundred men—and they went up with the tribunes to the city of Agrigentum; and they sealed the episcopium with all precision and handed it over to the archdeacon Euplus. When they had departed, those unholy men gathered together—for they had been hiding themselves—and made a conspiracy among themselves not to allow the archdeacon Euplus to enter the episcopium, but to lie in wait for him and kill him by night. When he C learned these things—
(68) The Praetor of Sicily, to whom two letters of Gregory the Great are extant (lib. I, ep. 2; lib. II, ep. 53), was at that time perhaps holding court at Syracuse, or perhaps he had his praetorium in that city. For Syracuse was at that time a primary city; the praetors, however, by an old custom now omitted, were accustomed to rule the entire province, which those ancient Romans used to visit for the purpose of holding conventions, from one city. As to why the Agrigentines brought the matter also to the Syracusan bishop, it seems to have been for the reason that in this same year, 591, in the month of October, as the Vatican codex has it—not December, as is in the published copies—Gregory the Great entrusted his own authority in Sicily to Maximian, Bishop of Syracuse. Hence he says (lib. II, ep. 7): "We decree that you, the most reverend man Maximian, our brother and fellow-bishop, administer all the churches of Sicily in place of the apostolic see; so that whoever D is there regarded as being in the habit of religion, may be subject to your fraternity by our authority." But the archdeacon of Maximian was perhaps that Agatho whom, after his death, a party of the Syracusans asked for as bishop (Greg. lib. V, ep. 22), when others preferred Trajan the presbyter (idem lib. V, ep. 17); neither of whom being elected, Joannes, the archdeacon of Catania, was made bishop (lib. VI, ep. 18). Finally, that Paul, whom the Praetor Justinus sent to Agrigentum with two hundred soldiers, I think to have been the one whom Gregory the Great calls Paul the Scholastic, to whom he also wrote two letters (lib. I, ep. 3; lib. XIV, ep. 1). He was, as it appears, in the cohort of the Praetor and assessor in the hearing of cases, whom Gregory praises for justice: "Because," he says (lib. XIV, ep. 4), "you render him amenable to you through this, you exercise the rectitude of your zeal against his enemies."
A he left the city, and lay hidden until the return of his blessed bishop. But Sabinus and Crescentinus and those about them brought in the lawless Leucius, a heretic, and placed him in the bishop's house; and because Charito was exhorting the magistrates and the people and the tribunes, and convincing them that, since God was ordering him to return again to the city, they should henceforth yield to the unholy ones. And then, like wild beasts, they rent the Church of God as they wished. When the blessed man arrived in Rome, the shipmaster handed the report to the Pope. And having read it, and having understood the false and unlawful things contained therein against the righteous man, he was filled with anger against him, and did not even wish to look upon his face, but ordered that he be dragged away with great ignominy to prison, and be bound with heavy chains and the iron stock upon his hands and feet. B But he, being dragged and cast into prison, glorified God, saying: "I thank you, my Lord Jesus Christ, my God, who has deemed me worthy for your holy name to reach this pass, even if it is a little, for my many sins." They gave orders to the jailer not to release him from his bonds at all, thus leaving him alone; and the Pope ordered the deacon to be secured in another place. O the madness, O the lack of compassion, O the wickedness which fills the one who holds the first of the apostolic thrones, should he not rather
[70] Although we do not know from where Leontius drew these things, it is permissible to suspect that they were taken from the commentary of a slanderous man, who was of the number of those whom we know were hostile to the memory of Gregory the Great. (See among the Script. Rer. Ital. Ptolom. Lucens. lib. xi, c. 10, in vol. XI.) For who was more outstanding than Gregory the Great in either gentleness or humanity? Nothing certainly shines forth more in his letters and other writings. But because he was the very same avenger of vices, and guardian of sacred laws, and protector of the dignity of the Church, he displeased the wicked and did not escape the revilings of detractors: and thus he was sometimes forced to defend his actions, as when he wrote to the Salonitans concerning Maximus, who had been less than legitimately appointed bishop in that Church, in these words (lib. vi, epist. 26): "It has come to me that certain men of perverse mind, in order to wound the hearts of your love, have attempted to suggest to you that I am moved against Maximus by a certain hatred, and that I do not long to pursue what is canonical, but rather those things which are of fury. But far be this, far be it from a priestly mind that it should be moved by private zeal in any cause," etc. Furthermore, if that person was a little more hostile to our Gregory and was deceived by the testimonies of the accusers, the very kind of the charge seemed to have had some moment, both because it was very grave, and because the names of other bishops of Sicily had already been reported—namely, that of Leo of Catania (epist. 53, lib. II), and Agatho of Lipari, who had also been ordered to depart from his pontificate (epist. 55, lib. III). For it seemed that some example of severity must be produced, lest the evil spread more widely, and the other bishops might think that they had little to fear for themselves. But yet it cannot be believed at all that our Gregory was thrown into prison and bound in chains by him. I know that clerics have sometimes been committed to custody by bishops; Gregory the Great himself teaches us this in a letter to Cyprian the deacon (lib. v, n. 32): C but we do not read this first of bishops, who even then, when they were coerced to resign their honor on account of crimes, were accustomed only to be sent into monasteries. Furthermore, those very custodies of clerics were not prisons, nor were stocks or fetters seen there. The distinguished passage of the letter of Pope Gregory II to Leo the Isaurian makes for this case, in which he shows how differently pontiffs and kings exercise severity against evildoers. That is the second of the letters which precede the Acts of the Nicene Council (Hard. t. IV, p. 15): "Do you see, Emperor, the difference between pontiffs and emperors? If anyone offends you, you confiscate his house and plunder his goods, leaving him only his life; and eventually you either kill him by hanging, or behead him, or banish him, and send him far away from his children and from all his kinsmen and friends. The pontiffs do not do so; but when someone has sinned and confessed, in place of hanging or decapitation, they place the Gospel and the Cross about his neck; and they cast him, as it were into a prison, into the treasuries and storehouses of sacred vessels, and they banish him to the deaconries of the Church and to the catechumena, and prescribe fasting for his belly, vigils for his eyes, and praise for his mouth. And when they have properly punished him, and properly afflicted him with hunger, then they impart to him the precious Body of the Lord, and give him to drink of the holy Blood, and when they have restored him as a vessel of election and immune from sin, thus they transmit him to the Lord, pure and innocent."
(71) Since these lines were torn from the charts and were wanting in both codices of the Basilians, I transcribed them from the Vatican codex n. 307. But as to the things that follow up to number 63, Cajetan supposed that they should be omitted by him. (72) Cod. Vatic. [the apostolic throne].
cultivating those who sin through exhortation and prayer, or rather by casting them into despair; and this, without having questioned or known with accuracy, or having learned the truth. But nevertheless, anger destroys even the prudent; and this, his being disturbed, came from the primal evil enemy.
LXIII. When the blessed Gregory was in the prison, being bound with iron fetters and praying, about midnight a great light shone throughout the prison, and behold, two men of fearful appearance stood by the blessed one in apostolic form, saying to him: "Hail, Gregory, servant of Christ, and most dear to us, Gregory! Christ has sent us to release you from the bonds, with which you have been unjustly bound by the Pope; and we, rejoicing in the endurance of your patience, rejoice with you; for there must also in this city be many signs wrought by the grace of the most Holy Spirit through you." And laying hold of his bonds, they took them off from his hands and feet. B And having risen, he fell at their feet and kissed them, saying: "I thank God for your sake, O saints truly beloved and apostles of the Lord Jesus, who have illuminated the whole world, behold you have even come to the lowliness of your servant to heal the wound of my soul, you who stand by the fearful throne." And when they had said these things, and had kissed him, they became invisible. But as the holy ones passed by, they loosened Platonicus too, and casting him out from the place where he was shut up, and guiding him until he reached where the blessed Gregory was, they departed from him. C When Platonicus saw him, he gave the greatest possible thanks to God.
LXIV. Now the jailer had an only son of twenty years old, who had a very grievous spirit, and was driven by the demon, and was never able to be restrained by anyone. Therefore, in those days, his father had by force apprehended him, and having bound his hands and feet and neck D with chains, had tied him to a pillar that was in his house. And in that night the demon, having broken the bonds of the boy, and having carried him up into the air, cast him down at the feet of the blessed one in the prison, where he was standing and chanting, wishing to crush him, and to call him away from prayer; and he wallowed, foaming at the mouth. But the holy and blessed one, raising his hands to heaven, said: "Lord, God of heaven and earth and of all creation, heal this servant of yours through the presence of your holy apostles." Then he says to the demon: "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, come out, impure spirit, from the creature of God." And at that very hour, the demon went out from the boy, and he remained as one dead. And taking him by the right hand, he raised him up, saying: "Arise, my child, and give glory to God who has looked upon you." The father of the youth, having risen, and not having found his son upon searching, beat his face
and say: "Woe is me, wretched man; what has become of my child? Surely the demon has strangled him, or cast him into a precipice or into the water; what to think I do not know." Then, as he was saying these things, the jailer looked around and saw the doors of the prison open, and a great light in the dungeon, and he began to cry out: "Woe to me, wretched man! What B fate is mine? How or what shall I answer regarding this man who is here?" And, leaning forward, he saw the saint standing and singing psalms, and his son with him, and the Platonist. FOR the boy was also learned, for he had been driven by the demon for six years. The jailer, having perceived this and recognizing his son, entered the prison running, and fell at the feet of the blessed Gregory, weeping and saying: "Have mercy on me, servant of God, and forgive me for what I did to you, and that I dared to bind your hands with chains. For truly, my lord, you are a man of God." And from that day forward, the jailer was ministering to the blessed one, and standing by him day and night.
LXV. AFTER a long time, a certain widow, having heard of the wonders that the blessed one was performing, came to the prison, and weeping, began to beseech the blessed one, saying: "Servant of God, I have an only daughter, who is permanently bent/curved, and cannot look up at the heaven at all." The saint said to her: "This, O woman, is the work of God alone, who is able to save by his word, as he once raised up the woman who was bowed down." The woman, having gone home, brought her daughter to the feet of the saintly Gregory C and besought him to offer prayers on her behalf. He, having bent his knees, supplicated God, saying: "Lord God Almighty, who alone art holy and incomprehensible, the sole worker of great wonders, look upon the prayer of your servant, and heal this child by your invisible power and spiritual right hand, that it may be shown that you alone are the true God, merciful and easily entreated by those who call upon you with their whole heart, for you are holy unto the ages. Amen." And these things having been spoken by him, he rose and sealed her in the name of Christ, the true God of us all, and said: "Arise upon your feet." And she at once and immediately was straightened and stood up healthy. And her mother gave glory to God and went away with her daughter to her house, proclaiming throughout the whole city the wonders of God D which he had wrought through the blessed Gregory. And when her neighbors asked her, "Who healed your daughter?" she would say: "A certain foreign Sicilian bishop, whom they say to be under trial, and for that reason he is enclosed in the prison."
LXVI. THE saintly man performed many other things of this kind in the prison, and healed many people. But after a long time, that is a year later, the Pope remembered the accusers, rather, since they feared for themselves, they were putting off and postponing the matter every day. This is declared by an epistle
A of Gregory, and having sent, he brought Abbot Mark from his monastery to himself, and says to him: "Do you know, brother, that Bishop Gregory of the Church of the Agrigentines has been brought hither to us as a prisoner, and is locked in a dark prison, accused of adultery?" Abbot Mark, answering, says to the Pope: "May my portion be with him on that terrible day of our Lord Jesus Christ!" The Pope, having heard these things, was changed in countenance, and says to him: "Look at the report sent to me concerning him by the Exarch Tiberius, whom we have in the parts of Sicily." But the Abbot, having read the report, smiled, and crying out with a loud voice says: "The Lord lives, master! Keep him safe, if you wish, until you convene a synod, and he will make known to you all things that pertain to his case. For that man is a Father equal to the great miracle-workers, as our common Father also knows." The Pope says to the monk: "Yes, I know that grace was in him at first, but having sinned, the grace departed from him." The Abbot says: "Master, the Lord knows those who are His." The Pope says to him: "Then what are we to do concerning him? What do you advise?" The monk says to the Pope: "Listen to me, master, and accept the counsel of your servant. We cannot judge him without the counsel of the Archbishop of Constantinople, and furthermore, of our most pious Emperor. B Therefore, send into Sicily and bring back his accusers, and furthermore the woman also, with whom they say he committed adultery; and keep them under guard, bringing them, and also the one whom they voted to be bishop, which is not worthy to happen. And whatever God shows you, do this, our most holy Father." The Pope answered: "Good is the counsel which you have advised, Father." And having sat down, the Pope wrote a report to the most pious Emperor Justinian according to the precision of the events regarding the man, and furthermore to the most holy Archbishop of Constantinople. And having called the two bishops C to Maximian, Bishop of Syracuse (Lib. III, n. 12): "Formerly," he says, "I wrote to your Fraternity that you should transmit to the Roman city those who had said anything against Gregory, Bishop of the Agrigentine city. Which now also, that it might be done more urgently, we exhort by these present letters. Wherefore, hasten to transmit with speed the persons themselves and the remaining documents, that is, the deeds and petitions which were given: nor do we permit any delay or excuse to be sought at all; so that when they have been transmitted with speed, as we have said, to the Roman city, we may know what, with the Lord's aid, we ought to dispose more healthily concerning his person." D who had been present at the synod with Saint Gregory, he provided them with travel expenses; then he sent two counts, upright men, into Sicily. [alt-version omitted]
with his own mandate to the exarch of Sicily, Tiberius, and to the common assembly of the whole people, the archons, and the tribunes, to bring the bishop's accusers and the woman regarding whom the bishop had fallen into trouble to Rome; he wrote to all the people that not even one of the accusers should be missing, and to bring with them also the man whom they had voted to make bishop for themselves.
B LXVII. The counts left Rome after the holy Pentecost and reached the city of Agrigentum in Sicily on the sixth day before the Ides of July. By coincidence, the exarch was also located in those parts. Having received the order and read it, and having bowed three times to the ground before the two counts, the exarch said, "Everything has been done as my lord commanded." The bishops, however, were delayed in reaching Constantinople; they arrived at the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and delivered both formal requests to the most pious emperor and to the most holy archbishop of Constantinople. Having read the requests, both the most pious emperor and the archbishop, and having grasped the force of what was written in them, both were very much grieved for the saint, that he had endured the straits of prison for so long. They were not at all able to believe what had been reported to them by the Pope regarding the holy and blessed Gregory. C But after a few days, the emperor ordered that the bishops be sent off with a mandate, sending along with them also his spatharius, Marcian. Likewise, the archbishop also, having called for the bishop of Ancyra, the bishop of Cyzicus, and the bishop of Corinth, sent them to Rome; and with them he also sent the chartophylax Constantine the deacon. All of them—the bishops and Marcian—assembled on the ship, and the most pious emperor instructed them, saying, "Go, holy Fathers, and hold a holy synod by the command of the most holy Pope, and by the name of our common [Father] who rules this city, dear to God. Being gathered in that assembly, fearing God, recall all things to judgment; and regarding the woman, make provision, and that you yourselves may perform peace and justice in your ministries, etc."
A And regarding the calumniators of the man, those who have been convicted, if they are laymen, compel them to submit to our sacred laws; for it is for this reason that we are sending our spatharius. If they are clerics, command them to undergo the penalty which the canons of the Church have prescribed. The last of his mandates was that they should bring the holy man to him. B
LXVIII. Now when the bishops and the spatharius had been dismissed by the emperor, they all set out together from Constantinople. But when they were using the second stage of their voyage, and were no more than eighteen stadia from the city of Rome, Marcianus fell into a severe and dangerous illness. On account of this, both the bishops and all the others who were with them were struck with great grief. Finally, with difficulty, they entered the city, and all continued to sorrow for the lot of Marcianus. He, indeed, after ten days, arrived at the final crisis of his life. C But at sunset, behold, a woman, whose daughter Saint Gregory had healed, happening to pass by, heard the lamentation of those who were mourning for Marcianus. The woman inquired of them for what reason the young men were weeping. One of them answered her thus: "Our master, O good mother, is breathing his last, and we are mourning for him." But she, addressing them all, said, "Why, take him up with his bed and follow me; I will show you a holy man who will heal your master." D Meanwhile, as it was already dark and had become deep night, the woman forced them to take up the bed with the man and follow her. Those who had gone into the house bound him; but he, being consumed by fever, was not in the least aware of what his servants were doing to him. The servants, taking him up, carried him to the prison where the blessed Gregory was staying. When they had brought him into the prison and the blessed man saw Marcianus worn out by the disease and the pains, he could not hold back his tears, and he wept lamentably; then he called out to him once and twice, but he could not answer him at all, nor was he, being rendered senseless by the force of the disease by which he was afflicted, able to recognize him. Therefore, the blessed man, approaching, laid his hand upon him and offered the customary prayers. Not long after, Marcianus began to rest and fall asleep, for twenty-five days had passed since sleep had entirely abandoned him. But his servants turned to the holy man and fell at his feet, weeping and saying, "Have mercy on us, O servant of God, and offer prayers for our master, your most dear friend." To whom he said, "My children, may that which the Lord has ordained concerning him and us come to pass." Around midnight the young men came again, and when they had touched their master, they felt that he was without fever; and they gave glory to God. Saint Gregory [index: entries preserved]
A exhorted them to let their master rest; he himself spent the rest of the night without sleep, supplicating God that He might restore the sick man to health, and he persevered in these prayers until dawn. Then, when the morning psalmody had begun, toward the end of the fiftieth psalm, whilst the holy man was burning incense, Marcianus leapt from his bed, and looking upon the blessed man, he recognized him: therefore, running to him and clasping his feet, he gave them a kiss, and worshipping him, said: "I give thanks to God through you, holy Father, who, entreated by your prayers, has seen fit to grant me health." Marcianus remained with him with his young men, and they sang psalms together, and gave praises to God, the Savior of all. [LXXXVI] When these things were finished, as they sat together, and Marcianus expressed his wonder that a holy man had been confined in such a dark place, Gregory began to ask him thus: "How do you fare, Lord Marcianus, servant of Christ, you who for our sake have undertaken so long a journey with the most holy bishops, laboring on my account?" To whom he replied: "Well, O dear to God, from this hour forward, through your prayers."
B LXIX. But the bishops of the East, who had come with Marcianus, as soon as they awoke, went to the house where the spatharius was lying; and not finding him there, they began to beat their own faces and cry out: "Alas! What has happened to him who came here with us? What excuse shall we offer to our lord the Emperor, who loved this man uniquely?" And behold, one of the servants came from the prison, and addressing the bishops, said: "Do not give yourselves over to grief, my lords; for my master, by divine gift through the pious prayers of that holy bishop C who was delivered into custody here, and for whose cause you came hither to judge him, has received health, and is with him in the prison, nor does he wish to be separated from him." Having heard these things, and having given thanks to God, they quickly followed the boy and came to the prison. When they stepped inside, they found Saint Gregory, and Marcianus with his young men—who was just now at the point of death—in sound health. But when they looked upon Gregory, they recognized him, and straightway casting themselves at his feet, they addressed him thus: "Truly, you are acceptable to the Lord, since by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the help of the Holy Spirit, you are able to cure incurable D diseases." To whom he replied: "Rejoice also in the Lord, you who are all pillars and foundations of the one holy, catholic, and only Church of God. Why have you troubled yourselves on our account?"
As for us, lords, it was enough for me that the judgment of my lord who holds the apostolic throne—whether he were to absolve or condemn me—should suffice. The bishops answered: "May it befall us to be judged with you on the day of judgment, holy Father." He replied again to them: "Forgive me, holy Fathers, for I am a sinner." When they had said this, they sat down, and they too were struck with wonder at that terrible place of the prison, and they said: "How much time is it since you were imprisoned here, master?" He said: "We have completed two years and four months here." They were indignant at the pope, because for so long a time he had not visited the man of God, nor had he even sought to investigate the truth regarding him. B The bishops and Marcianus then desired to bring him out of the prison. But he did not agree to this from them, but said to them: "Until my accusers arrive, and you see my case, how is it possible to leave, and that without the permission of the pope?"
LXX. Everyone then went to the pope, and Marcianus related to him how the blessed man had instantly healed him, though he C knew nothing; and how he had come to the prison carried on his bed. Having called one of his servants, he told him: "Tell how you explained this to me concerning the woman." The servant recounted how the woman had spoken to them, and how they had followed her as far as the prison, and how he had laid his hands upon him; and that the heavy disease which he had, having not slept for twenty-five days, had departed. Hearing these things, the pope fell into a trance, and his heart was stirred upon hearing the wonders that had been wrought by the man; D for the whole city revered him as one of the saints. Now, in those days, ten logs of wood of very beautiful appearance arrived via the river, which were to be brought to the venerable houses of the holy and chief apostles, Peter and Paul. The logs traveled as far as the middle of the river, and they took root in one place, and as if someone had anchored them with iron or lead, they held fast from this side and to the other side, so that ships could neither enter nor leave. There was great distress in Rome because of this; for they often went down with the pope with supplications, and they were unable to move them. And the people of the city said: "Come, let us call upon this just man, so that by his prayer we may be able..."
to draw forth these logs." The pope was also troubled B about this, and he related the matter to the bishops of the East—for they too had been deemed worthy of the grace of the Holy Spirit, and they themselves also marveled at the report of the pope. After a short time, the counts whom the pope had sent into Sicily arrived, bringing with them the accusers of the bishop and the maiden. There came with them also two tribunes of the city, and the archdeacon, and the deacons Erasmus and Philadelphus, and many of the city’s people along with them.
LXXI. The pope, learning that they had arrived, sent word and summoned the bishops of the East and Marcian—for they were constantly dwelling in the prison with the blessed Gregory—and the abbot Mark was also with them. Having come before the pope, he said to them: "The accusers of Bishop Gregory have arrived." They said to him: "Yes, master, we have heard that they have arrived here." This was on the day of Preparation [Friday] when they arrived. And the bishops said to the pope: "Command all the bishops to be gathered, and if it is the will of God, appoint the second day [Monday], and let us sit and inquire into that which concerns the man." Abbot Mark answered and said: "Woe to those accusers, both in this world and in the world to come." Then the pope answered and said to him: "Do you alone assert this, Father? Forgive us." But the bishops and Marcian answered and said: "Listen, master, we six also, and this whole city, call the man blessed, and we marvel that you alone here have been brought to be against him." They went out from the presence of the pope troubled, saying among themselves: "Carried away by envy, the pope does not accept the true testimonies brought forward about the man." For the pope had gathered all the bishops of those regions, but the pope ordered the accusers to be guarded with great care. C
LXXII. The tribunes and the deacons and the rest who were from Sicily... D
(The Vita S. Gregorii Agrigentini begins:)
A Having learned where the holy Gregory was, they went to him in the prison; there were also there the bishops of the East and the spatharius. Approaching, they grasped his hands and feet, weeping and saying: "Blessed be God, who has not permitted us to be orphaned of our beloved Father; for we are all ready with you for both life and death; for your sake we pour out our blood, you who alone defend the truth." There is great mourning in your city, Father, on your account. They expressed these and similar things with tears; hearing which, the bishops and Marcianius were weeping and marveling. On the second day, the pope commanded the synod to convene in the small tribunal in the church of Saint Hippolytus near the prison, where the holy Gregory was. And all the bishops descended together with the pope in a procession—for they were in number one hundred and fifty—and those of the East, and the chartophylax, and finally all the monasteries of the city of the Romans, and the clergy, and a great multitude of the people, so that the place could not contain them.
LXXIII. After the pope had entered and marked them with the sign of the cross, they sat down; and he ordered the accusers of the holy Gregory to be brought forward. They having arrived, one hundred and ten in number, they stood in the midst of the holy synod. The patriarchal deacon, who was also the chartophylax, was occupying the seat of the archbishop of Constantinople. They ordered three bishops and five presbyters to be sent with Abbot Mark to bring the just man to them from the prison. Those who went found him reading; for it was the second hour of the day. After mutual greetings, they addressed him thus: "Deign, Father, to come to the holy synod." The holy Mark said to him: "Hail in the Lord, athlete; B 'be beaten and win,' as it is written elsewhere."
Having departed, they went to where the synod was; and having entered, the blessed man bowed three times to the ground before them, and rising, he stood before the bishops, showing a peaceful and reverent spirit. The bishops of the East and the archdeacon shed many tears seeing the holy man standing there. Having summoned the sacrilegious men, Sabinus and Crescentius, D the pope from his throne asks them: "What is this...
accusation which you bring against your bishop?" The unholy men answered, saying: "Master, we found him having intercourse with the girl." He says to them: "Did you see him yourselves, or did the girl tell you?" They, with still greater impudence, responded: "We entered, master, to pay him our customary respects, and we found him and the girl A sleeping in the same chamber; and when we seized the girl, she confessed the truth to us, having admitted to our illicit union before the legate and a large crowd of people; and because of that unlawful act of hers, from that time until now she has been possessed by a demon." The bishops of the East, Protus of Ancyra first among them, demand of them: "O wicked and God-hated imitators of the Jews, did your malice invent this crime, or did the piety of this just man permit it?" The sacrilegious men replied to them: "By all means, masters, bring her into the center, even B though she is falling and foaming at the mouth, so that you may see how she convicts him." Having sent men to bring the girl, she was produced before the holy synod, held by two men from the group of her calumniators; and she stood there with a changed countenance, not knowing where she was. The pope says to them: "Tell the truth; for we do not accept the testimony of this woman, since a demon-possessed and mad person is not to be examined." The unholy men say: "Question the one who did the wicked thing, how he defends himself." Gregory, however, looking around, addressed them thus: *"False witnesses rose up; they asked me things I knew not; they repaid me evil for good"* (Ps. XXXIV, 11-12). "Nevertheless, brothers, may God forgive you this deed." As he was saying this, the woman, foaming and weeping, was lifted C violently by the demon before the feet of the blessed man. He, with eyes raised to heaven, prayed silently for an hour, while everyone fixed their gaze upon him; and having finished it within himself, he says: "In the name of the Lord and God and Savior of us, Jesus Christ, and in the presence of the holy and chief apostles, and through the prayers of all the holy Fathers, depart, unclean spirit, from the creature of God, so that she may be of sound mind and speak the truth about me."
LXXIV. Immediately the spirit that was tormenting her cruelly departed, and the girl lay as if dead. But Gregory, taking her by the hand, raised her up; and the girl stood there before everyone. D They asked her what her name was; and she said: "I am called Evodia." Then the archivist says:
"Woman, do you know the bishop of your city?" She A says to him: "Yes, master, I know him very well; for I often saw him going about and visiting all the poor of the city, and providing for widows and orphans what they needed. And I, miserable as I am, always received alms from him through the one appointed for the ministry." They ask her again: "Woman, do you know if this man ever had bodily intercourse with you?" But she, sighing from the depths of her heart and weeping, raising her voice on high, said: "The Lord of hosts liveth, I do not know this man, who he is, as you have said that he was with me; but Sabinus and Crescentinus, these who stand before you, they forced me to accuse this righteous man; for they paid me a considerable sum of money so that, as I said, I might convict him, having unjustly transgressed and been deceived by these lawless men. May the Lord God repay them for the sin against my soul; for for two years and six months I have been tormented by a demon." Having said these things, she stood and looked around at all the bishops, and after a little while noticing the B holy Gregory, she recognized him; and running to his feet, weeping, she said with intensity: "Have mercy on me, servant of God, and forgive me, the humble one, for the illegal and forbidden counsel which I carried out against you. The Lord my God liveth, I will not rise from your feet until you grant me forgiveness for my lawless act. Therefore do not contemplate, nor remember, the evils performed by me against you, holy Father."
LXXV
While the girl was speaking these things to the saint for many hours, the saint answered her, saying: "Woman, it is not for us, as you think, to grant [forgiveness], but only for our merciful and philanthropic God; for He alone heals the wounds of our souls, He who willingly endured suffering for our sake, and knowing the sufferings of the flesh as Creator, He clothed Himself in it. However, woman, may He Himself grant us forgiveness according to our requests, and cleanse us from all sin, for He is the one who taketh away the sin of the world." And taking hold of her, he raised her up. And fear C came upon all those who were in that holy synod, so that all said: "Blessed be the God of our fathers, that God has manifested such a worker to Himself, and has revealed him in the world in these last days." And when they had said these things, they moved on and went into the church, and having celebrated the divine mysteries, and having partaken of the immaculate body of our Lord Jesus Christ, the bishops of the East, and the spatharios, and the holy Gregory, and the chartophylax ate bread at the table of the pope on that day. But the holy Gregory was content with a very small portion of bread and vegetables without oil. Having gone out from there, they both remained together at the [xcii] house, and the individuals I have mentioned passed the whole night without sleep, wondering at such...A a divine grace bestowed upon the man through divine revelation and the illumination of the Holy Spirit.
LXXVI. When the sun had risen, everyone converged upon the venerable and august temple of the holy and chief of the apostles, Peter and Paul, to which the other bishops of the synod had also repaired. Here, having paid their respects to the Supreme Pontiff, they took their seats in the great vestibule, which they call that of the holy apostle Andrew. The people of the city of Agrigento, the two tribunes, and the archdeacon B with his companions Erasmus, Philadelphus, and Platonicus, also followed them there. The impious and iniquitous accusers of holy Gregory had been kept in custody. But as the assembly was now full, the Supreme Pontiff ordered them to be brought into their midst so that the Fathers might deliberate upon their punishment. Having been brought forth, therefore, they stood before the holy synod, and the Supreme Pontiff addressed them with these words: "How were you, most wicked and wretched men, able to accuse this just man, who has performed so many signs C before us? Are you yourselves unaware of how the grace of God and the power of the Lord overshadowed his head while your own eyes were looking on? And how it was the will of God alone that he should be your shepherd and teacher? Or do you not know, miserable Sabinus, how he immediately healed your daughter through prayer? Or have you yourselves not seen with your own eyes how he granted that deaf and mute monk the ability to speak and hear?" Then the Supreme Pontiff commanded Felix, the bishop of Italy, to recount all the signs he had seen performed through the blessed man D when he had sent him to be reinstated in his city. Rising, Bishop Felix recounted how he had healed the one who had been deaf and mute for many years, along with other signs that he had seen performed through him. These things Bishop Felix related before the synod. Upon hearing this, the bishops of the East...
[Note: Footnote (95) and the corresponding text block concerning the history of the vestibule and the Basilica of St. Peter are included in the source text layout but are designated in the prompt's instructions as apparatus/footnotes to be omitted.]
A and the deacon who is the chartophylax, and the spatharios, and all were astonished and greatly marvelled at the miraculous narrative of the man. For the bishops had not yet heard these things from anyone.
LXXVII. When he had said this, the Pope says to them: "What do you answer to these things? Say what you wish." But they answered nothing else except that they threw themselves upon their faces, weeping and saying: "Lord have mercy; we have sinned and acted lawlessly against this righteous man." The bishops then ordered them to be separated, the laity to stand in one place and the clergy in another; and all the bishops of the synod, together with the Pope, passed judgment against them: that Sabinus should be exiled to the regions of Thrace, and Crescentinus exiled to the regions of Spain; and that the remaining clergy should be dispersed to Ravenna. There were, as we have said, thirty clergy and eighty laity, and they determined that they too should go into the land of the Vascones. B The spatharios ordered the laity to be secured in the prison and to be subjected to the pious laws of the Empire. But as the soldiers were taking them to lead them off to prison, they began to wail with a loud voice, crying out: "Have mercy on us, servant of God. Do not deliver us into the hands of strangers; appease the holy synod and the most pious administrator of the Emperor for our sake. We have sinned against you; forgive us even a little." Hearing these things, the holy Gregory began to beat his face, weeping and falling at the feet of the Pope and of the bishops of the East and of all the others, saying: "My lords, fathers and fellow-ministers, listen to me your servant, listen, and do not exact my vengeance upon these men. For vengeance belongs to the Lord alone, as it is written: 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. And, 'To Him shall bow every knee of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth.' C And now I entreat all your God-gathered assembly that these men may suffer no evil on account of my wretchedness; for I, the miserable one, am worthy of all correction. For God, the overseer of all, was longsuffering in His own compassion toward the things done by me, and He covered my wrongdoing. Likewise, do you also keep these men unharmed." Hearing these things, the bishops of the synod D and the Pope wept, and to him they replied: "Since, therefore, the evil of such wickedness ought not pass without worthy vengeance, we wish our brother Paschasius to be admonished that he should first deprive the same Hilarus of the office of subdeacon, in which he acts unworthily, and having publicly punished him with stripes, he should cause him to be deported into exile (lib. XI, epistola 71). John the Deacon brings this forward in the *Life of Gregory* (lib. IV, no. 31), to which he appends other examples [index: entries preserved]
A they gave them, saying: "If you yourself with them seek their immunity, we have no claim; for this is truly written, that vengeance is the Lord’s alone." And he ordered them to release the soldiers, and that everyone should assemble together again. It happened that while they were all in one place, a sudden storm of wind arose, and the place where the accusers were standing grew dark; and behold, a wind came out of the earth and a dark cloud covered them all, so that everyone said that the earth was splitting open and swallowing them up. And the whole synod raised their hands to heaven and cried out, saying: "Lord, have mercy." And this was the outcome; after a little while the cloud that had hung over them dispersed; and their faces appeared blackened; indeed, the entire faces of some were utterly blackened B—Sabinus in particular, and Crescentinus, and many others, whose lips were also so drawn apart that they could scarcely bring them together to speak. With this final prodigy, divine wrath quieted against the accusers. Therefore, the universal synod cried out: "Now at last it is evident that the Lord has saved his anointed, and has heard him from his holy heaven. Great is our Lord, and great is his power; and there is no searching of his counsel. Truly he is great and greatly to be praised, and of his greatness there is no end. Blessed be the Lord our God, who does all things for our profit. For he knows those who love him and those who do his will; he saves them and delivers them from the hand of their enemies and from every affliction. He imparts justice, he reveals mysteries, he brings salvation to those who fear him; for he is always near to those who call upon him in truth, and he brings about their vengeance quickly, because they cry to him without ceasing day and night."
LXXVIII. And when these things had been said, they approached him and fell at his feet, saying: "Offer prayers for us, holy Father, for in these last C times you alone have been shown to be a laborer of patience, and a servant of Christ and of his disciples. We beseech you, pray for us, pray." But he, having fallen on his face, kissed the feet of each one of them, saying: "Forgive me, holy Fathers; for I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and the outcast of everyone. Rather, sustain my lowliness with your prayers." And already everyone was greeting him with a holy kiss; for the whole city, of men and women, and even of infants at the breast, had gathered together, stirred by the prodigy concerning the accusers; and they were struck with amazement as they gazed upon their D blackened faces.
(99) Shall we think that some charlatan, wishing to explain the color and features of a man, imposed this upon our Leontius, and sold this fable? Perhaps some families from Africa had settled in Agrigento, as often happens, being exiles; and those born of them, bearing a dark face and excessive lips, recalled their parents and grandparents. This charlatan, to provide a cause for the color and form, said that they were of the lineage of those who had accused our Gregory, and at the same time invented this prodigy, which a man not at all wicked, and desirous of producing and embellishing his history, easily drank in, and related as he had heard it.
A When they had returned, they ordered the accusers to be present; and when they stood before the synod, the Sovereign Pontiff spoke to them thus: "Listen, most wretched men, see, you have become like your father the devil, who became your guide in this lawless accusation you made against this just man. See, from this day forth, you and your seed shall be slaves for all the days of your life, as many of you as have this mark which God has willed to be in you, and as many of your descendants as shall be born in the city shall be servants to the bishops who will be appointed in the great Catholic and Apostolic Church located there. And any bishop who, from your seed, is appointed to the priesthood, if he knows of the crime you have committed, let him be under the anathema of the holy apostles and of the holy Fathers who have gathered in the holy and ecumenical synods. And whoever among those who will be ordained bishops after us in the Church of Agrigentum in the province of Sicily, disregards the condition we have decreed for them and does not keep it, and ordains a presbyter or deacon or cleric from your generation, or entrusts to any layman of that generation any of the ecclesiastical affairs, let him be under anathema." And the whole synod replied: "Anathema, anathema, anathema."
They then admonished the holy Gregory to use his right and dismiss them thence. But he, having called the two tribunes and the magistrates of the city, delivered the accusers to them, saying: "Take these men into your city and distribute each of them into their houses until, with God's permission, we also arrive there." When the tribunes and the magistrates of the city had taken them, they led them to the place where they were gathered. B C
LXXIX. After these things, the maiden who had accused the holy man came forward, and falling upon her face, she wept and said: "Take pity on me, holy Fathers, and enroll me in a monastery, for I will no longer go to my own city." Standing up, the bishops gave her the appropriate prayers and sheared her head. And the Sovereign Pontiff sent and summoned the deaconess of Saint Cecilia D, a pious woman and
A having received the blessing, she stood before the synod. The Pope says to her, "I entrust this child to you, mother, that you may take care of her soul, and deliver her spotless on the day of the Lord, and receive your reward from Him." She said, "So be it, lord, as you command." And when everyone had prayed for her, the deaconess took her and went away into the monastery with her. And she spent twenty-two years there, intent upon repentance and confession, and after demonstrating many struggles, she passed away.
LXXX. When the ninth hour had arrived, the Sovereign Pontiff urged blessed Gregory to perform the divine mysteries. The bishops of the East and others from the synod beheld the spirit of grace resting upon the holy man, and were confirmed in their opinion of him; for they themselves were deemed worthy of grace and were partakers of the Holy Spirit. Having shared B in the holy Body and precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ through the hands of blessed Gregory, they ate bread at the Pope's table, and the bishops rested there together. They spent the entire night without sleep until dawn, discussing matters pertaining to salvation and useful for edification. When morning had come, the Pope called Gregory to him and said, "Listen, child, and I will relate to you what has happened to us in this city, and this I say because of our sins. Timbers appeared entering through the river to the Holy Apostles; and as they entered, they stood still in the middle of the river as if frozen, or as if fastened by iron; and the entrance to the city and the passage of ships has been blocked by them, and ships neither enter nor depart; and there is great distress in the city because of this. For we have often C tried, but we have not had the strength to pull them away. But since you are here, I beseech you to take the trouble to go there, and by your prayers the Lord will hear you." He answered and said, "As the holiness of our common Father commands." The Pope commanded the [wooden] tablet to be struck, and for the whole city and the monasteries to be gathered, and for all the people to be instructed to pray with devotion and diligence for the sustenance of the monks, day and night, to the Lord our God. These matters pertain to the year 821.
For D in the Roman synod under Symmachus, in the year 499, Marcianus, presbyter of the title of Saint Cecilia, signed the decrees; as did Victor of Saint Cecilia in the synod under Gregory the Great. Regarding the monastery, I can only affirm that truly, before the time of Paschal I, it existed for either men or women: for he himself indicates this in his epistle *On the Invention of the Relics of Saint Cecilia* (among Hardouin's *Concilia*, vol. IV, p. 1225). But it is not easily apparent whether men and women dwelt there before, and whether he himself was the first to introduce men, or whether he kept the old inhabitants. For after he spoke about the temple [restored] by him, he narrates the other things he accomplished in the same place: "And there, to the praise of the Creator, having restored the monastery of the blessed apostle Andrew and the confessor Gregory, as well as in honor of the holy virgins and martyrs Agatha and Cecilia, below the Church in the place which is called 'Collis jacentis,' we have provided for the congregation of monks serving God, with one accord, for their daily praises, and for their aid and the continuation of lights, or [utility and stipend of the monks long day and night to the Lord our God with due devotion being paid]."
(4) Gregory the Great performed a similar service when he wrote to Justinus, praetor of Sicily, regarding Leo, bishop of Catania, after he had been summoned to Rome in our time to purge himself in judgment: "Since, therefore," he said, "a sinister rumor had been spread against our brother and fellow bishop Leo, contrary to his priestly calling, we have made inquiry for a long time with great strictness in order to see whether these things were true; and we found no fault in him concerning the things that had been said. But so that nothing might seem to have been omitted, or that any doubt might remain in our heart, we have made him provide the sacraments in abundance at the most sacred body of the blessed Peter. These things having been performed, we rejoiced with great exultation, because by such an experiment his innocence has evidently shone forth" (lib. II, epist. 53).
A And the whole city gathered in the venerable temple of the holy and chief apostle Peter. And the whole city was assembled according to the promise of the Pope. And all the bishops went out with a litany as far as where the timbers were in the river.
LXXXI. B But as the procession moved forward, behold, a certain woman was heating an oven. Saint Gregory, turning aside a little from the road, says to the woman: "Mother, give me a little glowing coal here." She, having taken coals in an iron shovel, brought them to him. And he, having nowhere to receive them, spread out the border of his mantle and received the glowing coals. And having asked the archdeacon for incense, which he had from the elder—with whom he had remained in the desert—and having arrived at the place where the timbers were, he was urged by the Pope to incense the timbers and say a prayer over them. When the bishops and all the people saw that he had received the glowing coal in his mantle, and there he received the incense, they fell at his feet, saying with tears: "Yours is the prayer alone that can draw these [timbers] and open the entrance of the city." And they compelled him to perform the prayer. C He, being persuaded by them, complied, lest discord arise, as they were pressing him, and he listened to their request. The blessed one, having knelt, prayed thus: "O God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who alone art good and loving to mankind, who created the heaven and the earth and the sea, do Thou Thyself look upon the prayer of Thy servant by the good pleasure of Thy only-begotten Son and our God, and by the cooperation of the Holy Spirit, and by the presence of Thy holy disciples, cause these timbers to be drawn and removed to the holy places where they were ordained to be. Therefore we beseech Thee to overlook the transgressions of Thy servants; trusting, we approach Thy mercies. And have compassion upon this Thy holy city, in which Thy disciples were perfected for Thy holy name; and we invoke them, so that through them Thou might save this Thy people, O Good One, abide by Thy right hand, for Thou alone art long-suffering unto the ages. Amen." And having said these things, he incensed the timbers with the D and that is not an antiquity of the hymnographer which could rightfully support Leontius. For that Joseph the Hymnographer belongs to the ninth century; and he seems to have borrowed almost everything from Leontius, although for the sake of meter certain things differ somewhat. Oudinus noted from Lambecius (t. II, ad an. 850) that a very old vellum codex of his hymns exists in the Imperial Library at Vienna, no. 310; but Cajetanus saw and knew more, who, regarding his Life (SS. Sicul. t. II, p. 18, animadv.), noted these things: "In the ritual books of the Greeks, the canons and hymns of the holy Joseph are more than enough: in the Paracletike 96 canons; in the Triodion 35 canons; in the Pentecostarion 5 canons; in the Horologion 1 canon; in the Menaia 168, which are all 505 canons." Moreover, any canon or hymn that is sung by custom on certain days is distributed into nine parts, which they call Odes. An Ode usually consists of four troparia. designating a summary: "There exist," he says, "the Acts of Gregory of Agrigento written in Greek, but while they are being enlarged by a Greek author, they are diminished in credibility." Subsequently, rejecting this whole narrative, he adds: "But ridiculous and fabulous things are also proven to be in the same place, which are held concerning the timbers extending from here and there to the banks of the Tiber, and remaining immovably attached." But Cajetanus: "Indeed," he says, "I would not altogether condemn the miracle; but perhaps its narration is vitiated by many additions. The authority of Lord Joseph the Hymnographer moves me, who in his Hymn to Saint Gregory proves the miracle, when he mentions the coals which he held in his hands and mantle." The words of the hymn, as he edited it in Latin, are these—for he did not include the Greek, which are in the Menaia: "Those who wickedly plotted against you, Father, have been covered in dark shadow; but your light, Father Gregory, shone clearly, in whose presence you ate, holding coals in your hands." Moreover, neither did Leontius write that the coals were handled by his hands;
A but he says to those present: "Approach and drag the timbers." And they, drawing near, laid their hands upon the timbers, and at that very hour the timbers were pulled out of the water, and they dragged them onto the land; and as they felt them, they found an inscription written upon them: five of them belonging to the holy and chief [apostle] Peter, and the other five to the vessel of election, Paul. Seeing the sign that occurred to the timbers, the Pope and all the bishops and all the people of the city were astonished, saying: "Truly, this man today is a second Gregory Thaumaturgus who has appeared upon the earth."
LXXXII. These things having occurred in Rome, and having been filled with joy, each person departed to the place where they were staying. Marcian, having done everything commanded to him by our most pious Emperor in the city, requested of the holy Pope that he be permitted to depart and return with them to Constantinople. Likewise, the bishops, and the deacon, and the chartophylax requested the same. But the Pope said to them: "Wait yet a little longer, all you Fathers, until we settle the affairs concerning holy Gregory." B And the Pope commanded a synod to be gathered in the church of the holy and blessed Apostle. And having sat down there again, they brought in all the Sicilians, the tribunes, and the archons, and the Pope and the bishops said to them: "Behold your Father and teacher; show him devotion and love in fear and desire; you know how God is just and renders to each according to his works." And they answered them, saying: "We bless God, who gave us a just and pious and god-loving man, one who does his will and shows to men how holily and purely one ought to worship his divinity." And after they had said these things, standing up, holy Gregory requested of the Pope and the holy synod, saying: C "Holy Fathers, I ask you to command me to remove the episcopal residence, and to rebuild it in another place in the city; and likewise to establish a Catholic church from the ground up, since this Leucius, being a heretic, destroyed the altar, and cast the holy relics stored within it into the deep." To this the synod answered him: "We define this also, that as you have asked, you may do; for we know that God is with you, and he works with you in every work." And regarding this, he wrote a decree for him, so that he might do as was pleasing in his own eyes. D And holy Gregory appointed the archdeacon Euplus and Erasmus to administer the Church piously, just as they had been accustomed to him. And when they finally departed with all the people, the bishops wishing them well, they went away rejoicing and giving praise to God.
A LXXXIII. The holy synod, having learned that Leucius was hiding there, searched for him and brought him into their midst. The bishops of the East said to him, "Most wretched man, was it not enough for you that you were anathematized in the East by the holy Fathers, that you have arrived here to inherit the same fate again?" But he answered them nothing. The Pope then sent him into Spain, to live there in exile. When the people of the city of Agrigentum had been released, along with the deacons who had brought their accusers with them to the city of Agrigentum, Gregory remained behind at Rome, together with the bishops, the spatharius, the archdeacon, and the chartophylax, for such were the instructions they had received from the most pious Emperor and the Archbishop.
B LXXXIV. A few days later, the Pope sent for holy Gregory to come to him in private. Upon entering, he fell at the Pope's feet in tears, asked for his forgiveness, and begged him to pray for him. The Pope said to him, "What shall we give you in return, my son, for everything that God has bestowed upon us through you? Do you know, my son, that half of your city, together with the episcopal residence itself, is subject to the holy and chief Apostle who is here?" Holy Gregory said, "Yes, master, it is so." The Pope said, "I have resolved in my heart to return this to God through you, and to the church that is to be built by you, granting that half of your city which is appropriate for our share, which was donated to the chief Apostle by our emperor of holy, divine, and ever-memorable memory, Constantine." Holy Gregory then said to him, "O blessed master, you are offering these things to God; He, as good and loving to mankind, will return grace for grace." The Pope then called for the dignitaries of the Church and the leading men of the city; and, having sat, both the Pope and the dignitaries of the Church and the rulers of the city wrote a decree, which the bishops of the synod and the entire Church signed, and delivered it to the blessed man.
A When Marcianus and the bishops had finished everything, the Pope gave them the necessary provisions for the journey, and bestowed many gifts upon the bishops and Marcianus, and finally also upon the holy Gregory. Having venerated the holy sites, and having taken leave of the Pope and received his blessing, the bishops, Marcianus, and the chartophylax departed from Rome, and with them also Gregory. Along the way, they were greatly delighted by the noble words that he spoke to them. With him also were the two deacons, Philadelphus and Platonicus, and two youths, Secundus and Stratonicus, who were sons of the tribunes; the former, Secundus, was a cleric, and the latter, Stratonicus, was a layman and served as their notary.
LXXXV. When they reached Constantinople, the most humane emperor, upon learning of their arrival, directed that the holy Gregory should retire to the monastery of Saint Sergius, where he had been only a short time before; the abbot received him with great signs of joy. Two days later, the emperor admitted Marcianus and wished to learn from him what the synod had determined regarding the righteous man. And so, Marcianus began to recount to the emperor all the wonders that the holy man had performed, in particular that unique and stupendous miracle regarding the girl possessed by a demon, and the miracle against his accusers; then he added the matter of the coals which he had received in his cloak, and the beams which had been drawn from the river by his prayers; and besides many other admirable deeds of the man, he also commemorated his gentleness, his kindness, and his constancy. When the most pious emperor heard these things, he marvelled greatly within himself, and at the same time gave thanks to God concerning him. Likewise, the bishops and the chartophylax B recounted all these things regarding him to the archbishop, and he too was astonished at the wonders performed by the holy man.
On the following day, the emperor ordered the most holy archbishop and the bishops who had come from Rome, along with the holy Gregory, to come to him in the palace. And when the archbishop had entered first to the emperor, and having done him obeisance, had sat down, the emperor said to him, "Have you, master, been informed of the signs performed by this righteous man in Rome?" The archbishop replied, "Yes, most pious master emperor, we have heard of them and have rejoiced exceedingly, and have given thanks to God on your account, most pious one, because under the reign of your God-ordained and pious empire, God has revealed such a meek, quiet, and wonder-working man. For this man, observing your purity and piety, has striven to imitate your character; for he had heard how liberal you are toward the needy, how patient and kind toward all, and how immovable you are in the orthodox profession of the faith. And for this reason, he turned aside hither to us from Jerusalem." After these things, the emperor ordered Gregory to enter with the bishops; those who were admitted there venerated him three times to the ground, C and stood before him. And he [the emperor] said, "Beautiful, D
A you have come, holy and venerable servant of God, Gregory; you have arrived beautifully among us, you who alone have worked so many signs through your prayer; for truly and in reality you have been revealed as a second wonder-worker through faith." The most pious emperor spoke these and similar things for many hours, and having greeted them with a holy kiss, he dismissed them. The archbishop took the holy Gregory with him and went away to the episcopal residence; and he ate bread with him, being forced by the archbishop; for it was his custom to spend the week without eating, except for Saturday and Sunday. Day by day he was with the archbishop, and Marcianus was with him, keeping quiet in his nightly prayers.
B LXXXVI. After these things, the archbishop and the holy Gregory were summoned to the palace; and the emperor spoke to them thus: "Listen, holy Fathers, we desire, if the Lord commands, with the cooperation of the Holy Spirit, to propose new laws for the holy and catholic great Church of God, so that this may be for future generations and a rule for the catholic Church." The archbishop and the holy Gregory responded to the emperor, saying: "Altogether this too, most pious master, was destined to be demonstrated to you by the divine gift of our Lord Jesus Christ and the divine illumination of the Holy Spirit; wherefore undertake with God's guidance what is most pleasing in your eyes; for this counsel of yours is C both good and very useful to the orthodox Christians." When holy Lent arrived, they chose for themselves a place apart from the crowd, and there the most pious emperor set forth new and holy laws. Likewise, the holy Gregory also set forth his dogmatic discourses concerning the faith, and about Lent, and about the holy and chief of the apostles, Andrew, and he set forth many other discourses in Constantinople; and the blessed one was greatly admired by our most pious emperor, and by all the archbishop’s associates, and by all the wise men in the city, for his endurance, and patience, and his extreme self-control.
(8) Although the Emperor Maurice might not have been seen as having previously deserved well of the Church—namely by that law he promulgated, which commanded: "That no one who had engaged in public action, no one who had been marked by choice or by hand, or who had been held among the soldiers, be allowed to convert to a monastery, unless perhaps if his military service had been fulfilled" (Greg. M. lib. III, epist. 66)—yet he later introduced many other [laws], which were commended with the highest praise by Gregory the Great; and these were promulgated around these very times. And first of all, Gregory praises his laws and edicts concerning the peace of the Church in book V, epistle 19: "Wherefore," he says, "the most provident, most pious master seeks the peace of the Church to restrain warlike movements, and deigns to recall the hearts of the priests to the bond of the same, which I indeed desire, and as far as it concerns me, I offer obedience to the most serene commands." The same [Gregory] elsewhere celebrates the laws enacted by the same against the Donatists (lib. VI, epist. 65): "As to how the serenity of your piety is moved by zeal for justice and most sincere religion against the most shameful wickedness of the Donatists, the tenor of the directly most lucid commands clearly indicates." The same Maurice furthermore took upon himself the care of the bishops, who had been driven from their sees by the Barbarians, and he ordered them to be supported by the nearest Illyrian bishops (Greg. M. lib. I, epistle 45).
(9) For Andrew, Cajetan reads Peter; erroneously, I believe; for both Basilian codices exhibit Andrew, and there was a clear memory of Andrew among the Constantinopolitans, and a distinguished cult, to whom they had already dedicated three or four temples, which Cangius enumerates in Christian Constantinople (lib. IV, cap. 5, n. 3). Nay, even that opinion finally prevailed among them, that the Christian profession of Byzantium had its beginning from him, and D that Stachys was established by him as the first bishop: which, however, Cuperus refutably refuted (Hist. Chron. patriarch. Const.). There were relics of the same holy apostle there, concerning whose translation from Achaia Jerome mentions more than once, and the Martyrologies bear witness.
A When the holy Quadragesima had been completed, and the holy and glorious day of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ had been celebrated, the blessed man asked the most divine Emperor to grant him a place in the city where he might build another church and an episcopal residence. Saint Gregory presented this request by his own hand through his dearest friend, the spatharios Marcian. When the Emperor received the petition sent to him through the hand of Marcian and read it, he rejoiced greatly and gave praise to God, who had instilled such a spirit into the man. And having summoned the most holy archbishop, the Emperor showed him the petition sent through Marcian. When the archbishop read it, he was greatly astonished, and together with the Emperor, he marveled at the exposition of the petition he had set forth. B And the Emperor, having sent Marcian, brought Saint Gregory from the monastery of Saint Sergius, where he was dwelling in quiet. When the holy man ascended into the palace, he did reverence to the Emperor three times upon the ground; and the Emperor rose from his throne and did reverence to him, and kissed his hands, beseeching him and saying: "Pray for me, the sinner." But he, falling at the feet of the Emperor, cried out with tears: "O goodness-loving Sovereign, what have you done to your servant, you who today piously administer the world? But yet I will dare to speak, recounting before you the great things of God, how many He has done for you, and the great condescension which I also see in your venerable power, praying to our Master Christ, who ever looks upon the power of your pious empire."
C
LXXXVII. Concerning Leucius of Laodicea.
As he was relating these things, the Emperor said to him: "Since you have requested of us by your petition to change your episcopal residence, tell me, Father, what reason or what cause has driven you to ask this of us?" He, in turn, gave this answer to the Emperor: "Master and sovereign, a certain heretical presbyter named Leucius, who had merited being struck with anathema by the holy synod at Laodicea, fled from those regions, Lord Emperor, and arrived at the shores of Sicily and reached our city; and having found a host, he hid himself. And at the time when your servant was sent by my accusers to Rome to the most holy Pope, those men established him in the episcopal residence in my stead, wishing for him to be bishop there. D He overthrew the altar from the foundation, and when he wished to burn with fire the holy relics resting therein, since the fire did not consume them, he sent men by night who threw them into the depths of the sea; and they remain hidden to this day. Then he built a new altar. Meanwhile, two bishops, one of Seleucia and the other of Great Pontus, having been sent into exile by the holy synod [(11)] which was gathered by your command,A arrived also in our city; and having returned within the city, they consecrated the church, and set up in it another altar according to their own wicked presumption and their dark and darkened teaching.
LXXXVIII. Having heard these things, both the most pious emperor and the archbishop were amazed that it had indeed come to pass in such a way, for the emperor had heard of the unholy deeds of Leucius. Then he said to Saint Gregory: "We shall also satisfy this request of yours. For look, we also give to God through you the half-part of the city which our pious sovereignty holds; and build a new house faithful to God and the bishop’s residence, as you wish." And the emperor ordered a scroll to be written and given to the blessed Gregory, along with many possessions. After this, having remained in the city until Holy Pentecost, and after some days, the emperor sent for him in the palace, and said to him: "Reverend Father, for this I ask to be prayed for by you in your prayers unceasingly." B And having fallen at the feet of the emperor, he worshipped three times towards the ground, and said to him: "Most pious master, how shall we repay you for all the good things you have returned to us? And who am I, the wretched and sinful one, that I have received such dignities and great gifts from your pious majesty? May God, who reigns with you, grant you to trample forever upon those rising against you, my lord the emperor." And having said these things, the emperor embraced him, and having given into his hands a talent of gold, he said: "Let these be small gifts to you as though they were great, Father, being mindful always of our humility." And he sent him off to proceed in peace to his own city. The most pious Augusta also gave him many gifts, gold and silver in sufficient quantity, for the making of vessels for his church. C
LXXXIX. Saint Gregory went forth from Constantinople, and arrived in Rome on the thirteenth of the Kalends of August. D
A Having run through the holy places there and prayed, the most holy Pope received him with great joy, and after spending twenty days with him in Rome, and exchanging greetings with him and all the brothers and Saint Mark, the Pope gave him worthy gifts, and praying for him, let him depart in peace to his own place, having given him authority to pull down the altar which Leucius the heretic had built; and the Pope, to assist him, sent with him certain pious deacons, Angelus and Palumbus, until he should rebuild the temple for which he had prayed. Therefore, having left the city, they reached Sicily at the city of Agrigentum on the tenth of the month of September. By the will of God, who always looked after the affairs of the blessed man, they entered the river and the suburb they call the Emporium B at the third hour of the day; that day was a Saturday. By chance, the archdeacon was there for some business in the monastery. And having found the ship entering the river, he ran up quickly, wishing to question them. When he had come near the ship, he saw the deacon Platonicus pouring water onto the hands of the blessed man so that he might wash. Then, after this, he stepped down from the ship, and all those with him.
XC. The archdeacon ran up, and weeping, fell at his feet, saying, "You have arrived well, O good shepherd, who have suffered much for your own flock." C And he, taking hold of him, raised him up and questioned him about the peace of the city, and about the tribunes, and about the people, and finally also about his parents. The archdeacon’s reply to him was, "Through your prayers, O holy Father, God has granted firm peace to all." Then Gregory said to him, "Go, my son, and inform our most dear people of our arrival." The archdeacon, having quickly returned, announced to the city and proclaimed that their lord and parent had arrived, and was in the suburb. Now that the news had been received, the tribunes and the magistrates of the city, both men and women with their very infants, gave praise and thanks to God, D that they had been deemed worthy by Him to receive such good news regarding their blessed pastor. Then all the clergy went out with incense and tapers, and all the people, as great a multitude as there was throughout the whole city, to meet him, as far as the monastery to which he had withdrawn after leaving the ship. There, when they had met one another and prayed, they sat down after the prayer.
XCI. Now, having spoken his greeting to the people, both small and great, he left the monastery and [went] to the city.
[GREEK COLUMN] A …and began to proceed toward the city with the monks accompanying him, chanting in the rite of supplication as follows: "Blessed art Thou, Christ God, who chastisest and healest, who liftest up those who are cast down by Thy power, and grantest grace to those who trust in Thee, saving them in every time. Protect Thy city and Thy faithful people, keeping them according to Thy good pleasure, and granting us also Thy great mercy." The multitude of the people of the city came down as far as the river of the city, and they received the holy man, lauding him and at the same time giving thanks to God. Having greeted everyone with a holy kiss and laid his hands upon each one, he blessed them. The blessed Gregory approached and fell at the feet of his father and kissed them. And rising, he fell upon his neck, and each wept for the other's sake. Likewise, having seen his mother among the elder women of the city, he worshipped and kissed her feet and hands as well. And they entered into the city, chanting the same thing. However, he did not go up into the episcopal residence nor into the church, nor did he even wish to turn his eyes to look at it, but going aside, he pitched his tent outside the idolatrous temple which was near the wall toward B the south. And he kept watch there incessantly together with the people, having made there a likeness of the holy table; and there he lifted up the precious and life-giving cross. After these things, having prayed to God, he put to flight the demons who were there, who were lurking in the idol of Eber and of Raps. And he rebuilt that temple, making it very beautiful, and named it in the name of the holy and chief apostles, Peter and Paul. And he directed the archdeacon to provide for all those in the city who were in need, for widows and orphans alike, with what was necessary for their needs.
[LATIN COLUMN] A …a procedere coepit monachis comitantibus et supplicationis ritu ita canentibus: Bene tibi omnes dicant, Christe Deus, qui castigas et sanas, qui prostratos erigis virtute tua, qui spem in te collocantibus opem affers, et in omni discrimine salutem reddis. Tu civitatem, tu fidelem populum serva: sint omnes, quales esse cupis, et magna nos misericordia sustentes. Ingens vero populi multitudo, quæ ad flumen usque pervenerat, sanctum virum excepit, acclamabantque illi, et gratias Deo agebant: quibus ille sanctum osculum impartiebatur, et manus capiti bene cuique precando imponebat. Progressus beatus Gregorius ad patris sui pedes procidit, eosque osculatus est: mox surgens in collum ejus invasit, ac flevit uterque alterius causa. Deinde cum inter urbanas presbytidas matrem vidisset, eodem modo pedes ejus et manus osculatus est: agmen autem in urbem pergebat eumdem iterans cantum. Ceterum sanctus vir ad domum pontificalem non accessit, neque ad templum; quin et oculos avertit, ne illud videret: verum divertens tentorium suum fixit contra vetus delubrum, quod prope mœnia erat meridiem spectans B (17). Ille pernoctare assidue cum populo, ibidemque sacram mensam mysteria peragere [cvii] coepit (18), defixo venerandæ crucis signo, ut sublime emineret; tum fusis ad Deum precibus, dæmones fugavit sub idolis illic latitantes, quorum alter Eber, alter Raps dicebatur (19). Restituit autem templum illud pulcherrimam in formam, et in honorem sanctorum principum apostolorum Petri et Pauli dedicavit. Nec interea egenos oblitus, præscripsit archidiacono, ut quotquot in urbe erant viduæ ac pupilli, iis quæ cuique opus essent suppeditaret (20).
C (17) Delubrum, quod a Gregorio nostro refectum, sanctisque apostolis Petro et Paulo dedicatum dicitur, illud esse videtur, cujus meminit Cicero (lib. iv in Verr. c. 45), quodque Herculis templum appellat, et sanctum apud Agrigentinos ac religiosum fuisse tradit. Erat id, ut ait Tullius, non longe a foro, at simul, ut adnotavit Orvillius (in Siculis c. 5, p. 95), prope mœnia in extrema urbe versus mare, id est ad meridiem, ut affirmat Leontius. At ejus exigua nunc vestigia supersunt. (18) Edditio est [cvii] Quippe is brevitatis gratia omisit, quod alii addunt. In Constitutionibus apostolicis leges (lib. v, c. 15), sive sacrum corpus et sanguinem Christi sub figura panis et vini. Hæc enim verborum illorum vis est. Nam a catholica doctrina recedunt, et Patrum dictis abutuntur, qui aliter explicant. De qua controversia vide, si vacat, Harduinum De Sacramento altaris (cap. 7, p. 261, inter Op. Sel.). (19) Quidquid est ulterius: Raps vero Triptolemus sive Magister, quod is homines agriculturam docuisset, cujus Siculi studiosissimi fuerunt. Quod si indigetem atque vis Deum, eo nomine Vulcanum designatum dixerim: qui et Rex artis in Claudii Gothici nummo appellatus est. (Vaill. V.) (20) Ad hæc tempora pertinere dicenda est Gregorii Magni epistola (lib. viii, n. 23), qua Fantinum defensorem, Judæorum causa, qui Christiani fieri volebant, Agrigentum ire jussit, ut cum episcopo de illorum baptismo transigeret. Scripta enim fuit mense Junio indictionis primæ, sive anno 598: Domina, inquit, abbatissa monasterii Sancti Stephani, quod in Agrigentino est territorio constitutum indicante, comperimus multos Judæorum ad Christianam fidem, divina gratia inspirante, velle converti. Tum hortatus, ut eos conveniat atque adjuvet, hæc addit: Quibus tamen si longum vel triste videtur solemnitatem sustinere Paschatem, et eos nunc ad baptisma festinare cognoscis; ne, quod absit, longa dilatio eorum retro possit animos revocare, cum fratre nostro episcopo loci ipsius loquere, ut pœnitentia ac abstinentia quadraginta diebus indicta, aut die Dominico, aut si celeberrima festivitas fortassis occurrerit, eos omnipotentis Dei misericordia protegente baptizet. Demum Fantino admonito, ut pauperibus vestem ad baptisma sua impensa comparet, subjicit: Si vero sanctum Pascha elegerint exspectare, iterum cum episcopo loquere, ut modo quidem catechumeni fiant, atque ad eos fre-
- A quentius accedat, geratque sollicitudinem, et animos eorum admonitione suæ adhortationis accendat: ut quanto quæ exspectatur, elongatur festivitas, tanto præparare, et eam desiderio ferventi debeant sustinere.
XCII. The consecration followed the construction of the temple, to which a year had been devoted, after which he set about performing the divine mysteries therein. He also added useful chambers to the temple, in which he himself and his associates might dwell. He was accustomed repeatedly to prepare a table for widows and the needy of every kind, and to minister to them himself; his mother did no less. Moreover, he did not cease to exhort the people day and night to take thought for their own salvation, to attend to it seriously, and to recall themselves from every sin. Thus, the blessed Gregory, by speaking and acting daily, as if sowing spiritual gifts into the hearts of men like a furrow, consecrated a great people to God, the Savior of all; by unsheathing the divine sword, he cut away the pestilent heresies from the flock entrusted to him, and he never ceased to season the minds of those he shepherded with the savory salt of divine knowledge, using the cutting sword of the Holy Spirit. And this yielded fruit in utility not only for those who inhabited the city, B but it overflowed even to those far away, for his fame was carried into every land, and, with the zeal of men stirred up, they desired to come to him, and they brought all those possessed by demons to his feet. For when they came to the blessed man for the sake of a cure, they all returned home bearing both the health of body and soul through his prayers. Thus the holy man, as he meditated upon the commandments of the Lord day and night in the manner of the prophet David, became like a tree planted near the running waters, which gave its fruit in its time and gives it to the needy.
XCIII. Meanwhile, however, in order to escape the mask of opinion and the empty vainglory of men—since that multitude of people was flowing into Agrigentum for the sake of cures—he took with him some of his more pious clerics and spent some time in deserts and mountains, living a life dedicated solely to God. Yet the most wise man did not therefore abandon the care of his flock to a great extent. For he had charged the archdeacon Euplus, along with Erasmus, to preside over the affairs of the Church. Euplus was commanded by the blessed man D to provide abundantly for the widows and orphans from his resources; to Erasmus, however, was entrusted the care of instructing the people and teaching them sound doctrine. For he also possessed a good natural ability and had been trained by Saint Gregory. Thus, while these blessed men provided for the necessities of the people in the places where it was needed, Saint Gregory acted with much confidence, for the most part, in explaining the divine oracles privately to those who went to him.
A Performing healings for the sick and shepherding the Church of God for many years, and keeping it preserved unharmed from the damage of intellectual wolves, he fell asleep in peace, committing his spirit into the hands of God; having left behind for us a model of his virtuous life, he rejected the temptations brought upon him by the devil.
A
XCIV
. In his revelations during childhood, he recounted the great Samuel, B the mysteries having been uncovered to him by God. By his humility and patience, he imitated the righteous Joseph. In the endurance of afflictions, he imitated the much-suffering Job. But why should I be long-winded in comparing the divine Gregory to those theological Fathers? C He imitated, as far as was possible, the zeal of Elijah, the obedience and facility of miracles of Elisha—both of them initiates of divine grace—the fervor of Peter, the restless and anxious teaching proclamation of Paul for the Churches of God, and the most theological doctrine of John, which was lived out in that eternal and co-equal glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Moreover, he also became a martyr by his resolve, struggling daily for the truth, and teaching the Lord’s people, and turning away the intellectual wild beasts, and keeping the flock unharmed; he was a foundation of hierarchs and a companion of the holy. For he walked the virtuous paths of all, as much as was possible for him, by the grace of the Lord. And his healings at his divine tomb bear witness to this in the case of every sort of illness.XCV
. But, O vertex of Fathers, Gregory, having boldness toward your lover and Lord, as one walking round the throne of your Creator, do not cease to intercede for us incessantly to the D philanthropic Master on behalf of those who unworthily stir up their ignorant and inarticulate tongue to praise you. For it was necessary for your own most holy instrument to be present for the eulogy, so that it might worthily utter a discourse of your praises. But nevertheless, knowing the disposition of your will, do not reject the childish stammerings of my miserable mind. Bring to a halt the scandals being stirred up by those who separate the Churches.[The following is an excerpt from the historical notes concerning his death:] Certain of the holy men before us say that our holy Father Gregory, having arrived in Spain for some needs that were profitable to the soul, there received the end of his life.
end the insults of those who depart, and by your intercessions turn away the incursions of the Barbarians, A that they may not bring destruction upon the Christian people; establish the state in stable peace; defend with your supplications before God the leaders of the monks from the onset of hidden lions and evil spirits; finally, heal the diseases of our bodies and souls with the active medicine of your prayer; and in this present life, by the aid of your prayers, snatch us from the hands of invisible and visible enemies; but in the life to come, cause that we may hear that blessed voice calling to the right hand and into the heavenly bridal chamber those who have lived rightly and who have, in word and deed, kept the precepts of the Lord blamelessly; into which may we all attain, by the grace and loving-kindness B of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
I might say that the innovations of the Greeks pointed out in the offenses of the Churches, which the Trullan synod introduced in canons 3, 4, 13, 67, 82, were—as Natalis Alexandrinus contends—enacted in the year 688. Moreover, we know that the Barbarians by whose incursions the Christians were vexed were the Saracens, who at that time, having occupied the East, were also aspiring to the West. Finally, it is most truly said that the state lacked peace when the empire was tottering under the rivalries of factions, and with Justinian deposed from the throne, Leontius, and then Absimarus, claimed the kingdom for themselves not without the slaughter of many. Furthermore, we hope that what has been amended or illustrated by us regarding Leontius will bring some light toward knowing the whole history of Gregory, which we have received as indeed hindered by many difficulties. Certainly, before us, neither Baillet had published anything clarified, nor had other writers of lives or eulogies brought forth anything but commonplaces, and those only lightly touched upon.
ANNALS OF ST. GREGORY II, BISHOP OF THE AGRIGENTINES
[cx]I. The era in which our Gregory lived has been so defined by us that we neither agree with Cajetano, who thought he flourished under the reign of Justinian (28), nor do we consider that Lancia should be preferred, who made him contemporaneous with the age of Justinian (29). Truly, just as Lancia shook the opinion of Cajetano with many arguments, so do the reasons we have already set forth in the annotations seem to weaken the opinion of Lancia; although to us, even in this one matter, it seemed that there was sufficient cause to depart from both, because neither brought forth any authority of those times in which they contend Gregory lived. For that was absolutely necessary, and they ought to have brought all diligence and study to it, since the history of Leontius completely lacks certain and clear indications of the age, as their diverse opinions and judgments declare. Had either of them produced the testimony of a writer contemporary with those times, the dispute would have been settled by it, and there would have seemed to be no cause left for doubting.
Setting aside, therefore, the contentions of these men, from which we could have learned nothing certain, we judged that the only thing to be sought was whether mention of our Gregory was ever made in any of the ancient writers. And so that we would not wander more widely than was just in scrutinizing antiquity, being instructed by Leontius that Gregory had existed not long before him, we decided to investigate first the age of Leontius himself. For once this was discovered, we did not have to range beyond the ends of the preceding century to find some traces of our Gregory. Nor, indeed, did we waste our efforts in that investigation, for we discovered that Leontius, as is now permitted us to recognize, served in the seventh century as superior of the monastery of Saint Sabas at Rome.
II. Since, therefore, according to the word of Leontius, our Gregory could hardly have been older than that century, we began to search for his memory and name in the monuments of the sixth century that still exist. But behold, in the letters (30) of Gregory the Great, a certain Gregory occurs once and again.
A The Bishop of Agrigento runs [through them]. This pleased us entirely. For the chronological accounts harmonized splendidly: yet that one thing did not seem sufficient for us to establish that he was the very same one whose life Leontius had handed down to posterity. Upon these letters being read through, we learned clearly and distinctly that Gregory of Agrigento had been accused before the Supreme Pontiff, as Leontius narrates; and this indeed made us more eager and provoked us more vehemently to investigate the remaining matters. We find, however, as it was handed down by Leontius, that he had set out for Rome to plead his case (31), that the accusers from Sicily had been summoned thither (32), and that, the judgment having been completed, he had returned to his own see (33).
Furthermore, these things seemed to almost finalize the matter, such that we would no longer judge any other Gregory to be indicated by Leontius. For we thought it could hardly happen by chance that there existed two bishops of the same city, both bearing the same name, who had both been accused, called to Rome for judgment, and had returned to their own city afterwards.
III. It remained, however, for us to weigh that other ages, entirely different times, seem to be indicated by those things by which we delimit the whole history of Leontius. B Such are the referencing of Macarius, Archbishop of Jerusalem, who did not live beyond the year 574; of Eustathius, Archbishop of Antioch, who is not thought to have reached the year 338; of Justinian Augustus, who died in the year 565; of the heretics Sergius, Cyrus, and Paul, the first of whom is said to have been Archbishop of Constantinople in the year 610. For those controversies which we mentioned originated from thence, as did the double opinion that arose concerning the age of Gregory. But since it was clear that these things were in conflict with one another, because those who existed at widely different times were made contemporaries; they gave cause to suspect that the copies that have reached us were erroneous—not through any foolish incompetence of Leontius the author, but of an ancient scribe, who added the names of those whom he indeed knew to have once existed, but whose age he was clearly ignorant of. The codex 40 of the Basilians increased the suspicion, in which we see "Justinus" substituted for "Justinian": Simeon Metaphrastes also increased it, who, although he accepted all the facts narrated by Leontius, nonetheless does not have the names of Justinian and Eustathius: furthermore, we did not think it a matter of little significance that in all copies the name of the Bishop of Carthage, of the Archbishop of Constantinople, and of the Supreme Pontiff is left unsaid, while in one, not even the name of that Theodore who is said to have been the successor of Gregory is extant. For why would Leontius have passed over these things rather than those? Especially since the name of the Supreme Pontiff could not be unknown to an inhabitant of Rome. Finally, nothing seemed to smell more of another's hand than the names of the three heretics who are mentioned: for they were condemned at a time when Leontius was staying in Rome, and were condemned not only in Constantinople, but first in Rome by one hundred and twenty-five bishops, whom Agatho the Supreme Pontiff had called into council.
All these things nearly exerted a force, and led us not unwillingly to the opinion that the individual proper names had been deliberately passed over by Leontius and left to the interpretation of the readers: since there was also a sufficiently probable cause for this silence, namely, that by bringing forth the names of others, he would also have had to produce the name of Gregory the Great, whose memory, which he held dear, history seemed to favor less. Therefore, we have now deemed it to be pronounced that the codices are corrupted and that the history has been deformed by added names: once these are removed, the rest indeed appear to hold together and correspond to the monuments of the ancients. C
IV. Moreover, arguments not to be despised have been added from the Commentary of our Gregory itself, which declare his age to be at the final times of the sixth century and at the beginning of the seventh with no less evidence. For first, he commemorates the time of Mauricius Augustus as if it were close to his own, indicating its sad end through figurative language (34). Nor does he seem to designate less, as if of his own times, the heresy of Eutychius concerning the resurrection of bodies, which Gregory the Great indeed suppressed while he was acting as apocrisiarius in Constantinople (35). In another place, one might say that he touches upon the secret history of Procopius to a certain extent (36): which was brought to light after the passing of Justinian, or rather of Justin the Younger, whom he had as a successor. The same man, when he more than once detests and convicts the heretics of various sects, never makes mention of the Monothelites, who were indeed condemned by the Sixth Synod after the year 680. But on the contrary, he acknowledges "autonomous cities" (37) and brings forward their clamors as an example, which, however, the arms of the Saracens compelled to silence in Sicily as the seventh century was turning. Finally, all the other things that our Gregory touches upon bear no indication that one could abuse to remove him from the place which we assign to him.
V. Having therefore noted these things, we have it for certain that the history of Leontius pertains to the end of the sixth century and the beginnings of the seventh, and that in it the life of that Gregory is set forth, of whom there is mention in the letters of Gregory the Great. In which opinion indeed Baronius also stood (38), having followed the authority of the letters of the same Gregory the Great. D However, his opinion did not seem, by right, at all similar to the truth to Cajetan and Pirrus. For the latter, since he had not examined Metaphrastes—whom alone he had consulted about these matters—was striving to reconcile things that were almost in conflict with one another: for he posited that our Gregory was both present at the Fifth Synod and was accused before Gregory the Great; if these things stood, he would have to confess an old man of seventy years accused of indecency. But we are by no means pressed by such a difficulty, since from our calculation
it may be clear that such calumny was brought against the holy man when he was in his thirty-second year, as we shall note a little further on.
It is better to describe the actual series of years which our Gregory lived, and to relate them to certain intervals of time.
The year 559 was the year of our Gregory’s birth, at which time the supreme pontiff was Pelagius, and the emperor Justinian. That this is the year of his birth, we show as follows: It is established that he was called to Rome to plead his cause in the year 591, in the 9th indiction, in the month of July or August. Now he who summoned him was the same one who had previously known him at Rome, as Leontius testifies, and indeed the same one who had made him a bishop: for he had come to the city only once before he was accused. Gregory the Great had therefore declared him bishop in the first year of his pontificate, that is, in the year 590, after the 3rd of the Nones of September, the day on which he assumed the supreme pontificate. Yet in that very year, when our Gregory had already been consecrated, Charito his father said that he was seeing his son after the twelfth year from which he had lost him: Gregory, therefore, who had fled from Agrigento when he was eighteen years of age, when he was first in Rome at the time of his consecration, was in the twenty-first year of his age; subtract 31 from 590, and there results the year 559, in which we have said he was born.
A Anno 567, Gregory, a boy of eight years, is led to Agrigento by his parents Charito and Theodota, and is handed over by Bishop Potamio to Damian the Grammarian for training.
Anno 571, when he was twelve years old, by request of his parents, he becomes a cleric under Potamio and is committed to the care of the archdeacon Donatus.
Anno 577, by divine admonition, he flees Agrigento, eighteen years of age, and finding a ship at the shore, he sails to Carthage.
Anno 578, having departed from Carthage with three monks, he goes to Tripoli, and spends a month there; then he completes the rest of the journey with the same companions, visits the monasteries of Palestine, and finally arrives at Jerusalem.
Anno 579, he lives among the monks: reaching his twentieth year, he is made a deacon by the Archbishop of Jerusalem.
Anno 580, he visits the monasteries of the Mount of Olives by the permission of the archbishop, and tarries in each for some time, and is kindled with a greater zeal for virtue. Soon he withdraws into the desert region.
Anno 584, having retreated into more secluded places, after spending four years with an old monk and having been cultivated there by the precepts of piety and the studies of many disciplines, he finally returns to Jerusalem, in his twenty-fifth year.
Anno 585, he remains in Jerusalem for another year with the archbishop and frequents the neighboring monasteries of the monks.
Anno 586, he seeks Antioch and, having stayed there for a year, gives many proofs of his wisdom.
Anno 587, he sets out for Constantinople and withdraws into the monastery of Saints Sergius and Bacchus: he is highly approved by the superior of the monastery and enters into the favor of the archbishop. B
Anno 588, he is ordered to be present at the council when he was twenty-nine years old: he becomes illustrious in the eyes of the Emperor Augustus and all the bishops.
[CXIV] Anno 589, he sails to Rome, where he arrives in the month of May: he turns aside into the monastery of St. Sabas and lies hidden there for more than a year.
Anno 590, when he had already reached the thirty-first year of his age, he is created Bishop of Agrigento, acknowledges his father, and proceeds to his own Church.
Anno 591, he becomes a defendant through a conspiracy of competitors, in his thirty-ninth year, and being accused, he is summoned to Rome toward the end of this year for judgment and is committed to custody.
Anno 593, Gregory’s accusers are summoned again to Rome: meanwhile, Peter, Bishop of Triocala, visits the Church of Agrigento.
Anno 594, Gregory, having been led out of custody when he was thirty-five years of age, is absolved in a synod, and the accusers are condemned. The supreme pontiff heaps many benefits upon him.
C Anno 595, he returns to Constantinople at thirty-six years of age, is favored with great honors by the emperor, and holds public addresses there; after Pentecost, he departs from the royal city.
In that same year, being increased with excellent gifts, when he had revisited Rome, he returned to Agrigentum and was led into his own city to the great joy of all. In the year 596, he purified and restored an ancient temple, in order to convert it into a monument of the Christian religion and for sacred use. In the year 597, he dedicated a temple in honor of the holy apostles Peter and Paul. In the year 598, he was advised by Fantinus the Defender, in the name of Gregory the Great, concerning the Jews who desired to become Christians in the suburbs of Agrigentum. Thus far it has been possible to assign Gregory’s life and the deeds performed by him to certain years. What follows is briefly touched upon by Leontius, but it lacks chronological markers; nor is anything available concerning Gregory’s death that might be added to those things which I have set forth in my annotations.
CELESTIAL HONORS
OF ST. GREGORY II, BISHOP OF THE AGRIGENTINES
Ⅰ. We must begin our account from the Roman Martyrology itself, owing to the dignity of the Church. In it, we read under the 9th day before the Kalends of December: "At Agrigentum, the deposition of the holy bishop Gregory." I know, indeed, that it is the opinion of Valesius that, apart from the Fasti proper to the Roman Church, there was anciently no Roman Martyrology, and that the first to exist was that which was published by the order of the Supreme Pontiff Sixtus V and illustrated by the annotations of Baronius. But what is more contrary to the words of Gregory the Great in his epistle to the patriarch Eulogius of Alexandria: "We, however, have the names of almost all the martyrs gathered in one volume, with their passions distinguished by individual days, and on these daily dates we perform the solemnities of the Mass in their veneration. Yet in that same volume it is not indicated how each one suffered, but only his name, the place, and the day of his passion are set down: whence it happens that many from different lands and provinces are known, as I have said, to have been crowned with martyrdom on individual days." Could anyone have described the order and form of the Roman Martyrology more accurately? For what Valesius adds—that a Martyrology common to the entire West is indicated by Gregory—I will readily grant; yet I shall contend that both its name and its authority came from the Roman Church, which first approved it and issued it once approved. This is clearly confirmed by the decree of the Synod of Cloveshoo, in Britain, in the year 747, in these words: "And also that throughout the cycle of the whole year, the nativities of the saints should be venerated on one and the same day according to the Martyrology of that same Roman Church, with their own appropriate psalmody or chant accompanying them." Therefore the name itself is ancient, to say nothing of the thing.
However, in what year the memory of our Gregory began to be duly celebrated among the Latins is a very difficult and obscure question. The ancient example of the Roman Martyrology, mentioned by Gregory the Great, is now rightly considered, after the excellent *Vindications* of Sollier, to be the Rosweydian [one], or that very one which Ado of Vienne placed before his own Martyrology, and which is accustomed to be called the Old Roman or Little Roman [Martyrology], of great antiquity indeed, since Sollier judges it to have been written around the year 740. Let the Hieronymian [Martyrology], edited by Florentinius, or even one more ancient, be regarded as being of the same age, if you please. In neither is there any mention of our Gregory; for the times did not allow it, in which hardly any others were accustomed to be proclaimed except martyrs. Nor was Bede, who was closest to those times, obliged to mention his name; for he was born in the same century in which Gregory died, and he considered that the old custom he had found in the Church ought to be retained. I pass over the Calendars, which almost exclusively remember only those whose feast was celebrated in the churches to which those very calendars belonged. But not even Florus, who enlarged Bede’s *Summary*, although he wrote later, indicated by any means that our Gregory was known to him. What of those who set out to write a Martyrology after them: Ado of Vienne, Usuard, Rhabanus, Notker? It appears that not one of these remembered him anywhere; unless perhaps concerning Notker, it is less certain whether he too might have omitted him. For the copy published by Canisius is missing after the 5th day before the Kalends of November. It is permissible, therefore, to suspect, or almost to affirm, that until the year eight hundred and fifty-five, in which Rhabanus is believed to have compiled his Martyrology, the name of Gregory was missing from the Roman [Martyrology]: especially since we see that Florus and Usuard remember St. Trudo, priest and confessor, who is read in the modern Roman [Martyrology] after our Gregory.
Ⅱ. We must now inquire why Gregory appears to have been honored so late among the Latins, the cause of which must be sought from the history of those times. We have stated that Gregory died about the year 638. After that year, the question of who next governed the Agrigentine Church is [original-script column: see facsimile]
A not clear. Indeed, from his death until the year 825, over a very long span of time, only three can be brought forward who are known to have been bishops there: Felix, who subscribed to the Roman Council under Agatho; [and] Hermogenes, whom Cajetanus unearthed from the Greek Menaia. But these are for me an indication that the Christian state in Agrigento was often disturbed and the Church vexed by the arms of the barbarians: a condition that also occurred in Syracuse in the year 670, which the Saracens plundered with a great slaughter of citizens. Meanwhile, since Rome and all of Italy were being forced to endure hostile aggressions from every side, concerning which we have heard the supreme pontiff Agathon complaining in another place, and since the roads were closed by the terror of enemies and the sea was infested by pirates, access to the city was rarely possible, and the supreme pontiffs could not easily extend their care to distant regions from there. The Patriarchs of Constantinople attempted to drag all of Sicily under their own jurisdiction, as though it had been deserted by the popes, and succeeded in doing in Sicily what they had dared in Illyricum, having also occupied the vast landed estates that belonged to the Roman Church. To this point refer the complaints of the supreme pontiff Nicholas I, claiming back what had been taken away in his second epistle to Michael the Augustus. "Furthermore," he says, "the Calabrian and Sicilian patrimonies, and whatever were granted to our Church, he obtained in possession and strove to govern by managing [them] through his own agents; let them be returned by your concessions..." Among these and the things stated above, we desire that the consecration of the Syracusan bishop be granted by our see, so that the tradition established by the apostles may in no wise be violated in our times. B Yet he does not seem to have obtained this, since not many years later by Leo the Augustus, who is surnamed the Wise, was published that famous and widely circulated *The formal constitution made by the emperor Leo the Wise as to how the thrones of the churches subject to the patriarch of Constantinople are ordered*; in which you will encounter *The Province of Sicily*, from which the following are said to obey that patriarch: the bishop of Syracuse, of Catania, of Taormina, of Messina, of Cefalù, of Termini, of Palermo, of Lilybaeum, of Troina, of Agrigento, of Tyndaris, of Leontini, of Alesa, of the island of Malta. Furthermore, because of these facts I judge that the memory of our Gregory was neglected among the Latins for so long, since in those times the Sicilians, partly on account of the barbarians and partly of the Greeks, seemed almost torn away from the Latins and separated in their feelings, and with the ancient offices interrupted, news regarding their affairs barely reached the Roman Church.
IV. Heavenly Honors of St. Gregory
C I. Yet in Sicily, and especially in Agrigento, where Leontius writes that the tomb of Gregory was famous for miracles, you will rightly conclude that he was numbered among the holy worshippers even long before the Norman domination, who in the year 1086, with Roger as leader, expelled the Saracens from Agrigento, a matter about which Cajetanus expresses no doubt in the Sicilian Martyrology. Nor does it seem to confirm this little that the old Agrigentine Church took care to preserve the relics of Gregory; for still in the great temple, as Pirrus hands down, that city possesses an arm of Saint Gregory II of Agrigento enclosed in silver coffers. King William II mentions that a temple had already been dedicated to Saint Gregory there in the Diploma which he gave to Bartholomew Ophamilio, Bishop of Agrigento, in the year 1179. For in it the king addresses the bishop thus: "At the petition of you and your canons, we give and perpetually concede to you and the Agrigentine Church the church of St. Gregory situated outside the walls of Agrigento with all its villagers and its just holdings and appurtenances, so that from this time forward the same church of St. Gregory with all its villagers and its just holdings and appurtenances shall be forever the property of the Agrigentine Church, etc." After which Pirrus adds: This is the very same temple of St. Gregory, which is still visited as whole in its greatest part; it was dedicated to Concordia in the time of superstitious worship, receding about a hundred paces to the east in the place called La Civita. Which, however, Orvillius thinks was sacred to Ceres. Since these things are so, I have wondered that Franciscus Maurolycus, an abbot born near Messina and in Sicily, made no mention of our Gregory in his Martyrology: whom I would say abstained for this reason, that he would have found the name of Gregory neither in the Catalog of Petrus de Natalibus nor in the Martyrology according to the custom of the Roman Curia. For he perhaps had not yet seen Molanus, who had added from the Greek Horologion *of the Holy Father Gregory of Agrigento and Amphilochius Bishop of Iconium*; for its first edition bears the year 1563; or certainly he had not thought it to be of such authority that he deemed its addition to be accepted by himself. However, for Baronius and his associates, to whom the care of correcting the Roman Martyrology had been entrusted, these were arguments of no small moment, that they should either retain the name of our Gregory, if they had found it written in any codex, or even insert it into the Roman registers if it had been omitted, just as we see has been done since that time in the Martyrologies, as many as have been published.
D IV. I come to the Menologia of the Greeks, who granted heavenly honors to our Gregory earlier than we did. I have no testimonies, indeed, that I might bring forth from the Menologia of the [cxvii] seventh or ninth century; for that ancient and distinguished [volume] of the Alban library, *A festal collection of the holy Gospels for the whole year*, which is now being edited by me, contains nothing about Gregory; nor is anything read in the Barberini [codex], which Allatius calls the most ancient.
A (83) Then perhaps in others, if any of such a great age exist, I might look in vain, because they were written according to the custom of our calendars on account of this or that individual Church, not for the use of all Churches. But yet, the authority of Joseph the Hymnographer, who is known to have lived in the ninth century (84), is of great weight here. For we know that he composed hymns for the sake of the churches, so that they might be sung in the temples during anniversary solemnities (85). Therefore, since our Gregory had this holy man as the herald of his praises, no one can deny that Gregory already existed among the Greeks in the ninth century in the register and list of saints whom they duly honored.
At the turn of the tenth century, a clear testimony to his sanctity was produced in the Menologium, which belonged to the Emperor Basil Porphyrogenitus; for Allatius shows that it did not belong to Basil the Macedonian (86). The Bollandist fathers write about this, no doubt, as follows (87): For this collection is more illustrious than the others we have seen, and of greater authority, for the reason that it seems to have been compiled not by the private choice of any individual, but for the public use of the churches of Constantinople; since it is known to have been written by the command of the Emperor Basil Porphyrogenitus before the year 984. Whether it is the first of this kind, we do not dare conjecture. B It is helpful to describe here the very words of the Menologium, which, thanks to the generosity of a most learned man and most excellent cardinal, Hannibal Albani, we have long had edited from that most beautiful Vatican codex (88): although those things which are handed down concerning Gregory's age must be corrected from those things which we have discussed in the annotations to the history of Leontius.
Commemoration of Saint Gregory, Bishop of Agrigentum.
(89) ‹ During the reign of Justinian Rhinotmetus (90), a certain Chariton and his wife Theodota, most hospitable people, lived in the city of Agrigentum. Their son was this Gregory, whom the bishop took from the sacred font of baptism, raised, and made a cleric. When he was eighteen years old, he went away to venerate the holy places; and he became a deacon under Macarius of Jerusalem. Then he returned to Byzantium; then to Rome, where he was appointed bishop of Agrigentum. Thence Sabinus and Crescentinus, moved by envy against him, caused him ten thousand trials. And performing various miracles, by the grace of God, he put them to shame and turned them black, so that to this day their posterity is seen to be such in every generation. And thus, having taken over the Church, and having performed ten thousand miracles, he departed this life in very advanced old age. ›C V. Next in time to this is the Menologium translated into Latin by Cardinal Sirleto and published by Canisius (91). For Basnage declared that it was completed in the eleventh century (92). In it, the life of Gregory is described as follows: "On this same day (93) the commemoration of Saint Gregory, Bishop of Agrigentum. He was born under the Empire of Justinian from the city of Agrigento, of pious parents most studious of hospitality and alms. Eighteen years old, he sought Jerusalem with a desire for the holy places, and there was made a deacon by Saint Macarius; he returned to Byzantium; afterwards he came to Rome, where he was created Bishop of Agrigentum. Having performed this duty illustriously, and having performed many miracles, he migrated to the Lord in extreme old age." In the same century there is a codex of the Nani family numbered 166, which contains the Gospels for all the days of the year (94). In this, on the VI Kalends of December, we read: *Toû ἁγίου Γρηγορίου τοῦ ᾿Ακραγαντίνων*. Nor is the Typikon written by the hand of our holy Father Bartholomew the Younger of Rossano less in age. D
of the Agrigentian; which was renovated in the year 1010, and which is still preserved in the monastery of Grottaferrata, or Crypta Ferrata, over which the holy abbot Bartholomew presided from the year 1010 to 1065. It is written, moreover, in the month of November thus: "On the 24th of the same month, of Saint Gregory, bishop of Agrigentum in Sicily, and the 'apodosis' of the feast." From that time, you will see that the name of Gregory is almost never missing from the Menaea or Menologies. The Greek Ephemerides of Siber and Papebroch also contain it; the Moscovian tables of Capponi, on which Falconius wrote a commentary, contain it; the Vanderhemian tables, which Papebrochius illustrated, contain it. Wherefore it is certain that our Gregory has been worshipped with celestial honors in the Greek Church from the ninth century to our own age, and that a perpetual opinion of his sanctity has prevailed far and wide.
VI. Something must also be said about the anniversary feast of St. Gregory, which was not the same everywhere. In the Basilian codex 42, I found it written: "The commemoration of his falling asleep is celebrated on the 24th of the month of November; by whose prayers may the Lord count us worthy of His kingdom." And the Vatican codex of Leontius offers this very day, the twenty-fourth of November, saying: "On the same day, the 24th, of Leontius the presbyter," etc. The Menology of Basil the August, the codex of the Nani family, the Typicon of Crypta Ferrata, the Ambrosian codices, the metrical Ephemerides of Papebroch, and the second Ruthenian codex of the Vatican library, which Assemanus mentions, designate the same day; nor does the common Menology of the Greeks differ from these, in which Amphilochius and Gregory are joined together: "Of our father among the saints Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium, and of our father among the saints Gregory of Agrigentum." But on the other hand, the Menology of Sirlet, which the Roman correctors followed in the Martyrology, exhibits the feast of St. Gregory on the 9th day before the Calends of December, which day is the twenty-third of November. Further, the Ephemerides of Siber designate the same day, as do the Moscovian tables of Capponi and the Vanderhemian tables: which Maximus Margunius, bishop of Cythera, likewise preferred in his Menaea, as the Venetian editions show. Moreover, we must trace the cause of this difference to the diverse solemnities of the Churches, among which the order of feasts required that the memory of our Gregory be referred to the next day: which is certainly not a novelty and can be confirmed by examples. However, because the Sicilians celebrate the feast on the 9th day before the Calends of December, we may rightly believe that this was the actual birthday of Gregory, because he may be said to have finally migrated to the blessed seats of the celestials.
AUTHORITIES OF THE ANCIENT WRITERS. OF ST. GREGORY II, PONTIFF OF AGRIGENTUM.
I. After our Leontius, who first undertook to write the life of Saint Gregory in a longer oration, and proved it here and there in many ways, as his examples—which we know still exist in many libraries—not obscurely declare, there were then not a few who handed down the same thing in summary. Marcus, the hegumen of the monastery of St. Sabas, of whom I have treated above, leads the way. How minutely and scrupulously he followed in the footsteps of Leontius is taught to us by the beginning which he used. For when Leontius had begun his life with, "A fearful and incomprehensible wonder and useful to the world," Marcus began thus: "A wise and incomprehensible thing and useful to the world." Therefore I am less angry with Allatius, who noted nothing of the library in which he had seen the copy of Marcus; for one may suspect from this that nothing was brought forth by Marcus which Leontius had not already written. After them, Simeon Metaphrastes, when he had decided to include in his volumes the lives of almost all who had flourished in sanctity, touched upon the affairs of our Gregory: and he followed Leontius or Marcus in such a way that, apart from the ornamentation of words and sentences, he does not seem to have added anything of his own or obtained anything from elsewhere. The Greek text, so far as I know, has not yet been edited in printed form, although copies exist in many libraries written by hand, the beginning of which is: "A most beautiful thing is virtue, and how great is its glory." Surius published these in Latin, and not very accurately, a fact which Cajetanus has already observed.
Then there was an anonymous author who finished a Breviary, and he also followed Leontius, though more freely than Metaphrastes. When Constantine Cajetanus, the abbot, had found a copy of this in Venice, he sent it to his brother Octavius, who at that time was devoting his effort to collecting the lives of the Sicilian saints. And so that Breviary also, rendered into Latin, was published in the work of Octavius: these, moreover, are the first verses: "This saint lived while Justinian Rhinotmetus was emperor, having sprung from the Agrigentine city, a province of Sicily." But while leafing through the Menaea of Margunius, I found that the document of Constantine contains nothing else than the Breviary of the Menas, whose beginning clearly responds to these things which have just been brought forward: "This holy man was during the reign of Justinian Rhinotmetus, originating from the city of Agrigentum in the province of the Sicilians." And the rest does not differ, down to the end.
Another anonymous Breviary is mentioned by Lambecius A, which he writes is preserved in the Imperial Library at Vienna, with this title: *Life and conduct of our holy Father Gregory, bishop of Agrigentum.* It testifies the beginning of his Life to be of this sort: *This blessed and great Gregory, the bishop of the Church of Agrigentum, is born in a certain village called Praetoria, Chariton being his father, Theodote his mother; these, being in great affluence, and in fear...* Others similar to this are two other Breviaries which the Ambrosian Library preserves, of which the one begins: *This man existed in the reign of Justinian Rhinotmetus from the city of Agrigentum...* B the other: *From the province of the Sicilians, the offspring of Chariton and Theodote, living piously in self-sufficiency. Being eight years of age, having given Gregory to be educated in the sacred letters, he is sealed as a cleric by Potamion the bishop, etc.* [Cod. sign. B. 133, part. sup.] Whoever compares these with the commentary of Leontius will find them to agree in both subject matter and words with his, so that I have concluded that not even these others have committed the life of Saint Gregory of Agrigentum to writing.
It is permitted to recount many after those whom we mentioned above while dealing with the fame of his sanctity: these are, for the most part, those whose words we cited in the annotations to Leontius, Gregory the Great, Nicetas the monk of the Studite monastery, and Nicephorus Callistus. For the fourth is an anonymous author, whose senarii, from those that the Greeks call *political* verses, Possinus found inscribed at the end of the Gregorian codex. They are of this sort:
While he preaches with a well-mannered style, Subtle that mind, powerful in maxims, Gregory, a sea of great eloquence, Consecrates intellect, soul, mind, and body: Most sapiently with divine discourses While he weighs the words of the wise Solomon, Gregory, the sole interpreter, expounds the sum Of the doctrine of the wise Solomon, the very great. Therefore, friends, carefully peruse these things, Which have made the learned, which have made friends of wisdom: By which, O friends, may I not fade from your mind.
This, indeed, the little scholar scribe himself appears to have composed, after he had copied Gregory’s Commentary. For this was the custom of many scribes, of which you will find other examples in the *Palaeographia* of Montfaucon.
WRITINGS OF ST. GREGORY II, BISHOP OF AGRIGENTUM
C [CXXI] I. Although until now our Gregory has scarcely been counted anywhere in the sense of the ancient Fathers who illustrated the Church with their writings (for after Cave, who reported the words of Possinus, the rest have remained silent, not even excepting Ceillier, who last wove the history of sacred writers), yet that he wrote much on many subjects is attested by Leontius, from whose Commentary in the *Bibliotheca Sicula* of Mongitore these works are attributed to him: *Orations on the dogmas of the faith to the Antiochenes*. — *Orations edited at Constantinople, both for teaching and for praising*. — *Sermons to the people on dogmas, on the Lenten fasts, on the holy prince of the apostles, and many others*.
The same author adds from the same Life that Gregory as a youth interpreted the sacred Scriptures at the command of the patriarch of Jerusalem. He could have added, however, that the same was done D by him afterwards, when he administered the Church of Agrigentum as bishop: to which pertain those words of Leontius: *Wherefore when these blessed men (his deacons), where there was need, rendered their labor excellently, there was also an abundance for holy Gregory of privately explaining from the divine oracles things that could contribute to the salvation of men.* We judge the work of that time to be the Commentary...
on Ecclesiastes, which is now being published: not only because nothing juvenile or lacking gravity is found in it, but also because the matters which we have pointed out as having been indicated by him declare the written work to be from after the year 512, at which time, having been freed from all dangers, he was discharging his pontificate in peace and quiet.
[II] Now, indeed, since all the other writings of our Gregory have either perished or at any rate are unknown, we can say something about this one commentary: namely, that if it has emerged from the shadows, if it has come into the hands of men, we admit that it is owed to Peter Possinus of the Society of Jesus, whose labors in researching and editing the writings of the Greeks no one ignores. In his *Thesaurus Asceticus* (13), after mentioning the opuscula of the ancient Greeks, especially the Fathers, which he had described here and there in libraries, he adds this: "I have brought to light certain things of the former topic: I have many more in my chests. For there are in my possession, besides the long-since given collections of the Fathers on Matthew and Mark, significant supplements and additions for the Catenae edited on Luke and John, and on Genesis: likewise, entire, most copious Catenae on Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel: and likewise, Greek Scholia on the twelve minor prophets: and moreover a continuous Commentary extended over twelve books by saint Gregory, bishop of Agrigentum, on Ecclesiastes: which, leaving Rome in the previous year 1621, I left to the learned youth John Francis de Rubeis, a Roman, to be gifted with Latinity and light." Possinus says only this, nor did he add anything about the codex or about the library in which he had described it. But it occurred to me that the codex had perhaps been found by him in the library of Charles Montchal, archbishop of Toulouse, in which he had also found a great part of the ancient interpreters of Mark, whom he published, as he testifies in his Preface to the Catena of the Greek Fathers on Mark. I also suspected that the copy had come out of the Coislinian library of Saint-Germain. For this entire Commentary is read there in codex 57, which Montfaucon reports—a man whom he calls of excellent note and estimates to have been written in the ninth century. And that did not please me much. For while the Commentary is indeed said in that codex to be by Gregory, it is nonetheless by Nyssen, "The Explanation of the holy Father of ours Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes," even if it is not his, as Montfaucon himself demonstrated, and we too will note in its place; yet it seemed less certain that it was the Agrigentine's: so that one could say that it had not borne a genuine inscription to him as attributed by Possinus. But the most learned and kind Gabriel Brotier, who went to the Coislinian library at Paris on my behalf and found in that codex that some things which I had pointed out to him were missing, removed this scruple for me and made it clear that Possinus’s example was from a different codex: which was then confirmed again by the variant readings sent to me from Paris. Moreover, it seemed very strange to me that Possinus and Montfaucon (14), when each declared his own codex by a brief description, both stated that the Commentary of Gregory was divided into twelve sermons or books, while in both examples there are no more than ten, as Brotier testified to me about the Parisian one, and as is evident to anyone about this codex of ours from Possinus—which I think happened because they had attributed the books or sermons to the chapters of Ecclesiastes, which have long been numbered as twelve. But others wonder more about me myself, as I, who nonetheless had a copy at hand, also slipped once, when I predicted that I was thinking about an edition of this work (15): an error of Possinus led me—unwitting as I was and then devoted to other things—into that same error.
[III] The things which I brought up above from the *Thesaurus* of Possinus were also mentioned by Cave (16): who finally added this: "What became of it (the Commentary) thereafter, is not clear: but now, indeed, from those things which I shall say, it will be clearly established." At the time that Possinus returned to Gaul, that Roman jurist Rossius, to whom he had handed over his copy, was twenty-five years of age, and being already then possessed of Greek letters, he was at the service of Cardinal Francis Barberini for Greek studies. While his father Philip, however, was taking care of editing Ciacconius’s works at home, he himself, intent on translating Greek into Latin, had sent to the Bollandists the laudation or Life of Saint John Damascene by Constantine the Logothete, which he had translated, and they published it (17). Nor was fame lacking for that learned man thereafter: for in the year 1685, he was co-opted among the Vatican writers under the title of the Greek language: and finally from the year 1701, he obtained the professorship of Greek letters in the Lyceum of Wisdom (18). He indeed, when he had received the Gregorian copy corrected by Possinus, and of which he had already made the Prologue Latin (19), commenced the labor of translating. And yet he was not so successful in urging the work that he seemed to have equaled, either in elegance of writing or diligence of translating, that former translation which he had performed as an adolescent. For I know not what censors, into whose hands his writings came, noted many things which they judged to be less correctly rendered or used by him. For that reason, I believe, the incentives and aids for publishing the work were lacking to him. And because he subsequently fell into illness and soon began to be occupied by other cares, having abandoned the plan of editing, he finally offered the copy, with that translation of his, such as it was, as a gift to the supreme pontiff Clement XI. Thus it happened that the Commentary was brought into the Albani library, from which it might at length, in our age, come into the light of men.
A IV. For since there was the opportunity to embrace the more severe letters, I undertook to adorn this *spartem* [humble task]; and beginning with an interpretation, because Rossius's translation was not approved, I rendered the whole work into Latin again from the beginning to the end. In which labor I preferred to follow the method of the great Jerome B—whose precept I also kept—who judged that one should consider the meaning of the authors rather than their words, thinking that I was writing for those who would seek the content here rather than the words. Then followed a further concern: that what I considered slightly more obscure, I should illustrate somewhat with examples sought elsewhere, and that I should ensure that the very sentiments of the divine Ecclesiastes would stand out more, and once explained more diligently, would be more easily perceived. Moreover, for the sake of this matter, I did not think that even this should be neglected: that I should accurately compare the words of Ecclesiastes, which ours presents, with this translation of the Seventy interpreters which we now use; and that I should likewise compare the readings of Olympiodorus, and sometimes of other Fathers who used passages from Ecclesiastes, and that I should record in their proper place whatever diverse or variant readings they might have: then also, lest any diligence should seem to have been omitted, as often as I discovered some difference in other examples, which he not infrequently draws from the Holy Scriptures, that I should nonetheless admonish the reader about this very thing—which had to be done by me quite frequently; so often do those things differ from the vulgar copies.
C V. But one may ask here, what interpretation of the Holy Scriptures does Gregory seem to have followed? For since the entire context of Ecclesiastes, which he explains in detail, and the other passages also, which he repeatedly brings forward from the divine Books, frequently—as I was saying just now—depart from those which we now read in the edition of the LXX Interpreters, it is manifest that a different copy was at his disposal than that which has come down to us. Indeed, it is not permitted to doubt that long before Origen there existed in the churches everywhere not a few copies of the divine Books, all from one source. For Augustine says of that translation: "The Church received this, which is the Septuagint, as if it were the only one, and the Greek Christian peoples use it, most of whom are ignorant of whether there is any other." From this Septuagint translation it was also translated into the Latin language, which the Latin Churches hold. Furthermore, this edition, from the time when others began to exist—namely two from Aquila, two again from Theodotion and Symmachus, then those which are called the fifth, sixth, and seventh—began to be called *Koine*, or vulgar and common, so that it might be distinguished from these. But the copies, as they were gradually transcribed by one person from another, began to differ from the reading of that first Alexandrian codex from which they had flowed, either through the negligence or the ignorance of the scribes. D "But this *Koine*," says Jerome—that is, the common edition—"is the very one which is also the Septuagint; but this is the difference between them, that the *Koine* is the old edition corrupted by places and times and the will of the scribes, etc." I believe, indeed, that there were already some then who, transcribing the vulgar Bible, had at hand some copy of a different interpretation—of Symmachus, for instance, or another interpreter—and the same ones, as often as they fell into an obscure or faulty passage, would amend it from that copy: and so, for this reason also, the number of variant readings grew, which Jerome himself acknowledged were very many in his own age.
Perhaps you will say that the task was taken in hand by Origen early enough, and that those *Tetrapla* and *Hexapla* and *Octapla* were constructed by him with incredible labor, so that through the comparison of the other interpreters it might be represented to everyone what was missing or redundant in the first Translation, or what, in short, did not correspond to the Hebrew copy. Without a doubt, from that excellent codex of Origen, the Churches were able to provide themselves with a copy of the divine volumes that was more genuine and sincere, from which, indeed, we know that Jerome's Latin interpretation was also expressed: which, as it was a work of the greatest diligence and skill, was deservedly chosen by the holy Church, that all might retain it most religiously. But not even Origen's industry and labor brought it about that there was, thereafter, one copy of the divine Books among all, and one edition approved by the common consent of all. For hear what Jerome records about this matter: "If the edition of the Seventy interpreters remained pure, and as it was turned into Greek by them, you would be urging me in vain, my Chromatius, most holy and learned of bishops, to translate the Hebrew volumes into the Latin language. For what had once occupied the ears of men, and had strengthened the faith of the nascent Church, it was right to be confirmed by our silence. But now, since various copies are carried about due to the variety of regions, and that genuine old translation is corrupted and violated, you think it is our discretion either to judge from many what is true, or to forge a new work upon an old, and to peck out the eyes of crows, as the saying goes, while the Jews mock us. Alexandria and Egypt laud Hesychius as their author in their Septuagint; Constantinople as far as Antioch approves the copies of the martyr Lucian; the provinces between these read the Palestinian codices, which Eusebius and Pamphilus circulated after they were worked on by Origen; and the whole world fights among itself with this three-fold variety."
And there was, indeed, some right for everyone even then, that one should not be forced to follow and embrace Origen. For in adorning his edition, he had not transcribed the *autographon* of the Seventy elders which was received by the universal Church, but only some copy of the common inter-
interpretation that he had emended; concerning which matter one must listen to Valesius in his letter to Ussher (24), for he discourses thus with him concerning Origen's edition: "If he had obtained the very authentic exemplar of the LXX elders, which you—following the assertions of Tertullian and Chrysostom—have all too easily believed was preserved in the Alexandrian library, he would certainly never have been silent about it; nor would Jerome or Epiphanius have omitted mention of this authentic exemplar." Therefore, what Baronius wrote is most true: that Chrysostom is mistaken in reporting that the authentic exemplar of the LXX elders was preserved in the Alexandrian library down to his own time (25). "For why," says Baronius, "was there such labor expended, first by Origen and then by others, in recognizing, emending, and restoring it to its original luster, if the original exemplar itself were available, from which all things could have been corrected and emended with greatest ease?" To which objection you try in vain to respond on page 53 when you say that Origen and the others labored at emending the vulgate edition, but not the pure and integral version of the LXX elders. But this response of yours does not dissolve the difficulty. For if the authentic exemplar still survived and was in the possession of Origen himself, what need was there for emendation? It would have sufficed to publish the authentic exemplar itself.
Nor is it established that Origen's exemplar—from wherever he thought it was taken—appeared sufficiently authentic even to Chrysostom himself; since sometimes he followed a different reading, and then subjoined to this the translation of the Septuagint and others that varied from it; which, at any rate, he would have preferred to all others, if indeed they had then acknowledged it as the authentic one of the Church. Indeed, in a homily on Psalm VII, at verse 11, he first introduces the reading of the exemplar—I believe—that the Antiochene Church followed: Ἐτάζων καρδίας καὶ νεφροὺς ὁ Θεὸς δίκαιος· ἡ βοήθειά μου παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ σώζοντος τοὺς εὐθεῖς τῇ καρδίᾳ. He adds immediately after: "Another: The one examining hearts and reins, God is righteous, my protector. And another: God is righteous, my help is from God." After these things he says: "But the Seventy said thus: The God who examines hearts and reins; righteous is my help from God."
[VI] Since these things are so, who can now determine what edition was once received among the Sicilians, or from what source that exemplar of the Bibles that our Gregory used was transcribed? It is indeed credible that, since Gregory spent his youth in Palestine and there devoted his efforts to the sacred Scriptures, he copied the Bibles for himself, as was the custom then, and thus compared his exemplar with the edition of the Palestinian codices. But what codices transcribed from those Palestinians, which leaned upon the authority of Eusebius and Pamphilus, can now be found for us to compare with the Gregorian readings of the book of Ecclesiastes? There is indeed, not among the Dutch as many have believed, but at Rome, that most ancient and beautiful Parisian Marchalian codex [CXXV] with a praiseworthy subscription which testifies that it was taken *ἀπὸ ἀντιγράφου τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ἀπολιναρίου τοῦ κοινοβιάρχου*, in which Apollinarian exemplar it was written not once that it was transcribed from the Hexapla, and emended from the Tetrapla of Origen by the work of Pamphilus and Eusebius (26). There is also the Chisian codex of excellent quality, to which is ascribed: *Ἐγράφη ἐξ ἀντιγράφου ἔχοντος τὴν ὑποσημείωσιν ταύτην· Ἐγράφη ἐκ τῶν Τετραπλῶν, ἐξ ὧν καὶ παρετέθη*—namely: "It was transcribed from an exemplar having a note of this kind: Transcribed from the Tetrapla, with which it was also collated" (27). But in the former, only the minor and major prophets are contained; in the latter, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, and Isaiah. Also remarkable is the Coislinian codex with this note: *ἀντεβλήθη δὲ πρὸς τὸ ἐν Καισαρείᾳ ἀντίγραφον τῆς βιβλιοθήκης τοῦ ἁγίου Παμφίλου χειρὶ γεγραμμένον τοῦ αὐτοῦ* (28)—meaning that it was collated at Caesarea in the library of Saint Pamphilus with an exemplar written by the hand of the saint himself. But this codex also does not contain other divine Books beyond the Epistles of Paul. Nor do I know of other codices of the same origin and authority in which the book of Ecclesiastes might be found, against which we could compare the Gregorian readings. Certainly, Montfaucon found none such when he adorned his Hexapla most diligently.
Furthermore, how does it happen that our author not only agrees for the most part with Olympiodorus the Alexandrian, but also introduces a passage from Proverbs which we do not read in the common edition, but have entirely in the Alexandrian, which lauded Hesychius as its author, and it is clear that it existed also in the Lucianic, since Basil, bishop of Seleucia in Isauria, indicates it not obscurely (29)? Conversely, Cyril of Jerusalem, to whom Palestinian codices should have been at hand, not rarely produces readings other than those which appear to have been in Gregory's codex (30). Do not these things provide great cause for doubting whether Gregory ever obtained an exemplar of the Palestinian codices? Nor could that be easily refuted if I were to say that he used rather an exemplar that had been brought into Sicily before the time of Origen: for in that age it was not permitted to acquire new codices for a small price, nor was there a great abundance of them everywhere. Then, too, I would judge that for many it was a matter of religion not to recede from those exemplars which they had received from their ancestors; for it was constant that not a few copies of the Bibles had been corrupted by heretics, as has been shown more fully by Germonius (31). Furthermore, our author might be seen to have had some exemplar of the Symmachian translation as well, for he often cites it and more often follows it. Wherefore, either Symmachus himself...
or the Hexapla of Origen may be said to have come into his hands. Yet I consider both uncertain, not only because, according to the opinion of Valesius, it became the custom after Origen that readings from the other interpreters were habitually added to the common edition of the Bible as well, but no less so because our author was able to find the interpretations of Symmachus in the writings of the Fathers too, who had often followed him.
Whatever is to be concluded about these matters, this much is certain to me: that the things which Gregory states, differing from the edition of the Septuagint interpreters that we use today, especially in the context of Ecclesiastes, were not introduced rashly by some chance or vacillating memory, but were taken from some codex and recorded with careful note. For this work does not contain extemporaneous speeches taken down by notaries, but commentaries written with diligence and published for the benefit of the needy.
VII. As regards the work of Gregory itself, whether you look to the power of his writing or consider the wealth of his doctrine, you might rightly say that it should not be reckoned among the least of the writings of the ancient Fathers. Gregory’s style indeed appears almost Asiatic, yet it is of such an academic quality that it can be called neither unrefined nor confused. He sometimes joins words of almost [CXXVI] the same meaning, but in such a way that they make his speech fuller and more robust. He also at times loves a rather long and suspended text of discourse; yet this is done in such a way that the sense always remains fixed and stands out clearly. Nor is it without utility that he often compounds words with some boldness; for from this, grammarians may increase their resources no little bit. But indeed, what ought to be held as the most important thing is his doctrine, which is always straight and clear; everywhere he acts as a master of piety, he inflames souls toward virtue, he attacks vices and errors, and he defends Christian dogma and the catholic confession. Moreover, he explains the sentiments of Ecclesiastes in such a way as to make the reading of a book of all others nearly the most difficult to understand much clearer. For he is accustomed to interpreting them for the most part as they sound; very rarely does he hunt for allegory and tropes. Rather, he gathers examples from the other divine books, which it appears he had well in hand; then he tastes certain things from the writings of the Fathers, but he pursues the facts and senses rather than the words and their ornament; he even declares that he does not embrace some things which he judges were not suitably stated, and he demonstrates acutely and shrewdly why he holds a different opinion.
If you wish to know what things in the whole work might excite observation and seem worthy of note, although each has been indicated in its own place, I shall quickly touch upon them here. First, indeed, he handles and delivers the catholic doctrine concerning divine assistance and the free will of man excellently and clearly in many places. Nor does he discourse less correctly concerning original sin, such that, however, he does not consign to the damned those infants whom death has intercepted before baptism. He also teaches that the right actions of the living avail for the benefit of the dead; indeed, he acknowledges and approves the good moral actions of men of any kind whatsoever. He speaks clearly concerning the resurrection of our bodies; he mentions the confession of sins more than once, and he likewise brings forward a formula of consecration such as we read in the Greek Liturgies; he demonstrates that he thinks the history of Daniel and Susanna to be authentic. Always hostile to heretics, he chides Eunomius in particular and Aetius, and refutes their errors. He extols the celibate life and commends those great anchorites, Paul and Anthony. He indicates that the custom of praying to God before leaving the house prevailed; he affirms that sermons were held in churches and that the massive structures of temples dedicated to the one God were erected everywhere. He judges that Job, the athlete of piety, lived not before Solomon; indeed, he thinks that Solomon repented of his sins, and that after his repentance he applied himself to writing Ecclesiastes. He mentions James, the brother of our Lord, quite often, and does not make him an apostle. Finally, he even touches upon some secular matters: for he commemorates autonomous cities and their decrees, and military engines and the maneuvers of vaulters, and he declares how profound even then philosophers were in physics, reviewing the opinions concerning the orbit of the sun which were current at that time; and he celebrates a certain epoch, which the mathematicians of his age called the third periodic motion. I pass over the rest, which seem of less weight. But whoever applies his mind to the reading will, I believe, elicit many other things that might be able to profit the illustration of catholic doctrine above all else.
Furthermore, Gregory divides the entire Commentary into ten λόγους, which I have judged ought to be called Books; for the Greeks used that word in that sense as well, as Montfaucon and Bucher have noted after others (33). Nor indeed ought they to be called Orations, since there is no evidence in the work from which we might understand that such books were pronounced before the people.
VIII. It remains that we also examine the reason why Gregory, while he governed the Latin Church and was made a bishop in the Latin rite, should treat matters in Latin, yet wrote in Greek rather than in Latin. For the Sicilian bishops had not yet adhered to the Greeks, and in those churches the Latin rite, such as it began, still obtained. Therefore, in a very ancient codex of the Church of Syracuse, in which the series of the bishops of that Church is described, Cajetan admits (34) that it is clearly noted concerning Stephen II, whom Pirrus demonstrates to have been bishop in the year 787, that the Syracusan Church [CXXVII] began from him to chant in Greek, whereas it had previously chanted in Latin. This man, indeed, was the first to have defected to the Greeks, by whom, for that reason, he is to be called archbishop.
The second Nicene Council declared this not once. Indeed, I shall omit this in this place, that this was not undertaken by Gregory without the example of those before him: for it is agreed that Tertullian published not a few things in Greek, although he was so far from the borders of the Greeks; and Hippolytus the martyr, whether he was bishop at the port of Ostia or in Arabia, certainly a Roman inhabitant, had published all his writings in Greek; which his master, the great Irenaeus, had also done before him, when he was bishop at Lugdunum, that is, in a Roman province accustomed to the Latin language. What if I should say that Gregory, who had migrated as a boy to Palestine and had grown up there, knew Latin less well? But be that as it may, even if he were able to write in Latin very well, when he returned to Sicily, since he was looking primarily to the good of the Sicilians, he certainly had to write in Greek so that he could be useful to his fellow countrymen. I know that Latin letters flourished for a long time in Sicily under the Augusti, as the Latin inscriptions of all kinds, which still exist there in great numbers, testify. But nevertheless, the Sicilians had never unlearned the Greek language, which from the beginning had been common to all, even after the use of the Latin language was received; and in our Gregory's time they used almost only Greek, following the pursuits of the Greeks, whom they then had as masters. For already starting from the year 585, the Goths having been expelled, Belisarius had recovered the island, and subsequently Justinian had sent Greek governors there, by whom they might be ruled. There is no reason for us to doubt that the Greek language pleased them more than the Latin, and that they were the authors of the people using the same; for they almost did not know Latin and wrote in Greek for the most part to the Latins and to the pontiff himself. Moreover, Gregory the Great indicates not obscurely that many families from Greece itself, who used the Greek rite, migrated to Sicily: and no one will deny that these increased subsequently in number. Wherefore, regarding the supreme pontiff Agatho, who is clearly known to have been born while our Gregory was aging, Papebrochius wrote: That he himself was also Greek is urged not only by his Greek name, but primarily by his homeland, Sicily, which was then still entirely Greek, and full of churches of the Greek rite and monasteries of the Basilian rule. Wherefore it must be admitted that the Latin language was that of a few in Sicily at that age; and that those very people were bilingual, and did not speak to the people except in Greek, if they wished to be understood. You have, therefore, the reason why our Gregory considered that his Commentary, which he desired to be read usefully by everyone, should be written and published in the Greek language.
OF OUR HOLY FATHER GREGORY, BISHOP OF AGRIGENTUM, EXPLANATION ON ECCLESIASTES. BOOK I.
A "Mulge lac, et erit tibi butyrum," says the most wise Proverbial utterance somewhere; what does this imply, but that it instructs us to search into the superficial meaning of the divine Scriptures with elegance and diligence, so that the beauty of the deeper, more mystical, and more profitable meaning may be uncovered for us? For when the Scriptures are read simply, they provide a temporal benefit to those who approach them; this seems to resemble milk, on account of the softness of the meaning, and because it is easily grasped and clearly seen by those who are less advanced in their habit of mind. But if anyone wishes to squeeze these things like breasts, through a more intense examination of the mind and through contemplation, he finds a more polished and solid meaning, which may be compared to butter, as it provides a more perfect and nourishing benefit to the intellectual senses of the soul.
For this reason, the Truth itself, the Word, says in the Gospels: "Search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life." For the search B of things that are obscure and hidden is accustomed to make knowledge manifest and clear.
We, too, therefore, having well— (Basilius, *Hom. in princ. Proverb.*) The Preacher touches upon natural philosophy, and reveals to us the vanity of the things in this world; so that we may not consider passing things to be of great importance, nor expend the cares of our soul upon vain things. "Mulge lac, et erit butyrum." Investigate, and perhaps you might find in it something more nourishing. "You think that in them you have eternal life."
A As we have conceived the duty of milking the divine Scriptures like milk, and of examining them fittingly for the sake of thickening and transforming them into butter, we have deemed it worthwhile in explaining Ecclesiastes to deviate nothing from that precept. In this matter, we do not rely upon our own wisdom, which is nothing, but rather look to the promises and the faithfulness of Him who said, "Open your mouth, and I will fill it," and again, "To man belongs the preparation of the heart, and from the Lord the answer of the tongue." Therefore, the beginning is taken from these words: B § 1.
Vers. 1. The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Most aptly and with distinction did he speak the words; for the meanings which the tongue signified by these words were by all means using the divine grace; [he used] Solomon's tongue as a reed, through which he uttered the nature of things, so that while the causal influence of such words was the grace from above, the instrument was the tongue of Solomon. In this sense, he said these words were his own; but according to the prior meaning in the book of Proverbs, he says thus: "My words have been spoken by God." For now he has more clearly revealed both the proximate cause, that is, the instrument, and the remote cause, that is, the creative force; C and by calling them his own words, he has declared plainly that they have been spoken by God. Therefore, we ought not pay attention to the words as if they were merely Solomon's, but much more as if they were God's, who spoke through him. Then he says, "Preacher." As he is about to discourse on the natural sequence and state of almost all things that are and are seen, and then also on the virtuous and wicked choices of men, he rouses all people to listen by the title of "Preacher." For this name being set forward D or turned into blame if we do not add the articles of the Seventy—since the Greeks do not provide them, but we provide them individually as they sound—it was necessary for Gregory to represent in his translation the very words of the LXX interpreters, lest the commentary should seem to fail to respond to them.(8) Note that Theodore of Mopsuestia, in whose writings, at the Council of Constantinople, many other things both false and impious were excerpted and brought forward, said these things as well: "Although only Latin versions have reached us, [he said], 'Regarding those things which were written according to human doctrine, the books of Solomon must be numbered, that is, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, which he composed in his own person for the benefit of others, when he had not indeed received the grace of prophecy, but the grace of prudence, which is evidently distinct from the former, according to the voice of the blessed Apostle.'" (Collat. iv, n. 63). These things have been rejected and condemned by the common consensus of the Fathers. But Grotius took another path. He, when he had set forth the argument of the book of Ecclesiastes, added: "I, however, do not think it is Solomon's, but a work written later under the name of that king, led by [the theme of] penance."
A calling together all those who dwell under heaven into an assembly, and inviting them to the knowledge of the things to be set forth, he makes the invitation all the more compelling by the meaning of the name itself. And might it not be more appropriate and fitting to say that this is why he called himself Ecclesiastes, because he was proposing words solely to the Church from the Gentiles, which God also gathered together, having been made flesh for her sake, and having redeemed her from Satanic deception; and having taught and persuaded [her] to despise all those things here as worthless, and to have her citizenship in heaven? For it was necessary, especially and preeminently, for those who were destined to have the power of such words validated by their deeds, that these [words] should also be addressed to them. For I think that this is why he omitted the proper name here, namely that of Solomon, and did not set it down at the beginning as he did in the Proverbs and in Wisdom; for there he says, "The Proverbs of Solomon, son of David," and, "The Wisdom of Solomon, son of David," but here, "The words of Ecclesiastes, son of David." B And yet David was not the father of Ecclesiastes, but primarily of Solomon; why then did he here alone pass over the proper name, and prefer the title, and call himself simply Ecclesiastes? But it is clear for the reason we have stated: in order to show clearly that he applies the power of these words to the Church from the Gentiles. And, furthermore, by this homonymy he shows himself to be of one mind, in agreement with, and an advocate for, the Church of our Christ and Savior.
How new, and how unheard of! How contrary to the words with which the book begins! Yet he defends his opinion thus: "I have," he says, "as an argument for this matter, many words which you will not find elsewhere than in Daniel, Ezra, and the Chaldean interpreters." But later, the scholar Calovius refuted a reason of this kind, for he demonstrated that the words which he makes out to be foreign are almost all of Hebrew origin. And, in truth, even if they were not so, would it not have been more tolerable to attribute them to Ezra, that restorer of the Scriptures, who is believed to have rendered the whole context of the divine volumes in Chaldean letters, leaving behind the ancient forms which the Samaritans have retained. C And indeed, Gregory of Neocaesarea began his paraphrase thus: "Thus speaks Solomon, son of David the king and prophet, to the entire Church of God, [before] all men, the most honored king and most wise prophet." Conversely, Gregory of Nyssen brings forward this cause for his title, that the teaching of this book pertains more to the Church than that which is contained in the other books of either the Old or New Testament, of which not a few are history and prophecies, and refer to the origins and wars of cities and nations. "But the teaching of this book," he says, "looks to one ecclesiastical manner of living, explaining those things through which one may rightly and virtuously direct his life." (Hom. 1, in Eccles.) Now Jerome, having written that Solomon was called by three names, Pacificus, that is to say Solomon, Ididia, that is to say the Beloved of the Lord, and Coheleth, that is to say Ecclesiastes, added: "Ecclesiastes, however, in the Greek tongue is called he who gathers the assembly, that is, the Church, whom we may call a Preacher, because he speaks to the people, and his sermon is not directed specifically to one person, but generally to all." Bochart, however, notes after Drusius (Hieroz. P. I, l. II, c. 4), that [Coheleth], just as [Sophereth] (Ezra II, v. 57), has indeed a feminine termination, but a masculine meaning. D Wherefore some have ineptly referred it to the soul or wisdom of Solomon; and Kimchi much more ineptly invented the cause of this title, saying "that Solomon wrote this book when he was now old and aged, and when his strength had languished, so that by their reasoning he was more woman than man." (Amana ad Tit. Eccl.)
(9) Not otherwise thought Gregory of Neocaesarea: for thus he began his paraphrase: "Thus speaks Solomon the son of David the king and prophet to all the Church of God, before all men, the most honored king and most wise prophet."
(10) The edition of the Seventy, however, expresses the title of the book in two words only, "The Book of Wisdom," without the name of the author.
(11) This same thing is set forth more clearly by Gregory of Nyssen: "By chance," he says, "the inscription looks also to the leader of the Church. For who else would be the true Ecclesiastes, he who gathers the scattered into one fullness, and who assembles into the one congregation those who are wandering in many places through various deceits, if not the true King of Israel, the Son of God, to whom Nathanael said, 'You are the Son..."
of God, you are the King of Israel'? If, therefore, these words of the King apply to Israel, and this same person is also the Son of God, as the Gospel says, then he is also called the Ecclesiastes. And perhaps it is not foreign to the truth that we refer the meaning of the inscription to this understanding, so that we may learn from it that the power of these words relates to Him who, through the Gospel, has established the Church. For, he says, "The words of the Ecclesiastes, the son of David." Thus also Matthew, at the beginning of the Gospel, names Him, calling the Lord the son of David.
A If, however, anyone hesitating should ask: "Why then did He write the *Song of Songs*, which were spoken by the catholic Church alone to her immaculate spouse Christ, and by Him to her—as, clearly, to His own bride—'Which is for Solomon'?" For it was necessary, consistently and for the same one reason, to have omitted this name in this book also, if it was omitted in that other book because the words were extended to the Church of Christ and our God and Savior, having left it out. He shall hear from the Word of truth that He is not speaking of Himself, "Which is for Solomon," but of the true Solomon, Christ and our God, of whom that one was a prefiguration. And for this reason He called this title in the dative case, saying "For Solomon," and not "Of Solomon," in the genitive case, as in other books. For the genitive shows by its construction that each work belongs to Solomon, but the dative, even if it was uttered by Solomon, shows that it is spoken from the person of the catholic Church and directed to the true and proper Solomon. For Solomon is interpreted as "Peaceful," which is truly and properly Christ our God, concerning whom the great apostle Paul also said: B "For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of the partition, the enmity in His flesh." For this reason He did not also add, "the Son of David," although He was also that, since indeed He was without his virginal and seminal experience [—to be continued in the next column's sequence—]
C Perhaps, indeed, the inscription also looks toward the leader of the Church. For who else would be the true Ecclesiastes, who gathers those scattered into one assembly, and collects those who were led astray in many ways by various errors into one congregation, than the true King of Israel, the Son of God, to whom Nathanael said, "You are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel"? If, therefore, these are the words of the King of Israel, He is also called the Son of God, as the Gospel said; therefore, He is also called the Ecclesiastes. And perhaps we do not refer the meaning of the inscription to this sense without reason, so that by it we may learn that the power of these words is referred to Him who gathered the Church through the Gospel. For, he says, "The words of the Ecclesiastes the son of David." Thus also Matthew, at the beginning of the Gospel, names Him, calling the Lord the Son of David. (Hom. in Eccl.) Our author assigns the Book of Wisdom to Solomon, no less than the Proverbs, following the example of the earlier Fathers, who judged them to belong to him. Now, because Pope Gelasius of blessed memory, as it is said, in the Roman council—which he himself first convened—having set forth the order of the books of the Old Testament, explicitly mentioned only three books of Solomon—Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs—and placed the Book of Wisdom under these without an author's name, I would not consider these things so known or promulgated to the Sicilians that no one could be unaware of them, or would deny that the old opinion had no authority. D [alt-version omitted]
A And yet, even he, according to the seedless and virginal assumption of human nature, was a son of David by birth. But that no one might think the statement has reference to the immediate and carnal Solomon—as if the interpretation were divided between both—he very wisely passed over in silence "son of David." And by such an omission, and by using the dative case, he succeeded in removing the ambiguity of the statement and transferring the whole meaning of the Song of Songs, in which he says, "Which is to Solomon," worthily to our one Christ and God.
B "King of Israel." Whether the King now being introduced is the Ecclesiastes or David? I think it is spoken of both in common, since each reigned in Israel. For if anyone preferred to interpret this separately as belonging to David—because, forsooth, Solomon is recognized as King of Israel and not as Ecclesiastes—he will quickly be drawn away by the Ecclesiastes himself, who shortly after says expressly: "I, Ecclesiastes, became King in Israel in Jerusalem." Therefore, we should properly consider that the phrase "King of Israel" was stated in common. However, the addition "in Jerusalem," according to the literal sense, indicates the city in which each king bore the title, both David and the Ecclesiastes; so that through the majesty of the place, he might also hint at the glory and renown of the speaker.
C But it is better, having touched upon such a literal clarification, to take a step toward a much broader meaning of the saying, and to conceive and speak of something perfect. For since the name Jerusalem is interpreted as "Vision of Peace," as those who have labored on these things before us have handed down, perhaps when he says "in Jerusalem," he means "upon the heart" which possesses a vision of peace. [He is] King over Israel in Jerusalem. D As the interpreters say...
(15) "This Israel," which is enclosed in parentheses, was added here for the sake of clarity, or wrongly omitted in the beginning. Among the LXX it is certainly not missing; although Jerome wrote that it was superfluous, and we read it also in the Synopsis which is attributed to Athanasius, as well as in Gregory of Nyssa and Olympiodorus.
(16) Eccl. 1, 12. But in the LXX it is written "King of Israel in Jerusalem."
(17) The Greek Fathers who diligently applied themselves to illustrating Ecclesiastes before our Gregory, and who transmitted their writings down to us, are easy to count. For we have the complete Metaphrase of Gregory the Wonderworker, and eight homilies of Gregory of Nyssa, in which he eloquently explained the first chapter of Ecclesiastes, the second, and a good part of the third; then the excellent commentary of Olympiodorus the Deacon of Alexandria, whom we shall show in another place to be truly older than our Gregory. To these must be added the Synopsis of the Sacred Books, which was once attributed to Athanasius; indeed, it is held by Cave and others to be the work of a sufficiently ancient writer: although the author in it only sipped the summary of Ecclesiastes, as the nature of his purpose dictated. That the Commentary on Ecclesiastes of Polychronius the Deacon still lies hidden in the Bavarian library, Meursius noted (on his commentary on the Canticle of Canticles), of which Labbeus also made mention three times (Bib. Nov. mss. p. 79, 177, 386); as did Spizelius (Cod. Basil.). To these, finally, the works of Procopius the Sophist...
A obtain that vision of peace which looks towards God, by the contraction of the passions that are stirring within man; to which [vision] is also directed the intent of the things to be spoken, as if it possessed spiritual ears to hear, in the manner the Lord says in the Gospels, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" (Matt. XIII, 9), hinting that hardened hearts should in no wise give ear to what is being said.
Perhaps it is fitting to interpret "upon Jerusalem" in yet another way. For since "Jerusalem" is translated as "Vision of peace," as I said before, it is more appropriate to understand it as designating the heavenly and intelligible Jerusalem, as being the Vision of peace truly, properly, and primarily because of the harmony of the saints and intellectual essences dwelling there; and because it has no notion at all of battle, nor of tumult, nor of storm, so that the saying, "The words of the Preacher, king of Israel, upon Jerusalem," fits in a miraculous way, inasmuch as they draw all those who listen with a well-disposed mind up to the supernal and intelligible Jerusalem, for they leave behind the earth and all things that are on the earth, and human shifts and turmoils and miseries and tumults and storms; and, having flown up to the super-heavenly tabernacles B to the vision of peace, they dwell together even before the time with the holy Gospels. Therefore he immediately added:
§ II. VERS. 2. Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
If vanity is everything which has no utility, and brings no advantage to the life of human existence, whether in relation to the soul or in relation to the body, whether taken separately or in conjunction; but is found to be useless on both sides and without any advantage: why then does the Preacher say, "All is vanity"?
C ...and this, too, is interpreted as "Vision of peace." If someone defining it were to say that the Gospel is a prefiguration of the life of the resurrection, he would not, it seems to me, fall short of the truth.
(18) By the name of the holy Gospels is designated here that life similar to the heavenly one, which those also live upon earth, who, devoted to God, have abolished every ancient stain. Nor is that appellation new; for Basil (De Spir. sanct. c. 15) had already written: "If anyone, defining it, were to say that the Gospel is the form of the life which is from the resurrection, he would not seem to me to stray at all from the truth."
However, it is helpful here, against those who do not sufficiently approve of the use of allegory even in the ancient Fathers who interpreted the sacred Scriptures, to note briefly for what just cause they delighted in mystical explanations of this kind. Those men, truly great and endowed with great genius and judgment—Origen, Hilary, Ambrose, Chrysostom, and others—knew, I say, how many and how great were the controversies D
A which might be instituted in most places of the Sacred Scriptures, or which could even now be instituted. But, seeing that everyone chiefly considered the good of the people whom he governed, and deemed that to be the highest goal, if they could join to a knowledge of the truth the endeavor of living well; and since those controversies were rarely discussed, which were better handled in Christian schools according to the example of Alexandria, which was distinguished for the wisdom and erudition of its doctors, they judged that the rude people, impatient of deeper doctrine, should be instructed in another way. Thus arose that habit of interpreting through tropes and allegory, triumphing in the lashing of vices and the praise of virtues, which some Fathers embraced more intensely, because it seemed more pleasant and useful to the ears and minds of the people whom they were instructing. Yet they did not do this without authority, since the Apostle Paul showed this very method of interpretation, with whom they could not err (Ad Galat. IV, seqq.).
Furthermore, not even then did all approve of popular discourse of this kind, which lacked erudition; nor were there wanting those who rebuked the great Basil himself, because in his Hexaemeron he had passed over certain noble questions, whom his brother Gregory defended thus (at the beginning of the book in Hex.):
"What then does Ecclesiastes say, 'All is vanity'? If his discourse concerns the nature of things that exist, which God made not without cause, and which He attested by his own most true testimony are all very good, and which we ourselves know by experience, who can say, 'All is vanity'? For the celestial magnitudes and beauties themselves declare how much utility they have, and how great benefits they bring to men, and much more do they commend the majesty and glory of the Creator. And the earth and the sea, since they nourish innumerable animals not only fit for food but also for service; and since there is such an abundance of plants of every kind, both fruit-bearing and barren, and of various seeds, by which the life of men, procuring what is fragrant and pleasant and nourishing, is abundantly sustained, preserved, and guarded; do they not all recognize and proclaim the good and all-wise Creator of all things? Therefore, it seems rather that Ecclesiastes, having used a general definition, should be seen to have brought forth the opinion of vanity conceived in his mind against the whole world as well, though the name of vanity can have no place at all in these things. But it is clear that a denomination of this kind was not introduced concerning the works of the good and all-wise and super-eminent Artificer, but only of those things which are done in vain by the perverse and base resolve of men, whether in thought, or in word, or in deed; by which he who was sublime B falls C in time, all these were in need of such discourses, which through some easy pleasure might, through the visible creation and the good things in it, guide them to the knowledge of the One who made all things.
For those who advance these and suchlike things do not seem to me to have considered the goal of our Father’s teaching, who, speaking to such a multitude in the crowded Church, of necessity accommodated himself to those who received the word. For among those who heard, there were many who were even skilled in higher discourses, but many more were those who did not reach the more subtle examination of thoughts—men untaught and vulgar, occupied with daily labors, and the crowd of women, and the youth of children, and those advanced in years, who all needed to be instructed and refreshed by easy speech, and, through the things which are seen, to be led by their beauty to the Creator and Procreator of all things.
(19) For indeed this passage, which most of the Fathers interpreted as a piece of work, and which Gregory Neocaesariensis preceded in explaining, is stated thus: 'How vain and useless are all those affairs and studies of men which are undertaken in human matters! For there is no one who can say that any utility is joined to them, which men, D crawling upon the earth, strive to accomplish with body and soul, defeated by temporal things, and not wishing to look up even for an instant with the noble eye of the soul above the stars to those things that are eternal.' (Lat. Metaphr.).
A For he who by nature is born high-minded becomes base, and he who is fashioned to look upon things above gapes foolishly at the things below; and he who was in honor has been compared to the unreasoning beasts and made like unto them; and he who was set as a ruler and king is found inglorious, similar to the slaves; and he who was adorned with the beauty of immortality and distinguished by its splendor is justly subjected to death and corruption. For to look not at all toward the acquisition of the eternal and ever-enduring things, nor to have any desire for the divine goods or the promised inheritance in the heavens; nor to soar toward that undefiled and blessed glory and joy; nor to be set aflame with love for the ineffable rejoicing of the holy angels—but on the contrary, to pursue with all zeal that glory which fades like the spring flowers, and with all strength to hasten toward the gathering of unjust and corruptible wealth, and to rage for tyrannical domination and the unjust increase of what are presumed to be rapacious and greedy gains; and to weave together falsehoods and hunt for slanders and false accusations; and to indulge in gluttony, drunkenness, and heavy drinking, and, following these, to be bound by bodily and abominable pleasures—of what vanity, pray, would not each of these be? Or rather, how are all these and similar things not the vanity of vanities? By doubling the expression, the Ecclesiastes makes the apprehension of vanity more emphatic. Certainly, therefore, because those who are occupied with these things arrive at no useful end, C he immediately added: § "What profit has a man in all his labor, in which he labors under the sun?" That is to say, let them explain what profit those procure for themselves who gape at present things, and who have been eager to have fleshly and ephemeral pleasures and delights and popularity, which surely perish quickly, like water flowing down a slope, or like dew and morning mist. For when tomorrow's day has dawned, those who have gladly embraced this base pleasure and wickedness today will by no means find it lasting, and it will be most manifest that they have pursued empty and vain things. Therefore, the divine prophet Amos also reproves and accuses these same people, saying: "They imagined that things which flee were standing still," D that is, [they imagined] the most rapid flight and passing away of the most shameful indignities.
(20) Regarding this repetition of the same word, Nyssen, who also shows that this is the custom of the Holy Scriptures, that things which exceed the measure should signify this through such a duplication, says that it is in the same way that something is also called "holy" in the Holy Scriptures, and again "holy of holies," so that by an equal measure both the holy surpasses the profane in holiness, and this in turn the holy of holies, which is considered in sanctification by way of excess. For he says that those things which appear in things are not simply vain, but are such with a certain excess as regards the signification of vanity itself, just as if one were to say "more dead than the dead" and "more lifeless than the lifeless." (Hom. in Eccl.)
(21) Amos vi, 5, according to the LXX, we read: "they have imagined..."; but in our texts the opinion is entirely different: for it is written: "As David, they have thought themselves to have vessels of song."
A furthermore, the most shameful and dishonor-filled affections, the detestable pleasures, and all the other things that are highly sought after by wicked men—the empty glories, the honors without honor, the gains that hold no gain—all of which those who look only to this life which is lived under the sun seek out by accusing or by flattering, neglecting no wicked concern. From this, he seems to me to signify and to suggest, in almost this manner: "Labour, O mortal, and cease for so long from the machinations that overtake and meet you, as you contemplate this observable sun, which, as it has gone toward the east, again travels to the west, covering its own splendor and appearance; and by its rising and setting it openly teaches you that you are destined to die, and that you will be despoiled of the dignity and glory in which you now flourish in no different a manner, although the turning and changing of things has often seized you even while you are still alive." And so, rather, look up to the life that is lived above this sun, and rise higher toward the supercelestial life and condition; and extend your mind toward the rays of the sun of glory, so that B you may be illuminated and brightened by its workings and participations, and may appear superior and more excellent than the inhabitants of Kedar.
Similarly, too, the prophet Micah, severely rebuking the lovers of vanity and those who toil at the wretched toil under the sun, says thus: "They have become people meditating labors, and working evils in their hearts, and simultaneously with the day they would complete them, because they did not lift their hands to God; and they coveted fields, and plundered orphans, and oppressed houses," those who arrive at labors—or, more accurately, toils, for each is the same—that have no good or useful end; clearly signifying also the evil deeds and vanities that accompany them.
But perhaps it is also fitting to understand the phrase "under the sun" in another way. For since the Ecclesiastes turned his discourse to all men who inhabit the earth, which the sun looks down upon from a high and lofty place, and which, by its own rising and setting, through the counsel and command of the Creator, it benefits in many ways—he sets before those who have chosen C to conduct their life and live throughout the earth under the sun in wickedness, D malice, and wrongdoing, by saying: "What is the profit to man in all his labor, wherewith he laboureth under the sun?"—he addresses men who, wherever the earth lies under the sun, have devoted their work to every kind of wickedness and...
(22) Kedar, says Jerome (in Is. ch. LX, n. 7), is a region of the Saracens, who are called Ishmaelites in Scripture. The inhabitants of that region are called Cedareni or Kedareni, whom Reland (Palaest. lib. 1, c. 18) thinks to be the same as the Scenite Arabs, who have their name from tents. But by this name is signified here a race of men pursuing transitory and wicked things, from whom those who are Christians in virtue and piety differ, just as the Israelite citizens differed from the barbarian Cedarenes. Chrysostom introduced a not dissimilar comparison to those [words] of Psalm CXIX: *Dwell with the tabernacles of Cedar*; to which he added: "This race of men is more beast-like toward those they have conquered, using tents and huts, and having fallen into the wildness of beasts; but much more savage than these are the plunderers, the covetous, and those who live voluptuously in debauchery." That is: "This barbarian race of men is one that bears a fiercer spirit against those they have conquered, who use tents and huts, and have regressed to the savagery of beasts; but much more savage than these are the plunderers, the avaricious, and those who lead their lives impudently and voluptuously in delights." (Tom. V Expos. in Psalm. cxix, n. 5.)
(23) Mich. ii, 1. But in the LXX it is written: *Working evil in their beds*; which corresponds to what is rendered in the Latin as *In cubilibus*; although the other things correspond less.
A in every toil of his, in which he toils under the sun?” B That is to say: Let every man living under this sun say what profit or gain he shall find from the pursuits and deeds of vanity. For what is today, tomorrow is not; and now he possesses his own mind, puffed up and inflamed with glory, greatness, wealth, and power, and proudly contemning all others, yet after a little while he has passed over to ignominy, humility, and the most extreme poverty.
Nor would anyone, I think, absurdly consider that the expression “under the sun” is used to exclude the dead, who are far from this sun and have gone beneath the earth; as if the meaning underlying these words were that the Ecclesiastes is addressing those who are still surviving and living this present life, inasmuch as they are able easily to turn and change from their most wicked way of life and to improve; so that, reflecting from this that they too will certainly die and perish just like those others, and taking thought in accordance with this of their own mortal nature, they might correct their wicked and base life.
But since, following from what has been said, some questioning argument might arise, and one might say: “And why is it that when the Ecclesiastes wished to make known the evil speaking and base deeds of those living their lives in this world in a wicked and C perverse manner, he said, ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity’?” For if vanity is, as we have already said, an action, speech, or thought that possesses no utility, but the types of baseness, wickedness, and malice, besides providing no gain to their lovers, also send them forward to the eternal punishments, how were they named “vanity” by the Ecclesiastes? For it would have been desirable for those who had busied themselves with rapine, avarice, calumny, gluttony, drunkenness, carousing, and every other sort of base act, if the vanity of their works had been limited and circumscribed only by the boundaries of their lives, and had not accompanied them into the life beyond, in which the just Judge is to pass judgment on the merits of all who have departed this life. How, then, shall things that bring upon men intolerable punishments and perpetual torments be called “vanity of vanities,” especially when Christ and our God D has declared in the Gospels that men shall be held to pay penalties and give an account even for an idle word on the day of judgment?
But the solution to the difficulty is manifest from this point itself. For the wise Ecclesiastes, directing his words as if to novices, and condemning and reproving those who transgress the boundaries and reasons of nature, and who disregard the laws of Him who created us, and who use the impulses and motions of their own free will for things useless and evil, thought it sufficient merely to reprove and mark them with the designation of vanity:
A so that they might consider and learn for the time being that no fruit is gained from the pursuits of wickedness, but that they foolishly and irrationally suppose human glory and the pleasures of the flesh to be worthy of their earnest effort. For if, “All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass,” 20 it is manifest that those who occupy themselves with the shameful passions of the flesh, and who waste their lives on that human glory and domination which has been likened to the quick-fading flower of the grass—from which nothing useful or profitable comes in the least—are doing so in vain. For he all but says: “Know for now, O man, through the things presented to you by me, that the things said and done by you in a vile and wicked manner are vanity of vanities, as being unprofitable, useless, and disadvantageous.” But later, at the end of the book, you shall hear the more perfect teaching, when the Ecclesiastes recapitulates everything and says: “The end of the discourse, hear all: fear God and keep his commandments; for this is every man, for God shall bring every deed into judgment for every hidden thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.”
B But since these things have been thus set forth by the word of truth, we thought it well to note and to say that some of the earlier commentators have foolishly and in vain interpreted the “Vanity of vanities” as referring to the things that exist and are visible, saying in those very words: “For he says not simply that the things which appear in existing things are vanity, but that they are so with an intensification of the meaning of vanity.” 26 And others thought that the phrase “under the sun” denoted agricultural care and diligence, using these very words: “He speaks of the labors that pertain to the earth.” 27 C But the word of truth admits neither interpretation. For all things that have been made by the Creator, D and which are spoken of, are not to be taken as an accusation of created things. For in truth the accusation would pass over to Him who made all things, if He who gave substance to all things from nothing were shown to be their author, if indeed all things were of vanity. But because the constitution of man is twofold, with the soul concurring with the body, the kind of life has been distributed appropriately to each of those things considered within us; for the life of the soul is one thing, and the life of the body is another; for the latter indeed is mortal and subject to destruction, whereas the former is impassible and free from destruction; and the one looks only toward the present, but the aim of the other extends toward the eternal. Since, therefore, there is a great difference between the mortal and the immortal, and between the temporary and the eternal, to this point the voice of the Ecclesiastes is directed: that we should not look toward this sensible life, which, when compared with that which is truly life, is as something non-existent and unsubstantial.
C It is taught by divine testimony that all things which have come to pass were found to be very good. Indeed, it is neither right to contradict the word of holy Scripture, nor is it fitting to disparage in any way the known and clearly grasped utility, beauty, and order of the nature of things that exist and are visible. Moreover, we find that the holy Scriptures praise men of old and of recent times who were devoted to tilling the earth and were diligent in their labors, just as, conversely, they subject the negligent, the lazy, and the slothful to many rebukes. Since from the beginning, when God fashioned the progenitor of our race, He placed him in paradise, "to work it and to keep it." It is also written concerning Isaac, that "he sowed in that land, and found in that same year barley a hundredfold" (28). It would be long and burdensome to unfold or relate the testimonies that exist concerning these things. For everyone knows those which, on the contrary, were brought forth for the rebuke of the idle and the slothful, because of whom it is said: "The ways of the slothful are strewn with thorns" (29). D And again: "Go to the ant, O sluggard, and emulate her ways, and become wiser than she; for since she has no field, nor anyone to compel her, nor is she under a master, she prepares food in the summer, and makes a great store at the harvest. Or go to the bee, and learn how industrious she is, and how she performs her work; the fruits of which kings and commoners use for their health" (30). And the great and golden-mouthed Paul commands that the idle and slothful should not even eat at all. How, then, can we think that the things we see in the nature of things are vanity of vanities, or that the following passage, which says, "What profit has a man in all his labor with which he labors under the sun?" refers to labors on the earth? From these labors, the beauty-loving, diligent, and God-beloved man is rather found, through such diligence and industry, both to feed the poor, and to welcome strangers kindly, and to do other things pleasing to God. For if someone does not provide self-sufficiency for himself through his own sweat and labors, so as to be well-off and to lend to those in need, where will it be fulfilled, and of whom will that passage be spoken which says, "He has dispersed, he has given to the poor: his righteousness remains forever and ever"? Therefore, it is not the intention of Ecclesiastes to say any such thing; but he must clearly be understood to mean having no excess in all those deeds which are condemned because they are for pleasure, and in physical and carnal self-indulgence and wicked enjoyment, and in desires involving human and passing glories, and cares and servitude and hardships—from which they not only gained nothing at all, but often found a host of diseases, and the loss of natural strength; and toward the end...
A they arrived at poverty and want, instead of the abundance they expected. Such certainly are those whose labors look only to those enjoyments, and delights, and glories, and dominations that are had under this sun. But those who place their labor and effort into the heavenly rewards of God, which we hope for above the sun, have great abundance in their very hardships; just as we know happened to the most celebrated apostles, the holy prophets, the very martyrs of truth and faith, and others alike who practiced virtue and performed every part of justice according to their strength: of whom each would say by their very deeds, "These hands have ministered both to me and to others," and again, "Working with our own hands."
Since, therefore, he knew that whoever spends his labor in the present life for the sake of acquiring the goods that are above the sun, and for that incorruptible inheritance in the heavens, has great abundance in their labor—meaning the ineffable and blessed joy of the holy angels and the exultation of divine glory—he refutes, by way of contrast, those who labor in B wicked toils and struggle until the present life, which is ephemeral and corruptible, and which has its end only under this sun. Surely, therefore, the Ecclesiastes, confirming our understanding and showing that nothing of existing and visible things is vain, immediately continues:
§ IV.
VERS. 4. One generation passes away, and another generation comes, but the earth stands forever.For it is as if he were saying: Do you now understand, O mortal, and have you perceived the vanity of your own wicked pursuits and base works and evil practices, by which you have found those who begat you, and those who even begat them, having passed away, and yourself called to the stadium of the present life in their place through your birth from them? Will you not, therefore, understand and confess as true the glory of the things said by me, which declare, "Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity"? For if those who clearly existed in substance and natural being have departed from this present life, and have been dissolved back into the dust and earth from which they were taken, and have become as if they had never existed—as far as D a superficial and visible impression goes—how could one ever think that base bodily pleasures are well-established and stable, or that human glories and dominations, which pass away like smoke, are anything, when there is nothing solid in them, nothing lasting, and they consist entirely in the will and the counsel of a perverse mind? For all things return to nothing quickly, like dust stirred by a whirlwind, or the flight of birds passing by, or the tracks of a ship traversing the sea.
A And those who have risen to the summit of human honors, the much-vaunted consuls, waste their wealth in vanity by scattering heaps of money to the barrenness of justice and the fruit of sin; whose folly is as manifest as their throne is high... and what is the end? Vanity. After all things, a small grave, a garment of a few obols wrapping the little body, and oblivion shortly after—the necessary ill of time—covering all the things for which you labored. Judgment from God follows these things, and the inevitable punishment for an evil purpose. Where are the consuls? Are not, therefore, according to the wise Ecclesiastes, all such things vanity of vanities, and are not dignities mere phantasms of insubstantial dreams, delighting for a short time and then passing away, having bloomed and then withered?
"But the earth stands forever." For it remains and is seen the same, just as it was in the time of the ancestors, so also to your eyes, according to the will and the law of Him who created and suspended it, annually bringing forth fruit-bearing plants and shoots for the sustenance of human life; then, in a certain way, being deadened and dying, and killing its offspring through the winter frost and cold, and again reviving, thriving, and budding, and sprouting the things determined for it beforehand in the beginning by the creative will of Him who formed it. If, therefore, you had wished to imitate in a manner worthy of the rational creature—the rational imitating the irrational, the ensouled imitating the inanimate, he who was made in the image and likeness of God imitating that which was made for your sake—you would have been found keeping the boundaries of nature, and guarding the will and laws of the Creator, and doing absolutely nothing that contributes to no benefit; but you would have sought only those things which are advantageous and which contribute to the glory of God and the inheritance hoped for beyond the sun. For so, standing forever, you too would have been found comparable to the earth; or rather, even superior to the earth, since the latter is destined to pass away at some time, while you possess the blessed and eternal life reserved for the powers above.
Then he says: § C VERSE 6. "The sun rises and the sun sets, and draws to its own place."
As if to say: Not only does the earth keep the boundaries given it by God, remarkably established in a state where, suspended by the single nod of the Creator in the midst of the space of the heavenly spheres, it is from no side [drawn...]* D
but clearly stands apart at an equal distance from the heavenly spaces on every side, and fulfills the service assigned to it. But look also, O mortal, at the sun, continuously rising and again setting, and drawing the eyes of all who inhabit the earth toward its place, that is, toward itself. For wherever the sun is found to be, whether in the east or in the west, it is said to be bringing with it its own brightness and radiance, toward which the eyes of all living creatures are naturally drawn out of love for its light. For the sun, while it illuminates this hemisphere of ours, does not strive by any contention to display the splendor and beauty of its light over the earth perpetually, nor does it ever avoid or delay the settings of itself and its own rays, B because of the disappearance and frequent lack of glory that befalls it from them, so that it might shine upon our hemisphere; but, obeying the ordinances of the Creator, it serves such a service like a willing servant. But you, having crossed the bounds of nature—for you are urged to think and inquire about heavenly things, and with the power of your mind and intelligence to meditate upon and pursue whatever that spiritual world contains—you, I say, have been found worse than both the earth and the sun, which are inanimate and bear no mark of reason. How then will you not also be considered vanity of vanities, together with your wicked and base thoughts, words, and deeds? For while those things are in truth vanities, you reflect their lightness through your likeness to them.
Therefore David the prophet says: «Man has been made like vanity; his days pass away like a shadow.» C It is truly an astonishing and precise choice of words that the prophetic discourse has employed concerning human nature. For since it is said that none of the things fashioned by God and obtaining their existence according to essence and nature were made in vain, and for this reason nothing has been called vanity in the strict sense—and for this reason he did not call man vanity, but properly compared him to vanity because of wicked deeds that have been added extrinsically D and, through imprudence, coexist with him for a short time—for he who by no means keeps the laws of nature inviolate, but has departed from them entirely and has turned aside altogether toward activities and evil actions contrary to nature, will indeed not be named vanity according to the creative purpose of Him who fashioned and created him, when he is examined and judged according to his essence and natural existence. But because he possesses nothing accompanying him that is a work in harmony and correspondence with natural conditions and the will of the Creator, he is justly said to be made like unto vanity, not as having been made in vain, but as having lived vainly, and having left no trace of good memory in his life. «For the memory of the just is with praises,» he says; and,
again, «The just shall be in everlasting remembrance,» which he who has lived wickedly and basely here clearly does not possess, and is rightly likened to vanity. Then he says:
§ VI. *Rising, it travels there to the south, and circles to the north.*
Ecclesiastes here makes known, in passing, the obedient service of the inanimate elements, and how they follow the same path and return in the same round-trip according to the command of Him who created, ordered, and set them. And he does this, desiring from there to terrify and restrain the arrogance of the human mind from works contrary to nature, and to draw it toward actions that are just and in accordance with nature. He declares nothing more than what we observe with our eyes, since, as I have already said, his discourse is addressed to novices and those who are not yet sufficiently learned. For this reason, he describes only the immense and utterly boundless journey of the sun, by saying: *And it circles to the north.*
He does not, however, say clearly whether—as some have supposed and proclaimed—it passes beneath the earth and thus returns to the eastern horizon, illuminating with its rays as much of the globe as is below us; or whether—as others judge—it performs its return obliquely. He says nothing of this kind openly; for the term "circles" can be taken in either way, and one may interpret and stretch it to either view as one pleases. Yet that the sun traverses the lower hemisphere and returns again to the horizon is most truly demonstrated by an argument taken from the other stars, both fixed and wandering, whose more vigorous motions and arrangements are judged to be a confirmation of the matter. Assuredly, he added:
§ VII. *Circling, circling goes the wind, and upon its circles the wind returns.*
With the wise Ecclesiastes instructing us in a circular [motion of this world]...
[Here, the Greek text continues with the explanation of the solar path.]
...We shall say, accepting this according to the divine Scripture: the sun traveling from the east through the air to the southern regions, being elevated and shining upon the north for all the inhabited world; and the northern and western height of the earth intervening, it creates night beyond this land of ours, along the Ocean and the land beyond the Ocean, in those same regions. Then, finally, when the sun arrives at the west, beneath the height of the earth, and traversing above the Ocean through the northern parts, it makes night there until, circling around, it reaches the east again, and rising again along the southern part, illuminates this inhabited world, just as the divine Scripture says through the divine Solomon: "It rises... circling," until, circling, it comes again to the east, and being elevated again along the southern part, it will illuminate this inhabited world, as the divine Scripture says through the divine Solomon: "It rises," etc.
That is: Since these things are so, with the matter accepted according to the divine letters, we say that the sun proceeds from the east through the air to the southern parts, and ascends toward the north, and appears to the whole earth; but when the northern and western summit of the earth is placed in between, it causes night beyond this land of ours toward the Ocean, and thence to the land situated beyond the Ocean; afterwards, when it arrives at the west, hidden under the summit of the earth, traversing the northern parts beyond the Ocean, here it causes night, until, circling, it has approached the east again, and rising again towards the southern parts, illuminates this land; just as the sacred Scriptures by the divine Solomon say. "It rises," etc. (lib. II *De mundo*, p. 154, ed. Montfauc.)
and to be constituted, this whole world is established A as the wise Ecclesiastes teaches us. For if "a generation passes away, and a generation comes," and men by the turns of generations return into the same dust from which they were taken, it is manifest that a circle drawn from any point moves back to the beginning of its motion; and so every man after many conversions and circuits is resolved again into the elements from which he was composed and drew his origin. Nor is the earth any less, although it stands for an age, possessed of a cyclical constitution, through its decay and death, as it were, which comes upon it through the frosts of winter, and its yearly revival. Likewise, we observe that the sun, rising from the same point of the horizon and proceeding to the western horizon, and then when it is B found again at the same point of the eastern horizon and of the setting, has completed its motion in a circle.
He now indicates that each of the winds undergoes this same thing, when he says: "The spirit goes turning about, and the spirit returns upon its circles." For it is clear that whenever the north wind and south wind have blown, they return again in a circle to the same place from which they had their origin. And what usefulness does he study to bring to us from this? Surely he wishes to persuade us by many and various examples that of those things which are managed and administered among men, nothing is firm, nothing stable; or rather that even those things which have immortal firmness and stability stand so perpetually and consistently within prescribed bounds, that they nevertheless change their place and perform their circuit by turns, C indeed observing defined limits, and obeying the laws of the Creator by whom they are preserved and flourish; and having noted these things, we should always look for that return and recursion to the same point of our generation, so that by studiously insisting on the norm of inanimate things and the limits of nature and the prescriptions of the Creator, we may not appear to have lapsed into worse things, having abrogated and violated the will of our Author, "who brings forth the winds from his treasuries," and teaches that they return again in a circle to their own place; and he likewise leads and sends men into the stadium of the present life, and after D the completed span of the life defined for each is finished, he recalls them to the same nurse.
Perhaps he also puts before our eyes a more mystical interpretation in these words, which contributes greatly to our salvation. For he says as it were: If you consider, O man, that things are renewed in a circle…
(42) These things are altogether wonderful, which are referred to the North and South, nor are they known to our physicists: who, however, if they were said of the east wind, would be less contradictory. For that wind seems to hold the solar region to those sailing in the Ocean, and so to go around a circle that, after it has blown with the sun into the west, the same in some way blows again with the sun from the east. But Nyssenus accepted those words of Ecclesiastes concerning the spirit of man; for he says: "It turns," says he, "in a circle." Thus, therefore, your spirit also enters, naming the spirit of man entirely from a part, performing this circular motion through similar things. "For the spirit goes," he says, "and the spirit returns to its circles." (Ibid.) Nyssenus rightly refers those first words to the sun; for if they pertained to the Spirit, it should have been written *a* *circles* *in* *a* *circle*.
(43) Ps. CXXXVI, 7. But you will find the sentiment in the LXX: "Who brings forth the winds from his treasuries."
A the amendment and improvement of our life, and for the health of our souls. For he says, as it were: "If you observe, O man, that the things in heaven and on earth are cyclically renewed and reconstituted, and that, through the return to the 'epoch'—which mathematicians (44) call the third periodic motion—they are changed for the better, then change yourself, too; averse to the perversion and movement toward the worse, let your own life be renewed through this return to the better, and in a way circle back toward your own Creator and Master; just as the sun returns to the horizon, the earth to its quickening, and each of the winds to the places assigned to it by God. For in this way, being changed by a good change, you will be found holding fast to your persistence and constitution, immune to decay through holy remembrance." B Indeed, he immediately adds and says:
§ VIII. VERS. 7. *All the torrents go into the sea, and the sea shall not be filled.* (45)
Observe, you who concern yourself with these things, how the wise Ecclesiastes describes the inescapable obedience and the restless service of created things toward their own Creator and Master. For when he says that all the torrents go into the sea, yet this never overflows, what does he demonstrate from this if not a marvel, truly greater than every opinion and belief, at which no one could sufficiently marvel and be astonished? For if, as everyone knows, with the torrents and so many and such great rivers flowing into the sea from all the regions of the earth, we do not perceive it to have increased or expanded at any time; and yet it remains the same, and perpetually like itself, so that it neither extends further nor decreases below; whence does this happen to it, or for what reason does it appear void of both increase and decrease? It is clearly evident that it is because it obeys and reveres the words of its Creator, who said to it: "Hither you shall come, and you shall not go beyond; but in you your waves shall be broken." (46) For this divine command became a kind of C bridle for the inanimate element; so that it might receive the force of immense waters, and those things—that is, the inundation and the conflagration—it might take into itself; but it will not be filled, for "in you your waves shall be broken." For this divine command has become a sort of bridle for the inanimate, and it becomes a vessel for the inexpressible waters. D
(44) Epoch is the point in which the sun and moon and each of the planets are caught. From point to point it is restored in an eighteen-year cycle... according to some, in sixty-six years; which is also the opinion of Callippus; but according to Meton, in a nineteen-year cycle. It refers, moreover, to a year which Aristotle calls the "Maximum" rather than the "Great": which the orbits of the sun and moon and the five wandering stars complete when they are brought back together to the same sign where they once were. This, I think, is the epoch both of our Gregory and of Suidas, although the latter seems to have spoken less accurately. But Censorinus continues: "The winter of this year is what our people call the Deluge; the summer, however, is the conflagration of the world. For in these alternating times the world seems to shrink and then to grow." You have here two periodic motions; the third will be the spring of that great year, in which, of course, all things are changed for the better. (45) Among the LXX: *And the sea is not filled.* (46) Job XXXVIII, 11; but the end among the LXX is as they have it: *In you your waves shall be broken.*
A It accepts at the beginning, and [receives] what flows in perpetually from elsewhere in countless numbers; yet it does not overflow with any sign of increase, nor does it run over even in the slightest beyond the sands of its shore and the continents. David the prophet also touched upon this, or rather indicated it, when he addressed the Author of all things thus: "You have set a boundary that they shall not pass over, nor shall they return to cover the earth." Then he says:
IX.
"To the place where the torrents flow, there they return to go." B And now again he presents another miracle, which indeed escapes most men; for not all know it, but only those who are sailors, who sail across the greatest seas, and those who are mindful of the Holy Scriptures and the prophet Amos, who says: "He who calls the water of the sea and pours it out upon the face of the whole earth," C by these words signifying the rising of the sea's waters to the clouds, which happens many times by the almighty will of God. The wise Ecclesiastes, also indicating this calling of the sea's waters, said: "To the place where the torrents flow, there they return to go." For the torrents and all the rivers do indeed flow and empty into the sea; and from the countless waters of the sea, through that aforementioned calling of His, they overflow from heaven with rains and showers, and return again to the sea the water they took from it. And this is clearly what the wise Ecclesiastes says: "To the place where the torrents flow, there they return to go," even if it seems to contain a tautology; for it ought to have said: "To the place whence the torrents are received, there they return to go." For if it had been stated in this way, the meaning of the saying would have been clearer and more distinct in its sequence. D For the clouds take the water from the sea; they pour it out for rivers and torrents; and these, in turn, flow back to the sea. But Ecclesiastes did not say it so clearly; rather, in a poetic manner, he wished by synecdoche to signify the one thing by the other, so that that which is said is like what we have already stated: "To the place whence the torrents borrow and receive the water through the clouds, and overflow, there they return to go." For he shows that the saying, when read in this way, means that the torrents and rivers, receiving water from the sea through the clouds, increase and overflow; and they give back again in return to the one that lent it—not because the almighty Lord has need of other waters to irrigate the earth, but that He might manifest His ineffable power in this as well.
for He is able not only to pour down—as if following the natural gravity—the weight of water confined in and clinging to the suspended clouds, and thus benefit the inhabitants of the earth, but He can also, contrary to the law of nature, recall it from below and raise it up to the heights of the clouds. B Therefore, the wise Ecclesiastes, wishing to indicate more thoroughly the indispensable obedience and the restless service of God's creations toward their own Creator and Lord, has discoursed upon all such things. Yet he did not intend—as some of the earlier interpreters opined—to refer what he said about the sea to a reproach of the avaricious and those of an insatiable mind. For Ecclesiastes had this one sole purpose: to declare the ineffable wisdom and infinite power of God, by which and according to which He brought into being from that which was not each of the things that exist and are visible, and set them in a natural, or rather, a far more than natural, order, which they preserve and keep unharmed and completely immutable; so that all who perceive these things may wonder and be struck with amazement, and as a result pursue the glory of God both in mind and tongue. Therefore, the wise Ecclesiastes immediately added:
§ X.
VERS. 8. All words are labor; man will not be able to speak; and the eye will not be satisfied with seeing, nor will the ear be filled with hearing.
What words does he mean here? It is clearly none other than those that concern the describing and characterizing of the infinite goodness and infinite power of Him who, with all-wise and all-powerful purpose, established all things through the beauty, utility, harmony, and order of visible realities. For as to what sorts of things and how great are the things one might speak in order to explain the contemplation and comprehension of each of the things that exist, they are not C in the least able—man will not be able to speak these things. D
A And yet, he will grow dizzy and falter: for although he may speak often, he is yet powerless to set forth a complete and perfect diagnosis and comprehension; even if he has reached the highest peak of wisdom and knowledge, he remains full of manly resolution. For neither will the eye be filled from seeing the beauties and the delights of the great wonders observed in heaven, and on the earth, and in the sea; nor will the ear be filled by listening to those who discourse about such things. For all who possess a beauty-loving and spectacle-loving mind will always have the erotic dispositions and powers of the human being, both interior and exterior, stirred up and prepared for the hearing of those who proclaim the unspeakable greatness of the divine and all-powerful force, and of the wisdom that has established this whole universe, and leads it through, and preserves it. And they shall not take their fill, in any way, of listening to discourses about such things. But the interpreter, B being unable to equal the wondrous harmony and order of the underlying things, thought it better to be silent than to speak. Then says the Ecclesiastes:
§ XI.
What is that which has been? It is the very thing that shall be. And what is that which has been made? It is the very thing that shall be made. And there is nothing new under the sun. Who shall speak and say: Behold, this is new? It has already been in the ages that have been before us. C
Advancing, the wise Ecclesiastes climbs to an even more intensive conception, and brings forward the greatness of the infinite wisdom and divine power, and the subjection and servitude of the creatures: for he proves through the things now set before us that it is not only of the things that have occurred and are seen that each displays its servile designation and relation and servitude toward its own Creator; but also that the things not yet occurred, but which shall be and shall be made, will follow and accompany those which have pre-existed, both by the principle of order and indeed by the subjection toward their own Creator and Master, so that nothing of the things that shall come to be or be made should be found to be alien or other in relation to the things that have stood in existence before them. According, then, to the sequence implanted in the former things by the creative and providential power and lordship of the universe, so to shall they have their generation and movement and preservation until the defined and complete termination. And it shall not be found at all that there is anything possessing a different generation, or order, or movement; so that anyone should take an occasion to speak and say: Behold, this is new. For if anyone shall perceive anything D wondrous and strange in heaven, in the risings and settings of the great luminaries and in the eclipses, or [in the course] of the other stars, both the fixed and the wandering; and further, even upon the earth and in the sea among the varied...
A and manifold sorts of animals and plants and meadows; all this existed long before in the same way and manner, having had its generation, and its essential nature, and its order and motion, since all things from the very beginning have been subject to the divine will and decree, and of necessity obey, both those things which already exist and those which are yet to be. For this reason the prophet Hosea speaks in the person of Him who created the ages and fashioned all things: "I am the Lord thy God, who establishes the heaven and creates the earth," by this means hinting at and demonstrating the sustaining, providential, and saving divine power of both; as having established the heaven and founded the earth from the beginning, so now also He gives to both, by His divine and omnipotent will alone, their permanence and preservation. There is therefore nothing recent under the sun, nor has anything come into being that is entirely new; for all things that exist and that shall exist have the same origin and motion. And thus the heavens incessantly declare the glory of God, and day unto day and night unto night proclaims the infinite power of His creative and providential wisdom. In like manner also the earth and the sea, by their own bounds and orders, and by the vicissitudes of death and life, and by more violent motions and by absolute B stillness, celebrate their own Master with, as it were, ineffable voices, so that nothing remains for our posterity which ought to be seen as new and recent. For this cause the wise Ecclesiastes added: "It has already been in the ages that were before us." For whatever is to be done has already been found to have been done. Then he says: C
§ XII. "There is no remembrance of the former, and even of the latter things that have come to pass, there shall be no remembrance with them that shall be at the final end."
The circular course of time, embracing and circumscribing all things within itself—like a wheel driven by perpetual motion—so manifests those who are currently useful and illustrious, and those who are troublesome and inglorious, that it commits the things which happened first to oblivion; either because the human mind is by no means deemed worthy to place among things worthy of remembrance the deeds of those past, as being wicked and base; or because it can with difficulty associate the remembrance of those things which have passed away with the present. Yet the remembrance of those who have practiced virtue with all D their might—and who have arrived at the summit of justice, and have left behind effective guidelines and soul-profiting and saving examples of holy instruction for those who come after—does not thus wither away. For these alone have had the abundant fruit of their labors, namely, a good remembrance; as it is written: "The memory of the just is with praises"; and again, "For a memorial to them unto the end."
A Since they also live unto the age, according to that which is written: "The just live unto the age, and in time is their reward," divine Scripture calls the supercelestial and divine recompenses by the name of 'reward,' by a metaphor taken from the works performed among men. Then the Ecclesiastes says:
§ XIII.
"I was king in Israel over Jerusalem, and I gave my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under the heaven."He resumes again, and adds the titles which he used also at the beginning, and the Ecclesiastes says: "I was king in Israel over Jerusalem." To whom anyone might not inaptly say: And who constituted you an Ecclesiastes? For that you were king in Israel in Jerusalem, this is manifest to all; for you held the kingdom in Jerusalem as a paternal inheritance; but you did not also receive the name 'Ecclesiastes' by paternal inheritance. How then have you named yourself Ecclesiastes? B But the word of truth will promptly answer in his stead, and will say that divine Wisdom, by whose impulse he undertook to describe and define the vanities and wicked deeds of men who lived basely and miserably, and furthermore the everlasting and necessary subjection and service of each of the things that are and that appear; and to gather those who are under all the heaven to the hearing of his own words, even she granted him the name of Ecclesiastes, as a title new and greater than that of king. For kings were indeed known even before him among all the nations, among whom was also the king of Israel over Jerusalem. But an Ecclesiastes was not known at all, nor was any teacher of the whole world under the sun heard of. Therefore, he thought that by the newer dignity and title, his own discourse would be more valuable and more persuasive to those who would C encounter it.
But another question arises from this, and one asks: And if he himself has taken the new name Ecclesiastes, how does he say that nothing is recent, nothing new under the sun? This has from that same place its brief solution. For he did not formerly use the words "recent" or "new" concerning voluntary studies or mental advancements; but he referred these to the natural movements and successions of those things that exist and are observed, in which it is not possible to find increase or addition, or decrease and subtraction. What then does he say? "I gave my heart to seek and to search out;" that is, D to have leisure for a time for the contemplation of things that are; and to...
A discover and grasp the motion and order of things that are and things that appear, and, indeed, also the evil deeds and the depravities of men who wish to live in a state of distraction. I have also understood and declared regarding the sun and the earth and the rivers and the torrents and the sea, which I have spoken of in part, signifying regarding all things that are, how each of them obeys and is made subject to its own Creator and Master, and keeps the natural boundaries set by Him inviolate, even if they are contrary to nature. But demented and foolish men have transgressed the natural boundaries given to them, and have turned aside from those things granted to them from above through great bounty and philanthropy, and have slipped into the ways of vanity; concerning whom I said, "Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity." And now, having examined with wisdom all the things that are done under heaven, that is to say, the things done by men living everywhere under the sun, I have understood and searched out.
§ XIV. VERS. 13. *For God has given a "distraction" to the sons of men, that they might be distracted in it.*
The studies of men and [their] superfluous efforts, and various and manifold watchings and runnings-to-and-fro, from which they shrink at nothing—for the sake of the desire for preeminence and dominance, or for the sake of obtaining glory for themselves and wealth ill-gotten and for the amassing of riches; and at the same time, whatever they undertake for the sake of detestable bodily pleasures and forbidden commerce of lusts and acts of lewdness—all these things he B has called a "distraction," as things that are truly evil and cannot be reckoned in any number of good things. But he adds, *"God gave to the sons of men,"* not as if this distraction were simply from God, but because He, having regard for the reason of their free mind and will, permitted each to do whatever he might desire; lest, if He had snatched away what is in our power, He might have subverted that counsel worthy of His own goodness, by which He, creating man, willed him to be endowed with reason and intelligence, so that for him, with the purpose of choosing and judging between what is worse and what is better, if he should prefer the good, he might indeed carry off a good reward; but if he should embrace the evil, he might have an evil one—as is fitting—or C punishment.
(57) These things are excellent, said regarding this matter by Basil the Great: "But why, one says, were we not created and fashioned in such a way that we could not sin, and so that it would not be permitted to us to commit any faults even if we wished to?" Because, I say, in the case of slaves, you do not consider them friendly to you when you hold them bound in your custody; but [you do so] when you see them fulfilling their duties toward you of their own volition. Therefore, it is also pleasing to God, not that which is forced by necessity, but that which is perfected by virtue. Virtue indeed arises from the will, not from necessity, but the will depends upon those things which are situated within us. But whatever is situated within us, the same is free and in our own power. Therefore, he who complains about the Creator, because He did not make us such by nature that we could not sin, is altogether preferring a nature lacking reason to that which is a participant of reason; and that which is immobile and cannot impel itself, to that which has the power both of willing and of acting.
Therefore, the expression “God gave,” meaning “God allowed, permitted, has set,” is A confessed by the wise Ecclesiastes; just as Paul the great apostle said concerning those who have slipped into every unlawful and wicked act; for he says: “For this reason God also gave them up to the desires of their hearts to uncleanness, so that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves.” And again: “And as they did not approve to have God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind.” B—but let us pass over that.
33 Therefore, that saying “God gave” [Eccl. 5:19] means “He granted, He permitted, He allowed”; as the great apostle Paul also spoke concerning those who have fallen into any nefarious deed or wicked act; he says: “For this reason God gave them up to the desires of their hearts, to uncleanness, that they might dishonor their own bodies among themselves.” Since the Creator constituted man for this reason, so that outside the limit, reason, and destination of voluntary counsel and inclination, no other cause might be found which would be the companion and associate either of perseverance in what is better, or of change for the worse. And in what manner man falls into sin, he explains in Book VI, § 11, as follows: “For by abusing the liberty of a rational and intelligent soul in an evil matter, he exercises his own power, inclining the tendency of his will—that is, he indulges it—so that he may lie, and slander, and vex, and grow rich from others, and afflict his neighbor in many and various ways most miserably.”
These things, I think, are very similar and akin to those which we read in the Maffeian History, culled from the writings of the Fathers. But lest anyone be able to object—while our Gregory extols human liberty—that he provides an opening for suspicion, lest we hold him immune from the Pelagian stain, and that we think he hardly recognizes the necessity of divine help: those are C excellent words which he has in this very book, § 16, for having set forth that saying of Ecclesiastes: “The crooked cannot be made straight, and what is wanting cannot be numbered” [Eccl. 1:15]; he subjoins: “So clearly the human will, once it is subverted and has turned to worse things, cannot now by its own powers amend itself and make itself better, unless, by the providence and care of another having been undertaken for it, it be healed by the aid and power of his grace, and by healing be recalled to virtue and to an absolute and perfect method and way of a better life. But he will altogether accomplish that, who fashioned it and expressed it in his own image, himself changing and transforming all things for the better: that is, the Word of God, through the divine and—worthy of his goodness—assumption of our nature, by all-powerful grace.” See also Book V, § 1.
And he does not think man needs divine aid any the less, lest he sin: for in Book VII, § 1, he interprets those words of Ecclesiastes: “For there is not a just man upon the earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” [Eccl. 7:21], thus: “It looks to this, that it may lead the hearers to humility of mind, and to inquire more earnestly for heavenly wisdom and help; since man can by no means escape the stain of sin in this life, unless help and aid from God be at hand for him.” And in Book VIII, § 9: “We, however,” he says, “let us take pains that we may always lead a sober, vigilant, and attentive life; and let us implore supernal grace and help to assist us in our actions, by which we may be able to escape the snares, D and all the wiles, and the fury of the ensnarers and of thieves and robbers, and, having become more excellent in virtue, may be plainly joined to God by a certain spiritual bond of a holier and more perfect life.” See also Book IX, § 16.
Finally, he distinctly professes that the very beginning of all rightly performed actions is also from God. For to those words of Ecclesiastes: “Blessed art thou, O land, whose king is the son of free men” [Eccl. 10:16]; you will find it noted in Book IX, § 15: “Why should it not also signify, by ‘the son of free men,’ the understanding—that is, [the son] of the holy and divine Spirit, who fashions the understanding wise and pure, and likewise signs it and produces it holy and altogether free and noble? For the Spirit of truth is naturally free, and ‘blows where it wills’ [John 3:8], and as it has willed, makes the understanding a participant of itself: which, having accepted the virtue of the Holy Spirit, regulates, governs, and keeps in duty its own princes, namely the other faculties of the rational soul.”
A And again: “And as they did not approve to have God in their knowledge, God delivered them up to a reprobate sense, to do those things which are not convenient.” B By allowing each one, through their own choice, seeing that they are free, to do things which are not convenient, the wise Ecclesiastes then adds:
§ XV.
VERSE 14. I saw all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and presumption of spirit.
It should by no means be thought that these are the things created in the cosmic fabric by Him who constructed all things “very good”; for to whom would this occur, or how, when it is clearly absurd? But rather, these are the things that are done and performed by evil and wicked men, as we said a little before. For he confirms this by the added sentiment, saying: “And presumption of spirit,” as if to say: “All these things are options of the soul, by the will of the one using it, who is manifestly endowed with the ability to incline toward both, namely, the good and the evil.” Him he now clearly called spirit. Furthermore, the nature of things is not at all subject to the presumption of the human soul, such that you could think these words were spoken about them; but they are the things which most men are accustomed to do in opposition to nature. C For that these evil distractions and the vanities of wicked deeds in men are not at all according to nature, many who were dear to God showed long ago, who shone with the splendor of all the virtues; and today, too, those express this who associate and live with us, and are diligent to walk in their footsteps. Then he says:
§ XVI.
VERSE 15. That which is perverse cannot be adorned, and that which is deficient cannot be numbered.
He recalls to our mind natural examples by which he wishes to demonstrate that the free will of man, once it has wandered and deviated from the path of truth and justice, can no longer be corrected or lead to a better fruit. For, he says, just as any tree, or other thing of this kind, which is distorted and bent toward the right, D is unable by itself and of its own power to raise itself up and assume that form which it had when it was straight and equal to the others; nor, likewise, can a deficiency ever be numbered, so that a number which was ten, having been diminished by one and become nine, can be called ten—unless, indeed, some most skilled cultivator of plants restores the tree by healing it, and [brings it back] to an upright posture and appearance.
A. Just so, once the human will has been subverted and has turned toward worse things, it is unable to amend itself by its own power or to make itself better, unless another, who takes care of it and concerns himself for it, heals it by the help and power of his own grace, and by healing it, draws it back toward virtue and toward the absolute and perfect path and way of a better life. This, indeed, he will certainly perform who fashioned it and impressed upon it his own image, transforming and renewing all things for the better—namely, the infinitely powerful grace of the Word of God, through his assumption of our nature, which is worthy of his goodness.
And let no one think that we are dragging things out or saying something superfluous, as if we were judging [it fitting] to add to the sermon of the Ecclesiastes something that was not said by him B. For in the divine Scriptures we find many things omitted through the figure of ellipsis, in a poetic manner—things which are accepted by sensible interpreters through implicit understanding, especially when the outcome of the facts confirms our own interpretation. Then the Ecclesiastes says:
§ XVII
"I spoke in my heart, saying: Behold, I have been magnified, and have added wisdom above all who were before me in Jerusalem; and my heart saw much wisdom and knowledge C; and I applied my heart to know wisdom and knowledge, parables and understanding; I knew that this too is an intention of the spirit" (Eccl. I:16–17).
He indicates that he is making the discourse by an internal word to himself, by no means using a spoken word, but he spoke in his thoughts, as if saying: "Behold, I have royal majesty greater than those before me—that is, those who reigned previously in Jerusalem—and an intensification of wisdom and knowledge." For I have hastened my heart toward this very thing: to arrive at the highest peak of wisdom and knowledge, and to grasp by the comprehension of my own mind parables and every— D [For] "that which is lacking," he says, "cannot be numbered" (Eccl. I:15). What does this signify through the word? That there was once a time when we also were part of the whole number. For we also were counted toward the sacred hundred of rational sheep. But since the one sheep—our nature—strayed from the mountain pastures, having been dragged down by wickedness to this arid and uncultivated place, the same number is no longer mentioned among the flock that did not stray, but ninety-nine are named. For that which is outside the number of those that exist is vain, because "that which is lacking cannot be numbered." He came, therefore, to seek and to save that which was lost, and having placed it upon his shoulders, to restore to those that exist what was perishing in the vanity of those that are not, so that the number of the works of God might again be whole, preservation having been granted to that which had perished, along with those that do not perish.
"I spoke in my heart... and I applied my heart to know wisdom and knowledge. And my heart saw much wisdom and knowledge, parables and understanding. I knew that this too is an intention of spirit. And I applied my heart to know wisdom and knowledge, and my heart saw much wisdom," etc.
A Having obtained all these things, and having reached the ultimate ends of human happiness, then indeed I truly pitied human life, which can derive no utility at all from all these things. For what reason is this? "Because," he says, "this too is an intention of spirit"—as if he were saying: "These are all the business of a willing soul," for here also he designated the soul by the name of "spirit." Yet they contribute nothing to the benefit and salvation of the soul for those who do not set great store by the acquisition of virtue, but who look only to human approval, the inflation of vain glory, and pride and the applause of men. And there also attaches to this that inconvenience, that those who—because their soul is estranged from the knowledge of intelligible goods—derive no utility from them, are the same ones who, occupied in these things, must undergo besides exhaustion, the troubles of labor, and useless vigils and vain anxieties. For he confirms this by what follows immediately.
§ XVIII. VERS. 18. "For in the multitude of wisdom is the multitude of knowledge, and he who increases knowledge increases pain." B By this he clearly declares that to the extent that one exceeds the measure of wisdom and fills his heart with more abundant doctrine, to that extent will he bring upon it sickness, anxiety, and cares, as he attains higher wisdom and greater knowledge of things. For observe, I pray, by what reasoning the Ecclesiastes explains this. In what way, he says, the multitude of knowledge follows the multitude of wisdom, in the same way the addition of knowledge is followed by the addition of pains. Wherefore, C those who have pursued that external and superfluous knowledge of many disciplines, after they have produced for themselves through vigils and labors that human wisdom and supreme knowledge of things which is attached to it, are not only accustomed not to derive from such long study anything necessary or useful that paves the way for eternal life, but they also perceive a great increase of pains again brought upon themselves. Since it would be better, if we were to bid farewell to all these things, to spend our vigils occupied in the praises of our Creator and God and Lord, in prayers and in supplications! If we were to begin to cultivate these things, to devote our efforts to them, and through them to raise our soul and mind to that incomprehensible height of the divine majesty, D and to fix our eyes on the beauty of Him who is the Sun of glory: so that, bathed and enriched by that light, we might be able to illumine both the man within and the man without, and, by meditating and contemplating the arcana of glory as much as possible, might be permitted to enjoy heavenly things and to be filled with an ineffable and truly divine joy. There will then be no cause for fear, lest, our works having been placed in vain things, we—
say that which he suffers, and through the things that follow he himself A *affirms* that he must condemn useless leisure, not long after: which he affirms happened to himself, in the things that follow. He adds, indeed, and says:
§ XIX.
B Chap. II. Vers. 1. *I said in my heart: Come, now I will try thee in gladness, and see in good. And behold also this is vanity* (63).
For if any man, having gathered together and embraced within himself the theme of gladness, and having spent the day in those things which are deemed human goods—that is, in foods and drinks that are well-seasoned and attractive, and in beds that are bright and flowery, and in the filthy and abominable pleasures of the flesh, and in magnificent apparel—when he reaches the end C of the period of the day, at that time he will find that the whole catalog of that varied and manifold gladness has vanished into air, so that no image or remnant of it whatsoever is left. D Nay, even men of this sort…
(63) *Olymp. and in good things, and behold, etc.* Since our Gregory has attributed his commentary to ten books, contrary to what the number of the chapters of Ecclesiastes seemed to demand, and so, as you see here and can see further below, he has not followed the common division of chapters in the distribution of his books; I thought it must be asked whether that book had at some time among some people contained only ten parts. Indeed, I have seen that not only Latin copies, as many as have been published, differ in no way from the vulgate; but also in all the Greek ones, and no less in those which I have received written in Oriental languages, I have noticed that Ecclesiastes consists everywhere of twelve chapters. This, however, occurs to me: that these partitions are not the invention of the most ancient age; and that those who first thought of dividing continuous speech were content for a long time with the numbers of verses or articles. For this is sufficiently declared by that old *Sticho-metria* of the sacred books found in the Putean library, and also among the German monks, which Cotelerius edited at the end of the preface or his judgment concerning the Epistle of Barnabas (PP. App. t. I, pag. 8). For it is nothing other than a census of verses, of how many each book consisted, just as Origen also is said to have partitioned his Hexapla, as Eusebius relates (Hist. lib. vi, c. 16). Nor does this opinion meet with little confirmation, to pass over others, by that Vatican codex of excellent quality, according to whose exemplar the Bibles of the LXX interpreters were edited by the authority of Pope Sixtus V. For it shows no chapters, no numbers: except that in the book of the four prophets, as we read in the Preface: A certain distinction appears, somewhat obscure, almost similar to that which the holy martyr Dorotheus, who lived under Constantine the Great, describes. And I also remember what Euthalius, Bishop of the Sulcenses, who flourished in the fifth century, wrote concerning the care he undertook: namely, that when he had already distributed the Epistles of Paul into many verses, at the exhortation of Athanasius the Younger, Archbishop of Alexandria, he then undertook the same labor, that he might distinguish the Acts of the Apostles and the Catholic Epistles in the same way. For thus he addresses Athanasius (in Prol. Act. Ap. ed. Zacagn. p. 409): *Recently, my dearest brother Athanasius, you commanded me to divide both the book of the Acts of the Apostles and the Catholic Epistles into lections that might be sung, and to divide them into certain chapters, and to distinguish the sentences of the individual parts: and having done this laboriously and from my heart, and having arranged the context of these through verses, so that, as far as I was able to accomplish, it might be read conveniently, I sent the individual parts to you shortly.* Therefore, I have decided that this can now be seen to be the case: that our Gregory made fewer books on Ecclesiastes than the number of chapters we now count in that book, because indeed, when he applied himself to writing the commentary, he had before his hands a codex of Ecclesiastes which had not yet been divided into twelve chapters, but consisted of only ten, or was distinguished merely by verse numbers. For numbers, as we have said, were introduced into sacred books before the sections of chapters: and even in the age of Euthalius there were still some books from the New Testament to which not even numbers had been added. *I have known no one,* says Euthalius—that is, I have hitherto known no one of those who have treated the divine eloquence by whom this type of writing was diligently undertaken. (Ibid. pag. 404.) By which words, I think, he designates those parts of the New Testament which he himself undertook to divide into lections and chapters and verses. But concerning the ancient sections of the books of the Old Testament, which likewise did not correspond to the chapters that are now in use, and which the Hebrews were accustomed to read individually in the Synagogue on individual Sabbaths, you will find many things in Croius (Sacr. Observ. c. 2): take this here from me only, that as far as current divisions are concerned, their author was Stephen Langton, the English cardinal, famous at the beginning of the thirteenth century. For concerning this, Georgius Josephus Eggs writes in *Purpura docta* (lib. 1, n. 61): *He was the first, among the authors of sacred books, to distinguish the whole Bible into chapters and numbers: and the order established by him has been followed by all the churches that have existed anywhere from that time; which Ciacconius had previously handed down from Jongelinus’s Purpura of St. Bernard.* Morinus seems to have been ignorant of this, since he attributes the invention to Cardinal Hugo. (Exerc. Bibl. 1. II, n. 17, c. 5.)
A of pleasure. Since a swarm of diseases often befalls such people, which the prophet Osee also hints at when he says: “And they shall be weakened in their bodies by the multitude of fornication.”
Therefore, the wise Ecclesiastes, having condemned and reproached his own occupations and pursuits, and having said, “And behold, this also is vanity,” by the very fact that he said “And behold,” clearly pointed out that after the fullness and satiety of that utmost gladness, he found no remnant of pleasure; but rather, he has seized upon what was thought to be gladness as a thing that has wrought and passed away as utter vanity. And for this reason he says again:
§ XX. Verse 2. “I said to laughter: circumaction; and to gladness: What doest thou?”
The wise Ecclesiastes, having realized how futile a thing laughter is—or rather, how great a source of sin and how great a danger of eternal punishment it imports—renamed it “circumaction,” that is to say, an uneven movement and an inordinate change, which distracts the soul of the one laughing from its virtuous state, from the contemplation of good things, and from the tranquility of duties and profitable pursuits. B Then he proceeds to rebuke gladness, and addresses it thus: “What doest thou?”—as if he were saying: Thou hast brought me no benefit, nor hast thou in any way helped me toward a blessed end. Nay, through thy doing I have faded away, and am as if bound by fetters, so that I cannot have leisure for that most salutary counsel which is pleasing to God and suitable to man. Depart hence, far away; do not dwell or live with me, and do not return hereafter. For thy coming and aspect shall never be among my desires, and shall always be held as useless, since thou drivest me toward an evil end. Wherefore he added:
§ XXI. Verse 3. “And I considered whether my heart would draw my flesh as with wine: and my heart guided me C in wisdom, and to hold on to gladness, until I might see what is the good for the sons of men which they should do under the heaven, all the days of their life.”
For the laughter, I said circumaction, just as if he were saying to laughter: “You are raving and have gone out of your mind and are not within the bounds of what is normal, acting unseemly of your own accord, and distorting your form in this passion, producing distortion for no useful purpose.” D And he calls the passion “circumaction,” which is, in meaning, equal to delusion and insanity. For what else could one properly call laughter, which is neither speech nor a work undertaken with purpose? But the unseemly gaping of the mouth, the panting, the shaking of the whole body, the stretching of the cheeks, the exposure of the teeth, gums, and palate, the bending of the neck, and the breathless, unexpected interruption of the voice, which causes the broken spirit to clash—what else, he says, is this but insanity? Therefore he says, “I have said to laughter: delirium,” just as if he were saying to laughter: “You are insane and of a deranged mind, and you do not remain within the established bounds, not observing decorum of your own accord, but perverting your form in this passion, which, being unchanged, brings no utility.” (Homil. 2 in Eccle.)
wisdom, and to attain joy, until I saw what is the good for the sons of men, which they shall do under the sun the number of the days of their life.
The joy B that dwells in the middle of the various and manifold pleasures of the flesh, and dances for fools, while also setting itself in opposition to the desire of the heart which seeks the will of Him who formed it—the good, acceptable, and perfect [will]—I observed, he says, whether the purpose of the heart will subject and enslave the mind of the flesh; and that, like wine drunk and cheering it, the rising of the carnal passions might be swallowed up by the mind of the spirit. But by no means, he says, did I find and discern such subjection and obedience of the flesh to the spirit. For when it is fattened and indulges in luxury, its mind is wont all the more to swell, inflame, and strengthen itself. Therefore, having acquired divine wisdom as a guide, I understood through it how to master and grasp and entirely restrain those evil desires and bodily pleasures [that arise] for the sake of joy; so that I might award the winning vote to the mind of my heart, which longs for and seeks the pure and temperate life, and the orderly and, as far as is possible, sinless conduct; until I might lay hold of and discern through personal experience of the facts that this is rather the good for the sons of men, which they shall do in all the numbered days of their life; for what he calls the number of the days of their life must be assumed to signify the entire life of the pilgrimage and existence of men here below.
He suggests, therefore, that it is not possible for men to achieve virtue and sinlessness and apatheia and holiness in any other way than through the self-control of abstaining from delicious and gluttonous and superfluous foods, which are indicative of the broad and wide road that leads to destruction. C For even if sincere and pure contemplations of the mind, and inclinations toward the state of intelligible and divine things, and constant prayers, and meekness, and humility, and the rest of the gifts of the virtuous characteristics contribute greatly to sinlessness and apatheia; yet the character of self-control according to one's ability precedes all these things, as if sketching out in the heart a certain image of the spiritual and God-beloved manner of life, and, in accordance with the sequence, fashioning it like some more flourishing colors, with the named [characteristics]...
D Having considered, however, that the soul is able to check the nature of the body—which is reeling and flowing like wine—and that self-control enslaves desire, I desired to see what in the world is the serious and truly good thing set before men, which they might accomplish during this life. Nothing will be able so to avail the human being toward what is good, O noble maidens, as purity. For the most beautiful and best governance [note: original-script column: see facsimile] [alt-version omitted]
A of the character of a life that loves beauty—which God, the cause of all good things, from whom comes "every good gift and every perfect endowment," 30 enables us to accomplish—is granted to those who hope in Him, so that we may at all times be deemed worthy to be found superior to every sin, to please Him, and to inherit the kingdom of heaven; and to glorify Him incomprehensibly with the saints of the ages. For to Him is due all glory, honor, and adoration, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
BOOK SECOND
§ 1.
B VERSE 4-9. "I magnified my work, I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself, I made gardens and orchards for myself, and I planted in them every fruit-bearing tree. I made myself pools of water, to irrigate from them a grove of shoots. I bought menservants and maidservants, and they became home-born to me; and I had much possession of cattle and herds, more than all those who had been before me in Jerusalem. I gathered for myself also silver and gold, and the wealth of kings and provinces."
There is nothing that can so avail a person for the acquiring of good, O beautiful virgins, as purity. For to rule the soul excellently and most well, and to be clean and free from every stain and blemish—purity alone accomplishes and provides this. C (69) You may find the use of such conclusions in the Church to be most ancient, yet the formula is not always the same. Indeed, the Apostles and those ancient Fathers who flourished immediately after the Apostles were accustomed to conclude their epistles and other writings hardly otherwise than with one invocation of Jesus Christ, whom they wished to be propitious to each one. They certainly invoked the Father rarely, and the Holy Spirit less often. And Paul indeed brought in the mention of the latter but once in a conclusion, namely in the second epistle to the Corinthians; Ignatius the martyr did so three times only, namely, writing to the Ephesians, to the Smyrneans, and to the Philadelphians; and those who wrote his Acts, once. But never in their epistles did the rest of the Apostles, never in their writings did the Fathers of the first age—not Barnabas, not Clement, not Hermas, not Justin, not Irenaeus, nor the others who touched upon those times. For as regards the fact that the epistle of the Church of Smyrna has this conclusion, these are the additions of a later age by him who transcribed the epistle, whose name was Pionius, as he himself testifies in those words: "I, Pionius, again wrote it from the aforementioned," namely from a copy of I know not whose, of Socrates, who had transcribed it from that which Caius, a contemporary of Irenaeus, had left behind, transcribed from his codex. But the conclusion ascribed to the Church of Smyrna is this: "Through His Son, the only-begotten Jesus Christ; to whom be glory, honor, power, greatness to the ages. Amen."
But from the time that D Macedonius the heresiarch began to rave and to spread that wicked and impious doctrine concerning the Holy Spirit, it gradually became the custom, with holy bishops everywhere protesting, that everyone should conclude his books, orations, and homilies with the naming of the three divine persons, after the manner of the catholic profession. The formula of Athanasius is: "To the Father with the Son in the Holy Spirit be honor and power and glory to the ages of ages. Amen. For His is the kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and unto the ages." Cyril of Jerusalem uses this: "By the power of the only-begotten Son of God and our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom glory to the Father with the Holy Spirit both now and always and unto all the ages of ages. Amen." (In fin. Catech. 2.) Gregory Nazianzen thus concludes an oration: "I worship the Father, I worship the Son, I worship the Holy Spirit; or rather, we worship, I and before all those who say these things, I and after all and with all in Him, our Lord Christ, to whom be glory and power unto the ages. Amen." So too Basil of Caesarea, in homily 30: "Having understood these things in your mind, glorify God, for to Him is due all glory, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit unto the ages of ages. Amen." You will read similar conclusions elsewhere passim among the other Fathers who followed them.
[Verse 8] “I gathered for myself silver and gold, and the possessions of kings and of the countries. I made for myself male singers and female singers, and the delights of the sons of men, cupbearers and cupbearers.” A “I was magnified and added beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem; and indeed my wisdom stood by me.”
Having previously utilized the term “joy” as a general category, he designated by it all human prosperity. Now, however, he clearly names and describes one by one, according to their kind, the individual things contained under it, so that he might not seem to be lying out of vanity regarding himself, nor to be lacking experience in any of the matters pertaining to the pursuit of pleasure and delight, or to be putting forward words empty of reality. For he wishes to assure all who approach the reading of this present treatise that he lived abundantly and sumptuously in every pleasure and indulgence, and that he luxuriated in passionate and fleshly delights; yet that he gained nothing from these, nor found any profitable end. Instead, he consumed his own life in vanity for as long a time as he considered fleshly pleasures and the pleasurable and servile life worthy of love and effort. Finally, he wishes to persuade all those who come after him to regard the way of life he describes and marks out as a source of many miseries, and to hold it as something utterly worthy of flight and hatred.
C Having thus mocked, disparaged, and stigmatized his own choice—found to be full of lack of taste—during the times when he consumed his life in degrading pleasures and luxuries, he sets forth explicitly, like a most loud-voiced herald, by his own example, that one should by no means be ensnared by the same visual images and shapes and be captured by the snares of shameful passionate pleasures. For he says, everything passes by and flows away like smoke, which not only irritates the eyes of the body but obscures the eyes of the mind many times over, not allowing them to look up and gaze toward the unblemished pleasure of divine love and the goods of virtue. D For this is what he hints at when he says: “And indeed my wisdom stood by me.”
For it is as if he were saying: as for all the other sources of pleasure, attraction, enjoyment, and beauty—namely those in the construction of buildings, those in vineyards, gardens, and paradises, and in pools of water, and in the swarm of menservants and maidservants, and the flocks, and the wood-growing trees, and the delights of the sons of men, the cupbearers and cupbearers—I was magnified and added beyond all who were before me... I magnified my work; I made great works for myself.
The paradises, a name that seems to be barbarian, has come through custom into Greek usage, just as many other Persian things have. Paradise is a well-watered place, that is, a place with good water, in which a walk...
A of herds, and with the gathering and collection of silver and gold, and with the delights of singers and cup-bearers of both sexes, namely male and female—all these things having passed away and vanished—one consolation alone remains for me and has been left behind: the wisdom given to me by God, which also stirred my heart to the recognition and condemnation of fleeting and temporary enjoyments, and roused it to look solely to the acquisition of virtue, and to choose this, to seek this, to pursue this with all my strength, and to desire it.
For all the constituents of luxury, and the creators of fleshly pleasures—even if they seem beautiful, and attractive, and visible to the exercise of human choice, and adorn the physical eyes, and are highly delightful—flow away and fall like leaves, B and they drag their lovers and cultists down with them into destruction, so that they cease to exist entirely. For he who deviates from the path of his own nature and natural faculty, by the very addition and association of budding vices, in a way receives an impetus by which he is carried to his ultimate ruin. But he who has divine wisdom as a helper and counselor, since it stands and remains forever unmoved, being propped up like the seven columns of the virtues, maintains him unmoved and completely inflexible, nor does it leave C him. And the things which follow below in § 2 are relevant; in them he contends that it is not the vanity of others that is condemned by him, but his own, which he had followed imprudently, and finally, through experience, had recognized not only as useless, but even as blameworthy because of its disastrous outcome. All these things respond wonderfully to the words of Chrysostom, who says: "For indeed Solomon, when he was held by the desire for worldly affairs, used to think them great and admirable, and showed much industry regarding them, building splendid houses, gathering endless gold, and choirs of musicians, and kinds of servers for the table and kitchen from everywhere, and collecting the grace of gardens, and lavishly providing for the desire of his soul the pleasure from brilliant figures, and, so to speak, carving out for himself a path of entertainment and delight. But when he had risen a little from there, and as if from some dark abyss had been able to look up to the light of philosophy, then he let out that high and heavenly utterance, saying: Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." (Tom. I, Orat. adversus eos, qui Synsact. habebant, n. 12.) Read also what our author has below in § 9. D As regards singers and singing-girls, it is beautiful what Bochart noted (Hieroz. P. II, lib. VI, c. 13, n. 6). For these are his words: "Solomon says, namely, that he had acquired for himself singers and singing-girls and the delights of the sons of men, that is, those who would recreate men with song and singing. For it is probable that by that word is not meant just any songs, but properly those called by the inventress, that is, the woman Sido, of great name among the Phoenicians, concerning whom that most ancient writer Sanchoniathon speaks; and Sido is from the Pontus, who, because of the melody of her voice, first discovered the singing of hymns. Indeed, just as the Greeks called a Sapphic poem from Sappho, so it is probable that from Sido they called it *sidoth* or *siddoth*."
A And the Wisdom of God, which is the pillar of the virtues, maintains the soul unshaken and entirely unswerving; and in no way does it allow one who has been deemed worthy to have Her as an advocate to slip toward the wretched deeds of vanity.
For truly the wise Ecclesiastes, having gone through the names of gladness category by category, still lingers gladly upon them, and insists that he did not possess the things enumerated in vain; but rather that he did so in order to be charmed and adorned by their delights, and to enjoy and revel in the pleasure that comes from them to those who wish it. For he adds immediately, and says:
§ II. B VER. 10, 11. And all that my eyes desired I did not withhold from them. I did not keep my heart from all gladness; for my heart was glad in all my labor. And this was my portion from all my labor. And I looked upon all my works, which my hands had done, and upon the labor in which I labored to do them. And behold all is vanity, and a striving of the spirit; and there is no abundance under the sun.
In saying these things, he insists and asserts clearly that he had come to know these things through experience itself, and that he had neither prohibited his eyes from enjoying the charming and pleasant sights for which they longed, nor had he restrained his heart from the carnal desires that are sent through the senses of the eyes and creep into it, so that he might be considered truthful and C faithful to all other men in saying, “And behold all is vanity and a striving of the spirit; and there is no abundance under the sun.”
Therefore, some of the earlier interpreters thought and declared it in vain, as if the wise Ecclesiastes were not discussing these things with personal knowledge, but simply railing against vanity, which is not the case. For he does indeed mock and rail against vanity explicitly, but it is the vanity he himself had engaged in, and that which by actual experience he had condemned as unprofitable and leading to no good end; rather, he rails against it because it drives those who choose it into the snare of destruction. Then he says:
§ III. D VER. 12. And I looked to see wisdom, and error, and folly; for who is the man who shall come after the counsel? And with this [he looks at] all that he has done.
A Having arrived, the Ecclesiastes, at the abundance and magnificence of those things which are practiced with the greatest zeal in pleasures and studies, and having found therein nothing worthy of the human and rational soul, but rather having apprehended that the whole of a wicked life and a base way of living passes away as soon as it comes into being, and rapidly hastens toward non-existence, he said: "And I looked upon all my works which my hands had made, and upon the labor in which I labored to perform them; and behold, all is vanity and choice of spirit; and there is no profit under the sun," as all types of wickedness vanish by their own fickleness. Now he compares the sober and ordered life of wisdom—which manifestly had been given to him by God, and which had drawn his character toward its former spiritual state—and having discovered and apprehended the great difference and superiority of wisdom, or prudence, toward what is better, he also compares it to the "revolving," that is, folly. For both terms signify and display the same thing. For the "revolving" signifies clearly movement and change toward this or that side; which are indeed the properties of folly, as the oracle of the divine Scripture says: "The fool changes as the moon," B hinting at his revolving toward worse things and his turning aside.
Having, therefore, set these against one another and compared them, even though they are of such a nature that they can scarcely be set in comparison on account of their difference in kind; since he learned that there lies in wisdom, or prudence, the greatest utility, but that error, or folly, is altogether futile and full of ineptitudes, and moreover that it contributes nothing at all to a blessed and upright life: as if brought into a great anguish of soul, because most men deem a flagitious and wicked life more desirable, he added, because of the utter indignity of the matter: "For who is the man who shall come after the counsel?" as if he were to say: That man alone is worthy to be called a human being and to be held in the number of men, who first, as if from some watchtower and high and elevated place, has clearly and distinctly contemplated the nature of things, and discerns what should be chosen and what should be left behind, C what is useful and what is useless, what brings salvation and what leads to destruction, and alone judges; and having started counsel, he thus prefers the better things, so that he may turn away from those which not only have no utility, but even transmit men to eternal punishments.
For a man of this sort, who maturely embraces and knows the best life, and prefers it to the worse, and furthermore, by using the opportune counsel of wisdom and prudence, egregiously restores and perfects also his past actions; he, I say, is happy and truly blessed; inasmuch as he places and expends his zeal in the possession of those goods which are true and lasting. D For such a man, who is first willing and discerning of the best life, and preferring it to the worse, and furthermore, in accordance with the consequence, acting upon those things that were left aside as better and superior through the counsel brought about in wisdom and prudence, is happy and truly blessed, as having set his own [life] towards the acquisition of existing things and of those that are truly good.
A For such things neither vanish away or perish, nor do they bring upon those who practice them unbearable torments, but rather they bestow pure rewards and everlasting exultation. For those who act recklessly in this or that matter, without the guidance of counsel in prudence and wisdom, stumble constantly, falling into things into which it is not right to fall; and although they change their counsel once they have repented and perceived their error, they have not the strength to undo the deed wrought by their lack of counsel, unless the situation is found to be such that it admits of healing through repentance and restoration to its former state. For this reason the most wise oracle says somewhere: "Repentance is a bad thing if it does not admit of improvement." Consequently, he adds: B
§ IV. *And I saw, that there is an abundance of wisdom over folly, as the abundance of light over darkness.*
It is evident that by setting folly against wisdom, he uses wisdom in place of prudence. For prudence is the most sovereign and queen-like of all the other virtues; and the wise Ecclesiastes said that it has a great abundance, as light compared to darkness. For just as in the light all men discern the judgment of things accurately, and now look upon a stone as a stone, and bread as bread, whereas in the darkness they suffer much deception, thinking they see one thing instead of another; so too, when we are illuminated by the light of wisdom, that is, of prudence, C we are least likely to err regarding what is pleasing to God and profitable to us. But when we fall away from prudence, that is, the wisdom given by God, then, having no lamp of life, and therefore not discerning the nature of things, instead of pearls and precious stones—which obviously represent the beauty of the virtues—we choose malodorous dung and the mire trodden by all in the streets, that is to say, sin.
Who, then, is the man to be found worthy of such a calling, who, having deliberated beforehand and grasped what is necessary and profitable, will follow such counsel and perform the works of truth and justice? This same thing also the prophet Hosea, at the end of his prophecy, expressed as if in suspense: for he says, D "Who is wise and will understand these things? Or prudent and will know them? For the ways of the Lord are straight, and the just shall walk in them; but the ungodly shall stumble in them." For since the saving practices are manifest and apparent, both in reason and in deed, and conversely the pursuits of vanity are those that propel one toward destruction; seeing that those who are lovers of beauty and fearful of God observe that the great mass of men despise the better things and prefer...
A the acquisition of the worse, and from there are reduced to a state of helplessness, saying, "Who is the man who shall come after the counsel?" and, "Who is the wise man who shall understand these things?" and they call such a man blessed, as having received the things of blessedness. Ecclesiastes then says:
§ V.
Verse 14. *The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walks in darkness.* B Having just now contrasted stupidity with wisdom—denoting prudence through wisdom, as we have said before—and having compared the two, although prudence has an incomparable excellence and goodness such that no comparison can be instituted with it, it is our opinion that this is not so much a comparison as it is an opposition between things most widely separated, just as light and darkness are naturally opposed to each other by a great difference. For when he says, "as the abundance of light is over darkness," so he proclaimed that wisdom has an abundance over stupidity, not comparing one to the other, but demonstrating from this their extreme opposition. Having said these things, he now immediately takes up those who derive their name from this, the wise man from wisdom, and the fool from stupidity, and he proclaims and insists that the wise man indeed has his eyes in his head, but the fool does not C at all; but as one blind and deprived of all faculty of sight, he walks in darkness, which is clearly that of sin. D But why on earth does he state this and propose it as something worthy of knowledge, when all men and even the animals that were created for the sake of man carry the keenness of their eyes in their head? For out of those five senses which have been bestowed upon living creatures by the Author of all things, the head clearly manifests four, namely sight, hearing, smell, and taste, as is evident to all. Since, therefore, all know this equally, why, I ask, does Ecclesiastes propose it as something extraordinary and strange? But it is clearly and manifestly evident that he has called the more potent faculties of the rational and intelligent soul of man—namely, the mind and the understanding—the "eyes of the wise man," since these are the ones that inspect and look into the nature of the reality of each thing. But the fool does not have these, for he has lost prudence through a voluntary deprivation. And therefore, he neither directs his mind keenly toward the knowledge of the things that are subordinate, nor applies it to the understanding of the things he has been taught; and having been untrained in any exercise of reasoning and discovering the truth, he does not possess the means to bring forth the faculty of understanding itself.A Wisely, therefore, has the sage Ecclesiastes shaped and fashioned this present saying, when he said, "The eyes of the wise man are in his head," by which he meant the intellectual eyes, as we have already stated—eyes which not only the rest of the irrational animals do not possess, but which even most men lack as well, since they have voluntarily closed them and have been dragged along the paths of destruction. Only the wise, who have been deemed worthy of the wisdom from above, clearly possess them, and by them have preserved their natural prudence unharmed; for this reason they are called wise, because they conduct themselves and live wisely, stumbling in no way in their journey. The Lord hinted at such people when He said, "Everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be reproved. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be made manifest, that they have been wrought in God." He, therefore, who possesses such eyes—pure, that is, and immune from any dimness of passion—placidly sails through this vast and immense sea of life. He is not puffed up and made arrogant toward his neighbor by the comforts and prosperity of life, by human applause, honors, or glory; nor is he defeated by calamities, by the lack of necessities, or by the slanders, insults, and disparagements of men. He is not drawn away to things that are in no way pleasing to God; but he remains the same, consistently and in the same manner disposed amid the occurrences of opposing events, since he has his intellectual eyes constantly directed toward the Sun of Glory, being illuminated by the rays from there and wisely directing the life of the wise man.
C If, however, anyone should wish to interpret this saying according to another, perhaps more elegant, understanding, he will not err from the truth. For if, as the great Apostle has taught, Christ our God is the head of the Church, then whoever constantly keeps his eyes, both mental and physical, fixed upon Him, seeking the guidance, help, and preservation that comes from Him, becomes superior to the worldly temptations and the manifold devices of the devil. He looks past and disregards the stumbling blocks and obstacles of human life, as if he were anchored by a firm and secure anchor—the anchor, indeed, of love, hope, and faith toward his own Head. But the fool, thrust into the darkness of his unbelief, when he D ought to be turning his eye toward the true light of the world and the Sun of Righteousness, instead fancies that he sees things in the darkness. [alt-version omitted] But if, having recognized the vanity of the objects that lie before him, the power of his soul should raise its eyes to its own head, which is Christ, as Paul interprets, then it should be deemed most blessed because of the keen sharpness of its vision, having its eyes there where there is no darkness of evil. The great Paul, and whoever else are great like him, had their eyes in the Head, as do all who live and move and have their being in Christ. Just as it is impossible for one who is in the light to see darkness, so it is impossible for one who has his eye fixed on Christ to fix it on any empty thing.
A He who is imprisoned by unbelief, not having eyes that look upon the true light of the world and the sun of righteousness, is neither rightly disposed towards the glorious and joyful things of wealth, worldly splendor, and power, nor towards those things which are contrary to these. Instead, in both conditions he is carried away by the heat, cast by the storms and tempests of overwhelming waves into the abyss of sin and wickedness. Indeed, therefore, the wise Ecclesiastes immediately added:
§ VI.
53 B VERS. 15. And I know also myself, that one event will happen to all people; and I said in my heart: As the event of the fool, so it will happen to me; and why have I been so wise? Then I spoke abundantly in my heart; because the fool speaks from the abundance of his heart: that this also is vanity.
Having described and defined the eyes of the wise man, and having attributed to him such knowledge for the choice of better things as the pre-eminence of light over darkness is, he foresaw that questions would arise from those who oppose, asking how it is possible that, just as light is better than darkness, so the wise man is better than the fool, when nevertheless the same events which happen to the fool also overtake the wise man? For we see that, just like the fool, so also the wise man succumbs to diseases and poverty, and often lacks even necessities, and is despoiled by strangers, and undergoes the other vicissitudes of this life. Why, therefore, did you hold them in the same number, those whom the same assaults of life press upon, and whom the same trials and circumstantial necessities urgently afflict from every side, and when you spoke concerning them, did you not bestow equal praise or blame upon both? Or rather, did you not maintain that there is as much difference between the wise man and the fool as there is between things that are most opposed to each other, namely, light and darkness? For surely the same things happen to both: and so, in what way do you demonstrate that the wise man, when compared to the fool, has the same pre-eminence in the presumption of better things as that which you established to be between light and darkness? For this reason, therefore, C the wise Ecclesiastes, like some most provident physician, anticipates and offers a salubrious cup to those who are sick in their senses, and who offend more impudently in their thinking and words. For he says: «And I knew also that one event will come upon them all; and I said in my heart, As the event of the fool, so it will come upon me; and why have I been so wise?» by which words he describes in himself most men, who do not at all distinguish what are the words and deeds of the wise man and what are those of the fool, and judge of both only by those things which happen to us from without and beyond our will. D
A For the prudent and wise man, of all things which are in our power, chooses and sets before himself those that are better, more useful, and saving, and, discerning them, keeps his eyes upon them, while he banishes far away from his own life and sends away the things that are contrary and opposed. Such are truth, justice, fairness, meekness, lack of anger, mercy, and love toward one's neighbor, and the list of other virtues; and, most of all, he prefers and keeps a sincere faith and firm hope in his own Creator, God, and Master; and he considers the dispositions and deeds contrary to these to be ones to be avoided and loathed. But the fool, considering all things that the wise man has judged to be things to be avoided and loathed to be rather more desirable, contrary to the proper goal and the definition and reason of prudence and wisdom, and busying himself and enslaving himself to these, turns away from and flees from the choice and the practice of the useful and saving things found by the wise man. It is in such things, therefore, that the wise man and the fool are characterized, and not in being healthy or being sick, or in being rich or being poor, or suffering the loss of what one possesses; nor in receiving the occurrences of the other kinds of human lack or luxury, or, conversely, in being found entirely devoid of and above tribulations, evils, and the trials of life. B For these things, being of the kind that are not in our power, often happen equally to both, in accordance with the inequality permitted in the present life, even if each does not handle such occurrences in the same way. For the wise man, through the prudence and wisdom that is present in him, disposes both good health and sickness, both wealth and poverty, both honor and dishonor, both glory and infamy, both the incursions, declarations, and looting of foreign peoples, as well as the visitations, the burnings, and the earthquakes, and the peaceful state of life, toward what is better and more useful, in all things giving thanks to God who governs all things wisely and profitably, and persevering in the face of terrible and grievous things, and being adorned with the athlete’s crown through patience. For he is neither lifted up or his soul diffused by the occurrences that seem to be joyful and superior, nor does he give himself over to laziness, nor again is he defeated or bent by the arrival of afflictions and sorrows, nor does he allow his ruling mind to be turned toward ignoble thoughts. But the fool, in no way possessing the discerning science of prudence, increases the pains in all such occurrences and gives himself up to manifold more afflictive circumstances through impatience, blasphemy, and lack of hope. How, therefore, is the wise and prudent man not proved to be superior to the fool—who is wickedly disposed and darkened in his understanding in both those things which are in our power and those which are not in our power—by his excellence C directed toward the better? D
A Indeed, the wise Ecclesiastes, the more maturely to restrain and refute their reasonings and speeches—those whom, as he himself expressed it, he saw would opine such things, using the words: "And I said in my heart: As the event of the fool, so shall it be also with me: and wherefore have I been so wise?" B —that he might openly demonstrate that he had spoken against what is right and rashly, he added immediately: "Then I spoke abundantly in my heart." Then—when? Clearly at the time when he fell into such thoughts, having pondered and spoken within himself by the interior word things superfluous, vain, and alien to truth. And that he might more significantly censure such thoughts, he added immediately: "Because the fool speaks out of the abundance; and this also is vanity." If, therefore, he pronounces him a fool who revolves such things in his mind, and calls that rash movement of thought vanity, it is already clear that he spoke these things beforehand to restrain the base and insane altercations of the majority of men. Moreover, he confirms our interpretation in the words that follow immediately, saying:
§ VII.
VERS. 16. "Because there is no memory of the wise with the fool for ever, for that now, in the days coming, all things have been covered by oblivion: and how shall the wise die with the fool?"
This is the meaning that lies hidden in these words: Well and appropriately did I say: "Because the fool speaks out of the abundance, and this also is vanity"; for he goes into such thoughts—falsely and irrationally saying that the event for both the wise and the fool is one and the same—totally rashly and foolishly. Indeed, the memory of the wise is not only immortal among his equals by a certain right of virtue and good studies, but it also possesses an eternal clarity of name among posterity. For "The memory of the just is with praises," C says the most wise oracle; and again: "The just live for ever, and their reward is in the Lord"; and again: "The just shall be in everlasting remembrance"; and this also: "Glory and riches are in his house, and his justice remaineth for ever and ever"; and again: "He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor: his justice remaineth for ever." D
A Now, hear again what the Prophet says concerning the fool: "Yet a little while, and the sinner shall not be; and thou shalt seek his place, and shalt not find it." And again: "I have seen the impious one greatly exalted and lifted up like the cedars of Lebanon; and I passed by, and behold, he was not; and I sought him, and his place was not found." And again: "His memory hath perished with a noise; but the Lord remaineth for ever." Since the wise Ecclesiastes knows there is such a difference between the wise man and the fool, he contends that the memory of the wise man should in no way be associated with that of the fool. "For," he says, "in the days that are coming, already all things have been forgotten"—namely, the things of the fool; and for this reason he added, "And how shall the wise man die with the fool?"—or rather, by saying "shall he die," he means, "How shall the wise man be forgotten like the fool, with no memory of fame or glory attending him, just as it does not follow the fool at all?" For the wise man, according to the Scripture, "is in everlasting memory," because "there is a remainder for the man of peace; but the remnants of the ungodly shall be destroyed," as the Prophet says. And again, "Because the Lord knoweth the way of the just; and the way of the ungodly shall perish." For He clearly entrusts the deeds of the diligent to the eternal knowledge of God, but He consigneth B those of the wicked and base to destruction.
Therefore, having borne witness to the greatness and eternal glory awaiting the wise man, but for the fool, by the very name of death, to the non-existence and disappearance of all that pertains to the honor of memory, he proceeds to proscribe fools, and by depicting their life, he shows it to be worthy of hatred and avoidance; for he says:
§ VIII.
"And I hated life, because the work that is wrought under the sun is evil before me; for all is vanity and presumption of spirit. And I hated all my labor which I laboured under the sun: because I must leave it unto the man that shall be after me. And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man, or a fool? And whether he shall have power over all my labor, wherein I have labored, and wherein I have showed myself wise under the sun? This is also vanity."
Describing here too the multitude of mankind by repeating these words, he says: "The work that is wrought under the sun is evil before me," not reviling the creation made by God, but rather the wicked deeds of the fool C who dwells upon the whole earth and completes his life under the sun. For he does not D
A use his capacity for choice nor his natural impulses in a rational and decorous manner. Instead, due to great lack of judgment B and vanity of mind, he prefers the worse to the better, and thrusts aside the saving things for those which lead to destruction. For of such people, it would have been "good if they had not been born at all," as the Lord says in the Gospels; for those who have entered into this present life have lived a life more hateful than death, which, after a short time, will send them on to a death that is eternal and has no end at all. Therefore, all the things of the foolish C are vanity and a striving of the spirit, that is, a capricious impulse of the soul and a movement that pushes it toward everlasting torments. Yet, in saying, "And I hated all the labor which I laboured under this sun: because I shall leave it unto the man that shall be after me. And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man, or a fool?" he also censures those who indeed appear to be wise, but who, when they have recognized that the course of life is most brief, and that at the same time a great part of mankind remains D stuck in vices, yet do not distribute the wealth they have gathered—through commercial dealings, or the labors of farming, or other industry—to the needs of the poor and the destitute, but rather keep and guard it until their last day and their death, and then willingly or unwillingly pass it on to other men who will manage it in the least wise or intelligent manner, and who will have the power, through the things inanimate and animate that come to them with the wealth, to bestow it upon those in need and the poor and for their sufficient necessities, and to store it up in heaven according to their own free human will and judgment; but on the contrary, they will instead be enslaved by the lordship and tyranny of that wealth, bringing no profit by their distribution and mercy to those whose wealth and riches they have succeeded to. (90)
(90) These things, I suppose, do not much please the Calvinists. For he surely designates the constant belief of the Catholic Church, which teaches that the souls of the departed are relieved by the good deeds D of the living. This, however, other Fathers have already confirmed, Chrysostomus above all, whose famous passage this is, where he treats the method by which it is lawful to help a departed person who has not expiated his sins during his life. He says: We can, certainly we can, if we wish, make his punishment lighter. If we offer prayers for him frequently, if we bestow something out of mercy, even if he is not worthy, God, being entreated, will hear us. If for the sake of Paul he saved others, and for the sake of others spares them, why will He not do the very same? Help him from his money, from your own, from wherever you wish; drop in oil, or rather, water. Can he not show his own alms? At least let him show those of his kin. Can he not do things himself? At least let them be done for him. Thus, his wife will then confidently intercede for him, depositing the price of redemption on his behalf. The more many sins he became accountable for, the more he has need of alms; and not for this reason only, but because he does not now have equal strength, but rather much less; for it is not the same thing for a person to do something himself and for another to do it for him. Since, therefore, it is less, let us make it greater by the abundance of it. Let us not expend our efforts on monuments, or on funeral rites; protect widows, for this is the greatest funeral service: say his name, and urge all of them to offer prayers and supplications for him; this will appease God, even if not through him, yet another becomes the author of alms on his behalf. (In Act. Ap. hom. 21, n. 5.)
A For this too is vanity: for whether he is a fool, or seems to be wise—he who possesses wealth and does not distribute it to the needy, but hoards it for his enemies and those who hate him, as has often happened—he is found to be a fool in truth and vain, and he will justly hear God saying to him: "Fool, this night they require your soul from you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?" For the, "To whom will they belong?" alludes to the transfer of the lordship of wealth to enemies, as has happened often. Therefore, the prophet David also says: "He stores up, and does not know for whom he will gather them," speaking in harmony with the Ecclesiastes, since rivals and those who hate the one who labored, and who gathered wealth through many sweats, anxieties, and cares, will possess it and enjoy the fruits of his labors. For this reason, the Ecclesiastes, condemning and rebuking such people, added:
§ IX. "And I turned myself to renounce in my heart all my labor, wherein I labored under the sun, because there is a man, whose labor is in wisdom and in knowledge and in strength; and a man who has not labored therein, will give to him his portion." B Having weighed the affairs in which men engage, and those things that befall them—often examining their nature with those who are inexperienced and those who are zealous—and having observed and discerned the disordered and haphazard transfer of wealth to others who are gold-mad, miserly, or even debauched and enslaved in their minds to the desires of the flesh, he sets himself as a good example to those who come after of a conversion to better things, and of a change that is most excellent and profitable; so that by mimicking him, all others, having recognized their own folly and wickedness, may turn back from their slide toward worse things, and recall their own life from its inclination toward the worse. For he says: "And I turned myself to renounce in my heart all my labor, wherein I labored under the sun, because there is a man, whose labor C is in wisdom and in knowledge and in strength, and a man who has not labored in it, will give to him his portion." From my heart and with a true disposition, he says, I turned away from all the wealth that had accrued to me through many labors, toils, anxieties, and cares, so as to bid farewell to it, and to scatter and distribute it to the needy. For what reason? "Because every man," he says, "who has willed and labored to gather a surplus of wealth, having been admired either for a greatness of wisdom, or the pinnacle of lofty contemplations and the knowledge of divine and human affairs, or for military strength, or that against foreigners and bodily opponents, or rather, to say, the struggle against... D
A the rebellion and tyranny of the passions of contempt; and from there, having arrived at the highest and most luxurious and all-encompassing possession of worldly abundance, if he does not wish and strive to render these back to God as things graciously given and bestowed, and to distribute them by way of abundant generosity to the needy and indigent, but instead departs from this present life held fast by the affection for wealth, leaving behind his wealth in such a way that another man, who has labored or toiled not at all, will be found and will receive the portion of his labors and toils—reflecting on this, as being most pitiable and full of great misery, and having understood it, I turned away, he says, from renouncing the whole world, and the friendship and affection of the world, and all the snares resulting from wealth, from the heart; to no longer labor to gather the wealth which, under this sun, even the moth and thieves dig through and plunder; but rather, to store up eternal treasures in heaven. B Assuredly, therefore, he added:
§ X.
*And indeed this is vanity, and great wickedness.* Manifestly, this means that after the gathering—that which occurs through labors and toils and hardships and all sorts of anxieties—of the abundance of wealth, one does not think or understand the profitable distribution and management thereof, and to lend to God through abundant almsgiving to the needy and those in poverty, to Him who is able to return the rewards many times over; but rather to hoard this for those who have labored nothing in wisdom and knowledge and courage and other virtues; this, he says, is "vanity and great wickedness," which is natural to men who administer their affairs in life in such a way; and because of this, it becomes a cause of greater condemnation and judgment. Therefore he added, saying:
§ XI.
*For what comes to man in all his labor, and in the purpose of his heart, in which he labors under the sun? For all his days are sorrows, and his anger is his distraction. And this also is vanity.* And also in the night his heart does not rest. And also this...
C (92) Again, our author here reveals his opinion, and demonstrates that he has no doubt about Solomon's repentance. Among those, moreover, who had thought the same before him, most prominent is that Bachiarius, the monk from Spain, in his book *De Reparatione lapsi* to Januarius (n. 12, p. 72, ed. Rom, Florii): "Solomon," he says, "that marvelous man, who merited to be joined to the adjutant of God, that is, to Wisdom, fell into the embraces of alien women, and, ensnared by the bond of lust, even defiled himself with the error of sacrilege, when he fashioned an image to the Moabitish idol Chamos. But he who acknowledged the fault of his error through the prophet, is he banished from heavenly mercy? But perhaps you might say: 'I nowhere read in the canon that he repented, nor that he obtained mercy.' Therefore listen, brother: that his repentance is not written in public laws, some might perhaps call it acceptable for this reason, that he repented not to the face of the people, but in the secret of his conscience, with God as his witness. Moreover, we know that he obtained pardon from this, because when he had been released from the body, Scripture commemorates that he was buried among the bodies of the kings of Israel; D which, however, we know elsewhere was denied to sinful kings who remained in the perversity of their purpose until the end of their life; and therefore, because he merited to be buried among the just kings, he was not far from pardon; but he could not have earned pardon itself without repentance."
(94) After these words, others we read in the LXX: "Neither by night does his heart rest." And this... which is rendered in the vulgate. These same things are also in Olympiodorus.
A He derides and mocks and vilifies the lack of judgment of avaricious men, further sketching and characterizing the cares and the vigils and the various agitations which they endured by the will of their own hearts, to gather the wealth which they possessed unprofitably and irrationally, and stored up for those who are worse; having procured for themselves no benefit to their soul at all, but only the enjoyment of the ease which had come to them in their lifetime—which is a sign of vanity and great misery. Hence he also added:
§ XII. B VERSE 24. "There is no good for a man except that he eats and drinks, and he will show his soul good in his toil. And this too I saw, that it is from the hand of God; for who will eat and drink without Him?"
Those who have accounted the eternal and future goods and the supernal and divine rewards as of no value, and have for this reason devoted themselves to nothing but the enjoyment of the present life, think and believe this alone to be the good in their own toils and labors; alluding to these and characterizing them, the wise Ecclesiastes says the things mentioned. But by saying, "And this too I saw, that it is from the hand of God," he showed clearly that even the need for bodily self-sufficiency and the seasonable and appropriate food does not at all hinder a zealous person from the effective performance of other better works, through which God is well-pleased and glorified by those who handle food and drink sensibly and wisely. "Whether you eat, or whether you drink, do all to the glory of God," C says Paul the great apostle somewhere, and long before him the prophet David says to the God of all: "You open your hand, and fill every living creature with favor." And again, "Who gives food..."
For when he considered the frail nature of humans, D and grain for young men and wine for virgins and oil for the gladness of the living, hay for the cattle and grass for the service of men, meat for the beasts, seeds for the birds, and to all their appropriate food.
It is therefore our counsel to widows and orphans that they receive what is provided to them with the utmost fear and reverence, and that they give thanks to God for providing food to the hungry, and that they fix their eyes upon Him. "For who," he says, "of you will eat, or who will drink without Him? For He Himself opens His hand and fills every living creature with favor; He bestows grain upon the young and wine upon the virgins and oil for the gladness of the living; hay for the cattle and grass for the service of men, meat for the beasts, seeds for the birds, and food convenient for all." Whether you eat, therefore, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
A Since our fleeting nature has been thus determined by the One who fashioned it to have its subsistence through the partaking of food, it is with good reason that the Ecclesiastes also said that both to eat and to drink are from the hand of God.
This, then, is of the divine counsel and philanthropic providence suspended from above. But to indulge in gluttony beyond what is necessary, and to exceed the self-sufficiency of nature, and to stuff oneself with seasoned and all kinds of foods and drinks out of an insatiable and voracious pleasure of the fleshly mind; or to be stingy and hoard a varied and diverse wealth, and not to distribute it to those in need according to the proportion of the property possessed by the owner—this is not from God. B For both are of the human will alone and of evil counsel, by which the miserable man, enslaved to drunken excesses, dims the ruling faculty of the rational soul and renders it incapable of divine renewals, contemplations, and services. And wealth stored up for other wicked and base men provides for its possessors endless punishments; for as they have not shown mercy, so shall they themselves surely not be shown mercy, and to those who have not given, no recompense will be granted by God, who receives the giving to the poor as if it were given to Him.
Therefore, to eat and drink soberly and in good order, and to do those things which nature requires as absolutely necessary, without which it is impossible to live in health or perform the services and prayers, day and night, C that you owe to your Creator, is the work of the divine hand, that is, of His goodness and counsel. But to indulge in these beyond measure and beyond the necessity of nature is the work of a rabid and frantic belly and of one’s own will, not of the divine hand and counsel. And one would properly say the same thing concerning wealth. For as wealth gathered for a man by toil, labor, and the sweat of his own brow, with the appropriate truth and justice, by those who set their hope on the Lord and distribute it also to the needy according to the proportion of their own ability, is a good thing and a source of incorrupt and everlasting goods; so those riches which men, by whatever means they could, D consume entirely for their own comforts, and do not divert into the relief of the needy and the poor—of whom the Lord said: “As long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me”—are evil things and bring with them an evil recompense.
But if anyone should wish to interpret those words "to eat" and "to drink" in a more mystical sense, so that he may argue that this—which is properly called "good" by the Ecclesiastes—does not
it would not be unreasonable to say that the bread of the mystical table signifies Him who descended from heaven and gives life to the world, concerning whom the Lord says: A “Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you for the forgiveness of sins.” And indeed, following this, the mystical cup, in which is mixed the blood of the new testament; concerning which the Lord says: “Drink from it, all of you; this is my blood, shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.” It is likely that the wise Ecclesiastes, inspired by grace from above, while discussing subjects and matters subject to corporeal senses, also touches upon the aforementioned spiritual and intelligible enjoyment, which we know has come to be from the hand of God in a primary and singular way. For does not even that which was uttered B in the Book of Proverbs by the subsistent and godhead-bearing Wisdom—“Come, eat my bread, and drink the wine which I have mixed for you”—present to us such an interpretation? The wise Ecclesiastes therefore added:
§ XIII.
“For to the good man before His face He has given wisdom and knowledge and gladness; but to the sinner He has given preoccupation, to add and to gather, to give to the good man before the face of God.”
C Regarding these words, which are omitted in the consecration, Hardouin aptly remarks: “Just as the Church, according to the tradition received from Christ the Lord, speaks the Mystery of faith in the consecration of the chalice; so, by that selfsame tradition, it omits in the consecration of the bread these words, ‘Which shall be delivered for you,’ or ‘Which is given for you,’ even though Paul and Luke testify that they were spoken by the Lord at the time He instituted the sacrament. The Lord, having taught [this] after the resurrection when He was defining the manner and rite of the sacred liturgy, [meant that] the body there should be understood to be venerable in itself, even if it were not delivered for us—although the faithful know that it was delivered, and the very form of the consecration of the chalice clearly reveals it.”
From whence, you may ask, are those [phrases] of the Greeks, “Which is broken for you”? Truly from the Apostle Paul; for thus he asks in the first epistle to the Corinthians (x. 16): “The bread which we break, is it not the participation of the body of the Lord?” Which Chrysostom explains thus: “And why did he add, ‘which we break’? For this is to be seen happening in the Eucharist, but in the case of the cross, not so; nay, the opposite. For, ‘His bone,’ he says, ‘shall not be broken.’ But that which He did not suffer on the cross, this He suffers in the oblation for your sake, and allows Himself to be broken, that He may fill all.” “Come, eat of my bread, and drink the wine which I have mixed for you.”
A Congruent with each other are this utterance of the Ecclesiastes and the words of that great theologian and seer of God, Moses, who says: “He has set before you life and death, good and evil.” For the Author of our race has granted to every human being, both by natural and by written laws, the ability to recognize which things are good and better, and likewise which are evil and worse; and just as every person has been endowed with one rational and intelligent soul, so he should possess one and the same disposition—a good one, studious of what is honorable—and should choose actions that are good and better, from which he may draw life, while rejecting the choice and preference of their opposites as though they were deadly, and shunning them far from his life.
But men, although they have attained a nature that is one and the same, both regarding the power, faculties, and affections within the inner man, and regarding the configuration and state of the outer man, have, through great ignorance of what is honorable and through the depravity of their counsel, introduced an absurd division into this nature which is one, so as to demonstrate that the will of the human mind is varied and diverse. B For some, because they are studious of what is honest and true, having respected the limits of nature, keep sacredly those things which natural prudence has prescribed, and do not dare to inflict upon anyone else what they themselves would not want to bear from others; nay, what they deem worthy for others to do for them, this they themselves also do for others; and thus they declare clearly that the divine laws and the prescriptions of nature are in agreement with one another.
Others, however, for the sake of a hateful intent, knowingly pervert those things which reason, and prudence—the mistress and queen of all virtues—reckons among the honorable, the just, and the useful, C because they pursue honesty with hatred, and through perverse interpretation they distort it. For this is, as I think, what those words signify: “To bestow upon the good before the face of God”; that is to say, the man who is greedy for sin and full of vain thoughts, when he has cast himself into every perversity and wickedness, says: “The wisdom, and the knowledge, and the joy and divine gladness which these bring to the souls that obey reason, which God gives to all who desire it, I do not have as an object of my desire; let them be before your face,”—that is, before the face of God Who gave them to you. D Therefore He added: “For this too is vanity and a striving of the spirit,” repeating again the customary maxim, by which He signifies that those who choose false and evil things are condemned by themselves.
From whose imitation let us all strive to be far distant, and let us hasten with all our strength to flee from the choice of those things which are evil and to be shunned; but as for those that are truly worthy and saving, let us prefer them in our actions and thoughts, that we may also [attain] the kingdom of the heavens, while some walk the straight way, and others choose the crooked one. That is: He indeed, having constituted all men similar by nature, permitted each one to choose the better things by his own will. But they, inasmuch as they were masters of themselves, of their own right, and free in their movement, have been disjoined by their own choice, some choosing the straight path, others the crooked one.
A may we be counted worthy in Him, Christ our Lord, to whom be glory and power, with the almighty Father and the all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit, now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
BOOK THREE
BOOK THIRD.
§ 1. CAP. III, VERS. 1. Omnibus tempus est, et tempestivitas omni rei sub cœlo.
B After he has discoursed upon the nature of existing things as though by parts—namely, concerning the passing and knowledge of man, concerning the perpetual stability of the earth, concerning the solar orbit and motion, concerning torrents and rivers and the sea—and has proclaimed that obedience and service of created things toward their own author and creator which they provide most constantly, at all times, both according to nature and even against natural opposition; and after he has spoken of the things that follow and happen to those who are lovers of pleasure, and of the troublesome distractions arising from thoughtlessness, and of the baseness and wicked deeds, concerning which he also said, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity”; and after he has condemned and censured those who abandon their own heart to live in merriment and laughter, and has told the forms and names of the wealth gathered by them, and has stigmatized and triumphed over and called all these things vanity and a striving of spirit; and for this reason has extolled wisdom, as being incomparably superior to foolishness and holding the deciding vote on all things, clearly being the most excellent and best, even as much as light has [preeminence] over darkness; and from thence has turned his own heart toward better things, and has persuaded [men] to renounce every toilsome labor and the friendship of the world: he now discourses regarding the time that encompasses and contains all these things, C and says: “To all things a time, and a season to every matter under heaven.”
But he has distinguished time by word as being most general and most comprehensive, both of natural things and of those that happen by contingency; and indeed also of the seasons, to which—as forms of time—he has assigned a secondary rank, according to the position of the names, in his discourse. For if anything is a season, it is also time, just as if anything is a man, it is also an animal; but it is not the case that if anything is time, it is also a season, just as [it is not the case] that if anything is an animal, D it is also a man. For time is that which generally and broadly comprises all things, both those which occur by nature and those which happen by event, and indeed the seasons themselves also, to which, as to forms of time itself, as appears from the collocation of the names, he has attributed a secondary order. For because a season is also time, as man is also animal, but because it is time, it is not therefore a season—
for time is an interval spreading between the state and motion of beings, A having in itself no distinct and circumscribed substance of its own nature and motion, unless one wishes to cut it off and divide the past from the present and the future according to that tripartite division received by the usage of those skilled in arts, which has flowed down to other men. Indeed, those who have spent their leisure in such studies refer the nature and motion of time itself to the continuous quantities and determine it to be such. But a season has a defined and limited beginning B and end. For the season of summer has its own peculiar beginning and end; likewise [that] of autumn and winter, and furthermore of spring; these are species of time, and are contained and held together by the interval of time. And for this reason, the wise Ecclesiastes says, “To all there is a time,” meaning that it permeates through all things, both natural and accidental, and has distinguished all things within itself, and is the encompassing and coherent [power] of all things; and for each thing, whether of those that occur by nature or by happenstance, [and] among those within our power or those not within our power, there is a season peculiar to it. That time, then, is a number of motion, according to the prior and the posterior, and is continuous—for it is of the continuous—is clear.
For the sun has its own season of shining above the earth, which is the day; likewise also the night of its setting beneath the earth. C Furthermore, each of the other stars has its own season. But also the earth, being divided by its own seasons, is shown to be life-giving and fruit-bearing, and it gives of its flora and the yield of myriad and diverse kinds; and again, in a certain way, it dies and ceases, being now no longer fit for the yielding of fruits and the procreation of offspring, until it lives again and resumes its pristine vital energy in the spring. Having said, therefore, that time permeates through all things and holds all things together, and is the encompassing [power] of all things, and having assigned a season to each thing, both of those that occur by nature and those that happen by accident, he proceeds to detail the most of these things, and says: D
§ II. Ver. 2. A time to bear, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.
The ready wit of the present utterances signals and presents the natural generation of men, and perhaps of other animals too, and at the same time the progress and end of nature; likewise as well: A time to travel from the womb to the light; A time of waning, and a death of life.
And in the same way, the naming of the planting and its excision, A and the sowing of each plant obviously taking place at the appropriate season. And again, the being culled at the right time by those who tend the plants, because of having grown old and aged, and yielding no fruit, or perhaps because the plant is found to be of no use and only encumbers the ground—this the Word signifies, showing that in existing things there is both a natural order and a voluntary one. It does not mean that natural things and the moral habits of those possessing mind receive their government in a confused and jumbled way, but according to sequence and the appropriate and beneficial order. And from this he rebukes those who always choose the pleasure-loving life and who practice and are eager to live in base and wicked ways—not, in imitation of natural things or moral habits, setting apart a time in all other things for carnal pleasures and sensual indulgences, and yet refraining from such things at other times. Could it be that these things describe only the living, breathing statue, man? Does he set forth in a more shaming way the natural births and deaths, the plantings and the cutting down of them, and the rest whose list he enumerates in what follows, B almost saying: "See and know clearly, O man, that all things obey the order set for them by the Creator, and suffer themselves to do or undergo nothing at all outside the appropriate season"? And understand, O [figure] made in the image. C This time, however, is full of all opposites: of births, then of deaths; of the sprouting of plants, then of their overturning; of healings and of killings; of the erection of houses and of their destruction; of lamentations and laughter; of wailing and of dancing. Now someone gathers things from the earth, now he casts them away. And at one time he is infatuated with a woman, at another he detests her. And now someone has sought something, now he has lost it; and now he has kept, now he has cast away; at one time he killed, at another he was killed; he spoke, then was silent; he loved, then he hated. For the affairs among men are at one time warred upon, and at another time at peace, as things that seem to be good shift rapidly into D acknowledged evils. Let us, therefore, cease from fruitless labors. "At yet," says Jerome on this passage, "the Hebrews understand this whole matter, which is written regarding the contrariety of times, up to the point where he says: 'A time of war and a time of peace,' as referring to Israel... There was a time of begetting and planting Israel, a time of dying and being led into captivity; a time of killing them in Egypt, and a time of delivering them from Egypt; a time of destroying the temple under Nebuchadnezzar, and a time of building it under Darius; a time of mourning the overthrow of the city, and a time of laughing and dancing under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah; a time of scattering Israel, and a time of gathering them into one; a time of being girded as if with a belt and sash by God, the people of the Jews, and a time of leading them into Babylonian captivity, and there to rot beyond the Euphrates...; a time of seeking them and saving them, and a time of losing and a time of casting away; a time of rending Israel, and a time of sewing them again; a time of the prophets being silent, as now in the Roman captivity, and a time of their speaking, then when they were not lacking in God's consolation and speech even in a hostile land; a time of love, with which He loved them before under their fathers, and a time of hatred, because they laid hands upon Christ; a time of battle, provided they do not do penance, and a time of peace in the future, when, with the fullness of the Gentiles entering in, all Israel shall be saved."
A Having been created in the image and likeness of God, and having obtained a soul that has its own authority, how great the subjection and service you owe to your own Creator in proportion to the honor given to you! For if all things have their own time, which the Creator has allotted to them, why do you not also grant to your Creator some interval of time set apart to meditate on and acknowledge that He is God, and consequently to obey His commandments, and from that point to draw near to the glory of His goodness through diligent deeds? Otherwise, you are found to be worse than the natural functions and the voluntary pursuits in other things due to great folly. For if the wise Ecclesiastes had not looked to such an end in the things said, he would have spoken these things in vain and superfluously, which everyone knows. For no one among those who share in life is ignorant that birth and death have their own proper time; but he used such words for the reproach of those who are miserably wallowing forever in the filth of sin. B However, the more refined understanding, which is taken mystically from what has been said, is such: There is a proper time for conceiving in the womb, clearly the intelligible one, the fear of God, and for bringing forth deeds that are signs of divine love, just as the prophet Isaiah says: “For we have conceived in the womb and have been in pain and have brought forth the spirit of salvation, which we have brought forth upon the earth.” And consequently, in its proper time, [it is time] to put to death the mind of the flesh, and to mortify the members that are upon the earth. There is a proper time in which everyone who has a noble and diligent disposition sows in the meadow of the heart all kinds of plants of the achievements taken up according to virtue; and again, in its proper time, he places upon them the appropriate cessation, and pulls out their force and endeavor appropriately, as if granting rest to nature, since otherwise the human powers could not long be equal to the struggle with the volitional desires for the good. Thus we have decided that the present sayings should be understood, clearly both according to the natural sequence and according to the interpretation of the mystical sense. And the following things confirm our interpretation; for he adds and says:
§ III. C VERS. 3. “A time to kill, and a time to heal.” If there is never any time suitable for killing another, because such an action is forbidden by God, and should be detested and hated by everyone, it is already clear that a handle is here provided for us by the wise Ecclesiastes himself for mystical interpretations, when he says that there is a time for killing, and that it is the time in which everyone who desires to live spiritually, having killed the carnal thoughts and the pleasure-loving movements of sin, receives a suitable time to heal the D
wounds of his soul and endeavors to confirm its strength. Therefore he added:
VERS. 3. A time to destroy, and a time to build.
§IV.Clearly, this refers to destroying the fortifications of infidelity and wickedness which our enemy has built within our inner thoughts and in the very members of our body, and to breaking down the middle wall of sin, which we ourselves first built through negligence and sloth, so that, having found the opportunity, we may gather a store of virtues and build our own heart into a holy temple for Him who said: "I will dwell in them, and walk in them," and again: "I and the Father will come, and we shall make our abode with him." For if men sometimes pull down an aged and carnal building, foreseeing the threat of its fall which they perceive, and make it new and place it on a firm foundation, then B even if one were to think that the Ecclesiastes signifies this by taking the saying in a sensible and superficial way, yet he would still necessarily have to refer it also to the meaning we have explained. For that which is taken in a sensible sense, unless it can be understood in another sense, contains nothing worthy of esteem, nor of human wisdom, and much less of Divine significance.
C D
Notes on verse 3
(12) This formula is borrowed by the Apostle, to signify that men, as soon as they commit sin, are separated from God by a wall, as it were, drawn through the middle. For Paul, writing to the Ephesians (ch. ii, v. 14), says concerning Jesus Christ: "For He is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of the hedge"; which he seems to have referred to the differentiation of the Law placed between the Jews and the Gentiles, which Christ the Savior removed when He made one people out of both; but our author refers it to sin itself, by which we are separated from God so long as we do not remove it by repenting. But where this similitude of an intermediate wall was drawn from, most all interpreters have omitted to investigate. Yet there is an explanation of this matter by the external theologian Ludovicus Cappellus, in my opinion very true, who thinks that the Apostle looks to the structure of the Jerusalem temple and alludes to the custom of the Jews of his time. The Jerusalem temple, the same man says (on that place of the Apostle), was constructed in the time of the Apostle, according to the testimony of Josephus (Ant. Jud., lib. viii, ch. 3; and lib. xv, ch. 14; De bello Jud. lib. vi, ch. 6), in such a way that it consisted of a double, very large quadrangular enclosure, one of which was within the circuit of the other, and situated in its middle. In the middle of the second or inner enclosure was the temple properly and strictly so called, which comprised the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies with the vestibule. Both enclosures, both that outer one and this inner one, were surrounded on all four sides by wide and very large porticoes, by which the people were received. Between the two enclosures was a space under the open sky, or an open air, about 40 or 50 cubits wide. In that space there was a stone barrier or a certain low wall, three cubits high, by which the inner enclosure was surrounded on all sides and separated from the outer one. Now, to that former and outer enclosure, not only Jews were admitted, who were not entirely clean according to the Law, but also the Gentiles or heathens themselves, who came to Jerusalem for the sake of worship, but they were excluded and kept away by that stone barrier from the approach to the inner enclosure, into which the entrance was open to the Jews alone, and indeed to those clean by the Law. And indeed Josephus, in De bello Jud. lib. vi, ch. 6, and elsewhere, notes that there were placed upon that barrier columns disposed at equal intervals, inscribed with Greek and Latin letters, by which it was signified that it was not permitted to any foreigner, under penalty of death, to cross that barrier and break into the inner enclosure. Likewise also in the inner enclosure there was another barrier similar to this, by which the people were excluded from the entrance of the temple and the court of the priests who performed sacrifices there... The Apostle in this place alludes entirely to both that barrier or stone wall, by which at that time the Jewish people were separated from the temple and the priests in the inner enclosure of the temple, and the Gentiles were distinguished from the Jews in the outer enclosure; and he calls that barrier *μεσότοιχον* (middle wall), because it truly was a middle wall and partition between the people and the priests, and also between the Jews and the Gentiles; and he calls it a *φραγμὸς* (hedge), because that wall kept these away from those, and as it were separated them with a hedge.(14) We read in John ch. 14, v. 23, from the instances of Paul. For it is written, "And my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
A Since this is known to all, even the unlearned. Then the Ecclesiastes says:
§ V.
VERS. 4. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.The excellent guide, set over all mortals by grace from above to teach virtue, instructs all those under the sun by no means to grow weary or distressed at the painful things that happen in this trial of our life; since they clearly know that the present life is composed of contraries. That is to say, of those things which vex and torment the human heart, so that by necessity and as a B consequence we are compelled to weep and to send forth streams of tears from our eyes, as if from fountains; and of those things which exhilarate us and provide arguments for rejoicing and gladness. For he clearly signified this when he said: "A time to laugh." And it is necessary for one who prudently directs his own life neither to despair of a day of consolation in the midst of the former, nor to be so poured out and carried away in the delights of pleasure in the latter, as if nothing sad could ever happen again. Rather it behooves us to be prepared for both, and so to think and weigh in our minds the vicissitudes of times, that after the events of sad and troublesome things, we may expect C happy ones, and likewise, after favorable and pleasant ones, we may foresee the coming of their opposites. For we shall find that a man who has instructed and prepared himself in this way will lead his life wisely and prudently: so that he neither exults too boldly in bright and pleasant things and turns to shameful deeds, nor utterly casts down his soul in adverse and sad things and descends to unseemly complaints.
The nature of things compels us to suspect this primarily; but then it also persuades us to pass over to a more spiritual interpretation. For he says that the days we lead here are days of mourning; and therefore it is necessary to weep, to wail, and to lament for all those who still dwell in the place of weeping: so that in the future life, when they shall receive the rewards of D what they have done, they may laugh eternally; just as the author of truth, Christ our God, declared when he said in the Gospels: "Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh (15)"; and, "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted"; and again, "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in the heavens."
Perhaps it is right to accept these words in another sense as well. For since every virtue stands in the middle, avoiding the excess and defect lying on either side; and since many exceed the bound in both weeping and in gladness and joy: why should we not [understand them to be saying that we must avoid such excesses]?
A Does the wise Ecclesiastes suggest that those who lay hold of virtue should refrain from such excesses, and that they should display both lamentation and exultation B as it is fitting? For we ought not to be disposed in an entirely unfeeling manner and remain so in the trials of this life; but rather, if not for our own sakes, yet for the sake of the calamities of our neighbors, we are duty-bound to suffer with them and be afflicted with them, and again, in times of prosperity, to rejoice and be glad with them. For thus the apostolic injunction will be kept by us, the one which says: "Weep with them that weep, and rejoice with them that rejoice," C lest the word of the evangelical parable should also fasten upon us and, condemning us, be spoken against us: "We played the flute unto you and you did not dance; we lamented unto you and you did not mourn," D and might correct hearts that have become hardened and are in no way grieving or suffering with those who are in pain, nor rejoicing and being glad with brothers and friends who are in some way prospering, according to fitting dispositions. Then he says:
§ VI. A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together.
I think that by "stones" here, he calls those biting and hard words which one must cast against the thoughts and purposes of those who are deemed to have need of such things; and again, to restrain these from such [people] when their self-will has been softened and their haughtiness has been cast down, and they again require a milder and gentler teaching for the consolation of their souls, lest, by the heavy weight of the rebuke or by grief, they be swallowed up or rise up to even more grievous self-will. Thus we have been led to understand and explain the present passage; for there is no time for casting stones at someone. But if ever the casting of stones against those who have performed deeds worthy of stoning should occur, according to the ancient laws of the God-manifesting Moses, it by no means follows that one ought to gather the stones together again from them. Then he says:
§ VII. A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
If anyone should wish to interpret this more corporally, he will appropriately and fittingly say that A suitable measures are prescribed for those who have chosen the married state, so that they may never be intemperate; and that in this life, too, the husband should know the appropriate time, in which he will lie with his wife lawfully, temperately, and in an orderly manner; and again, he should know a time in which to remain far from such union and intercourse. For the great apostle Paul, confirming this same thing, says: "The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and in like manner the husband also hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud you one the other, unless, perhaps by consent, for a time, that you may give yourselves to prayer and fasting; and return together again, lest Satan tempt you for your incontinency."
But if we wish to interpret this pronouncement in a more mystical sense, we shall say thus: that there is a due time for embracing—that is, for welcoming friends, receiving them with every kindness, and showing them hospitality—when they are found to be of one mind with us, and sharing our convictions regarding the truth of our faith and our doctrine. For we are accustomed to welcome, embrace, and love those who think aright. But when we discover that those who held orthodox doctrines have wandered away and slipped into heretical opinions and depraved beliefs, then we distance ourselves from such B embracing, that is, from loving intimacy, friendly intercourse, and hospitality. C For this reason Christ and our God said: "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees," teaching us to flee from their unlawful and depraved suggestions. And John the Theologian and greatest evangelist says: "If any man come to you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into the house nor say to him, God speed you. For he that saith unto him, God speed you, communicateth with his wicked works." Then the wise Ecclesiastes says:
D It is possible, I think, to hold the interpretation of this passage by Didymus—which John of Damascus recorded in the *Sacra Parallela*, and which Quien discovered in the Rupescualinus manuscript—to be graceful: "It is permitted sometimes, for the sake of utility, to touch upon foreign doctrine for a short time, and immediately to betake oneself to embracing one's own. For instance, grammar is a foreign woman. It is useful to have dealings with her for a short time, on account of the art and sharpness of reading; in the same way with rhetoric, for the strength and sequence of discourse; and likewise with philosophy, so that faith may be built up in those things which seem to be in opposition. But after we have begotten children, as if from the Egyptian Agar, a handmaid of Sara, who is free and is wisdom itself, let us turn again to her who is wisdom from youth, and granted by divine gift, that we may beget children from her also: that is, no longer as from a handmaid, [by] sensible disciplines, but as from a free and perfect [woman], prudence."
A Ver. 6. *A time to seek, and a time to lose.* What to seek? Wisdom and knowledge from God—human [wisdom], indeed, but much more divine—by means of which we might attain an understanding of things that are, and be able to contemplate from the beauty and magnitude of the seen creation the supremely beautiful Creator, and God, and Lord. But [we also seek it] so that we might be able to offer suitable refutations, and the dismantling of eristic problems, against those who are haughty and boastful in worldly wisdom and in the supposed abundance of external learning, and who rave against the truth and orthodox dogmas. For whenever such a contest arises from the advocates and supporters of falsehood, we too must seek from God the wisdom from above; but we must also take care to seek the acquisition of human wisdom, in order to be successful in every way and to prevail over the adversaries of the truth. But when there is a time of peace and calm, with no one stirring up disturbances and storms in the Church of Christ, or heresies, or the worthlessness and wickedness of persistent deeds, then one must lose human wisdom, as being of the least profit, and put a stop to the pursuits concerning it; and one should rather find leisure and devote oneself only to prayers and supplications, and seek to attain the righteousness and to find the inheritance of the kingdom of God of the heavens. It then says:
C § IX. *A time to keep, and a time to cast away.* What to keep? The good thoughts and wise teachings stored up in the good treasure of the heart, whenever all those expected to listen to them are seen to be unsuitable; just as the Lord has given warning, saying, "Do not cast your pearls before the swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces." But there is, in turn, a fitting and suitable time in which the good man [brings forth] from the good treasure [of his heart the good teachings of the grace from above, when those who are...] D
Let those who simply and indiscriminately discourse with everyone hear this. For the Lord does not speak there of a literal swine, but signifies by enigma those of men who are swinish, and who, like those brute animals, wallow in the mire of sin, teaching us to distinguish the difference between persons and to seek out the precision of conduct when there is a need to reveal any of the divine oracles, so that we may not harm both them and ourselves. For those who are such not only gain nothing from what is said, but they have often dragged down those who have presented these good pearls to them without examination into the same abyss of perdition as themselves. Therefore, these things must be observed with diligence, that we may not suffer the same things as those who have been deceived in this matter.
A It casts out from the heart the good teachings of the grace from above, when those who are taught are found listening to these with gratitude and good intention. For such as these are clearly likened to the good earth, in which the sower, having sown the proclamation of truth, brought forth fruit-thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold; just as, conversely, they resemble the rock and the thorns, in which it is forbidden to sow: in the former, because of the total lack of moisture and the parched state; in the latter, because of being choked by worldly attachments and untimely distractions. Thus, therefore, the sensible, prudent, and circumspect man must keep and hold within himself at the proper time the good and sober instructions, and again bring them forth opportunely, to give and distribute them to those who desire them. Then he says:
§ X.
VERS. 7. A time to rend, and a time to sew.
To rend the soul and the heart and the mind B from every human passion and friendly desire, when there is a time for leisure and focus upon God, and for the prescribed divine hymns and doxologies and daily and nightly prayers, so that we may deem no matter worthy of care that attempts to pull us away toward the management of their affairs; nor, indeed, to concern ourselves with matters that are more human and bodily when we are occupied with divine things. But when we have completed our duties and have performed in debted ways the services of worship to our good Creator and God and Master, then it is necessary to sew and to join the heart and soul to the aforementioned persons and matters, so that we may display our care, diligence, and providence toward them soberly, studiously, and cautiously. For he who proceeds C with piety rises, laying aside sleep, the superior rousing them; and standing, they form a holy choir, and, raising their hands at once, they sing the sacred hymns... Finally, before daybreak they rest, and when we begin our works, they have their time of rest... Then they perform the Third, Sixth, Ninth, and evening prayers, and having divided the day into four parts, giving their efforts in each part to psalmody, they honor God with hymns.
A time to rend, and a time to sew. To rend the soul and the heart, and the mind from every human passion and friendly attachment, when there is a time for leisure toward God and for bowing down and for the prescribed divine hymns and doxologies and prayers, daily and nightly, in order not to deem worthy of any care those who try to drag us toward the management of their affairs; nor indeed to take up human and more bodily matters when we are occupied with divine things. But when we have completed the duties we owe, and have performatively executed [our] services D to our good Creator and God and Master, then it is necessary to sew and to join the heart and the soul to the aforementioned persons and matters, so that with sobriety and with the necessary attention and care...
we may demonstrate the providence. A “For he who leads, with zeal; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness,” says the great apostle Paul in a certain place. Then Ecclesiastes adds:
§ XI.
A time to be silent, and a time to speak.
These things—namely, to be silent and to speak—are included and contained within the divisions and enumerations of the things mentioned above. For everything that he states in those—a time to rend, and a time to sew, and a time to cast away, and a time to seek, and a time to lose, and the things mentioned similarly—clearly is by nature destined to be done with either silence or speech. B For no one can do either rending or joining, or guarding or casting away, or seeking or losing, or grasping or withdrawing from grasping, or any of the things already mentioned, unless he has been silent by his own voluntary will, or, on the other hand, speaking at the opportune time. For if, without silence or speech, nothing is known, who would claim to perform even one of the aforementioned pairs? And if this is so, why did the wise Ecclesiastes assign a special time to silence and to speech? For if each of the things spoken of by Ecclesiastes in pairs cannot by nature be done without silence or speech, why then does he now specifically say: “A time to be silent, and a time to speak”?
But the difficulty has this resolution: that each of the aforementioned pairs, although it cannot by nature be done without silence or speech, nevertheless, C taking [its] beginnings from other underlying matters, thus grants a reasonable occasion to man for silence or for speech. And the judgment concerning the underlying matter precedes the intention, but the silence or the speech follows upon the will in the matter. For example, it is a time to seek: speaking, he performs the seeking of the matter at hand. It is a time to lose: keeping silent and bypassing, he causes the loss of the matter through negligence and keeping silent. And in the same way, if one desires to examine each of the others, he will find the same and identical explanation. Here, however, without any other underlying matter that compels one to be silent or to speak, D a specific time is assigned to each of the two. And this seems to be, in a way, the most universal of all things in life. For it is active even in all the aforementioned pairs, as we have already said, for those who have a sound mind and whose vocal organs of speech are entirely uninjured; it is also utilized in all other things, both spiritual and bodily, divine and human. Is it time to sleep? Silence follows immediately. Have you awakened from sleep? Then it is time to speak. You have arrived in a becoming
A season for the participation of the divine mysteries? Silence and reticence, having avoided every human conversation, will make you prepared for the performing of sacred rites. Have you engaged in your piety, and with no one interrupting, have you finished the mystical offices and sacred libation? You can now seize the opportune time to speak of what is fitting both concerning human matters and the affairs of men. Thus, in many other things you will find that to be silent or to speak does not arise from other causes, but from their own principles B (23).
Most of all, however, the opportune time for silence is when the hearts of the impious and the heterodox are seen to be inflamed against the orthodox faith and the truth and justice. For the prudent and sensible moneychanger of the Evangelical instruction draws back for a little while, and keeps quiet, and suppresses the word of truth C in silence. For this is what Paul the great apostle confirms, saying: "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Eph. v, 16). And again, "Knowing how you ought to answer every man" (Col. iv, 6). And long before this, great Isaiah: "The Lord has given me the tongue of discipline, that I may know when it is necessary to speak a word" (Isa. l, 4).
But when that raging of the fuming and troubled and maddened heart and purpose has abated even for a little while, like the swell of the sea, then the opportune time offers itself to you to speak and to preach the word of truth and justice, using the advice of the wise prophet David, who says: "When I have found the time, I will judge justice" (Ps. lxxiv, 2) (25). For just as it is not at all useful to D undertake a voyage while a most violent storm is prevailing upon the sea, which no one but a madman would dare do; so when justice and piety are being oppressed by the force of injustice and impiety, or when the violence of power and tyranny intends to inflict devastation and conflagration, it is not the time for anyone to draw a freer word like a sword intemperately, or to pour out the rain of truth. But on the contrary, it is entirely right that, after having restrained oneself for a little while by silence and taciturnity from reprimanding, one should finally, seizing the occasion, contend like a trumpet (26); even as the great Isaiah
says: "Like a trumpet lift up your voice, and declare to my people their sins, and to the house of Jacob their iniquities." Then the Ecclesiastes says: A § XII. VERS. 8. A time to love, and a time to hate.
Those things which are stated by the Ecclesiastes as opposites joined together B must be understood as referring to the same person or matter, and not, as some of the earlier interpreters have thought, as referring to one thing and then to another (28). For this contains no investigation worthy of the name; since there is nothing special about the opportunity if you love those who are confirmed in the same religion as you, and hate those who are alien to it; for the opportunity is always the same, that we should love the former as friends of God and pursue the latter with hatred as enemies. Therefore, the wise Ecclesiastes refers the loving and the hating to one and the same subject. How then shall we understand what has been said, and how shall we explain it in relation to one and the same subject? Suppose there is a man whom you have recognized and judged to be a distinguished lover of beauty and one who holds truth and justice in high regard, who bears witness straightforwardly to orthodox dogmas, and who cares for and anticipates the needs of those suffering in exile and in prisons, as being witnesses to the truth; at such a time, one ought to love such a man and glorify him with the highest praises in speech. But if, a little later, he is deceived by the fraud of perverse men and the desire for empty glory, and being overcome by an abundance of money and turned aside, and having suffered such a change, he is found to be a blasphemer and a persecutor of the truth, and begins to heap insults upon its lovers, C supporters, and witnesses, and to treat them with harsh punishments; now, conversely, hate such a man, rejecting love and association with him, that you may fulfill the wise admonition of the Ecclesiastes, namely, those things he says—that the soul ought both to love and to hate: to love her own bridegroom, the Word, saying by her deeds, "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth"; but to hate the enemy and sower of tares, the devil. D Regarding the author of these commentaries, we have reached the point where the age in which this scholiast lived is revealed. For if his commentary was read by our Gregory, one would rightly say that the work is to be attributed to that Olympiodorus who was a deacon of the Church of Alexandria and deserved the praises of Anastasius of Sinai. It is evident that those who have attempted to relegate the author of these commentaries to the ninth or eleventh century have laboured in vain. I have termed him a deacon; for so he is called, although he was also a monk. For as to what is read in Montfaucon’s *Preliminaries to the Hexapla of Origen*: "Olympiodorus, bishop of Tricca in Thessaly, as is said in a certain Coislinian codex of the tenth or eleventh century, is ennobled by his Commentaries on Ecclesiastes, on Job, and on Jeremiah," if you should finally turn to examine the Coislinian Library, which he later published, you will find in codex 224 that he is no longer that bishop of Tricca, but one whom most people believe to have flourished in the tenth century. But that Olympiodorus became a deacon under John Niciota, Archbishop of Alexandria, after the Christian year 506 and before the year 518, learn from the subscription of the Barberini codex, in which the following is read: "Indeed, it is finished, with God’s favour, the work of commentaries on the individual chapters of the blessed Jeremiah by Olympiodorus, deacon of Alexandria, from the arrangements made by John Niciota, Archbishop of Alexandria." For he held the pontificate for 11 years and died on the 11th of the Kalends of June in the Christian year 517, as you may find noted by Sollerius from Theophanes in his *Historical Chronicle of the Patriarchs of Alexandria*, no. 525.
A listen to the wise exhortation of Ecclesiastes, clearly saying, "A time to love, and a time to hate." For toward one and the same person who remains in goodness and thinks the things of truth and justice, and then is altered and changed toward the opposite opinions and thoughts, you have both the time of loving and of hating, divided and appropriate. Then he says: B § XIII. "A time of war, a time of peace." This also carries the same sense; for it is right for us to struggle and to wage war against the adversaries and enemies of piety. But if they come to their senses and accept the word of piety, and are transformed in the characters of our sincere faith, and agree with us in the true thoughts regarding the God over all, then we should embrace peace and love toward them. Behold, even here there is a time of peace and a time of war, clearly both of peace and of war toward one and the same subject person. For innate prudence and the precepts of the divine laws, and much more the grace given by godly goodness to those who seek from the heart "the good and acceptable and perfect will of God," C teach us on each occasion what kind of moral dispositions we ought to employ, which distinguish the better from the worse, and the saving and that which promotes intimacy with God from that which separates one from God and drives one toward destruction. Then the Ecclesiastes says:
§ XIV. "What abundance is there to him who does, in those things in which he toils? I have seen the distension which God has given to the sons of men, that they might be distracted therein. All things that he has made are good in their season." Perhaps someone, finding this difficult, might think and say that the wise Ecclesiastes is repeating himself in these utterances. For if he used the present utterances before, when he said, D "What abundance has a man in all his toil, wherein he toils under the sun?" and again, "For God has given a bad distension to the sons of men to be distracted therein," why on earth does he now use the same words? But we, having taken up the defense of his judgment, would say appositely that these things do not appear to be repetition, which represent a clearly different matter for consideration under the same appellations and formulas. Then, even if the opinion which is contained in the words themselves should seem again to have the same force and meaning, it is not absurd to use them when the things being treated and the persons require it; just as has been done in this place. For if he also used the same words before when he proposed for consideration things similar to these, yet now
is required to have both thoughts and words. For having discoursed concerning time and the seasons that are taken in opposition to one another, and having beheld the weakness of human nature, as being unable to undertake such labor and to observe the A season of each thing—whether good or profitable—as it is taken antithetically, but rather faltering with a kind of dizziness before the divisions of contrary seasons set forth by the Ecclesiastes, he judged it right to compress once again, and very briefly, the haughtiness of that pride which is distracted with the acquisition of vain and perishing things, and to push the covetous mind toward a life that is untroubled, wholly undistracted, and in a state of calm.
For this reason he says, "What abundance is there for one who works in the things in which he labors?" B It is as if he said: "Indeed, I have indicated that there is a proper season for all the good, beautiful, and profitable things in life; yet the majority of mankind, exhausted by their concern for these, is unwilling to apply diligence to such things, but desires only to possess that distraction and labor through which it gathers and accumulates manifold and various perishing wealth, producing no benefit for those who have acquired it, except eating and drinking. Let them say what abundance they hope for, and to what profitable gain they look, among those things in which they find themselves working and suffering, that they should think this labor, distraction, and toil C to be more eligible than the diligence, searching, watchfulness, and sober-mindedness required for finding appropriate seasons, so that one might never fall short of good and profitable action."
Yet it is clear that they hope for no profitable or saving abundance, nor any gain that brings profit. For as a general rule, either the possessor of wealth, envied on account of his riches, has been plotted against by others, and has been assailed by slanders and most cruel calumnies, and has been deprived of his existence along with his riches; or, having suffered much, labored, and endured hardship for the sake of gathering wealth, he has met with death, coming suddenly and unexpectedly, and has handed D over his wealth to his enemies and those who hate him. But if you find no abundance or salvation, O man, through such distraction and labor, why do you not break and abandon the nets that bind you to the friendship of the world and the pursuit of wealth, and why do you not change your mind and transfer your care and labor to the discovery of those things that are good, profitable, and saving for both soul and body? "For everything is beautiful in its season." And you must seek the season of each thing, and use nothing at all out of season—neither eating, nor drinking, nor weeping in their season; for everything is beautiful in its own season.
A Have you not heard the prophet David, describing and depicting for us the blessed man, and saying: "But his will is in the law of the Lord; and in his law he will meditate day and night. And he shall be like the tree planted near the channels of waters, which shall give its fruit in its season, and its leaf shall not fall off"? Just as the same tree gives its fruit in its season, so, O man, you too must much more seek for the season proper to each thing; and you will not in the least stray from what is fitting. Then the Ecclesiastes says: B
§ XV. VER. 11. "He has also given the world to their heart, so that man may not find the work that God has made from the beginning, even to the end."
He presents the force of these words against those who, as if laboring under vertigo, flee from the diligence and study required to investigate and discover the opportunity for things that are diametrically opposed—that is, the season for warring or, conversely, for having peace; for loving and hating; for tearing down and sewing; for keeping and casting away; for acquiring and losing; for weeping and laughing, for pulling down and building up, and things similar to these. He proposes to them the power of these sayings. For since they have avoided the diligence required to capture the appropriate seasons, in order to do each thing in its own season, and have rather chosen troublesome toils and untimely distractions and a confused and polluted life, which is consumed in the luxuries and shameless pleasures of the flesh; C he still condemns them and reproves those devoid of honesty, and no longer hoping that they will ever change their ways and return to good fruit, he added: "He has also given the world to their heart, so that man may not find the work that God has made from the beginning, even to the end." Instead of "permitted," the text says "gave," according to the idiom of the Divine Scripture, as in the cases already mentioned above, the word provides an account of the truth. He permitted them, therefore, to have in their heart, as the reason of free will demanded, an inclination of the will toward either side. D Moreover, if one takes that word "gave" in this sense by itself, he would perceive and recognize that it is appropriately used. For men, having used the choice of their own will,
to abandon themselves entirely to untimely distractions and base and shameful actions, have been eager to discover the division of the times within the works of God—namely, spring and summer and autumn and winter—of which each one represents and shows all the works of God to be beautiful, provided they are viewed and received appropriately and fittingly; so that even from these things the mind, in imitation of the divine will that produces all things, might distinguish in its own works the appropriate season for each thing to be done. A But as it appears, he says, as from the beginning, so also until the end, men, on account of great folly, inclining toward evil things from their youth, are held by the darkness of ignorance, and as if in a night battle, they send forth the arrows of sin against their own salvation. B Indeed, therefore, he added:
§ XVI.
"I knew that there is nothing good in them, except to rejoice and to do good in his life. C And indeed every man who eats and drinks, and sees good in all his toil, this is the gift of God."
Many, he says, of the things imagined to be good, being not such in reality, when men are seen to pursue them earnestly, are found to be pursuing them in vain; for they conduct them to a miserable end. D Yet of all those things for which they have such a studious choice and practice, I knew no good, he says, except for the food which by necessity must be given to nature, that is to eat and to drink, and the cheerfulness that arises from this for those who live in their life. For this alone is accepted by men as a gift of God without blame, because of the flowing nature of the body. "For all things," says the prophet David, "wait for thee to give their food in due season; when you give to them, they will gather; when you open your hand, all things shall be filled with goodness." And again: "The eyes of all hope in thee, and thou givest their food in due season; you open your hand, and fill every living thing with pleasure." Therefore, even now, the wise Ecclesiastes proclaimed this alone to be the gift of God, namely to eat and to drink soberly and orderly. As for the rest of what is deemed studiously desired by men, he separated it far from the estimation of the good, as being things that change and wither quickly, and that turn entirely toward non-existence, and causing no advantage to them. I am persuaded, therefore, that the greatest goods for man are cheerfulness of soul and beneficence, and indeed that this fleeting pleasure comes from God alone, if justice of actions leads the way. (In Metaphr. Eccles.)
A it possesses no profit at all. He confirms this interpretation by what he immediately adds. For he says:
§ XVII.
VER. 14. *I have known that all things which God has made, they shall be for eternity. To them it is not lawful to add, and from them it is not lawful to take away. And God made [them], that they might fear before his face.* (38)
Distinguishing those things which are performed and done by wicked and base men, which immediately perish and vanish and become utterly nought, from those which have proceeded from God, the author and creator of all things, he sets the latter before men and demonstrates that all these remain unchangeable and eternal, and undergo no turning toward non-existence until the time arrives for the cosmic transformation and utter completion. In these, he says, it is impossible to make any addition or B any subtraction, not even for Him who brought the existence of all things into being. For He has already made all things very good; and it is impossible for things that have been created by Him with fitting and saving rhythm and order to suffer any subtraction at all, or, conversely, any addition. For if God has already judged and determined and called them "very good," how would He diminish them by subtraction or increase them by addition, as if they were defective or excessive? For this is alien to the wisdom and power and reason that befit God; while even in the case of a prudent and sensible man, it is seen as inconsistent and entirely absurd to change one’s counsel and to correct in secondary considerations those things that have already been begun.
Indeed, God has created all these things—those, clearly, in the heavens and on the earth and in the sea—in such a way that, while contemplating the vast spectacle of greatness C and the harmonious motion and state of their all-harmonious order and movement, men might mentally perceive the Creator of all things, and, beginning with old [habits], submit themselves to the command of His power and majesty. But those who, on the contrary, are turned with all their mind away from His obedience and service, pursue instead fleeting and falling things in a servile manner, and indulge their belly and the pleasures of the body—not, clearly, the omnipotent God: *Who stretches out the heaven like a curtain, and grounds the earth upon its stability, and bridles the abysses and the measureless fullness of the sea, and rules in His power for eternity.* (39) Consequently, therefore, he immediately adds: *To add, and from Him it is not lawful to take away… And God made them, that they might fear.* D
§ XVIII.
VERB. 15. *What was, already is; and what things are to be, have already been: and God will seek out him who is pressured by persecution (40).*It is as if he were to say: God alone is eternal, lacking both beginning and end; and consequently, He is always immutable in all things, and so entirely consistent with Himself that He alone excludes every manner of change and variance. But you, O man, are mortal and subject to countless variations and mutations, and always clearly held in servitude as much in your body as in your soul. These things accrue to you because of the slipperiness of your mind and the way your inclination is moved toward the accomplishment of the worst things. For you have not been able to equal even the inanimate things created by God in their perseverance, or their constant motion, or their immutable state, due to your voluntary shifting, straying, and deviation from natural constitutions; B for each of the things created by God *already exists*, and everything which the Creator foresaw must come to be for the constitution, permanence, and preservation of this world *has already come to be*. Yet you, having been created in the image of the divine eternity, prove to be worse than all these by your own choice, neither abiding in your natural motions nor obeying the commandments of God, nor steadfastly guarding what is good, just, becoming, and salvific. For this reason, therefore, you have fallen away from life and have been sent off to death and corruption. And yet God, who created you and, for your sake, established this whole world which we behold as good, seeks you out again, you who were previously envied and persecuted by the envious and man-hating devil— I mean the one who prepares and plots eternal destruction for you (41).
But the prophetic power, which was given to Ecclesiastes from God, shines forth in this: that he proclaimed things which were to be accomplished by the supreme and divine Word and Creator of all things through His benevolent and philanthropic condescension. For He Himself says: *The Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost.* And the things that immediately follow confirm such an interpretation. For he says:
§ XIX.
VERB. 16. *And still I saw under the sun the place of judgment; there the impious: and the place of the just; there the pious.*The wise Ecclesiastes now introduces and sets before us two mystical considerations; for he prophetically foretells what was to happen under this sun regarding our Emmanuel, Christ, and Savior.
A His inhumanation—just as David the prophet also foretold, saying: "He set His tabernacle in the sun"—declaring that the Sun of justice, who sits eternally in the highest and divine seats of the celestial heights, would choose for Himself beneath this sun, which we observe with our eyes, a tabernacle, through the human nature He assumed; as the evangelist John also says: "And He dwelt among us." And at the same time he designates the judgment which he who proved himself first and foremost in impiety, I mean the devil, was necessarily to undergo, concerning whom the Lord Himself says in the Gospels: "Of judgment, because the prince of this world is already judged"; and much earlier the prophet David said: "Thou hast rebuked the nations, and the ungodly one has perished; Thou hast blotted out his name for ever and ever." B Therefore, he proclaims the judgment which has come upon the one who first and principally appeared as ungodly, Satan, who became stiff-necked against God the Almighty, and said: "I will set my throne above the clouds, and I shall be like the Most High." Then also the judgment of all the others who were his companions and the enemies of virtue, the demons, and indeed also of those impious and wicked men who rejected God and piety, as the prophet again records: "He has prepared His throne in judgment, and He Himself shall judge the world in righteousness, He shall judge the peoples in uprightness." He strives then to see the place where the judgment of the devil and the others, concerning whom the discourse said they are under this sun, took place; and he indicates Jerusalem, I believe, as the most significant. For there, having been fastened to the cross, and having voluntarily endured C the life-giving passion, the Author of life, through the cross and the passion, judged and condemned the apostate and man-hating Satan and his fellow-apostates and companions. Consequently, he also names the entire earth which is under this sun as a place of judgment; for, in obedience to the omnipotent command and oracle of His divine power, which said: "Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," His most holy and praiseworthy disciples and apostles were dispersed throughout the whole world, judging and condemning all the impious and idolatry through the Lord’s doctrines and words. D Moreover, they [the heretics] also wickedly and deceitfully misuse the term regarding the inhumanation, using it in a way that does not explain the word, so that it is exactly the same as "in man," [the man] whom He took to Himself and in whom He existed, just as it is written: "For He Himself knew what was in man" (John 2:25); yet they say these things as if they were teachers: "He had intercourse with men and dwelt among them," protecting themselves with these words: "Afterward He was seen upon earth, and He dwelt with men" (Baruch 3:38). See, if you please, the rest of the oration, book 52, 9.
A which had raised itself to high honors, cast down and struck to the ground, showing it to be utterly vain.
Furthermore, the wise Ecclesiastes saw toward the place of judgment the condemned impious one, and, as we said before, the devil, and all those who have followed the wickedness and impiety of that destruction. He also saw the place of the just man, that is to say, of him who is to be justified by Christ our Savior through following Him and through a pure faith in God the Father. For this reason he says, "There is the pious man." For if the pious man is he who holds good opinions regarding the God of all, and who guards and preserves the security of orthodox dogmas, then it is clear that all those who have believed in Christ the Savior of the world and Redeemer, and for this reason have been justified by Him through faith, will be appropriately included by Ecclesiastes under the designation of the aforementioned righteous man.
This, then, is one of the contemplations we have mentioned; a second one, consistent with it, shall be announced. For it is clear that the wise Ecclesiastes intends to look toward the place of the judgment that is to occur at the second coming of our God and Savior Christ and the retribution for the things done in life. That judgment will also take place entirely upon the earth, as we hope and believe; for which cause the just judge, who judges the whole world, having descended with the glory of the Father, will call all men to judgment, both those who have received the Gospel of our salvation and those who, through much folly, have not at all submitted themselves to the yoke of the evangelical proclamation. B Concerning whom the prophet David also says: "Let the sinners be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God" (Ps. IX, 17). Whether, therefore, by these judgments he means both, as we have supposed, or one of the two, do you meanwhile acknowledge, O mortal, that a judgment is named by the wise Ecclesiastes, and is manifestly predicted, along with the separation and distinction of place from place, and of the impious from the pious, so that in accordance with the rationale of the counsel adopted and the life led, each may have the place which the most equitable and most just scales of God shall have assigned to each.
From this, therefore, it is proved, the more and more clearly, that nothing in the way of admission of those things stated previously by him, or hereafter to be stated concerning the base toils and labors and other pursuits of wickedness and baseness, C can be set against the justice of the righteous. For the pious man is there, and the impious man is there.
Finally, D since this is so, if we follow the better and more manifest sense, it is now clear that nothing of those things which have been said above, or which will be said below concerning the flagitious labors and fatigues and the other manifestations of corruption and wickedness—
but rather for accusation, triumph, a monument, and condemnation, in order to prepare and dispose all men, as far as their own desire and zeal for the matter allowed, in the same way and likewise to turn them toward conversion, correction, and improvement. Indeed, he says again: A
§ XX.
VERS. 18. *I said in my heart: The just and the impious God shall judge; for there is a time for every matter and for every work. I said in my heart concerning the speech of the sons of man, that God will judge them, and to show that they themselves are beasts. And indeed to them, that the fate of the sons of man and the fate of the beast are one and the same fate for them all. As is the death of this one, so is the death of that one; and one spirit for them all.* (46)
Having spoken just now concerning the place of judgment, whether that which was brought about by the first and benevolent descent of the supreme and divine Word, Christ our Savior, or that which is to take place subsequently at His second great and glorious advent, or indeed concerning both—as we have surmised—assigning the impious to the place of judgment, or rather punishment, and conversely assigning the pious to the place of the just, that is, of justification, by saying of each place: *"There the impious,"* and again, *"There the pious,"*—he now institutes a more extensive and clearer exposition concerning these matters. He contends that both the just and the impious will be called into judgment by God, the Author of all, at that time especially which had been defined and appointed both for the sake of the divine Incarnation and for the sake of the glorious second advent; to which time the words of the heavenly angels to the holy and most praised apostles also pertain, when, after Emmanuel and Christ our Savior had been received into the heavens, they said: *"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye beholding into heaven? This Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, as you have seen him going into heaven."* (Acts 1:11)
D The time of the divine Incarnation, therefore, was also defined, through which He condemned the impious and arrogant Satan, who had first appeared impious on account of his apostasy and had exchanged light for darkness; Him He convicted as guilty through the cross, death, burial, and life-giving resurrection, as if by a new and just judgment. Nor is the time less defined, in which He shall bring to judgment as many as He has created who are partakers of reason and understanding and who have been divinely honored with freedom of will; certainly not likewise the animals that lack reason, and much less plants or stones—for nothing else of those things which are in the whole world, beside man...
is endowed with the freedom of a rational and intelligent soul, nor will it be brought to judgment at all, nor will it receive requital for good or evil deeds. Therefore, that which the Ecclesiastes says, A "To everything there is a time, and a season to every deed," clearly manifests the ordained life, conduct, and duration in this present world, not only of men, but also of all other animals, and further, of celestial revolutions, and indeed of the earth and the sea. But when the constitution of the present life receives an end and a pause, then a just judgment will occur, and a fitting recompense, clearly for those only who obtained from the Creator a rational and intelligent soul, as those who possessed the power of choice regarding either direction. For he confirms this by saying: "God will judge the just and B the impious." For neither is any other found, nor is any other called impious or just in the nature of things, apart from man. This he also signifies in what follows, when he says: "I said in my heart concerning the speech of the sons of men, that God will judge them," bringing in men from everywhere who ought to pay the penalties and undergo judgment concerning what they have committed according to their own self-willed purpose.
What he says, "Concerning speech," refers to the word of the Lord who warns that men will give an account of every idle word on the day of judgment. Yet the prophet David, moved by the Holy Spirit, said even more than what was mentioned; for he addresses the God of the universe thus: C "Because the thought of man shall confess to you." Moreover, those things which the Lord says in the Gospels also pertain to the penalty and condemnation of the speech of the sons of men, saying: "By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
Now, the phrase "God will judge them," if you refer it to the time of the incarnation of Christ our Savior, is shown also by John the Baptist speaking of Him: "Whose winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His threshing floor, and will gather His wheat into the garner; but the chaff He will burn with fire unquenchable." But if you look to the time of His glorious and fearful D second coming, the Word Himself, the divine and eternal Christ and our Savior, makes it clear, where He says: "When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory; and all nations shall be gathered before Him: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
A divides the sheep from the goats; and He shall place the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
Now, this may most especially and preeminently be understood, [De loquela filiorum hominum,] concerning all the infidels and impious, as much those who have turned out to be heretics on account of their perverse opinions, as those who, having been deceived by their fraud and ensnared in their traps, have vexed the majesty of God with blasphemies, or have contended that the God of the universe does not exist at all, or have confessed that He exists in the same way that the demons have acknowledged Him. For the great James, the brother of God, says in one place: B "The demons also believe and tremble"; and such persons have devised erroneous opinions and mendacious, false sentiments concerning His divine goodness, majesty, and dominion. For against such men, most especially and preeminently, that unconquered and just Judge will separate some from others, having defined for each one the punishment and retribution appropriate to his own impious speech. These the divine goodness, majesty, and judging justice will clearly refute and convict by their very deeds, once the truth of His glory has been detected and has been brought forth openly and clearly; showing that they are beasts no different from C creatures devoid of reason, depraved by madness and folly, and having clung perversely and wrongly to vain and fallacious opinions, which they shall by no means gaze upon at that time, nor shall they find them at all in the glory of the divine majesty.
The end of such men, as well as of those who have been nefariously given over to detestable bodily pleasures and have wallowed in the mire of sin like swine, the wise Ecclesiastes has proclaimed to be equal to the end of the beast, and that they will perish by no means a dissimilar death. For just as there is absolutely no hope of eternal life for beasts, D and they lead their lives only so long as they are nurtured amongst us for the advantage of their masters, and soon after they reach their end, as if their soul were indistinguishable from their own blood; so too, no differently than cattle, do those who have turned away from the divine glory and have attacked the majesty of God, the creator of all things, with unspeakable insults, and who, having spurned the reasons of the almighty Providence and having received the stain of every wicked act, have [sought] most of all obscene pleasures...
evil deeds, and being filled to excess with impure pleasures, behave senselessly and foolishly, and, having conceived nothing worthy of a rational soul, but rather having proclaimed non-existence and falsehood as if it were truth, and having named light darkness, and good evil: they shall likewise arrive at the same end of death relative to those [animals], having no good hope to guide them toward eternal life; but as they have lived in an equal and similar manner to the beasts, so also do they die. For "even the Spirit is one for all such." For if he calls the air "spirit," he demonstrates that such atheists, impious, and impure men are found to have accomplished nothing other than breathing the air like all animals, having taken no care at all to recognize the truth. But if he calls the "spirit" [here] B the will, as the prophet Hosea says: "For they were led astray by the spirit of fornication," and again: "For the spirit of fornication is in their midst," thus calling human intention and counsel [by this name], he declares that they—having in their deeds confirmed themselves to be equal and similar to irrational beasts—have labored with no less a lack of counsel than the cattle. And therefore he added regarding these very men:
§ XXI. VERS. 19. *And what has man more than the beast?* Nothing.
By name alone is he accepted as a man, but in deeds showing himself worthy of no such title, if you look to the advantage and salvation of the soul, he contends that man is in no respect superior to the beast, inasmuch as he has governed his life in the same way and manner as it. Unless, on the other hand, someone might say that he has an excess over the beast in that he who has lived C so foolishly awaits the punishment and endless torment that will succeed him in the retribution for those things lived. Therefore, lamenting the conduct and life of such a man, he immediately added:
§ XXII. VERS. 20. *For all is vanity: all go to one place; all were made from the dust, and all return to the dust.*
"All," he says; but what things? Namely, those things that are perversely and insanely spoken, managed, and performed by men who hate what is good, who, although they were made in the image and likeness of God, have yet portrayed in themselves the stupidity, life, and condition of the beasts, and behave in a way similar to them; and for this reason they also join them in returning to the dust alone, from which they were also made; not, however, rising to the heavenly life and the D [of] the pure life and of immortality obtained by the saints of the ages. Regarding whom...
the same [writer] says in the book of Proverbs: A "The just live for ever, and in the Lord is their reward, and the care of them is with the Most High. Therefore they shall receive a kingdom of glory, and a crown of beauty at the hand of the Lord." And elsewhere: "They seemed to the eyes of the foolish to die; and their departure was considered a misery. But their hope is full of immortality." Then the wise Ecclesiastes says:
§ XXIII
VERS. 21. *And who knoweth the spirit of the sons of Adam, if it ascendeth upward? and the spirit of the beast, if it descendeth downward to the earth?*
Having clearly stated: "All things go to one place, and all things were made of dust, and all things return to the dust," he now wishes to anticipate a contradiction which he foresees arises to weaken his own statements, and which is put forward in this manner: In what sense did you say that all things were made of dust? Do you think that just as the quadrupeds, and the beasts, and the creeping things of the earth were created, as we have learned from Moses—"And God said: Let the B earth bring forth a living soul according to its kind, quadrupeds and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kind, and cattle according to their kind"—so do you also suppose and imagine that the soul of man was created from the earth, so that in like manner to the cattle it should revert to the dust? Have you not heard the great theologian Moses saying: "And God formed man, having taken dust from the earth, and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul"? You see, I think, how great the difference is C between the souls of beasts and the soul of man. For the former took their origin from whence their bodies began to exist, namely, from the dust; and rightly and properly they return again to their mother and nurse. But the soul of man, having been constituted by the grace of the divine in-breathing and having received its substance and existence, seems to possess a superiority over the better part which is incomparable. For just as much as the grace and power of the divine in-breathing excels the nature and power of the earth, by that much must we consider the rational and intelligent soul of man to be superior to the soul of the beasts; as we are taught and perceive D this by the very experience of things. For man, because of the principality of his intelligent and reasoning soul, is called the prince and king of all other animals; and all those things are not only subject to man, but have even been made subservient to his use. How, then, did you indiscriminately pronounce that all things...
A proceed to one place, and return to the dust? For if, by introducing a distinction, you had said that the body of human nature returns to the dust along with the beasts, you would not have been found to have asserted anything alien or foreign to nature. But now, without the necessary distinction, and by using an absolute definition, you have led the train of the argument into an absurdity. The wise Ecclesiastes, providing for these things, anticipated performing the necessary defense, and says: "Who knows the spirit of the sons of man, if it ascends upward, and the spirit of the beast, if it descends downward into the earth?" B as if saying: "I too clearly know the difference between the soul of each—namely, of man and of the beast." But because men have made themselves entirely like the beasts in their thoughtless actions and illicit deeds, and by far more so in the insane, impious, and irrational opinions and false assumptions of those who have erred regarding God—as if some situational necessity compelled me to doubt, I was brought to such declarations of words. "For did I," I thought within myself, "ponder and say: 'Shall the spirit of the sons of man—that is, the faculty of choice together with the rational soul—having agreed in all things with the spirit of the beasts and having in all respects a likeness to it, be deemed worthy of the honor congruent to its nature, so as to ascend to the heavens—that is, to God, from whom it also had its origin and nature through the grace of the divine in-breathing—while the spirit of the beast alone, since it is earth-born, shall descend to the earth?'" But the evil intentions and wicked deeds of depraved and worthless men provide me the causes for such a controversy. Therefore, I put forth arguments of doubt, but not of dogmatizing or of any true and natural belief; shaming C those who [have made themselves like]...
[Missing text in original image/OCR; resuming from Latin/Greek commentary on the nature of immortality]
...For the Father has made all things through the Only-Begotten in the Holy Spirit, which he sustains with wise providence, presiding over his own works as God; and having appointed a temporal beginning for all things, he willed indeed that those things which fall under the senses be defined in time, but willed to honor the intelligible and invisible things with greater honor than those, [and so] they in no way die nor are they corrupted, as happens to sensible things, which are placed in flux and easily pass away. Yet they are not immortal by nature, nor have they passed into an incorruptible substance; rather, he has granted them grace, which vindicates them from that corruption and destruction. Thus the souls of men remain free from corruption; thus angels continue immortal, not because they possess a nature truly incorruptible, as we have said, or consist of a substance properly immortal, but because they have obtained from God a grace that is the bestower of immortality and the reconciler of incorruptibility. Moreover, our author rightly calls immortality an honor congruent to the nature of man, after the beginning of life was given to man through the grace of inspiration simultaneously with his nature. For the Fathers, when they say that there is no immortality of the soul by nature, D they understand that immortality which is proper to God, and which had no beginning, as Damascene says (Orth. Fid. book II, ch. 3); therefore, they rightly do not acknowledge that immortality in souls which they always had; but they do acknowledge that [immortality] because of which they always were; which, because it cannot be denied to souls...
A, have they attributed to them through grace rather than by nature. Yet the same [immortality] is natural by the gift of God, because it was given from the beginning, and because, if compared with the other works of God which are of a lower order, since they are altogether simple by nature, they cannot be dissolved by any reason, nor can they be destroyed or extinguished by any force.
B Furthermore, by putting to shame those who have made themselves like unto the spirit and the life of beasts, and having spoken these things through an ambiguous expression which also manifests hesitation, and having offered the defense owed to those who were about to judge him and put questions to him, he moves on to another meaning, one of seemly and spiritual joy. For he says:
§ XXIV.
*Vers. 22. And I saw that there is no good, unless a man will be gladdened in his works: for this is his portion.*
That is to say: I, however, censuring and condemning all those men who have been compared to senseless cattle, and who have shown themselves to be very like them, and who for this reason are deemed unworthy of a path and journey to the heavens (for by their own deeds they confirmed that they have set their own lot and portion with the herds and the cattle, having lived senselessly just like them), recognize and declare that no other good remains for the sons of men which is profitable and saving, unless they be worshipers of justice while they live, and in accordance with the rule of right judgment distribute the riches they have gained, in whatever way, to the needy and the poor—since "blessed is that man who is merciful and lendeth"—and then that they give constant labor to supplications, prayers, and sacred hymns, making petition to the God of all; and that they also extend a helping hand to guests and bring them into their homes. C For the prophet Isaiah also encouraged them to these things with these words: "But loose every band of iniquity; dissolve the knots of violent contracts, send away those who are broken into remission, and tear up every unjust document; break thy bread to the hungry, and bring the poor who are cast out into thy house. If thou seest the naked, clothe him. Then shall thy morning light break forth, and thy remedies shall quickly spring up; and thy justice shall go before thee, and the glory of God shall surround thee." For he who does these things will be able to say, according to the consequence that the great Isaiah says again: "My soul shall exult in the Lord; for He has clothed me with the garment of salvation, and with a tunic of joy He has girded me."
D Therefore, the wise Ecclesiastes signifies that a man is exhilarated by that good which he attains by doing such things, whether because it produces for him, while he lives, praise, splendor of name, and glory from his deeds, or because it suffices abundantly as provisions for one traveling toward the future life. For he indicated this, by adding: "For this is his portion." For man takes with him,
A even when he has reached the end of life, his own deeds as a sort of portion and inheritance. Therefore, he departs from this life, which he knows to be subject to many errors and evils and filled with many cares, with joy, and finds the blessed rest which the heavenly ones enjoy forever. For the whole purpose of the wise Ecclesiastes here is to draw the human mind away from the desire for fleeting things and the love of the world, and to make it as alien as possible from every immoderate affection and obscene bodily pleasure. For he says, in a manner of speaking: Understand, O mortal, what is good, and do it, and take this for yourself as a portion, wisely, from all the wealth of various kinds which you have gathered for yourself through your own labors and toils, so that, having stored up in heaven the B good portion of such deeds and works, you may receive it on the day of judgment and of the requital for things done in life. So, indeed, the Lord also admonished in the Gospels, saying: "Make for yourselves friends by means of the Mammon of unrighteousness, that they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles of life." Then the Ecclesiastes says: [AX] [h§ XXV.]
"For who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?"
That is to say, who shall bring the rich man, after his end and passing from this life, if he has not, while still living, taken care to distribute his wealth to the needy and the poor, to see what will happen in that person who succeeds to his labors and toils after him, and what kind of administration he will establish? For will this wealth, C on being received by one in succession, be found being administered for alms and the distribution to the poor and for the need of those who are in want? Or will none of these things happen at all, but rather, will it be consumed with drunkards and revelers and harlots and panders, to the greater condemnation of him who formerly possessed it and did not disperse it humanely and piously according to the scripture: "He has dispersed, he has given to the poor; his righteousness remains for ever and ever"? Rather, he has conversely provided cause and occasion for those who obtained it after him to enter into unholy and wicked ways, and to turn further toward robbery and greed and false accusation, as if the wealth that had been unfairly and unfortunately transferred to them were not sufficient for the services of a life of pleasure. For he signifies this by what follows; for he says: D [h§ XXVI.]
"I turned, and I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power, but they had no comforter."
A And I praised the dead who are already dead more than the living who are yet alive even until now. And better than both of these is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
For the love of riches alienates the covetous man from the counsels he has accepted, and leads and deflects him toward the ways of folly, and thrusts him into precipitous, winding, and rugged paths of error, so that he dares to lie and to devise calumny against the innocent through various and manifold artifice: to one, that he may take his riches from him and make much gain with great disgrace and his own eternal destruction; to another, that he may find favor with the envious; to a third, that he may hasten even the death he desires and succeed to his goods; and again to another, that he may enjoy wicked pleasures. These things both happened often in the past, and they happen now as well. For human life is full of calumnies of this kind from the beginning until these times, as we have received by tradition from the writers of histories. B Indeed, he said
I turned
very rightly and appositely: for whereas nature has provided eyes for our looking at things that are before us, Ecclesiastes turned the eyes of the mind in a circle toward men, as many as inhabit the earth and walk under this sun. For upon those who live their life above this sun, calumny can no longer reach, since there the stable truth and justice, perfect in every respect, holds sway. Furthermore, in this life many weep and lament, unequal to the burden of enduring calumnies: and for the most part, one is scarcely found who brings them timely consolation, and having taken up the defense of them, refutes the calumniators, and shows the things which they devise against their neighbor to be false and vain, so that he might at last rescue them from their hands by the force and power of the truth. CSince, therefore, in this life, every kind of vice and malediction and falsehood is so variously and widely diffused—"It comes into my mind," he says, "to commend those who have departed and left human affairs, as having finished with the life of dangers and being free from sin, rather than those who are still surviving and leading their life, and of necessity participate in so many kinds of human wickedness." This, of course, is the literal sense that presents itself for us to consider.
But if anyone should think that these things ought to be understood more mystically and by way of allegory, he would truly think that those called dead by Ecclesiastes, and lacking in life, D are those who have died to the world and to the enjoyments and reproaches of the world. [alt-version omitted] [original-script column: see facsimile]
and pleasures of the world; just as the great apostle Paul says: "Dead indeed unto sin," and again: "Whosoever of us died to sin," and again: "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." A For such men have alienated themselves from every evil, as much as lies in their power, and have risen above human preoccupations, turmoil, and fleshly pleasures in the governing faculty of the soul; and, resembling the dead who have departed, they are in no way unlike them; rather, as if they were not participating in human life, but having their citizenship instead in the heavens, minding the things above, seeking the things above, and in no way gaping toward the earth, the wise
Ecclesiastes
has praised them above those who live this life, which is greedy for sin, full of cares, and extremely turbulent. He said, furthermore: "And good is he above these two, who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun." B By this he does not call him "good" who has by no means come into existence, but rather him who from infancy has fled the vanity of life and has escaped the wrongdoing and wickedness of men, so that, as a result, he has fittingly made his conduct, his dwelling, and his confinement in the deserts and in the caves of the earth; and has not even seen at all the evil deeds committed by men under the sun, which he called an "evil work."C This interpretation is also confirmed by Symmachus, who says: "He who has not seen the evil works that have been done under the sun." He therefore praised those who have scrutinized the varied baseness and wickedness of life, and thereafter escaped the nets of worldly vanity, and having bid farewell to the whole world, have crucified themselves and shown themselves dead to sin. Yet, above these, and much more than those who pass their lives amidst worldly turmoil and vanity, he has named as "good" the one who was not even allowed to behold the calumnies of men and other evil D deeds—but rather from his prime and youthful age
A chose the unwedded life and took up the sweet yoke of the Lord, and having gone forth, served the Lord in solitude. Having named these as good and as having surpassed all others in virtue (such as, clearly, John the Baptist became, and long before him, Elijah the Tishbite, and the countless catalog of those after them who, in the weakness of human nature, vied with the highest orders of the celestial angels; I speak of those around Paul of Thebes and the great Anthony, and those who with equal vigor vanquished the common adversaries and enemies), he returns again to the condemnation of the worldly and the covetous, and weighs their empty labors one by one. For he adds:
§ XXVII.
VERS. 4. And I beheld all labor, and all the strength of the work; that it is the emulation of a man from his neighbor. And this also is vanity and presumption of spirit.
He says that all the strength and power which nature had received from its Creator, in order to keep the laws given by Him, men who are followers of the world and addicted to bodily pleasures and desires have squandered B or miserably wasted on vain thoughts and evil counsels and deeds. Attempting to surpass one another in labors and in the gathering of wealth, and urging each other on with emulation and zeal, they do so with no measure of conflict and no prudence, so that neither the night’s frost nor the heat of the day deters them. They have even dared to entrust themselves to the deep sea, and to despise the labors of the longest journeys for the sake of conducting trade, shunning no hardship at all and undergoing every trouble; being so patient of fatigue and of cares that they even endure deceit, and fallacy, and calumny, while they possess themselves of wealth: all of which are tokens of supreme vanity. For he adds: "And this also is vanity and presumption of spirit," calling that—namely, the useless and empty study and the one inept for the soul's salvation, and in the deed itself flagitious—vanity, or empty labor, and naming it "presumption of spirit," meaning to signify that these things are the work of human C will.
Delineating and depicting these very people, the brother of God, the great James, also speaks as follows: "Come now, you who say: Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and we will spend a year there, and we will trade and make a profit: who do not know what will be on the morrow. For what is your life? A vapor which appears for a little time, but then also vanis..." D
vanishes; instead of you saying: If the Lord wills, and we should live, we shall do this or that. But now you boast in your arrogant pride. All such boasting is evil. A
The wise Ecclesiastes, however, using, as is his habit, a few words, depicts the entire vain solicitude of those who, pursuing empty things with their own works and toil, provide for themselves no spiritual benefit; but often, because of their stinginess and love of acquisition, they do not even take what is sufficient for the very necessities of nature, and wretchedly and foolishly deprive themselves of food. He therefore adds:
§ XXVIII.
VERS. 5. The fool folds his hands, and eats his own flesh (71).
For he, frustrated in the hope of gains he had expected from trade on land and by sea, is overwhelmed by so great a sadness of mind, and is engulfed in such pain and mental anguish, especially because, in addition to the loss of all his profit, he has also suffered the loss of money and gold already spent, to such an extent that he pulls out the hairs of his own head and tries to eat his own flesh. And why has he suffered this? Because, he says, he kept his hands clenched, to make no distribution or giving to the needy and the poor; rather, he was entirely occupied with enclosing and circumscribing the wealth gathered within the grasp of his own hands; nor did he use it liberally and kindly for the necessary requirements of nature, but, having undertaken and endured, B rather, vain labors and empty cares for the sake of gathering them, and suffering with difficulty, and because of a disposition ignoble and enslaved to the additions of wealth, he granted to his own nourishment and the needs of nature the least bit of the rest he sought. For he did not know, due to great stupidity, that a brief and somewhat hard intake of food, added without labor for the necessary need of nature, is more preferable and profitable than the luxury and extravagance of seasoned dishes and drinks found with much trouble and labor by those who seek them. For this reason he adds:
§ XXIX.
VERS. 6. Better is a handful of rest, than two handfuls of labor and striving of spirit (73). D
A The same truth is clearly confirmed in the Proverbs. For it says: "Better is a small portion with the fear of God, than great treasures without fear (74)." And again: "Better is a hospitality of herbs with friendship, than a setting forth of calves with enmity (75)." King David also affirmed the selfsame thing, when he said: "Better is a little to the righteous, than great riches of sinners (76)." But foolish men, setting out in another direction, have valued the security of an unchangeable life—free also from the punishment and the danger of impending storms—less than occupations that are many and laborious; and they have set themselves to procure merchant ships of great bulk, and to sail from east to west for the sake of trade. But often, overwhelmed by the tempests and squalls of the sea, or having fallen into the hands and encounters of robbers and pirates, they have lost at once their wares and their life. For this reason the great Apostle Paul says in one place: "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. But having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, and a snare, and many foolish and hurtful desires, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evils, which some coveting have wandered from the faith and have pierced themselves with many sorrows." For this reason, the Ecclesiastes C adds:
§ XXX.
VERS. 7, 8. And I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun. There is one, and there is no second; and indeed he has neither son nor brother; and there is no end to all his labor. And indeed his eye is not satisfied with riches, and for whom do I labor and deprive my soul of good? But this also is vanity, and a very evil striving (77).
He depicts and characterizes the greedy and sordid man, who is indeed one, and by right and power the sole master of his riches, since he has no offspring of nature (78), and does not even have a brother…
A born of the same womb, whose brotherly bond might be referred to him, so that for the sake of either one or the other he might preserve his magnificent wealth, which he might then transfer and transmit to some one of them; nor can he boast any other cause or pretext from any other quarter. Yet, stupidly and avariciously, he crowds his storehouses, locks up his chests, and reinforces the chambers in which he keeps gold, silver, and garments; yet he provides nothing to the hungry to relieve their famine, and consoles not the destitute with any aid, being sparing to himself and begrudging what is appropriate to nature. On the contrary, like the netherworld, he bears an insatiable soul that is never satisfied by wealth; he constantly proceeds, again and again, to increase it and heap it up according to the logic of his desire, which clearly knows no end or limit. Wishing to indicate this, the wise Ecclesiastes added: “And there is no end to all his labor,” B signifying that he imposes no end whatever upon his own toils and cares, since he always wishes to increase his wealth and extend it infinitely—a fact that is truly an indication of great madness. Therefore, Ecclesiastes adds: “And this too is vanity and a grievous distraction.” And how would an act not be named a work of the utmost wickedness, when one possesses wealth of all kinds gathered by one's own labors and toils, yet distributes none of it to the poor and needy, whereby he might fill his own soul with goodness, in view of the manifold and bountiful rewards he is to receive from the good and just God in the life to come; nor even yields to nature the sustenance appropriate and fitting for his own needs?
But as for us, having fled the insatiable greed of such men, and having deemed their example worthy of hatred and flight, let us desire and strive not only to relieve the poor from our abundance, according to the exhortation of the Apostle Paul who says: “Your abundance, a supply for their want” (II Cor. VIII, 14), C but also to console those who are cast down with a cheerful heart, and let us be partners in every suffering, being afflicted in all things wherever they are. He condemned the clear folly of such men, saying: “There is one, and there is not a second; yea, he has neither son nor brother, and for whom does this man labor to the wind?” He reasonably rebukes such a man greatly, because, being freed from successors for whose sake the acquiring of wealth might perhaps provide a decent excuse, he has not made use of the opportunity for what is necessary, nor has he made the time that many waste useful to himself for the acquisition of the benefits of the soul. “And for whom does this man labor to the wind?” I would gladly ask him: for what reason does such a man toil, since he D flees from doing any good in a headlong manner, while he is torn apart by various desires for making profit from anywhere?
The fact that he is freed from those for whose sake the care for acquiring wealth might perhaps have a legitimate excuse, shows that he has not used the opportunity for those things that were necessary, making for himself the time—which many lose—useful for obtaining the goods of the soul. Indeed, in these matters, observe also the reading of Nilus, which is most clear. In the common texts, we have: “And he does not reflect, saying: For whom do I labor, and deprive my soul of good things?” which is equally plain; but that connection is lacking in both the Greek and Hebrew copies, as Amama has already advised. I believe, however, that Gregory Neocaesariensis anticipated Nilus, for he explained the same passage thus: That is: I would therefore gladly ask, for what reason does such a man toil, being one who flees from doing any good at all, but is distracted by manifold desires for making profit from somewhere.
A And to be ready to receive those who are strangers, and the needy, and the poor. "For God loves a cheerful giver," says the same Paul. For thus we shall find that blessed end, concerning which the Lord says: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy"; in Christ Jesus our God, to whom be glory and power with the almighty Father and with the all-holy and good and life-giving Spirit, now and always and for ever and ever. Amen.
FOURTH BOOK
§ 1. VERS. 9-12. Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor; for if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
After he has portrayed and reproved the man who is left alone of his kin, subject to the power and domination of wealth, and who has neither brother nor son in whose name he might excuse his parsimony, his insane love of gold, and his greed and avarice for becoming rich; yet who pursues and accumulates riches under no title and for no reasonable cause, and relaxes nothing of his greed C and desire in order to make his estate greater by new increases—which he has called vanity and a most evil distraction—he now introduces into his discourse two good men who are in concord and of the same mind regarding what is good. He does not mean two men simply, nor those addicted to depraved and perverse opinions, as some have thought, but men who are clearly good and honest. For he says: "To whom there is a good reward for their labor," representing both as honest, humane, and unanimous, and for that reason [capable of] receiving the poor and needy. D Even if something adverse should befall one of them, yet he has no slight help in his companion and associate. Nor is the opinion of Olympiodorus different, who says that the concord of two is praised by Ecclesiastes, which is concerned with right deeds and merits rewards from God. Gregorius Nyssenus is believed to have extended his explanation beyond the thirteenth verse of the third chapter, since Possinus testified that he had transcribed his entire commentary from a Roman codex (in Prol. Thes. ascet.); but nothing beyond that has been published thus far. Nor could the works of the others who commented on the Book of Ecclesiastes before this Gregory of ours, if any exist, be at hand, as they have not been edited.
A presenting both as lovers of goodness and philanthropists and compassionate, and for that reason lending and distributing what is needed to the needy and poor; in that they look to the future righteous judgment and hope for the reward from God. For he signified this by saying: "To whom there is a good reward in their labor." For not like that miser who, putting no end to his own labors and pains, does nothing but increase and extend his wealth, and in no way distributes what is sufficient to the needy—since he has an insatiable disposition for wealth and is never satisfied—are these two described as lovers of money, and enemies of virtue, and avaricious, and sordid; but on the contrary, clearly as merciful and unanimous. For this, as we have already said, is openly signified by those words: "To whom there is a good reward in their labor."
B Furthermore, even if it is established that one alone, who is good and philanthropic, is better than the one who is clearly unsympathetic and miserly, and who has an unyielding disposition; nevertheless, the wise Ecclesiastes takes two, who are lovers of goodness and compassionate, removing from this point all contradiction in the comparison of his words, when he says: "If they fall, one will raise his associate." Since human choice is prone to slipping, and has an inclination that is readier toward base things rather than toward the choice of good and noble things, he is hinting that in the turning aside and deviation toward worse things, one might receive correction and improvement through the other. For if one has slipped into what is not right and has no other to stand him up and lead him back to the state of better things, his fall and slipping into sin clearly remains unchanged and entirely uncorrected. For this reason, the Lord says in the Gospels: "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them," C clearly teaching us that concord and agreement upon good among two or three is better and more preferable than that of one alone. For if the word of truth honors the lesser good, it does so much more for the greater; just as, conversely, if a small evil and vice is held to be detestable and to be avoided, all the more so is a greater one. And as the wise Ecclesiastes says, confirming that very point: "And also if two sleep together, there is warmth for them; and how shall one be warmed alone?" He is pointing out from this the rivalry and the provocation of each toward the other for noble deeds; just as he himself confirms in the Book of Proverbs, saying: "Iron sharpens iron; and a man sharpens the face of another."
D And another, speaking enigmatically, says regarding his strength: "If the two shall sleep together, there is warmth for them, and the threefold cord shall not be quickly broken." For he shows here both the pleasure and the strength, and makes it clear that even when they are at rest, the pleasure will be great, and when they are active, the strength will be great.
A And in a certain place the Apostle Paul also says: "For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago, and your zeal hath provoked very many." And again: "Covet earnestly the best gifts."
Indeed, the human heart is so constituted that, just as it is accustomed to emulate its neighbor in evil things, so too it naturally imitates him in good and honorable things, and rises up to perform those better deeds which are considered the best of works. But if a man is alone, he is in no way warmed by the ardor of divine love and of an honorable and virtuous life; or if there be anyone to whom this happens, he is so rare that he is scarcely to be found. And if even he is led astray by more powerful forces, he will have no one to correct him and recall him to the best manner of life.
Now, what the wise Ecclesiastes adds: "And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him," signifies that one has fallen away from the straight institution of morals, but two will be present to him from the opposite side, that they may direct and confirm him—namely, a companion and partner, B and the heavenly aid of God, from whence all emendation is to be sought. Wherefore he says: "And a threefold cord is not quickly broken," offering the infragile tie of a triple cord most especially as an image and example, so that you may understand that three, in harmony together, avail more for the pursuit of the good than one or two, just as we have warned, as it is pronounced in the Gospel.
Thus, indeed, having interpreted these things as they sound, we do not accept the opinion of those who have taken this passage to be about the soul and the body, seeing that this interpretation falters and cannot stand. For the soul has the entire right of command and the supreme authority to rule both itself and the body. The body, however, is a servant of the soul, providing and performing mercenary service for whatever things please the soul. Therefore, if the soul has turned aside toward evil and wickedness, and has wandered from the habit of good thoughts and meditations, it is impossible for it to rise up with the help of the body and return to a better state, for the body is not constituted in such a way. And again, if it happens that the body falls away and slips into sin, it has not fallen by itself or from its own inherent weakness, but rather, because the soul had long before collapsed into wicked desires, the body undergoes the same fall, whether into fornication, or into homicide, or into some act C of the aforementioned, that if they fall, the one will raise up his partner. That is: But how are two better than one? If the body behaves temperately, but the soul is caught by vainglory, the temperance of the body becomes vain. Conversely, if the soul loves humility, but the body on the other hand is lustful, the humility will be vain. For if one part errs, either the soul or the body, it is necessary that the other part be included. The good harmony of the two, therefore, is around the virtue worthy of the prize: for if they fall, the one will raise up its partner. For how are two better than one? If the body temperately conducts itself, but the soul is caught by vainglory, the temperance of the body becomes vain. Again, if the soul loves humility, but the body on the contrary is lustful, the humility will be vain. For one part failing, whether soul or body, it is necessary that the other part also be involved. The good harmony of two, then, is about the virtue worthy of the prize: for if they fall, the one will raise up its companion.
or into some other illicit action, falling as it were on account of the soul's inclination and will. A But since the soul has slipped and the body has collapsed along with it, one cannot say that only one has fallen, but it must be said that both have fallen: and when both have fallen, how shall he who has fallen, as the Ecclesiastes says, raise up the one who is lying there? Therefore, when each has fallen, neither is able to raise the other to the state of good things. For the body is by nature inept; but the soul, although it is fit, nevertheless first raises itself up from the fall of sin through repentance. Then, finally, the body will also be raised up altogether, while the soul itself holds the reins and, as mistress, moderates the inclination toward good and evil.
B If, however, one wishes to elevate the discourse and, by interpreting what has been said, prefers to follow an allegory, it is necessary rather to think and say this: whereas the soul is considered to be tripartite, since it clearly comprises reason, appetite, and irascibility, two of its parts that are in concert toward the good are found to be much stronger than only one, when indeed reason follows after appetite in the choice and pursuit of good things. C Furthermore, if the other of these—that is, the appetite—should turn itself toward the illicit, reason will easily lead it back to better things; and if reason has been carried away to absurd thoughts and has strayed from the true apprehension of things, the appetitive part, which is carried toward God with the desire of the universe and loves true judgment, will correct the declination and deviation of the reason. And thus the statement stands, that one is raised up by the other. Woe, however, to either one of them, whether to the appetite, whenever it lacks the help and incitement of the reason toward better things. For it slides down into harmful desires and thousands of soul-destroying [evils]. This is the lot of those who have willfully brought contempt upon and perverted the judgment of the rational part, and have rendered it as if dead and altogether inert. But, on the contrary, woe to the rational part itself, whenever it has not the appetitive part addicted to it, by whose help it may aspire to the divine light: since it [the appetite] especially burns with vehement desire and tends with an optimal inclination toward those things which are perceived by the mind and are divine. D For when the rational part has fallen into irrational thoughts, the appetitive part will furnish no help, since it has lost its own proper energy. This same theory will apply also to the sleeping of both and of one. But what it says: "And if one prevails, two will stand against him," it introduces the irascible part of the soul, which often comes to the aid of the reason or the appetite for anger incited against the devil and his works, whether one thinks on what is more excellent or desires those things which are better. By the harmony of these three [parts of the soul], as it were, is signified the triple cord, which is not easily broken, since the harmony of the parts itself, as he says, is also brought to pass, so that the third may struggle, and the victory may rest with the former ones.
A And the threefold cord represents [the Trinity], in such a way that as it is not easily broken, so also, when the threefold part of the soul is in harmony, the established state of a holy and spiritual life will be found to be more stable. Perchance the wise Ecclesiastes, by the image of the threefold cord, hints at a more mystical and divine meaning; for perhaps he is depicting the singular Divine Sovereignty, consisting of three Divine Hypostases, instructing us how to construct and weave the doctrine of our sincere faith from three equal-powered, consubstantial, and coeternal Persons, meeting in one essence, power, will, dominion, and lordship. For those who have been deemed worthy to believe thus, no heretical and impious discourse will be able to easily tear away from eternal life and blessed hopes. Then the Ecclesiastes says:
B V. 13, 14. Better is a poor and wise child than an old and foolish king, who knows not how to provide: moreover, out of the house of bonds he shall go forth to reign: whereas also in his kingdom he was born poor.
The Ecclesiastes has a good and noble purpose, that by investigating and comparing amongst themselves the things and persons that exist in this life, he may amend the characters of men and turn their wills away from every perverse affection and evil deed. Therefore, here also he sets a poor and wise child against one who is old and a king and foolish, as those who are very far apart from one another and differ greatly in their contrary opinions; and he extols the child and the poor man who has been found wise, and judges him to be better than him who is a king and old, yet found to be foolish. Whereby, indeed, he may lead the young and the old, the poor and the kings, away from insipience and ignorance, and draw them to the contests of wisdom and prudence. For thus he seems to me to address them: "What utility does a king grasp, even if he bears the glory of old age on his head, if he lacks that innate prudence and wisdom which a man who is desirous of learning acquires for himself by patience in labors and by the pursuit of honesty? For if wisdom and prudence are absent from him, by the perturbed and confused administration of affairs, he will show his subordinates as if they were without a ruler, and he will consume and destroy [his people] by the arms of aliens and enemies.
C (85) These things which follow could seem to be taken from Olympiodorus. But Basil the Great had previously provided for both writers. In book V of *Against Eunomius*, ch. 15, he spoke thus: "Therefore understand the Father in the Son, honor the Son in the Father; do not divide what is indivisible, do not cut what is not to be cut. For even if you wish [it], they are not cut; even if heretics are torn asunder, the Trinity, however, is not torn asunder, and is to be worshipped in one and the same eternal glory, carrying around one and the same sole Deity everywhere, unbroken, uncut, indivisible, filling all things, containing all things, existing in all things, creating, governing, sanctifying, vivifying."
D This divine and most admirable bond is not broken, as it is written: A threefold cord shall not be broken.
A His own way, however, and his kingdom, he will expose to very many calamities. But on the other hand, what does it harm a youth, even if he be a mendicant and poor, if he is wise and has shone forth with the light of prudence? For it will come to pass at some time, when the occasion invites, that he will strike the rich, and the magistrates, and the dynasts, and kings with astonishment and fear by means of his words, full as they are of wisdom and prudence, and he will be thought more useful and more worthy of honor than all others, having been found to be a provider of safety for others, and of true justice, and of public stability. Just as happened to Joseph, who was also a child and a beggar, and who escaped the snares of the Egyptian woman, and by preventing the famine that was impending, freed Egypt from destruction. And Daniel, too, was found to be such a one, B in his captivity, when he was a child and poor, and he refuted the impiety of the foolish elders and judges, and from that point was deemed worthy of seniority and prophetic esteem and honor.
But indeed, I prefer to the letter such an interpretation: I prefer a young, poor, and temperate man to an old, foolish king, to whom it has not even entered his mind that it is possible for someone from those whom he had bound to escape from prison and attain to the kingdom, and for himself to fall from his own unjust dominion. For it happens that those who are subject to the young, but wise, man are free from sorrow, whereas those who are subject to the elders are not. For those who come after, because they have had no experience of the other, are not able to praise him, being led by an irrational mind and by the impulse of an opposing spirit.
C Indeed, after we have followed the sense of the letters, there is revealed: *He became great in the sight of the people from that day and thenceforth* (Dan. xiii, 64).
We possess here, in truth, a new testimony from which we recognize the history of Susanna, which heretics reject, to have been accepted in the Church from antiquity, and we understand that, because of the reasons concerning Joseph just mentioned, its authority even then was no less than that which was attributed to the book of Genesis itself. Which indeed was sufficiently evident in the writings of other Fathers and in ancient Christian monuments; and it is rightly believed to be more distinguished, once the very prophecy of Daniel, such as the Seventy assigned it, came forth into the light from the Chisian manuscript, and it is distinct in chapters—that is, it also included the final two chapters, which until now we possessed only from Theodotion. For who can now doubt whether both chapters were read in the Hebrew exemplar, since we see that both were translated by earlier interpreters? It is helpful, however, to describe here the words of the most learned man who published Daniel and presented the Church with an obviously magnificent gift. "A monogram," he says (edit. Rom. p. 81), "is seen on the margin of the codex in this form [A. Ε. Θ.], which, if it be resolved, gives the letters A. E. Th." It indicates, therefore, that Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion agree with the LXX interpreters, not in words, but in the sense of the words; and therefore the things that follow are marked with lemnisci up to the fifth verse, where it is read: *In that year*. D Since if this history of Susanna, as Jerome seems to hint in the Preface to Daniel, appears from our codex to have been rendered into Greek by all of them, let alone the LXX, it is necessary that the archetype itself, from which the interpretation was made, survived long after the times of the seventy elders. Thus, the monogram and the lemnisci of our codex do not constitute the last argument concerning the truth of this history, the reliability of which is proven even by the edition of Theodotion itself. For if Theodotio had not translated from the archetype, there would be no reason why the Church should adhere to his version rather than to those of others. Let those, therefore, who dissent from the judgment of the Church and reject the chapter of Susanna as apocryphal consider seriously with how little judgment, and how thoroughly in the manner of the Jews, they do this. For if the archetype existed at the beginning of the Church, and indeed was propagated widely in maturity, what if it perished through the malice of the Hebrews or for some other cause, and so was already missing in the age of Africanus and Origen? etc.
A Having distributed these things according to the perceptible sense, let us say something also regarding the anagogical interpretation derived from analogy. The devil was as it were a certain king operating in the kingdom of the heavens; entrusted also with the command of a certain angelic order by Him who created him, and also an elder: "For he is the beginning of the creation of God," as the scripture of the athlete of piety, Job, says. But having slipped from his innate prudence through negligence and lack of counsel, he was cast from the heights to the depths, and became darkness instead of light, having destroyed and corrupted together with himself also the angels stationed under him, and having caused them to obtain the same condemnation as he. And again, the progenitor Adam was as it were a certain king in paradise, prior to all other irrational animals, having been considered and been held elder, in respect to the reason of his rule and honor, and further also because he was fashioned and created before all others. But through lack of counsel and much folly, he transgressed the commandment of Him who created him, and having thought the man-hating and malignant adversary—the envious one—to be more desirable and advantageous, he acted; and for this reason he was cast out of the harmless life in paradise, and slid down toward death and corruption, and caused the whole race from him to receive B the same and equal condemnation. And on the contrary, there was the poor boy, of whom the great Isaiah says: "For unto us a Child is born, a Son is given to us," who, having become man and suffered for the sake of ineffable mercy, the only-begotten Word of God and the Father, and having progressed in wisdom and grace, as the Gospel of our salvation says, inasmuch as He was truly man, outwitted the sophist of malice, the devil, and by the cross, and passion, and burial, he cast down the stiff-necked one and dashed to the ground the boaster, and judged and condemned him to eternal chains together with those who think the same as him and his cohorts. And for the progenitors and all those from them, He provided redemption through His own life-originating resurrection, and toward the former glory C he led them back, or rather toward the highest and most beautiful glory of His own majesty.
(89) Some received [this] concerning King Nabuchodonosor (Berr. V, 1, v): And so they also threw back the rise of Job himself, who, in the opinion of Gregory, as we will explain below, was much earlier, to the times of Salmanasar and Osea. For He introduces God saying to himself: "Behold Behemoth, which I made with thee; he shall eat hay like an ox"; so that by these [words] Behemoth may appear to be Nabuchodonosor. But those who interpret the sacred Scriptures as they sound, and stand at the very threshold, say that the beast is described as an elephant, and that those words "Beginning of the works of God," or as in the Vulgate, "Beginning of the ways of God," have the same force, and that [he is] the first of the quadrupeds from the beginning, or even the chief among the living things which God created, and as it were a specimen of the ways or works of God: just as also honey in Ecclesiasticus (c. xi, 5) is said to be the sweetest of things.
(90) Job xL, 14. According to the LXX, "The beginning of the creation of the Lord." "For he is the beginning of the creation of the Lord," Cyril of Jerusalem, Catech. vi, n. 4.
(91) The Catholic doctrine clearly comprehends original sin, concerning which Paul [says] (Rom. v, 12): "By one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death, and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned." Indeed, since according to the doctrine of the Council of Trent it contains two [aspects] of Adam's fall, the guilt and the punishment, and so comprehends it such that both are common also to all of us who derive our origin from him; our author has marked these out most excellently, first indeed, when he says [words] by which he shows the innocence lost; but the second, when he adds [words] by which he expressed the punishment of sin. And he taught that these to us alike pertain, submitting those things, for when his condemnation occurred, so that he might lose the holiness which he had received from God, and having contracted that stain, he became liable to death and the punishments of the body, no one fails to understand that from those words now those individual evils have been transfused also into the human race.
A He brought them back, or rather he also raised them up to the highest and most beautiful glory of his own majesty, and deemed them worthy of a better lot. B The wise Ecclesiastes confirms such an interpretation by means of what follows; for he adds and says:
§ III. B VERS. 15. I saw all the living who walk under the sun with the second youth, who shall stand in his stead; neither is there any end to all the people, to all who were before them; and yet the last will not rejoice in him; for this also is vanity and striving of spirit.
Having brought in and set forth the poor and wise boy, and having declared him more excellent and better than the old and foolish king, and having mentioned opposite names—as is the capacity of all—he has exhorted everyone to think that education and wisdom should be acquired with the greatest diligence, but that the nets of folly and ignorance should be escaped. C But if you look to the anagoge, he shows that the devil and Adam, having been caught and ensnared in the snares of folly and thoughtlessness, and having been condemned justly and by divine judgment, and having suffered the loss of their own elevation, are those who fell. The poor and wise boy is the pre-eternal and thearchic Word of the almighty God and Father, who preceded the ages and was endowed with divine origin, [who] through the inhumanation undertaken out of an incomparable love for humanity, having crushed the swelling pride of the raging devil, and having removed the tyranny and domination which he exercised against the progenitor and all those born from him, and having presided over these and provided the redemption, now (it seems to me) sees and foresees with prophetic eyes all the men who inhabit the earth throughout the world, who live and follow under this sun with the second youth, whom he called there a boy and poor and wise. D For from the age of boyhood the wisdom of the youth is accustomed to rise and accompany the reason of nature. He called him second, as having been born and named the second man and the second Adam. For: "The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven," as the great apostle Paul says.
who also confessedly rose in his stead, that is to say, in stead of the first Adam who fell, for the redemption and restoration and transformation of him. And all men throughout almost the entire world under the sun followed him, having been persuaded and having obeyed in a manner worthy of God and of his love for man, as he says: "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that does not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me." He who, having also given his voice to his holy disciples and apostles as a voice of power, just as the prophet David had foretold, saying: "Lo, he will give his voice a voice of power; give glory to God," B by them enmeshed with the evangelic preaching all under heaven, even so that those who believed in him can neither be numbered nor find an end, since in every generation an infinite multitude of those who believe in him is to be found throughout the entire world under the sun. But what the wise Ecclesiastes says: "All the living who walk under the sun," is not shown to be wrong or alien to the truth; for although some appear to live and walk under the sun, they are involved in the darkness of unbelief and do not at all possess the faith that leads to him. For he designated as "living" those who have hastened to the true life, to Christ our God, who said openly: "I am the life and the truth," C and he addressed them as "walking," meaning those who had chosen to walk in the way of life and to regulate the paths leading to the untainted and divine life, which he himself pointed out when he said: "I am the way, and the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall come in and go out, and shall find pasture." He named such as these "walking" and "living." For those who are not walking or living in this way, even if they appear to live and walk, are rather found and considered to be in the shadow and death of sin and unbelief, than walking and living. D For in the first Adam we stumbled, not keeping his commandment; but in the second Adam we have been reconciled, having become obedient unto death.
Since he has predicted that those who followed the young man and second Adam would extend to an infinite number and have no end, he found many of the Jews and of those who had believed from the nations before them delivered over to the death of unbelief; and he found many after that infinite multitude of those from the Jews and from the gentiles who had placed their hope in him, having lately imitated those before them, and having remained, similar to them, in the hardness of heart, and having been unwilling to accept the preaching of the evangelic truth; he distinguishes these also from the believers and those united with the young man, the second Adam, and holds...
B that they will derive no benefit from him, on account of their own unbelief. For he says: "All who were before them," clearly meaning those who believed in Christ; "And indeed the last shall not rejoice in him," clearly referring to those who have remained to the last, and even until the consummation of the age, in the darkness of unbelief; they shall not be deemed worthy of the joy and divine exultation preached and expected in him, on account of their own unwillingness and voluntary unbelief.
Even if the literal wording does not contain this sense more clearly, it must be understood according to the idiom of Scripture. Nevertheless, we, having fixed our mind purely upon the meaning, have supposed this to be the truer interpretation: that the statement is to the effect that those who have followed the young man and second Adam shall rejoice with him in eternal joy, so as to say to him: "I will be glad and rejoice in thee; I will sing to thy name, O Most High." And again: "For he has clothed me with a garment of salvation, and has put a robe of joy around me." But those who have voluntarily turned themselves away from such a following, having been found unworthy and utterly bereft of the aforementioned joy and divine exultation—a fact which is also indicative of the utmost foolishness—on this account the wise Ecclesiastes says: "And indeed this is vanity and a presumption of spirit," clearly showing that through great folly and a voluntary choice they have deprived themselves of such joy.
Indeed, therefore, confirming the aforementioned interpretation and clarification through what follows, he added, saying:
A § IV. VERS. 17. Keep your foot when you go into the house of God, and draw near to hear. Beyond the offering of fools is your sacrifice, for they do not know that they do what is good.
Having distinguished concerning the young man, the second Adam, who was destined to rise up in place of the first, and concerning the infinite multitude of men C who in all nations were to believe in him and have their hopes in him, he says that he knew those who live under the sun of righteousness, that is, those living the true life. And this is the young man, the second from heaven, who rose in place of the first, the one from the earth, made of dust. He says, then, concerning Adam: "And infinite," he says, "were those who were walking before themselves, following the young man," that is, those forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to those in front; for this is the manner of life of the faithful. But who are those who are the last of these, who do not rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ? Or is it the people of the Jews, who, being first, have become last, who at the end of time will believe in the Antichrist? And all those, who after the virtuous, are called last on account of the common, base nature of their life. "For he clothed me with a garment of salvation, and a robe of joy; as a bridegroom he put a mitre upon me."
D As for those who are content with the obvious sense and do not care for the mystical, they say that here the changes of kings are designated by Ecclesiastes, who at the beginning of their reign are accustomed to have peoples who are diligent and favorable with a ready will; but when they have grown old, they perceive that they are remiss, with their hearts and loyalties turned toward their successors, and that they look to the rising rather than the setting sun.
A And concerning the unbelief of the Jews, both past and future—that is, the most recent ones, whom he also foretold would in no way be gladdened by him—he now counsels all who wish to be persuaded by the truth for the sake of obtaining things that are profitable. For since all the teachings of the divinely inspired Scriptures, being read at the holy worship-halls built under heaven everywhere, illuminate the minds of men, the prophet Isaiah says: "For thy commandments are a light upon the earth." And again, the proverbial saying: "The commandment of the law is a lamp and a light." It counsels one to guard the foot—that is to say, the sensible and intellectual foot—to those entering and walking into the house of God, so that they might not leave quickly and overlook and disregard the divine Scriptures being read; nor, if they remain inside the holy worship-hall, that they should be far off in their station, to be found uninitiated into the divine Scriptures; but rather that they should approach all the more, and draw near, and stand close to those who are reading the divinely inspired prophecies B concerning the aforementioned youth and new Adam, which foretold both his virginal and God-man birth, his conduct and way of life, his God-befitting instructions and his countless and wondrous miracle-workings, and his voluntary death upon the cross, and burial, and resurrection on the third day, and his ascension into the heavens, and his second glorious descent again, when he is about to judge all mankind, both those who have believed and those who have not believed in him, and to render to each his just and due punishment. Study, he says, to hear these words, love these, draw near to these, pay attention to these, lend a willing ear to these (4).
"Above the gift of the foolish is thy sacrifice;"—that is, of those who offer the Jewish and legal sacrifices foolishly C and out of season, and beyond the limit, and beyond the purpose and will of Him who previously and timely legislated and ordered them to be offered. "Because they do not know what is good;"—that is, such sacrifices provide no benefit, no advantage, no salvation to those who offer them, or to those who are intent on offering them. For after the arrival and presence of the foretold youth and new Adam, one must attend to the sacrifice of praise and the rational worship which was proclaimed by the divine prophets beforehand, D and which has already come to pass and has attained its fullness... the writings of the prophets are read, as long as opportunity permits. Then, when the reader has ceased, the presiding officer gives an exhortation and call through a sermon to the imitation of these good things.
the appropriate end and offered with pure faith throughout the whole world, just as the prophet Malachi foretold, saying from the very person of God of all things to the Jews: "I have no pleasure in you, and I will not accept an offering from your hands. For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, incense is offered to my name, and a pure sacrifice." A For by what he has foretold, he banishes the Jewish and legal sacrifices, and introduces in their stead bloodless and rational ones, distinguishing these from those by the name of purity; just as also long before, the prophet David cried out to the God of all saying: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me." Namely the Lord's body, of which the Lord says in the Gospels: "Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you for the remission of sins."
He advises, therefore, that we guard the foot, both that of the body and that of the soul, so that whenever someone enters the house of God, he may with the fitting safety fix both his mind and his heart, and furthermore his feet, so as not to be moved easily, nor to hold his standing and attendance there with a slothful disposition, but rather that he should draw near and approach on purpose and with great mental alertness to hear and be initiated into the things concerning the incarnation of the most authoritative Word and Christ and our Savior, and to receive from the divine Scriptures the conviction and confirmation of his incarnation and crucifixion and resurrection, as we have already said. By which he redeemed the old Adam from death and corruption, whom he recently called "old" and "foolish"; old, because of the antiquity of his formation and birth; foolish, because he overlooked and disregarded the most profitable and saving commandment of the good and philanthropic and creator God and Master; and chose instead the counsel of the hater of good and B man-hating and Christ-hating and hostile one.
On Ecclesiastes - Book IV
(...) just as the prophet Malachi foretold, when he brought in the God of all things speaking thus against the Jews: "I have no pleasure in you, and I will not accept a gift from your hand. For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering." For by what he foretold, he both casts away the Jewish sacrifices of the law, and introduces in their place unbloody and rational ones, distinguishing these from those by the name of purifications, not otherwise than as the prophet David had cried out much earlier to the God of all things: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire; a body, however, you have prepared for me"; the Lord’s body, indeed, of which the Lord speaks in the Gospels: "Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you into the remission of sins."
He warns, therefore, that we guard our foot, both whither the body walks and whither the soul stands, so that whenever anyone enters the house of God, he may go in cautiously and reverently, and so fix his soul and his feet that he does not easily move from his place, nor stand or sit sluggishly; but rather may approach and draw near, so that he may listen most attentively and learn thoroughly all that pertains to the incarnation of the most high and divine Word and Christ our Savior; and thus from the holy Scriptures he may grasp more deeply, and more firmly profess, that he was partaker of human condition, and endured death on the cross, and rose from the dead, as we have already reviewed, by which he redeemed the old Adam from death and destruction; whom he has immediately called old and foolish; old indeed on account of the antiquity of his formation and origin; foolish, however, on account of the neglect and contempt of God and the Lord, his most excellent and benign author, of a most useful and wholesome precept, and because he preferred the counsel of the enemy of all virtues, and of one who is the enemy and adversary of men as well as of Christ. Because these things are many. For what, pray tell, was the need for many, when one suffices? And immediately he takes occasion to discourse at length concerning the religion and purity with which everyone ought to approach the holy mysteries of the Eucharist.
Indeed, Drusius in a way puts together the reading of both: "A body," he says, "you have prepared for me, by boring through the ears," by which rite the body was rendered fit for the obedience or service of the master, to whom the one with ears bored served until the year of Jubilee. And that the prophet looked to this, there is no doubt at all. For he designates the twenty-first chapter of Exodus, where in verse 5, it is written: "But if the servant shall say, I love my master and my wife and children, I will not go out free; then his master shall bring him to the gods (that is, the judges), and shall apply him to the door or door-posts, and shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for an age." Which is the same as until the year of Jubilee, which recurred every fiftieth year: for that space of time was an "age" to the Hebrews.
A For, he says, being taught and initiated into such mysteries, and being established and confirmed in the sincere faith toward God who is over all, you shall delight in Him with eternal joy. Just as, on the contrary, those who have not believed, whether in the former or the latter things, will be deprived of all the joy that is in Him and given through Him, both here through the mystical participation and in the life to come in the kingdom of heaven. Consequently, he immediately adds:
§ V.
B Cap. V. Vers. 2, 3. *Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few; for a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words.*
The wise Ecclesiastes, having thus far exhorted those who enter the house of God not to depart in haste, nor, while standing inside, to listen with a mind to despise or cavil at the Divine Scriptures, but rather to show all care and diligence, to hasten and approach and draw near in order to hear the proclaimed Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, from which they can draw eternal life and salvation—for the Lord says, *Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life*—now again removes another cause of impiety, admonishing that a constant guard be placed upon the mouth, and a door of restriction upon the lips, C as often as they hear the sacred Scriptures. Since these Scriptures proclaim beforehand the divine inhumanation of the Only-Begotten—a mystery marked by charity, yet altogether unsearchable—or narrate it after it has been accomplished, and declare the magnificence of His divinity and power, he warns them not to proceed audaciously or rashly to utter with their lips the words of infidelity that they might meditate upon in their hearts, claiming that it is unworthy of God to have become, through ineffable love for mankind, a man such as each one of us is, even if He who became such was above man, and that the One who is beyond all substance, beyond all understanding and comprehension, and who alone is incomprehensible, should have taken upon Himself D the form of a servant. On the contrary, he exhorts them to withdraw their minds from such thoughts and to show themselves more eager and studious regarding the instructions contained in the sacred Scriptures, concerning what we are required to believe and to perform through obedience. And therefore, they should be all the more careful lest a word of infidelity or blasphemy fall from their mouth against Him who created and formed us, and who will again remake, restore, and transform us for the better.
A For this is indicated clearly by the words: "In the presence of God," that is, by a will and judgment contrary to the will and judgment of the counsel and judgment of God, which is good. For God, he says, is in heaven, and you are upon the earth, representing by what was said the difference between the two—namely, between man and God. For just as, he says, the heaven is raised immeasurably above the earth, and holds a preeminence over the earth that is entirely surpassing, such that it cannot even be grasped by you, so much more should you not in any way attempt to correct God, who is incomprehensible and entirely unsearchable, as though He had not acted properly in sending His own Son into this world: "born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive the adoption of sons." For "as many as received him, to them he gave the power to become children of God, who were born not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God," says John, the greatest evangelist.
B He suggests, however, that the words which men ought to speak concerning the philanthropic and divine Incarnation should also be brief and concise, having their description within the boundaries of faith, and not submitting the incomprehensible counsel and judgment of God to natural reasoning, cross-examinations, comparisons, and assessments of human affairs. For just as, he says, whenever a man falls into a state of trials and afflictions, a swarm of all sorts of varied and different things, he sees vain phantasms in his sleep, holding no existence in truth, but proportional to the anxieties and cares present to him because of the pressure and trouble surrounding him, and having held the phantasm of those dreams, C he reaps no benefit therefrom; for as soon as the vision of the dream comes to be, and after the passing of sleep, that which was imagined has departed, having no substance in reality; so too, the swarm and multitude of dreams of those who foolishly hasten to speak much in dogmas concerning theology or the economy resembles phantasms that proclaim no truth at all, but rather delusion and wandering, similar to those dreams. For this reason the same [Scripture] says in Proverbs: "In many words you will not escape sin."
D For if, as Apollinaris says, he is a vessel of the heavenly God; and God is in heaven above, as the Ecclesiastes says: therefore the one who contains within himself God along with what is contained is, instead of being earthly, properly called heavenly, as also through what the writer says, if he understood what logically follows from his own words, the dogma of the truth is clearly established, being strengthened by the wisdom of the enemies.
But he said this also regarding every other subject taken up in the course of life; but most especially and distinctly regarding God and the divine dogmas, so that those who are less perfect and not yet purified, and who have not arrived at the height of divine love, nor yet have been accounted worthy to receive the grace from above, should by no means be overly talkative in the explanations of divine dogmas; but should be content to offer with their mouth only the confession delivered by the teachers of the Church. Then the Ecclesiastes says: B § VI.
Verse 4. When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. For there is no pleasure in fools.
As if wishing to institute another head of profitable admonition, the wise Ecclesiastes exhorts us that we should fulfill and give and offer to God the promises made by us, when we are surrounded by sickness or some other circumstantial ordeal found upon sea or land, or even due to some good fortune that has occurred, as often happens to many, as quickly as possible; and not postpone the matters of fulfillment through some delay; but to say with the prophet David:“I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my mouth has spoken, in my affliction.”
For he forbids delaying in such things, so that we may not be prevented by some other cause occurring from fulfilling the matters of the vow, and be considered to have deceived and lied to the God over all. For it is likely that he who shows hesitation and slowness toward the fulfillment might be suddenly and unexpectedly overtaken by death, or some other life-calamity that in no way allows him to finish C the matters of the promise. And then the previously promised vow becomes for men a cause of deeper condemnation, seeing that it has established and caused for them a sin not yet committed. But you, he says, man, do not wish to become like the foolish, who neither pray to God with a vow and act willingly, nor, after having vowed, bother to make 11 As Chrysostom says, regarding such things to investigate the causes, and demand accountability, and inquire into the manner, is of a most bold and foolhardy soul. (Ser. 2 contra Anomoeos, tom. 1.) Moreover, the great Athanasius, writing to Jovian the Augustus, once admonished that the very formula which has been delivered by the teachers of the Church must be retained, and nothing must be changed: for we read these things subjected to the Nicene formula of profession: namely: In this faith, Augustus, it is necessary for all to remain as being divine and apostolic, and to change nothing therefrom by the artifices and contentions of words. Indeed our author seems to explain this whole passage either from the opinion of Jerome, or certainly from the interpretation of those whom Jerome has followed; for these are his words: D “Others, however, understanding this better, affirm that it is commanded lest we either speaking or thinking suppose more about God than we can; but let us know our weakness, that as far as heaven is distant from the earth, so far our opinion is separated from His nature: and therefore our words ought to be moderate. For just as he who is in many thoughts frequently dreams of the things he thinks about; so he who desires to discuss more about the divinity falls into folly.” Or certainly thus: “That our words ought therefore to be few, because even the things which we think we know, we see through a glass and in a riddle, and grasp like a dream what we estimate that we hold. And when we have said more, as it has seemed to us, the end of our disputation is folly; for from much speaking we do not escape sin.”A And to fulfill the payment; but desire to make the payment of your vow quickly; for this he signified by saying, “For there is no will in fools,” describing him as unwilling to even come to the vow, and regarding the payment of the vow, totally unwilling and disinclined.
For this reason, the prophet David says: “Vow and pay to the Lord our God.” And again, “I will pay my vows to the Lord before all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord, in the midst of you, Jerusalem.” By which he clearly suggests that it is better never to vow and pledge to give something to God at any time or in any manner, than, having vowed and pledged, not to fulfill the things of the vow and the promise. Which the wise Ecclesiastes shows more clearly and plainly; for he proceeds and says:
§ VII. VERS. 5. It is good not to vow, than to vow and not pay.
For those things that come from our own free will and voluntary choice, and for every other cause deemed acceptable, God considers worthy—whether you speak of fasting, or prayer, or vigils, or almsgiving, or the reception and kindness shown to strangers—provided they are not done unwillingly or against our own mind and will. So also in the matter of the vow and promise, He counts those who have voluntarily vowed and eagerly fulfill the things of the vow as worthy, clearly, of acceptance. But those who do not at all pay the things of the vow, as lying to God and not to men, He finds liable to great condemnations, and He sentences them to eternal death, just as of old [He did] to Ananias and Sapphira through Peter, the chief of the apostles.
B C D
It is better, therefore, not to vow, he says, yet not without qualification; for this, too, is worthy of supreme condemnation and punishment for those who are able to vow to God and offer symbols of their love and worship for Him. But when one compares the [act] of vowing with the state of having vowed but not fulfilled the vow, it is surely better not to have vowed at all. For this reason the Ecclesiastes says: "It is good that you should not vow, A rather than that you should vow and not pay." Since he says that both are unprofitable and entirely to be shunned, we must consider that it is more choice and more profitable to choose the lighter evil over the heavier one. Then he says, § VIII.
Vers. 6. *Do not give your mouth to cause your flesh to sin; and do not say before the face of God, that it is ignorance; lest God be angry at your voice, and destroy the works of your hands. For in the multitude of dreams and vanities and many words: but do you fear God.* (15)
That there are various and diverse kinds of sins which proceed from the mouth is clear; for those who speak blasphemies against the majesty of God and disseminate false opinions about Him, and those who are quick and prone to anger and drunkenness and subject their neighbors to unseemly abuse, and those who slander the innocent with false accusations, and those who disparage those who have served them well out of contempt, all truly perform sins by the mouth. This, the brother of God and great James C also expressed in those words: "So the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things; behold how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity." Wherefore, for restraining and checking such impudent tongues, he says: "Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath." Hence, Ecclesiastes made the mouth the cause of many evils.
But when this same [writer] adds here, "to cause your flesh to sin," it seems to me that he is prohibiting amatory conversations that occur by word of mouth, and congress with other men's wives. Women are, in general, easily moved by the flattering words of men. But you, restrain your mouth from such nefarious jests and suggestions, both those which are done through an intermediary and those which are done directly and in person. For you will not be able to excuse yourself before God, saying that you fell into such a sin out of ignorance. For you heard Him saying D expressly in the Mosaic laws: "You shall not commit adultery, you shall not commit fornication" (16), and—[the text here breaks off]
woman who prostituted herself to be stoned by all her own fellow citizens, and the adulterer to be put to death along with the adulteress. A Since, therefore, you cannot say, "This deed was committed by me out of ignorance"—namely the sin of adultery or fornication—for you know that both were forbidden by God through Moses, why do you slide into a sin that is recognized, seeing that you are in every way inexcusable and entirely unworthy of pardon? For if you commit sin knowingly, you bring condemnation upon yourself. But if you dare to say to God, "This happened to me out of ignorance," God, who is "the Lord of all knowledge," will visit upon you a double wrath and condemnation, because you have both committed the sin and uttered a false voice before God, who knows the secrets of your heart. For this is clearly what is meant by the words, "That God may not be angry at your voice and destroy the works of your hands," B namely your fruits, your homes, your gardens, and your vineyards, through drought or excessive rain, or through the devastation and plundering of foreigners. For thus also, through the voice of Isaiah, the God of all declares: "If you are willing and obey me, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and do not obey me, a sword shall devour you."
The wise Ecclesiastes likened the obscene and sinful and unlawful intercourse of men with women, and the seductive conversations and meetings, to a swarm of dreams and vanities, when he said: "For in the multitude of dreams and vanities and many words." That is to say, like dreams that appear during the night, which are entirely empty and void of any existence in reality, so too, O man, those other vanities and your many seductive words leading to disgraceful mixtures and unlawful intercourse will pass away more quickly than the pleasure that seems to you to exist; having left you destitute of all the pleasure you imagined in your dreams. C For as soon as it came into being, it passed away, leaving behind only the sin, piercing and consuming your soul and your heart like a sword. Then the Ecclesiastes says:
§ IX.
"If you see the oppression of the poor and the violent perversion of judgment and justice in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for an exalted one watches over the exalted, and there are exalted ones over them, and the abundance of the land; he himself is king over the cultivated land."
A He exhorts us not to be astonished or dumbfounded, nor to revolve detestable thoughts in our mind, when it happens that we see the poor man overthrown by the calumnies of the rich and powerful, and just sentences pronounced in his favor suppressed, and the rights of the laws broken either because of gifts received, or the dignity of leading men, or the entreaties or violence of friends; and to see vineyards, fields, and other human goods going to ruin. The admirable man Habakkuk pointed this out when he said: "Against me judgment is made, and the judge receives. For this reason the law is torn to pieces, and judgment does not proceed to the end; because the impious prevails against the just. Therefore a perverted judgment shall go forth." And again another prophet said: "And the rapine of the poor is in your houses." When therefore, he says, you see these things in a land, do not be struck with amazement, nor think anything absurd or unworthy in the mind of a prudent and wise man. For man alone among the animals upon the earth is a creature endowed with free will and is master of himself, capable of turning himself to either side: so that according to the life he wishes to live—that is, whether good or evil—he will be reported to receive from God such remunerations and rewards.
B 139 It is not therefore surprising if men, since they are endowed with free will, should some embrace injustice and avarice, and others justice and equity. For there will be a time when another more exalted than the unjust man, and [the one who] perverts the judgment of the poor, shall condemn him, and shall exact just penalties for every wicked deed. This is exactly what he signified when he said: "For the exalted watches over the exalted." And indeed we see this happening frequently. For those who seize the property of others, and deliver unjust judgments, and circumvent others with calumnies—frequently while following after ill-fated profit—are compelled to undergo an examination and judgment by those who are of a higher station and possess a greater and more powerful authority, and, having been punished, they pay the penalty with more severe torments. Yet these very ones, in their turn, unless they have conducted themselves according to the reason of justice, shall bear a similar sentence, when others, again, who are endowed with higher and more excellent power, shall sit in judgment over them and pass sentence. But if one should see that no such work of retribution is repaid, do not even then fall into C despair, as though the life of men were unstable and confused, and no...
one existed who looked upon and judged these things. For there is, indeed there is, one who is beyond all things and observer of all human works, deeds, and administrations—the eternal King, that is—who is present before every face, seeing the good or the evil, being present and watching, and leaving nothing unnoticed or neglected; but either He executes judgment in the present life, as He is the Lord of vengeance A Himself, or He repays it in the life to come: "To those who by perseverance in good work seek glory and honor and incorruptibility, eternal life; but to those who are out of contention and do not obey the truth, but obey iniquity, there shall be indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil." B
And what the Ecclesiastes says, "And the preeminence of the earth," signifies that those who are higher in authority and power than those who have previously done wrong and slandered the poor are, in taking retribution upon them, much more wrathful, and they make their resolve to swell with pride and their hearts to seethe, like earth that is puffed up—from which it has its "preeminence"—in relation to the lower places. And he named this world a "cultivated field," showing it to be the work of His goodness and counsel that is worthy of God, as if to say: As the One who made the world is by nature an eternal and almighty King, He will not overlook the bad actions or the good actions that occur within it; but He will render to each according to his own work, and he will give the rewards; whom we should strive to serve purely and genuinely, and should desire to do what is pleasing before Him at all times, that we may be accounted worthy of the eternal goods, and may inherit the kingdom of heaven in Him, Christ our God; to whom be glory and power with the almighty Father and the all-holy and good and life-giving Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
BOOK FIVE
A § 1. D He who loves silver shall not be filled with silver: and who has loved in the abundance of it its increase, and
this also is vanity. In the multitude of goodness they are multiplied who eat it. And what strength is his who is by it? Is there any other than to see with his eyes? A This statement appears clearly to have a double interpretation: either that he who loves silver does not find it at all, or that he who does find it, does not find as much as he wishes according to his own desire and seeking; but, having an insatiable craving for the love of money, the more he increases and adds to the silver, so much the more does he extend the bounds of his avarice.
Now that other passage, "Who has loved in the multitude of it its increase?" is explained in almost the same way. For B either he who loves does not find, as happens to the needy; or he who does find, finds not as much as the seeking of his desire required; for he had an insatiable craving for the gathering of the amount of produce, not in order that he might satisfy the bellies of the hungry, nor that he might liberally receive guests, nor that he might give a portion to orphans and widows; but that, having obtained the abundance he had coveted, he might be able, with that rich man whose field had yielded plentifully, to say: "I will pull down my barns, and will build greater; and I will gather there all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry." C To whom God, who discerns all things, also said: "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?" The wise Ecclesiastes signifies such a one even now, and therefore says: "And who has loved in the multitude of it its increase?" that is, he who makes the seeking of the increase with an insatiable mind and a greedy desire, and for this reason is least of all filled. For if he who loves silver or increase were to have the seeking of this or that in conjunction or separately, for the sake of greeting and kindness toward those entertained, and for distribution to the needy and the poor, he would surely have many who D would enjoy both with him. Indicating which, Ecclesiastes says: "In the multitude of goodness they are multiplied who eat it." For the account of love and goodness, in making many participants and partners of it, becomes a source of blessing from God both for the silver and for the produce. But now the disease of avarice and the love of possession, having set forth parsimony and perpetual tenacity, confirms that all those who are thus affected think that the glory of virtue is placed in this alone, that they only...
look with their eyes upon the multitude of money and produce; for he revealed this by saying: "And what strength is there from it, except to see it with his own eyes?" A And Symmachus more fully confirms this interpretation, saying, "For what specimen of virtue is there in one who possesses these things, except that he should gaze upon them with his own eyes?" For he, by gazing upon such things, thinks that this pleasure is prepared for him, so that he may boast to himself and refresh his own ruthless soul and miserly heart; he is found there alone, having his occupation where the treasure of money and produce is laid up, so that he cannot even sleep without the prattling of his mind and wicked anxiety, just as the Lord proclaimed in the Gospels, saying: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." For this reason the Ecclesiastes says: B "And this too is vanity"; designating by the term vanity that fruitless disposition which possesses no benefit. He then adds:
II.
VER. 12. "Sweet is the sleep of a servant, whether he eats little or much; but to one who is sated with becoming rich, there is no one to allow him to sleep."
He refutes once again, through the name of the servant and the comparison, those who love money and produce with an insatiable desire, and who for this reason are not filled at all; whereas the servant, even if he takes only a little food, or—if by some chance—even to full satiation, sleeps very peacefully, as he is free from every prattling and superfluous care. C For he does not look to the amount and multitude of the treasures of silver and gold and other manifold possessions stored in the storerooms, so as to be under pressure, carrying around in his heart such ruminations and anxieties; he is not full of struggling, nor is he altogether unable to sleep, similar to that rich man whom the prophet David also characterizes, saying: "I was troubled and my spirit fainted, my eyes anticipated the watches." And again: "I meditated at night with my heart, and I searched my spirit," being encompassed by anxieties concerning the varied and manifold kinds of things stored up. For the wise Ecclesiastes indicated this also now by saying: "And to him who is sated with becoming rich, there is none to allow him to sleep." D For the prattling of the heart and the cares of reasonings do not allow him to sleep with the appropriate freedom. So much so that such people are found to be servile, serving more than the servants themselves and being worse off than they. For tell me, why does Solomon say that the sleep of the servant is sweet? Is it because of his soft bedding?
A If, however, anyone should wish to explain what has been said according to the meaning of anagogy, he might consider the "servant" to be one who has yoked his own heart to the gracious yoke of the Lord, who has taken upon himself the light burden of His commandments, who fulfills every form of virtue, and who gives himself to vigils, prayers, and supplications. And through self-restraint and fasting, as far as he is able, he has mortified all the members that are upon the earth; living no longer for himself, but rather having Christ living within himself and being perfected unto divine love, so that he may even say along with those who are likeminded and coworkers in the evangelical promise: "We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we ought to have done." For such a person, whether he takes a little food or a lot, finds his sleep sweet, having his own heart free from every worldly disturbance and from the garrulity that accompanies the wealthy—he who is a man without a city, without a home, possessed by no desire for empty glory, by no greed, who covets neither wealth nor money, and who in a way spends his life in the heavens. B Yes, and when he reaches the end of his life, he will sleep a sleep that is truly blessed, according to what is written: "The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance; he will not be afraid of evil report." Thus, then, is the servant characterized according to the anagogical meanings. Likewise, too, the rich man, who is filled and crammed with the pleasures of the world and with loathsome bodily delights, and is for this reason pierced and wounded by the darts of sin, and is not permitted either to sleep with freedom during the present life or, when he arrives at his end, to find sweet sleep—that is, death; but, having left the present life with a despondent, afflicted, and unwilling soul, he must face an encounter with death that is most bitter and most difficult. C For, as it is written: "The death of sinners is the worst." Then Ecclesiastes says:
§ III 145 VERS. 17. "There is a languor which I have seen under the sun: riches guarded to his own hurt by the one who guards them; and those riches shall perish in a very evil temptation. And he has begotten a son, and there is nothing in his hand: as he came out of his mother's womb, he shall return naked, that he may go as he came, and he shall take nothing for his labor that he may go in his hand. And this also is a very evil languor. For even as he came, so shall he go. D And what is his abundance, for which he labors in vain?" And indeed: for the majority sleep on the ground or on straw. But is it because of their security? Yet they are not masters of their time even for a small moment. But is it because of their leisure? Yet they do not cease from being worn down by labors and trials. What then is it that makes sleep sweet, or that causes them to partake of it only after they have stood in need of it? But as for the wealthy, unless drunkenness overtakes them at night, they are forced to stay awake all the time, tossing and turning while lying on soft beds. That is: Tell me, I pray, why does Solomon himself affirm that the sleep of the servant is sweet? Is it because of his soft bedding? But indeed many sleep on the ground or on turf. Is it because of his freedom? But they do not have even the smallest moment of time free. Is it because of his leisure? But they are assiduously afflicted by labors and troubles. What is it, therefore, that renders sleep sweet, except that they take sleep only when necessity urges? Furthermore, for the wealthy, unless they are overtaken by a drunken night, they must keep watch, and although they lie on soft covers, they must nevertheless be restless and indignant.
A His days are in darkness, and in mourning, and in much wrath, and in languor and insanity (27).
He called human folly and perverse counsel—by which most men are diverted toward things that are not lawful, and undertake wretched labors, and exhaust themselves in completely fruitless efforts, and suffer pointlessly and superfluously, looking toward no profitable end—a languor, that is, a disease of the soul. For just as the human body, from some excess or deficiency of the humors that comprise it, falls into difficult illnesses, and for that reason it then takes in unsuitable nourishment, inasmuch as it does not at all accept, by reason of this infirmity of health, food that is typical and beneficial, and from this it increases all the more and adds to the causes of its diseases; so too the mind, once it has wandered and slipped away from its established senses, acts foolishly in this way and that, looking to no profitable outcome. For if, he says, wealth is gathered by the one who collects it through countless tasks and labors and much thrift, it is found to be stored up B often to the detriment of the one guarding it (for he clearly called the detriment "evil"); then, some temptation having occurred, it is lost, having received a transfer to others, and leaving the owner naked and deprived of all consolation. For either, when that person has been ensnared and slandered on account of the wealth, and condemned to the ultimate penalty, the wealth that was his is confiscated and cast into the royal treasuries; or, having fallen into the ambushes of pirates and robbers and their raids, and having either been led away to bitter labor or to a captivity worse than death, and slavery, with the temptation that has occurred and such a disaster, the greater part of the wealth also departs and goes along into the hands of those others. Perhaps also, if a conflagration happens by some chance, the wealth perishes no less, either consumed by fire or plundered—all that had been garnered for the detriment and torture of him who possessed it and held it with that languor which the wise Ecclesiastes affirmed he saw under the sun.
But if nothing of that sort happens, D and the wealth remains safe for the master to pass on to his children and descendants, then each of those born comes into life naked...
and naked he shall depart from life, in the same manner and A similarly, carrying nothing in his hand at all, neither at the time he was born, nor yet when he departs from this present life. This is confirmed also much earlier by the great athlete of piety, Job, saying: "Naked I came out of my mother's womb," that is to say, naked I shall also return. With this, the wise Ecclesiastes also agrees and is in harmony, indicating the birth from the mother's womb as naked, and likewise the return and departure to the kindred earth.
But as he says, "As he came," he shows that his sentiment is that it is not every man whose return to the earth is shown as naked, but rather those who are unmerciful and greedy, who have made no distribution to the needy and the poor, nor have they shown hospitality to strangers, nor shared in the needs of the saints, nor in any way shown any work of philanthropy and compassion toward those deprived of necessities, but only gathered up the wealth being amassed, and made its addition and increase an increase and addition of evil desire. For this reason he says, "And this indeed is a grievous malady." And how, indeed, is the disease of such a disposition and intention not grievous? For they have remained, throughout the whole time of their life, B unchanged in their inhuman and utterly unmerciful mind. For just as he who is seized for all the time of his own life by a fever, or by a kidney or gout disease, is said to have gone through a grievous disease, since he spent his own life in constant and continuous pains; so by much more, he who has voluntarily contracted the disease of the soul, and has not taken care to store up heavenly treasures for the endless enjoyment of eternal goods, shall be judged to have had a grievous disease. For he who is bodily ill, if he bears the weakness and the disease with the fitting gratitude toward the God over all, shall receive great and much larger rewards for his labors. "For the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed" to those who have endured here the heat of the day and the cold of the night. But he who has been oppressed by a voluntary languor, as he is said to have had a grievous disease, so by much more shall he find worse punishments and torments.
If this is so, "What profit," he says, to such a man...
from the labors in which he labors for the wind? A That is to say, in vain and to no purpose. For just as one who beats the air, or who wishes to grasp the wind with his fingers, is found to achieve nothing more than to be wearied by an empty and superfluous labor; so also the striving of such people, when it is not joined with munificent mercy and the distribution of aid to the needy and the poor, is clearly found to be undertaken for the wind, especially since these people, throughout their whole life, keep their own soul enclosed in darkness, and for this reason cannot look toward the light of salvation and of life, and are held fast in bile, and bitterness, and constant grief, especially in the frustration of their own desires; and in the life to come, they are sent off B into the outer darkness and the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels. And this is indeed, clearly, what he says: "I saw riches kept under the sun for the hurt of the owner." But "I saw" must be understood intellectually; that is, with the eyes of the mind and the comprehension of the cognitive powers of the soul. For with physical eyes, is it possible for anyone to see the wickedness that is practiced throughout the whole earth? He adds then:
§ IV. "I saw that it is good, which is comely, to eat and to drink, and to see good in all his labor, in which he may labor under the sun, for the number of the days of his life, which God has given him; for this is his portion. And every man, to whom God has given riches and C substance, and has given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. For he shall not much remember the days of his life, because God preoccupies him with the joy of his heart."
Having named the hoarding and keeping of wealth accumulated with many labors and toils—which provides for the keeper bitter rewards of anxiety in exchange for his protection—a grievous sickness of our inner man; saying, indeed, that it is found "for the hurt of the owner"; and having described in detail the madness of many in this matter, he further opposes to them, for their rebuke, by way of implication, good riches as well—not riches that are only beautiful in appearance, but such as are truly beautiful by nature and to be accepted, namely those which one gathers and keeps D for moderate use, which he signified with the words, "to eat and to drink," and which are distributed no less by the hands of the master to the needy, so that he may also see with his own eyes that they are turned into goodness, which denotes mercy and humanity.
A This he says: "To see good," which is beautiful, "is to divide and allot them according to the number of the days of his life," clearly meaning that during his whole life, God has assigned them to him for the necessary needs of his own nature and for the storing up of treasure for the age to come. "For," he says, "this is his portion." For everything that accompanies man and follows him into the life and state that he hopes for, this indeed is his true inheritance. For this reason also David cried out to the God of all: "You are my portion, O Lord; I have said that I would keep your law," B because the observance of God’s laws follows us even into the life to come. For God’s law commands us to be merciful and generous; but the miserly and wealth-loving mind, which hoards and shuts up the diverse and manifold riches of every kind in its inmost storehouses, is judged worthy to hear: "He hoards, and does not know for whom he will gather them"; and again: "Fool, this night they require your soul from you; and the things which you have prepared, whose will they be?" For God, who makes rich and makes poor, did not give wealth to man so that he might hoard and shut it away, and deprive those who are in need and want of the necessary requirements of nature; but on the contrary, that he might have power to exercise it, and be a wise and prudent steward and distributor of it: so that he might live moderately here, taking from it no more than the necessary use requires; and that what remained of his portion, he might transmit it to the life to come; which he called his, that is, man's, most excellent part; as if this were the only thing C from all the labors and cares expended on riches that is the creator of true joy, and alone accompanies man and follows him. For the wise Ecclesiastes calls even this "the gift of God" D and fruit from his labor, so that by this very goodness they denote its result and, as it were, its rich fruit. For there is nothing in which the pious are more accustomed to take delight than in good deeds. Therefore, the explanation of our Gregory agrees equally with the Latin interpretation. Drusius, however, wishes it to be "good fortune," which I cannot approve at all. St. Paul the Apostle certainly uses this word three times, and never in any other sense than to signify virtue. For writing to the Romans (cap. xv, v. 14): "I am persuaded, my brothers, I myself also concerning you, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to advise one another." Indeed, he writes the same to the Galatians (cap. v, v. 22): "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." Finally, to the Thessalonians (cap. i, v. 11, in the second Epistle): "In which we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power." You are "full of goodness," that is, of a good mind and brotherly love; or he calls the whole of virtue "goodness." ... As if he were saying: "That the persuasion of God may come to pass, that nothing may be lacking to you, that you may be as He wills." All these things pertain to the soul and to virtue, and could not be said of resources and riches, which the Apostle always thought should be despised.
along with it, and departing with it. For the wise Ecclesiastes A called this **the gift of God**, having said, “And also every man to whom God has given riches and property, and has enabled him to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his toil,” he immediately adds, “This is the gift of God,” meaning: For this reason, O man, the bounteous Lord and God has given you riches, that you may distribute them to the needy, and fill hungry souls, and gladden your own heart in the hope of the reward of things to come.
This is also corroborated B by what immediately follows; for he says, “For he will not much remember the days of his life,” as if to say: Human life is short, and the stadium of the present life is naturally swift-coursing; and if each person wishes to count the number of the days of his own life, he will find them few and not many, just as the prophet David somewhere says, crying out to Him: “Make known to me the shortness of my days, that I may know what I lack”; and still more so the patriarch and friend of God, Jacob: “The days of the years of my life are few and evil,” calling the few days “small.” But what he says, “For God occupies him in the gladness of his heart,” clearly signifies this, that God, being good and a lover of mankind by nature, implants in human hearts the thought of the future life, and to those who desire to live in almsgiving and mercy toward the poor, He grants a greater preoccupation with abiding by the needy, that they may be filled with even greater joy in the hope of the requital of things to come. For if “mercy rejoices against judgment” C as says the brother of God and great James, if anyone is one who performs abundant almsgiving, how shall he not be filled with every spiritual joy? When he comes to the gladness of the migration from the present life, hoping to receive back what he scattered, from the righteous judgment—worthy of God—of Him who weighs all human affairs, so that he may say with the prophet David: “Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged; I have dwelt among the tents of Kedar,” and cry out with Paul: “I desire to depart and to be with Christ.” For he who is D waiting to remain in the flesh. Thus Chrysostom, illustrating the words of Paul (Hom. in Ep. ad Philipp. n. 1), thus addresses the Apostle himself: What do you say? Being about to move from here to heaven, and to be with Christ, do you not know what you should choose? Was it not fitting, fearing the uncertainty of the future, to hasten to some harbor? What merchant, tell me, having a ship full of ten thousand treasures, if it were permitted to flee into a harbor and rest, would choose to be tossed at sea any longer? Indeed, ought he not, fearing the uncertainty of the future time, to be pressing toward some harbor? What merchant, having a ship full of uncountably many treasures, if he might fly to a harbor and rest, would choose to be tossed at sea any longer?
And since they have lived in this present life according to the norm of Paul and David, it is by no means absurd to use A the same expressions as they do, since they cherish the same hope of future goods. Then the wise Ecclesiastes says:
§ V. CAP. VI. VERS. 1-6. *There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is great upon man: a man to whom God shall give riches and substance and glory, and there is nothing wanting for his soul of all that he desired, but God doth not give him power to eat thereof: for a stranger shall eat it. This is vanity and a grievous affliction. If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, and the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and he have no burial: I say that an untimely birth is better than he, for he came in vanity and goeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. He hath not seen the sun, nor known it: he hath rest indeed more than he, and he hath lived a thousand years,* and he has not known goodness (36).
Against the desire for money and the study of acquiring more, and the more vehement avarice which dominates most in the souls of men B and draws them away from divine charity, as if with a drawn sword, he brings forth a rebuke full of reason, and endeavors to eliminate this vice from every side and to tear it out completely from the souls of men. Wherefore now also he pursues the various manners and habits of those who wish to grow rich by every means, and store up what they have acquired here on earth, where moth and thieves dig through and steal, and do not send such various and ample wealth up into heaven, and deposit it in celestial treasuries where neither moth eats, nor thieves dig through and steal; and thus he pursues the temerity and madness of those who, in a way, transmit all things to their own adversaries and enemies. For when he says: *There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is great upon man*, he clearly indicates that that insane inclination of the avaricious mind, which is diffused throughout the whole world, belongs to many men (37). For this is signified by those words: C
...as would be their own. Thus, those who are self-indulgent by not indulging, who are humble for the sake of heavenly things; to whom there is nothing in the world and yet who are above the world; who are outside the flesh and yet in the flesh; whose portion is the Lord; who are poor for the sake of the kingdom, and through poverty are reigning. For it is as follows: They who not at all pursue delights, yet have the Lord as their delight; who for the sake of the heavenly kingdom are humble, who have nothing in the world and yet are above the world, who even in the flesh live extra-carnally, who possess the Lord as their portion, who labor in destitution on account of the kingdom, and on account of that destitution, they are reigning.
A This is what he signified by saying, "And it is great upon man," declaring that not all men possess such a wicked disease. For there are—there are indeed—some who have lifted themselves above the preoccupation with present things and have chosen a life of poverty, as they already possess their citizenship in heaven, and who take those who are needy and poor as sharers not only of the abundance given to them in any way by divine providence, but even of their lack. Therefore, by hinting at the common man, he said, "And it is great upon man."
But by saying, "A man to whom God will give riches and possessions and glory," he shows that all things depend upon divine providence, and all things are dispensed to men from God; whether you speak of riches, or the possession of fields, or of vineyards in great number, or of dominion and glory, I say that all things depend upon the omnipotent judgment and will of God, and according to ways of His judgments which are incomprehensible to us—which He knows, but we do not—He bestows them upon some, and upon others not at all. B Then, taking the abundance and luxury of the things mentioned from God, he says, if a man, while filling his own soul with all his own desires, does not distribute and give to those in need and to the poor, such a man is clearly found to have no power over what was given to him by God for the purpose of consuming thereof.
For what reason? Because, he says, the desires have passed away, and the multitude of bodily pleasures has vanished, but he himself, when he reaches the future life, will pine away with a grievous famine, having stored up nothing there through the sharing with the poor, whence eternal and everlasting nourishment might be supplied to him. For another strange man, having succeeded to his wealth, will eat and consume everything on his own bodily pleasures and disgraceful and wicked actions. This is a sign of extreme vanity and of the wicked sickness that has seized his thoughts and dragged them down to the abyss C and the corruption of death. And this, he says, is a species of vanity and wicked sickness that belongs not only to those who have obtained a brief life and had few days of existence, but even if the measure of a man's life should be extended into many years, and the days of the years of his life and of his earthly sojourn be multiplied to an immense degree, if he has deprived his own soul of the goodness which he could have acquired for himself through mercy and liberality toward the poor, he will be found, in any case, to be suffering from an equal vanity and wicked sickness. For he did not take into account that he is mortal, and that he will inevitably be torn away from the present life, and that others—often even enemies—will succeed to the enjoyment of his own property and wealth, who will so enjoy his goods that they will not even take care for his proper burial, but will leave him neglected, and altogether D unprovided for and inglorious.
And this has often happened to many, not only in past generations, but even in our own, that all—
B (38) He who carefully examines this passage will easily arrive at the opinion that public wickedness, and that recently and plainly notable, is what is being touched upon by Gregory; for he speaks of something known to all, and of such a kind that everyone might learn from it that those who have not been merciful toward others will themselves be deprived of mercy. And what should we judge to be indicated here, rather than the downfall of the Emperor Maurice, who, in the twelfth year of the pontificate of our Gregory, with Phocas rebelling, paid most severe penalties for the harshness of his own spirit toward those captives who, on account of a refused ransom, were slaughtered by the Illyrians and Avars in Istria? Hear, indeed, after the sorrowful fall of him and the destruction of his entire house, what the very corpses of the Augusti suffered at Constantinople; for what I shall subjoin, Theophylact Simocatta, the historian of those times, has committed to memory: D "The bodies of the slain, a tearful spectacle, were cast out to the waves of the sea. And it was possible to see the ocean current, so to speak, at one time favoring the shore with the bodies newly slaughtered, and at another, by certain returning surges, embracing them and dragging them back out to sea. The circumstances of the imperial calamity, or, to speak more truly, that of the whole world, provided the people with a subject for viewing as if in a theater. The shores of Chalcedon were filled with crowds of spectators, and they recognized there what their madness had wrought, contemplating the sea waves, which displayed the naked bodies of the emperors, as if they were certain tablets of misfortune." (Hist. lib. VIII, c. 12.)
However, I will not conceal this, if any credence is to be given to the Catalog of the tombs of the Augusti, which Du Cange was the first to publish from the *Codex of the Origins of Constantinople* (CP. Chr. I. IV, p. 109), that someone was finally found to commit the bones of Maurice and his children to a tomb, although far from the Church of the Apostles, where the other Augusti were accustomed to be buried. These are the words at the end of that Catalog: "It is necessary to know that in the monastery of Saint Mamas, at the wooden circus, in the apse of the church on the left side, there stands a coffin of C *hecatontalithos* (hundred-stone) marble, in which lies Constantina, the wife of Maurice, with both of their children. And in the recess of the same monastery toward the East, on the left side, where the loculus is, the body of Maurice also, whom Phocas removed, was brought."
(39) It is apparent, I think, what our author feels concerning the lot of infants, whosoever they may be, who have lost their life at birth. For he does not consign these to eternal punishments, from which perhaps not even Augustine exempts them; although the latter affirms that they will be in the lightest condemnation of all (lib. V *Contra Julian.* c. 11). And because our author subjoins that statement from the Gospel: "It were better for that man if he had not been born"; and he seems to interpret it in such a way that it is better for a man not to be born—that is, not to endure—in the manner that happens to an abortive child, than to have been born and to grow up in such a way as to fall into crimes worthy of eternal punishments: from this it may likewise be argued that infants who, in the very act of birth, before they have [been baptized / been born fully]—
fully established—the Lord confirms this interpretation in the Gospels, where He says: "It were better for that man if he had not been born," [p. 973 note 21] pointing out Judas the traitor in that passage. When the wise Ecclesiastes immediately adds: "And he lived a thousand years, and did not know goodness," he refutes the folly and thoughtlessness of many men who shamelessly boast and say: "I want the years of my life to be many, and to enjoy desires, and to possess every rest and luxury; and after that, if the things that befall others also befall me, I do not care. For I too will go with them all, to undergo those invisible punishments, if indeed anything at all remains and they are yet to come." B But what profit, O mortal, will you find, even if you lived the rounds of a thousand years, if you store up nothing for yourself through almsgiving and the sharing with the poor for the life and state to come? For your thousand years will be found, at the end of this present life, as one year or even one day. For what did it profit the progenitor Adam, who passed the nine-hundredth year and died at the thousandth round of his life after the transgression and fall? Was not the multitude of those years plainly reckoned as one day, had not the only-begotten Son of God, having become the new Adam, through His incomparable love for the human race, snatched him from the jaws of Hades and death and corruption? Then Ecclesiastes says:
§ VI. "Do not all go to one place? All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the soul will not be filled; for there is an advantage to the wise man over the fool, in that the poor man knows how to walk before the face of life. Better is the sight of the eyes than a soul walking. And this also is vanity and a striving of wind."
Having declared the whole life of the man who receives a long extension of it and lives the rounds of a thousand years to be worthless, if he be without "goodness"—that is, without almsgiving and the distribution and sharing with the needy and the poor—he consistently uses his own glory to confirm his view C through the most evident demonstrations of facts, employing them for confirmation. "For," he says, "do not all go to one place?"—that is to say, toward the earth, from which we were taken at the beginning? And if the same end awaits both the short-lived and the long-lived, and the same place receives them, what more does this one have than that one, finding the same end and covered by the same grave of the earth, except only that he bore, in proportion to the length of time, greater toils and pains and the weariness and trouble and affliction? D So that he who has lived longer is rather to be condemned and judged more severely than he who has lived less, having brought forth no work
A of goodness, because he also had the longer span of time available for the testing of a heart that is counter-typical and harder than stone, seeing that over the course of his prolonged life he did not learn how to do good. For if, as he says, "all the labor of a man"—namely, of one who walks simply according to the way of man, and not according to the Spirit of holiness—“is for his mouth,” yet it was surely required that he should, in much greater measure, or at least in equal measure, or even in the second place, have deigned to show care and providence for the inner man, that is, the soul, and to fill it with all goodness through the sharing and distribution of his wealth to the needy. For in this way he would have been found to possess some surplus, as a wise man compared to a fool, in his labors and toils. But as it is, having poured and cast all the fruits of his labors into his own mouth, and having deemed the inner man worthy of no saving goodness, he is found to be worse than the man in need and the beggar, since the latter has nothing to distribute or give away, and therefore has no condemnation for this. B This is what the wise Ecclesiastes hinted at when he said, "Because the poor man knows how to walk before the face of life." What, then, is this? It is clear that, out of what he suffers while being tested, he understands the passions and the affliction and the need of those who are poor and needy, and he often takes them as companions at his frugal and meager tables, or, bearing the discomforts of poverty with thanksgiving to the God over all, he looks toward the life to come, hoping to hear there from the good and philanthropic Master that which we read in the Gospels was said to that rich man: "Thou hast received thy good things in thy life, and now thou art tormented: and likewise Lazarus his *evil* things; but now here he is comforted." C For he maintains this interpretation by what he sets forth to show, whereby he signifies that the poor man knows how to proceed toward the life that is to come, expecting to hear there from the good and philanthropic Lord that which was spoken to that rich man in the Gospels: "Thou hast received thy good things in thy life, and likewise Lazarus his evil things; but now here he is comforted, and thou art tormented." For what comes to us into this life from the vain labor spent on these things? "Is not all the labor of man," according to the Ecclesiasticus, "for his mouth?" And are not food and clothing, according to the Apostle, enough for the sustenance of this wretched flesh? Why, then, do we toil and labor endlessly into the wind, as Solomon says, by our eagerness for earthly things, hindering the soul from the enjoyment of divine goods and caring for and coddling the flesh more than is right? D That there is an advantage to the wise man, he shows by the interpretation through which he explains that such an understanding—where he asks "What then is more?"—is equivalent to "What is the surplus," or "What is the specific surplus?" for it is clear that he [the poor man] who is like Lazarus, is certain that he in whom the luxurious rich man is condemned to eternal punishments, will himself, on the contrary, be translated to the abodes of the blessed, and will finally wipe away all the troubles of his past life.
The Latin translator renders it thus: "Good is the aspect of the eyes over the walking soul, this also is vanity and presumption of spirit," indicating by this the prospect of the spiritual eyes while we hope for the future life, on account of which and toward which all who have waited for the Lord from the beginning of time have completed the race of the present life through many hardships and straits A, and who have been found, without doubt, superior to those who perpetually indulge their own appetites and desires, gaping only after present and perishable things, and possess no power of the spiritual eyes through faith for the realization or "substance" of the goods that are hoped for; but, as "souls" (naturally, as it were, having not received the things of the Spirit), they have miserably lived their whole life in worldly and secular turmoils and delights and idleness, spending the long interval of time in vanity. For in order to signify this, the wise Ecclesiastes says again: "And this is also vanity and presumption of spirit." Let us, then, shunning the imitation of these men, direct the keen gaze of our mind and the whole power of our spiritual eyes toward the future life, seeking the prize of the high calling to which God B calls us, and as much as each is able, helping the beggars and the needy with mercy and liberality, that we may receive most ample rewards from Christ. "For he who pities the poor lends to God," as the saying of the divine Scripture somewhere states; and we shall inherit the kingdom of heaven in Christ Himself, our God, to whom be glory and power, with the almighty Father and the all-holy and good and life-giving Spirit, C now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
BOOK SIXTH.
§ 1. "If anything has happened, its name has already been called, and it is known what man is, and he will not be able to contend with one stronger than himself, because there are many words multiplying vanity."
Having delineated and mocked the unmerciful and greedy rich man in every way and manifoldly, and likewise him who walks simply by the impulses of his "soulful" desires, and in no way acting in accordance with [the soul’s] appetitive faculty, D as the holy Psalmist says: "Do not deliver me into the hands of them that afflict me" (Ps. XXVI, 12).
A And regulating life according to spiritual states; now he passes to another argument and maintains, saying that nothing among the things that have been made has been left anywhere without a name; but everything that has come to be and has been brought forth to exist has received an appropriate and corresponding name and appellation, because the Creator of all things foreknew also that man would be divided and partitioned by the thousands of varied differences of languages and dialects. And for this reason, even if someone should attempt to name each of these things differently and otherwise, according to the difference of languages and dialects, nevertheless the object itself exists and remains and is known just as it was fashioned by the Maker. Thus, the same underlying object is named by thousands of appellations, but it is not altered or changed along with the diversities and differences of dialects; but its nature remains one and the same, even though it receives many different names and appellations from the many and varied languages, all of which converge toward the same signified object, just as is easy to observe in the case of gold, of fire, and similar things. B And even if any man should attempt to rename any of the things that have been created, he will by no means be able to change the naming given to it from the beginning by the Creator, as if he had thought up something supposedly better. For the Creator knew that man would be a glory-loving and contentious animal, and that they would have much competition among themselves regarding the invention of newer names. But, he says, "he will not be able to contend with the stronger than himself," that is, he will in no way be able, by contending with the most wise and omnipotent Creator of all things, to devise anything better and more appropriate. Rather, those who do this appear to have attained only one thing among [their] many and varied discourses of diverse and all-kinds of thoughts: that they increase their own vanity and wander away from the truth and nature of things; which the wise Ecclesiastes declared when he said: "For there are many words that increase vanity." C For since many contend with one another and sharpen their tongues in contentious disputation to impose some newer appellation upon things, it follows necessarily that, turning away from the suitable truth, they introduce a great force of false opinions and vain inventions, and fall into sin. This is what the leader of the philosophers outside [the Church] also indicates, saying thus: "And it is necessary to define the sins which are committed in problems, and they are twofold: either by lying, or by departing from the accepted word. For those who lie and those who say that what does not exist exists—for it is already called by its name, and it is established that it is a man, and he will not be able to contend with him who is stronger than himself—both sin; which he then explains as follows. He wishes to show the vanity of man from the very designation of the word. And he premises a general point: whatever is in the nature of things has its own name, and indeed such a name that it expresses its nature. And such are the Hebrew names given to the beasts and to individual things by Adam at the prompting of God (Gen. II, 19). If all things are marked with their own words, man also will have his; it is well known that that name is Adam, which is from clay, and not God, says Solomon Jarbi." D
A If they confirm to someone what is said by those who apply names to things which are alien to them—such as those who might designate a plane tree by the name of a man—they transgress the established denomination. The wise Ecclesiastes confirms such an interpretation even for the things which immediately follow; for he says:
§ 11. B Vers. 11. What plus to man? For who has known what is good for man in his life according to the number of the days of the life of his vanity? And He made them in shadow: for who shall announce to man what shall be after him under the sun?
As if he were speaking in this manner: For if man is found so destitute of wisdom and prudence in those things which pertain to his own knowledge, that he neither orders his own affairs rightly and usefully, and does not know what is the principal good, and therefore prefers and pursues what is evil and base: how could he be any more capable or instructed to know those things which are higher and greater and better, and be able to enter into a contentious struggle with Him who is the supreme Lord of all and the one omnipotent, who by His will alone perfected those things that were made so that they might exist and be, and immediately designated them with fitting and appropriate names? C This, in fact, the prophet Isaiah also indicates, saying: "Who brings out his world by number, and calls all things by name" (49). By which he shows that each individual thing, at the time it was created, obtained from the Creator a corresponding name, which no man could change by any reasoning: just as you see each of the things that were made remaining unchanged according to its nature, having rejected every variety, whether they be inanimate or have a soul; and no man has ever been found who could change the nature of even one thing, and transfer it to that for which it was not made; for this also he signified above, when he said: "What is that which has been? The very thing which is to be"; thus, he could not invert the appellation of any thing. For all things, he says, that God has made, they are unto the age, and nothing may be taken from them.
Now, therefore, he adds: "Who has known what is good for man in his life according to the number of the days of his life of vanity? And He made them in shadow"; D that is to say, for a man who is ignorant of the way to obtain the principal good, and who for that reason spends his whole life on vain things, which will pass away like a shadow, who shall foretell the future vicissitudes of life and its miseries under this sun? For since he feared nothing fatal for himself, because he was conspicuous and visible, and [adorned] with the many bright manifestations of his inherent dominion,
A he slipped down into the utmost ignominy, and was seen as a laughingstock and full of every misery. But if he has no foresight of the things that follow him and of the events that will happen—namely, the change and fall toward worse things—how will he struggle against the Lord of powers, who has brought forth the natures of existing things, and has also aptly and fittingly imposed upon them their names?
Having therefore mocked and disparaged also him who, puffed up by much pride, thinks that he can devise something better for the naming of created things, he suggests for the future and advises that we should esteem more highly the name gained through good and noble deeds, and that we should leave behind cavils and trifles concerning the newer inventions of names which are more convenient for the things; and rather, that we should deem that this one concern, as is fitting, ought to be undertaken: that by an honest manner of life we may obtain for ourselves that name which is able to make one praiseworthy and blessed; for he says:
§ III.
A CAP. VII. VERS. 1. *A good name is better than good oil, and the day of death better than the day of his birth (50).*The property of oil is to gladden and to soothe, and to free the nature of men from pains that arise from some imbalance: namely, oil that is wholly devoid of external defect, and has not, because of age and the passage of time, altered its natural sincerity and the purity of its own quality, nor has it been corrupted and vitiated by the admixture of anything worse, but preserves its fragrance and its own pure sweetness in taste B—that is, which remains undiluted. Therefore, if such oil has been taken as an exceptional good, how much better and more excellent is a good name, which is pressed out and generated from good works and from virtues, **as if from olives**. For oil, indeed, when it is sprinkled upon edibles, makes them more pleasant and sweeter for consumption. To this refers that saying of the prophet David: “To gladden the face with oil;” for it truly fattens and in some way delights the nature, because it thins and tempers the humors of the foods. But a good name, which the tree of mercy and of temperance and of patience and of meekness, or also of chastity and virginity, is accustomed to produce, does not only show its possessor to be gladsome and lovely to all C; but it also sheds the fragrance and sweetness of its good quality upon all others, and gladdens and calms those too, stripping them of proud and bitter behaviors, and of cruel and illiberal affections of the mind, D
by means of a good reputation drawing them toward its own pursuit and acquisition.
B Furthermore, Symmachus strengthens this interpretation all the more, saying: "A good name is better than fragrant ointment" [Eccl. 7:1], clearly showing that just as an ointment which is compounded of many and various aromatic spices does not only perfume and fill those nearby with its sweet fragrance, but also transmits that pleasant scent to those far away, so too a good name, which consists of the properties of virtue, uses a good reputation as a sort of medium—like the air—to diffuse its scent even to those further off. Wherefore also the great Apostle Paul says: "We are the good odor of Christ unto God in them that are saved, and in them that perish; to the one indeed the odor of life unto life, but to the others the odor of death unto death" [2 Cor. 2:15-16].
Then Ecclesiastes says: "And the day of death is better than the day of [one's] birth." Whose day? Clearly that of the person who is upright and lives according to the rule of virtue, and who has acquired a good name for himself, and has composed it out of the manifold and varied works of evangelical and spiritual life and conduct. For the death of such a person is the end of the struggles and labors undergone for the sake of virtue; and because it transfers him to the blessed end, it shows the day of death to be more precious and desirable than the day which opened the way into this life for those born. C For that [the day of birth] is the source of many trials, and terrible things, and afflictions, and tribulations—not only of those calamities that creep in unexpectedly from without, but also, long before that, of those misfortunes that are habituated to occur by nature. For successive illnesses and the assaults of various and manifold passions surround human life, and often prove to be more grievous than death, as hinted at by the oracle of the writing of Job which says: "Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life to those who are in bitterness of soul? Who long for D death, and it comes not" [Job 3:20]. But the day of death for the upright man who has shone with virtue is an emancipation from all these things, since it brings an end to the trials of life; and it gives a beginning to him who has struggled well and finished the course according to virtue, and has kept the faith, of the blessed prizes and the crowns of righteousness [2 Tim. 4:7-8].
A The day of death of one who has been upright and has shone forth in virtue therefore possesses more honor and preference than the day of birth. For everyone truly knows that the day of birth is never naturally suited to honor the day of death; but on the contrary, the day of death and departure has honored the birthdays of countless men, as it is easy to perceive in the case of the saints revealed from the beginning of time, concerning whom the Prophet says, "I will count them, and they shall be multiplied beyond the sand" [Ps. CXXXVIII, 18]. For the blessed end of all such persons rendered their births blessed as well. Then the Ecclesiastes says:
VERSE 3. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men.
C Having contemplated the end of all things, the wise Ecclesiastes—who recognizes as praiseworthy and blessed the end of him who has lived righteously—skillfully designates this end as more useful and more worthy of honor, and sets it in comparison with the opposites. For since he saw that the house of mourning possesses compunction and weeping and a condemnation of this present and fleeting life of men, as it is filled with manifold sufferings and tears and lamentations—through which, even a man who carries a heart of stone comes into the realization of the incorrupt and future life, and from this is brought low and humbled, and relaxes from the inflation and haughtiness of arrogant thoughts and fleshly desires and base and lewd acts—while the house of feasting, on the contrary, prepares one to take up forgetfulness of better things, and to conform to the worse and to temporal and fleeting things; therefore he says: "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting." For what reason? Because there one finds an argument and source of blessedness: "Blessed," it is said, "are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted" [Matt. V, 5]; here, however, it is a source of miseries: "Woe to you that laugh" [Luke VI, 25], the evangelical sentence threatens. He called it the house of mourning either because of those who weep for the deceased—"For over the dead," we read somewhere in the holy Scriptures, "shed tears" [Eccli. XXXVIII, 16]—or because of those who mourn their own sins, and by confession D [55] 56.
and repentance seek for their forgiveness. A But it is not for those who complain about the misfortunes of business affairs, or about the disappointment of human offices, and dominations, and glories. For the house of such people is not good, even if it might be found full of lamentations and mourning, inasmuch as such mourning and wailing are not made according to the thoughts and desires of the better things, and the goods hoped for in the kingdom of heaven, but, on the contrary, in the search for human and transitory things that perish, which generally act as causes of sin.
For he confirms this by what he said immediately: for he says, "For this is the end of all men." [Eccl. VII, 3] What is this? Clearly, the coming to an end and dying, concerning which we all ought to exercise the meditation of the heart, showing forth our own life as a meditation on death; or [the duty] of repenting and changing our mind and weeping over our sins. For by means of continuous and copious tears, just as we wash away the filth of the body in a bath, so we wash away and cleanse the stains and defilements of the soul. From the act of resorting to the house of mourning, there arises for the one who resorts there an opportunity and cause for repentance regarding the things in which he has transgressed; and from there he turns away from the worse things, and is changed toward the practice of good and better things. For this reason he added: B "And he who lives will give good to his own heart." [Eccl. VII, 3]
For he says, as it were: When the living man goes into the house of mourning and hears the wailing and beating of breasts of his relatives and friends, he will certainly sympathize with their dispositions, and becoming moved to weeping and tears, he will prepare his own heart to come into good thoughts; and even if he is found to have committed sins, he will certainly repent, and by means of confession and copious almsgiving will seek to obtain their forgiveness, saying with the prophet David: "For I will declare my iniquity, and I will meditate for my sin." [Ps. XXXVII, 19] And even if he is swelling and inflamed in his heart, and puffed up in his thoughts by the passion of pride and arrogance C and D insolently boasts of his arrogance, he will be drawn toward modesty and confession, and will strive to obtain [forgiveness] through the confession of his sins and the generous distribution of alms to the needy. [alt-version omitted]
A He will think upon the brevity of human life, and through a splendid transformation he will begin to be another man; and having already embraced better counsels, he will turn his mind toward every noble deed and will enter upon the paths of salvation. These words, therefore, signify this: «And he who lives shall give good to his heart.» For the acknowledgment of a miserable life, and the reflections and assumptions of a better one, draw the human heart toward a good and blessed end. Then he says:
§ VI. VERS. 4. Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made good. B
He declares that seemly and just anger is by nature better than any laughter; for laughter is nowhere found in the divine Scripture to be commended as a good thing, or as deserving of any approval; yet proper anger and indignation, suitable and becoming for the correction of those who transgress and for the improvement of the wicked, is praiseworthy and worthy of great commendation. Even with God, therefore, anger—and indeed fury—is often attributed. For the God of all says concerning the nations that raged against Jerusalem: «For with great anger I am angry with the nations that are settled against her; because I was angry but a little, but they set themselves to do much.» And long before, «And the Lord being provoked with anger against Moses, said: Is not thy brother the Levite?» And one will find many such things written concerning God and the servants of God, as it is also recorded of Moses: «And Moses being angered with fury, cast the two tablets from his hands and broke them beneath the mount.» Therefore, becoming anger against wickedness and wicked men is found to be more desirable and more useful, C as a good thing, than the laughter of those who laugh—that is to say, more than negligence, dissimulation, and untimely lenity.
For what reason? «Because,» he says, «by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made good.» He designates, in fact, a severe and somewhat grim appearance as "sadness." For those who are taught by masters, if they always behold the placid countenance of their teachers, conduct themselves more neglectfully in learning their precepts, and do not labor at their tasks or their principal exercises. But when they have looked upon the bitterness and sternness of a countenance, the sloth of a relaxed and negligent mind is cast off, and they set themselves more eagerly to study carefully those things which are set before them in the teachings of those in authority; and with their mind now recalled from perverse studies, they prefer a good way of life and strive to amend their manners. This, therefore, is what Eccles[iastes] meant: D that he who presides, whether master or lord, by the severity of his countenance—which he calls "sadness"—will both himself be made good, and will make those under his hand good.
A For by the bitterness of the sight and the sternness of the countenance, the heart of the subjects, receiving a more sensible and sober reflection, becomes full of the goodness of virtue; and it derives more benefit from the "evil of the countenance" than from indulgence and a more pleasant look. B Assuredly, then, dwelling upon these same things, the wise Ecclesiastes added:
§ VERS. 5. *The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.*
Having simply stated earlier that it is good to go into the house of mourning rather than into the house of a feast, due to the difference between each of the houses, he now adds this, and distinctly names those as wise who have their heart upon the house of mourning, but as fools those who have their heart, conversely, in the house of mirth. The former, by calling them wise, he honors greatly and declares them worthy of the highest praise, for the wise man justly claims for himself every commendation from every side. C But the latter, by the appellation of fool, he conversely openly degrades; for a fool, in all things which he thinks and says and does, is condemned and blameworthy, reaching no end of utility.
Therefore, he plainly prefigures and characterizes the evangelical conduct by these stated words. For just as the Gospel of our salvation considers those laudable and blessed who spend their whole life in mourning and lamentation, and who walk the narrow and afflicted way; but, on the contrary, calls those miserable who luxuriate in pleasures and walk the spacious and broad path, looking to nothing else but this present life: so too the wise Ecclesiastes, long D before, in the same way and in the same manner, honors those who have dedicated their heart to mournful occupations and names them wise, because they despise human prosperity and are found to be above carnal pleasures and a life of enjoyment, and are better. But those who have their heart in the houses of mirth, he declares to be full of condemnation and reproach, as acting like fools, and, like irrational creatures, sating themselves with carnal and loathsome pleasures, being found altogether taken up with the "human day," and having no care for the future life and the holy state, and for the heavenly goods stored up in promises for those who are worthy. These things, differing in nothing from the evangelical holiness, set forth one and the same form of life. Therefore, he added again: *In the evil of the countenance, says Solomon, the heart will be made good*; for if we are angry and embittered against ourselves when we are moved toward an absurd action, our soul will entirely be made good, gladdened and rejoicing in the beauty of the virtues.
A *Vers. 6-7. Better is it to hear the rebuke of a wise man than for a man to hear the song of fools; for as the voice of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools.* Continuing with the things brought forth in opposition, he aptly separates the better from the worse, and establishes true judgment, calling that which is useful "good," and consequently that which is opposed to it "evil." For although, by saying "than for a man to hear the song of fools," there seems to be a kind of comparison in naming "the good," nevertheless, he does not use the preposition "than" as if this song were also to be considered a good; but rather it is because the rebuke of the wise man is good in its own nature, while the song of fools is evil. The latter is naturally inclined to allure all carnal pleasure, bewitching the ears of those who hear it, and dragging and pulling the soul into absurd actions that destroy and corrupt the path leading to God. But the former restrains the thoughts of all these things and teaches one to regard the passionate and pleasure-seeking impulses of the body as hateful and deserving of flight. Again, the song of fools makes the hearts of the hearers overly lax, and effeminates and softens the power of thinking, so that they love immoderate laughter and delight in insane clamors. But, on the contrary, the rebuke of the wise man compresses the movements of the mind, and, pricking the heart with stings, leads it to call forth fountains of tears from the eyes. This, certainly, is B in itself entirely good, since it brings utility and salvation; but that is evil, since it opposes salvation and drags one toward destruction. For this reason he said: "For as the voice of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools." Indeed, the laughter of fools is an index of the sloth that inheres in them, and of a heart that is poured out and labors for nothing of those things that are useful and can be for salvation, just as the sound of thorns also signifies to those who do not see them at all, if they hear only the crackling, that they are being burned. For the sound of them indicates the species of the subject matter no less than the laughter of fools manifests the madness of those laughing, even without any other knowledge. For this reason, the divine oracle says again: *The attire of a man, and the step of his foot, and the laughter of his teeth shall declare what he is* (60). For it comes to pass, in a certain manner, that the outward man, by certain figures and marks, as it were, designates the inward habit of a man, namely, the customs and affections of each person. For the wise Ecclesiastes has truly added: C D *Vers. 7-8. Even this is vanity: for slander leads the wise man about, and destroys the heart of his strength (61).*
Perhaps someone might be perplexed by these words and ask: how fittingly and correctly he called the laughter of fools a vanity! For it is truly a vanity, as it comes about in vain, and does not demonstrate the hedonistic disposition of the soul for any useful or profitable purpose. But why does he immediately discourse about the calumny that carries the wise man about and dissolves the vigor of his heart? What connection does this have with the preceding phrase, “And this too is a vanity”? Regarding the laughter of fools, that is, as an explanation or cause, he puts forth: “Because calumny carries the wise man about and destroys the vigor of his heart.” This seems somehow disconnected and far from the sequence of what was said. But the word of truth will answer and say that the mystical contemplations of the inspired Scriptures contain deeper meanings and interpretations of the words; and because of this, the subject matter is found to preserve every connection all the more. For having said, “As the sound of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools; and this too is a vanity,” and having reflected, as is to be expected, that those who voluntarily yield themselves to human prosperities, joys, pleasure-seeking, and the sights and sounds of actors, and who give no thought to the world to come, turn their eyes toward the state of wise men and a life and conduct filled with all piety, and mock them for their more cautious, sober, and spiritual way of life and discourse—pouring upon them unrestrained laughter, bringing down calumnies, weaving together accusations, and saying: “In vain do they overlook the things seen and disregard the life that is already visible; but they cling by faith to things unseen and not looked upon, and they suffer patiently, and endure sorrows and afflictions and
fruitless hardships, from which they will gain nothing, finding no reward A for the good things of the future which they hope for. But when fools say these things, even he who appears to be wise, hearing them incessantly and continuously, often suffers a base feeling, and relaxes the tension of his soul, which is set upon good and noble deeds, inasmuch as he becomes filled with vexation and grief at the reproach of the fools.
For he proceeds from here to say with the Prophet David: "Behold, these are sinners, and they who prosper in the world have increased in riches," and again: "But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well-nigh slipped; for I was jealous of the lawless, when I saw the peace of sinners." And again: "How long shall sinners, O Lord, how long shall sinners boast? They utter and speak unrighteousness; they shall speak, all who work iniquity?" And furthermore with Jeremiah: "Why does the way of the wicked prosper?" and again with the athlete of piety, Job: "I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my soul; I will say to the Lord, Do not teach me to be wicked; and why did you judge me so? Is it good for you that I should deal unjustly, because you have rejected the works of my hands, and have attended to the counsel of the ungodly? Or do you see as man sees?"
C To such words as these, therefore, even the wise man is brought, because of the slander and continuous calumny, the mockery and abuse, that have been directed against him by the fools; but then, quickly returning to himself, and casting off the thoughts which, because of human frailty, had for a little while overcome him, thoughts which do not befit a man, he again turns his soul and tongue to the giving of thanks and to the glorification of our good Creator, God, and Master—He who weighs all things in a divine manner, and who regulates human affairs with a just scale most wisely and profitably—and the wise Ecclesiastes immediately added:
Better is the end of words than their beginning.
[X] D Those words, which at first have proceeded from human faint-heartedness and the agitation of thoughts toward the God over all—spoken in a holy manner, after the fashion of a grateful servant who yet is ignorant of the causes of the things managed by the Master—the wise man declares to be worse, whereas the thanksgiving and praise offered at the end for all things that are managed according to the world is found to be better, more appropriate, and more fitting. For the man who is truly wise, whatever he sees and discerns being managed in human life, ought to receive it with thanksgiving.
A
XI.
Better is the patient man than the haughty in spirit.
The sublime proposal of patience has been adorned by the entire choir of holy prophets and most glorious apostles with the highest praises, which it would be tedious to unfold and recount at this time. Nay, the theologians even call God Himself patient. For the prophet Nahum says: "The Lord is patient, and His strength is great, and the Lord will not hold innocent the innocent." B And long before, the prophet David says: "God is a judge, righteous and strong and patient, not bringing forth wrath every day." And furthermore, long ago, Moses, the prince of theologians, said: "The Lord God is patient and full of mercy and true." 65 If, therefore, any man has acquired patience, he appears to possess a quality that befits God Himself; therefore, the wise Ecclesiastes now also aptly and fittingly says: "Better is the patient man than the haughty in spirit," clearly presenting such a man as an imitator of divine goodness and patience. Yet he does not name him so in the sense of a comparison with the one whom he called "haughty in spirit," even if the wording may appear to suggest this. For here, he who is "haughty C in spirit" is one who, puffed up in soul and seeking high things through pride and arrogance, appears in a certain way to have traversed a path forbidden to men, and to have left all others behind.
But this very thing is evil in itself, just as being patient is by nature good in itself. Things which have an extreme opposition between themselves are, when compared, removed from comparison by the difference between them. He did not, therefore, call the patient man "good" by way of comparison, but, as in all other matters which he wished to set forth according to a certain rationale of opposition, so also now, he attributed true and solid glory to the patient man, just as, conversely, he D imposed the opposite designation—which arises from the opposite judgment and must be understood—upon him whom he named "haughty in spirit." For this reason, the great apostle Paul says in a certain place: "Mind not high things, but condescend to the lowly." He calls the patient man "good," not the one who, on account of a pusillanimity that is excessive and who is angered in vain even at casual things, displays a habit turned beastly and full of all ferocity; but rather, one who, regarding the insults and injuries brought upon himself by certain others, whether lesser or greater, preserves an undisturbed spirit, and is not moved by any goads of such things. Furthermore, if anyone is a man and honest and a lover of truth: [Wait, for it is necessary in all things not to learn to contend against the governance of God; for we contend against impossible matters, and ones which greatly surpass every created nature. God is merciful and compassionate, patient and full of mercy and true...]
A nature. Thus, when an honest, truth-loving, God-fearing, and virtuous person sees some men speaking unjustly and blaspheming against the height of God-befitting goodness and greatness, or exercising tyranny over orphans, widows, and the poor, and despoiling their neighbors of their possessions by mere tyrannical power and dominion: then indeed he ought, with a fitting anger and righteous indignation, to move against the evildoers and the adversaries of the truth who are conscious of their own lies. It is necessary, therefore, in all things to pay close attention and to be sober regarding the deeds and words of those who share our life; and neither, out of a spirit of pride or a passion of pettiness, to be provoked against those who have in no way acted impiously, nor, again, to endure, keep silent, and be patient regarding those who commit acts contrary to the truth. For in this way both our gentleness and patience, and indeed our anger and indignation, will clearly find acceptance with the good, just, and philanthropic Lord. And the wise Ecclesiastes, confirming this very thing, immediately added to what follows:
§ XII
Vers. 9. *Ne festinaveris in spiritu tuo irasci; quia furor in sinu stultorum requiescit.*
For it is as if he said: Beware lest you be indignant for a light cause, and rashly, out of the pride of your mind or out of pettiness of soul, grow angry with those who have sinned nothing against God, or who are not known to have fallen into crime of their own volition. B Rather, as far as is possible, be found patient and forgiving, even toward those who sin in the smallest matters; and strive with all your might to be a gentle and magnanimous man, lest you, too, be called a fool by the Holy Scriptures. For it says: "For anger rests in the bosom of fools." Therefore also Paul, the great apostle, says in a certain place: "Let your gentleness be known to all men" (Phil. iv, 5). C For the tolerance and patience in all things, which carries with it the modesty of manners and the tranquility of the affections—in those in whom it flourishes—testifies that the queen and mistress of all virtues is present in them, namely, prudence. Therefore, it is fitting that he who is guided by prudence should not be quick to grow angry and easily indignant even toward the wicked, the impious, the avaricious, and murderers. But when they are not softened by authority, nor by gentler councils, or by any exhortation of the Holy Scriptures, and show themselves to remain in the same will and reject amendment; then, indeed, let one wield the sharper sword of just wrath and indignation, in order to excise the hardened callous and heal the hardness of the heart according to the methods of physicians: who first, indeed, with certain ointments and D poultices, try to soothe the swellings and inflammations of wounds and bring them to health. But when the disease is difficult, and surpasses by far the gentler and softer remedies of the art, then they employ even more severe medicines and
fire and iron, so that they leave no capacity for the disease to sprout again. The wise Ecclesiastes then says:
A § XIII.
VERS. 10. Ne dixeris: Quid factum est? quia dies priores erant boni super hos? quippe non in sapientia interrogasti de hoc.
The author of the times, and the seasons, and the days, willed and decreed that all days and every season and time should flow perpetually according to the same B arrangement and in the same manner, by the orbit and motion of the sun; and no day will be found to differ in any variability or diversity from the one before it or the one after it, in so far as it has come into being and natural existence; unless someone wishes to introduce the violence of the winds and the variety and differences of the four seasons, with which the Creator from the beginning of the year crowned the cycle. But no day is by nature productive of wickedness, and malice, and baseness at all; rather, the wills of men, through their own lack of attention and laziness, prepare these things to come into existence as well. If this is so, how, he says, do you call the former days good over those that are present, when the identity is found to be the same in all of them? You have not, therefore, proclaimed this in wisdom, but have spoken out of foolishness. It is necessary rather to honor the earnest and virtue-loving dispositions of those who came before us, or, on the contrary, to blame the recklessness of evil minds that turn away from virtue; and then to imitate the good and earnest, and to turn away completely from any resemblance to the wicked and base; and by no means to proclaim a difference between the days, nor to make excuses for excuses in sins, or to transfer to inanimate things the causes of those things which are in us and depend upon our own wills. Then he says:
C § XIV.
VERS. 11, 12. Bona est sapientia cum hæreditate et amplius videntibus solem: quia in umbra ejus sapientia, sicut umbra argenti, et abundantia scientiæ sapientiæ vivificabit eum, qui ab ea.
Having previously declared that he who says the former days were better than the present ones did not speak in wisdom, and having shown by the argument of contrast that there are some wise D people who do not proclaim this—let us live in such a way that we never think that past things are better than those to come or those that are present. For the Ecclesiastes also forbids this: "Do not say that the former days were better than these, because you did not ask in wisdom concerning this." For if the days that have preceded are better than those that follow them, it will be said to you, "You have suffered so many things in vain," since the good things are obscured by the negligence of those that come later. Meaning: Let us order our life in this way, so that we never deem what has passed as more excellent than what is to come or what is present. For the Ecclesiastes also forbids this, "Do not say that the former days were better than these, because you did not ask in wisdom concerning this." For if the days that have preceded were better, it is rightly said to us: "You have suffered so many things in vain; with your good works reduced to nothing, because you have neglected the ages that are."
A regarding those who do not even calumniate the inanimate, and who leave those who have free will and possess an inclination toward either side—he says now, "Good is wisdom with an inheritance," B introducing those who have been deemed worthy of the wisdom from above and divine, and teaching all others not to think or say vain things, nor to entertain erroneous and crooked opinions, nor to imagine things that have no existence; but with a heart of uprightness, looking to the nature of things, to hold fast to the truth that truly is, and to give glory on all days to the Lord who established all days in equality, as far as their generation and natural existence go, and the measure of their order, and not to call the first or the last good with a distinction introduced, but all of them simply, as having come from the Good, and being brought about through the course and motion of the sun; and that virtue and vice depend on the human will, and consequently, a peaceful and tranquil state of life, and indeed a turbulent and warring conduct; so that they might highly prize virtue, and flee from wickedness as hateful. C He, therefore, who has received wisdom from God, in no way ought to sequester and confine it to himself alone, but like some industrious and affectionate father, he should distribute it to all other men as much as has been bestowed upon his mind, so that it might be clearly considered and named good. For to possess wisdom and not distribute it as an inheritance to others is not among the good things. For he who does this is like, and plainly to be compared to, the man who, having received one talent, hid it in the ground out of sloth and laziness. But he who distributes it and transmits it as an inheritance to many others is like him who received five talents and two, and by diligent and noble purpose increased and doubled their profit. Which the wise Ecclesiastes, wishing to signify, said: "And there is an advantage to those who see the sun." For he who distributes the wisdom given to him from God also amplifies the good he has received, increasing the talent, inasmuch as he makes many wise, and leads more of those who behold this visible sun to true opinions and spiritual states, and increases the glory of God through their salvation. D For as if by some shadow or covering of his wisdom, he protects them from the snares of outsiders, and renders them immune from the heat of sin and of impious thoughts. And this is truly, without controversy, what he adds: "For wisdom is in a shadow, as the shadow of silver." For just as those who bring gifts and give money to those by whom they can be harmed, or by whom there is a danger of their being harmed, or by whom they are held as captives and are evilly vexed and fear worse things day by day, are protected as if by a shadow, escaping the heat of their wickedness and fleeing from the surge of dangers; so too the distribution of divine wisdom and the division of it as an inheritance, protecting like a shadow from the heat of the tempted mind and the alluring
A of sin, redeems their souls; and not only does it deliver those who are initiated from spiritual captivity, but it furthermore prepares them to be deemed worthy of eternal life.
For the wise Ecclesiastes indicated this by saying again: "And the abundance of the knowledge of wisdom will bring to life him who is from it"; that is, by as much as one makes the inheritance of the knowledge of wisdom for others, by so much the more will he find the multitude of those who are initiated and who receive the beauty and light of its concepts being brought to life by it. Let us not, therefore, those who have received in any measure the gift of divine wisdom, wrap it up for ourselves for its sake, but rather let us strive with all our might to distribute it to many others as an inheritance, so that we may not be B likened to him who received the one talent, and be sent off to the fire of Gehenna; but rather may we be found like those who received the two and the five talents, and doubled what was given. And may we be deemed worthy to hear from the righteous and philanthropic Master, both now and on the day of the retribution of our lives: "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your Lord." Therefore, holding to the subsequent thought, the wise Ecclesiastes added and says:
§ XV. C VERSE 13. "Consider the works of God, for who will be able to set straight him whom God has perverted?"
Having rebuked him who declares and deems the former days better than the present ones—since obviously they all possess the identity of existence from the good creative cause of all things—he exhorts those who understand to look toward the variety of God’s works, and to examine and discern clearly that no man is able to render any of the things that have been made by the Creator either better and more excellent than they are by nature, or, conversely, worse. For just as no one else is able—save Him who made and fashioned all things—to recall and restore to its natural perfection and D correction one who has become one-eyed or lame, or who has twisted feet, or who is found with similar afflictions and lacks the integrity and completion of nature; so too is one unable to divide days of the same and single existence and origin, and to name some good and others evil. For every day has the same estimation and the same, being naturally good from the good Creator and Lord.
A His, he says, o mortals, having omitted these things, whatever matters may happen or occur, render to God, the Lord of all, your grateful doxology as is due. Neither be puffed up B by things that seem good, and be raised up to pride and grandiloquence and contempt, nor, when smitten by things that appear sad and troublesome, fall back into ignoble humility and total abjection of soul. For each of these is unseemly and by no means worthy of a sensible and intelligent man. Therefore he added:
§ XVI.
Verse 14. In the day of prosperity live in good, and in the day of adversity see goodness: see also this corresponding to this.
He calls the day of prosperity the time when the air is tempered with gentle and moderate rains, which are beneficial for the earth to produce crops, and which generate an abundance of those things that are necessary for human consumption; and furthermore, when it is peaceful and free from hostile incursion and pillaging. By the day of adversity, on the contrary, he means the time which we see dominated by things opposite to these, such as inclemency of the weather, or a shortage of water, or rains that are too heavy and severe, or the incursions of enemies and robbery, and similar things. C Furthermore, he encourages us not to be so carried away by the former that we relax the power of our reason and mind into idleness, giving up the excellent state of good and intelligent judgment, and falling away from the vigilance of the soul and the pursuit of right conduct; but that we should safeguard the same goods and our hope and complete charity towards the Most High God with no less care and counsel, pursuing that goodness which makes us altogether dear to Him, or at least, as much as possible, acceptable. In a similar way, he also encourages us in the latter circumstances to preserve and keep the same steadiness of life, never falling from the rank of virtue: that we bear nothing with annoyance, nor allow the mind to slide into wicked thoughts and harmful errors; but that even in these things, with praises rendered to the most high God and thanks given, we should maintain the stability and constancy of the soul. For if, he says, you bring the same mindset to adverse D and contrary things, know and hold for certain that both of the contrary outcomes will have the same and clearly similar result, that is, a good one: because you have kept the soul equally prepared for both, and immovable in the occurrence of both prosperous and adverse things, always remaining tenacious in good counsel and purpose. For he indicated this when he said: "See also this corresponding to this," according to the proportion of human disposition, when even those things which happen adversely are brought to a good end by a certain consensus and harmony. Then the Ecclesiastes says: God has made...
A this regarding speech, so that man may find nothing after it. What, then, is this? It is that the end may be harmonious, and the result may be one and the same, namely good and blessed, even in cases of contrary and opposing things, through the agency of a good disposition, prudence, and a love-of-beauty in mind and purpose. God created the power of the intelligent and rational soul, having given to man the capacity to draw and transform all things—even those which seem to bring an opposite nature—toward the good; so that men, in declaring the incomprehensible riches of divine goodness and wisdom, and in sending up to Him thanksgiving in all things, might find no other cause for a man becoming better, while remaining in good intentions and doing what is good, B save for his own purpose, which has received from God the power and sovereignty of inclination in either direction. For this reason the Creator fashioned him thus, so that beyond the limit, reason, and aim of the voluntary resolve and inclination, no other cause might be found, accompanying and following, for his perseverance toward the better or his change toward the worse. Having gone through these things, therefore, the Wise Ecclesiastes—understanding that he had set forth for us reasons of the most elegant thoughts—immediately added: C
VERS. 16. Omnia vidi in die vanitatis meæ. That is, both what was said by me before and what is said now, I have beheld with the eyes of the mind, and I have discerned in the temporal interval of my own life; for he has called the life which we pass here "vanity," on account of its many disturbances, anxieties, and tribulations. Then he says: D
"There is a just man perishing in his justice, and there is an impious man remaining in his malice." Those who strive with great effort to attain true justice are assured by the exhortations of the divine Scriptures in no way to be exalted, nor to carry their necks high against others, nor to justify themselves and praise themselves like that Pharisee who offered up—or so he thought—hymns of thanksgiving and doxologies to God, because he was in no way like one of the rest of men, nor even like that tax collector; of whom the Gospel of our salvation says: "This man went down justified, rather than that one." But even if some perform all the kinds of virtues, and reach the summit of those things offered by God
if they think humbly and say, in accordance with the evangelical teaching A again: "We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we ought to have done." But if anyone, while doing what is just, is seized by a passion of pride or even self-conceit, and because of the exaltations of his heart considers himself great in virtue and conspicuous, he is found unacceptable and detestable to the Lord, and on account of this, one destined for eternal destruction.
For this reason, the God-inspired Moses says: "You shall follow justly after what is just" (76), that is, with the boundaries and principles of virtue and justice; by which one who performs just deeds finds a just relationship with God. But if one follows after what is just without these, his justice is found unacceptable and to be avoided. And for this reason, he destroys B himself in this righteous act, rather than saving himself. For the oracle says somewhere: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Or, another way: the rationale of virtue and justice is a mean, turning aside from the deviation toward either side; for instance, if one attempts to perfect courage, if he does not walk in its boundaries, and, holding to the mean that is according to it, be found unswerving, but instead slips into the adjacent fall on either side, and falls into cowardice or rashness, abandoning virtue—which is the mean—he will secretly be found pushed toward destruction rather than salvation. For this reason, the divine C Scripture again admonishes us: "Do not turn aside to the right or to the left," but walk in the royal road. For by the terms "left" and "right," it indicated the adjacent vice. And this same thing can be observed in every virtue by anyone who wishes.
Thus, therefore, "the just man perishing in his justice" is apprehended in a twofold way, as we have supposed. But when it says: "And there is an impious man remaining in his malice," it clearly indicated someone who is faithless and completely an atheist; who, while enjoying the tolerance and great forbearance D of the God-befitting goodness, is all the more disdainful and remains in the perceptions of impiety and the deeds of malice, not paying the penalty here for his impieties and evil actions, but being laid up for the future judgment, so that, even through the forbearance here, he might be transformed through repentance toward true doctrines and honorable deeds. And if he does not return to a better way of life, when the reward for the things done in life is distributed to each, he will truly have no defense, and, condemned by the judgment which is to come, he will be justly and deservedly sent into the fire of Gehenna. For not all the impious undergo the penalties for their crimes in this life, nor, conversely, are all reserved for that judgment; but some will pay the penalty both here and in the future age, while others will pay only there, when each of them shall hear: "The impious one has ceased, who has not learned justice,
A nor acts in truth on the earth." "Let the impious one be taken away, that he may not see the glory of the Lord. O Lord, Thy arm is high, and they did not know; but let them be confounded when they have known." For the impious one's having ceased to learn justice on the earth signifies that he remains in his malice, according to the wise Ecclesiastes. But the phrase, "Let the impious one be taken away, that he may not see the glory of the Lord," and what follows, indicates the decision that separates them, in the future judgment, from the inheritance of the faithful.
The just man, therefore, is often rebuked even here, being overlooked by Him who weighs all things with most just scales, whenever—as we said before—he is seized by the passion of pride and arrogance, or goes beyond the mean of virtue; and, being overlooked, he falls into temptations and various trials of every kind. If he does not understand, and by humility propitiate the good Master and Lord, he finds condemnation and destruction both in the present life and in the future. In the same way, the word of truth has also clarified what was said about the impious, that is, the faithless man. And the wise Ecclesiastes, confirming this interpretation, immediately added: B
§ XX.
"Be not righteous overmuch, and do not reason more than is necessary, lest you be stunned. Do not do wickedly overmuch, and be not hard-hearted, lest you die before your time."
These things are in agreement with what has just been said, in which the word of truth forbade any deviation or swerving from the mean of virtue; and much more so, that he who achieves justice should in no way exalt himself or suffer from arrogance, but rather should be modest, and instead should accuse himself, according to what is written: C "As great as you are, to that extent humble yourself, and you will find grace before the Lord your God," and again, "The righteous man is the first accuser of himself." Therefore, he also says here, "Be not righteous overmuch." For he encourages one not to go beyond the limits of justice, nor, by turning away from the mean of virtue, to fall into malice. D For the impious man has ceased. Everyone who does not learn justice on the earth will not do what is true; but they shall be confounded when they have known. "As great as you are, to that extent humble yourself, and you will find grace before the Lord." For the same passion regarding both justice and wisdom—a fervor concerning action and speech that falls outside what is good and virtuous through excess, by which both the deficient and the excessive are equally corrupted, just as a ruler is corrupted by addition or subtraction. Let no one, therefore, be wiser than it is fitting, nor more exacting than the law, nor brighter than the light, nor straighter than the rule, nor higher than the commandment. But how shall this be achieved? By seeing the order of the world and praising the law of nature, and following the rule of reason, and not despising proper order.
A For this is confirmed also by that proverbial oracle which says: "To eat much honey is not good," [(81)] clearly instructing us that even the sweetest virtue must not be pursued without measure and order.
As for the statement, "And do not argue more than is necessary," it undoubtedly forbids more excessive disputes and investigations, both regarding those things we see established at the beginning of the world and those which occur in life, because they are useless, superfluous, and do not lead to any good end. For what profit is it to a man to strive with all care and exertion to attain to know how many stadia the circumference of the earth measures, or how many parts distinguish the celestial rotating body, in the manner that those who practice superfluous and vain astrology have presumed to divide and rashly enumerate? B Therefore, to be curious in investigating such things is held to be the same as a man arguing more than he ought, since no utility or advantage comes of it. No less is it [useless] to examine and inquire diligently why the foster-sons of piety labor in poverty, and why the worshippers of divine justice do not escape the violence of others and are subjected to myriad perils and calamities of every kind, while wicked and impious men abound in riches and for the most part lead an insouciant and completely untroubled life. In all these matters, indeed, thanks must be given to the good Creator and wise Governor of all, and one must not investigate or examine anything of this kind too studiously, as it is useless and C superfluous. For if, O mortal, you surrender yourself to such meditations and transgress the boundaries of virtue, beware lest at some time you decline into words of malice and fall back into the path of vice.
As for what is said: "Do not act impiously overmuch, and do not be hard, lest you die before your time," it contains an open exhortation that we should not spend our life in impious and unbecoming questions about God, nor have a hardened mind that is completely impatient of change and conversion for the better, nor spend any time in plunder, or in the filth of avarice, or in the tyrannical vexation of orphans and widows. For he says so that you might not, from that cause, find yourself provoking the Lord your God to anger more sharply, and he send upon you an angel like a sudden thunderbolt, D and tear you away from this present life at an altogether inappropriate time. For this is confirmed also by the prophet David, when he says: "Men of blood and deceit shall not halve their days." [(82)] Thus he immediately added:
§ XXI. VERS. It is good to hold fast to this, and indeed do not defile your hand from this; for he who fears God shall come forth from all things. [(83)]
A "In this," he says. In what? Clearly, in not subjecting your deliberate will for the entire temporal span of your life to remaining in impiety regarding one's thoughts about God, and in hardness of heart, and the pitiless pillaging, and the bold and covetous oppressions; but rather to quickly restrain that labor-loving impulse from false opinions and the works of wickedness, so that you might not subsequently fall into the defilement of murder as well. For to be headstrong and hard, and to oppress and crush the orphan and the widow, and to seize the possessions of others, at times even pushes a man toward the defilement of murder and profanation. B "For," he says, "he who fears God shall come forth from all things"; that is, he who has the fear of God before his eyes shall pass by all forms of impiety and wicked action, hindered by none of the snares of wickedness; but like some bird flying from above, seeing the trap set before it for its capture, it flies over and escapes the chance encounter with injustice and villainy. From these may we all be delivered, always being instructed by the divine fear, and protected by the shadow of the wings of the God-befitting goodness; in the same Christ our God, to whom be glory and power with the omnipotent Father and the all-holy and good and life-giving Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
BOOK SEVENTH
C [§ 1.] VERS. 19, 20. Wisdom will help the wise man more than ten rulers who are in the city: for there is no man righteous on the earth, who will do good, and will not sin.
[alt-version omitted]
Having just declared that whoever fears God will soar above and escape all the stumbling blocks A of impious opinions and the wicked snares of sin, he now proceeds, in accordance with the divine fear which instructs man and directs him into the true and just paths, and prepares him to walk in wisdom—since, as the Prophet says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom"—to the aid which flows from wisdom itself, saying: "Wisdom will help the wise man more than ten who have authority in the city," indicating the wisdom granted from above, by which they accomplish all good axes/courses; concerning which the great brother of the Lord, James, says: "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easily entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." He says that such wisdom will aid him who has acquired it—and who has earned for himself the name of "wise"—to escape the trials of life, the hidden ambushes of mental adversaries, and the traps of impious opinions and heterodox doctrines, more than ten men who hold authority in a city. For those ten rulers in a city, who are adorned with the dignity of their magistracy and who abound in wealth, variety, and the abundance of their possessions, B will indeed conceive and develop many diverse thoughts and counsels, all of which look solely to the salvation of the city in which they reside. Yet, while at times they might save it, defending it from the incursions of the enemy besiegers through diverse machines ingeniously invented and placed against the enemy, and through the ministry and labor of the inhabitants and soldiers, at other times they will utterly fail of salvation, being defeated and overpowered by the besiegers with their siege-towers, and delivered up to deportation and death. But wisdom, providing its own aid, never allows the spiritual city of the soul of one who possesses it to be delivered up to destruction by its besieging mental adversaries C—the hateful and heterodox men—and to the death of sin; but, resting upon the seven pillars of the God-ruling Spirit, it protects it and overthrows and destroys the siege-towers and ramparts of the sensible and mental adversaries. D
A Thus, then, has our discourse clarified the present saying, and has shown the help from divine wisdom to be superior to the protection and defensive alliance of the ten rulers and potentates in the city, simply received thus in a sensible way according to the obvious meaning of the letter. But if we should desire to clarify what has been said also according to the anagogical sense, we shall again take up the nature and constitution of man, in which there are ten who exercise authority: to wit, the five faculties of the soul—mind, intellect, imagination, opinion, and sensation—and the five of the body—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—by which the man within and without us is found living, acting, and being governed. But with heavenly wisdom absent, the city now under discussion can do nothing of the sort; for it is submerged by every surge and wave of the billows and storms stirred up by the mental and sensible adversaries, and it slips into the abyss of sin. To those, however, to whom heavenly wisdom is present, it gives help B much stronger than those ten previously mentioned who exercise authority in the city that has been taken, yet who were in no way able to save it.
How, then, shall wisdom not be glorified as having the greater share in the protection and help, by which it has rendered the city in which it dwells impregnable and utterly inaccessible to opponents? Therefore, the great apostle Paul also says: “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without” (Col. IV, 5), calling wisdom not that which is acquired by the grasping of external learning, but that which is characterized by good and noble works, which dwells in everyone who accomplishes purity, peaceable disposition, gentleness, obedience, mercy, and the other good fruits. For this reason the book of the athlete of piety, Job, also says somewhere: “God said to man: Behold, piety is wisdom, and to depart from evil is C understanding” (Job XXVIII, 28). Let us, therefore, with all our might strive to possess such wisdom, that we may each save his own city from the sensible and mental enemies and adversaries lying in wait and besieging it.
What he says, “For there is not a just man upon earth, who shall do good and will not sin,” attracts the hearers to greater humility, toward the more intensified seeking of heavenly wisdom and the help from thence, since man is in no way strong enough to accomplish sinlessness upon the earth, not having the help and cooperation from above. Man does indeed act good, and persisting in natural and elemental D states; but he is easily changed and turns aside rather easily toward guilt. Consequently, he plainly affirms that he also acts good, who follows and insists upon the precepts of nature alone: although he may not yet be augmented by divine wisdom or heavenly grace, as is indeed clear from the things that follow immediately thereafter.
A for he is easily changed and readily diverted toward sin, inasmuch as he is subject to countless changes and vicissitudes from every side. But if one should be deemed worthy, through the constant turning of his mind toward God, to receive the indwelling of the wisdom from above—which is Christ, of whom Paul the great apostle says: "Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God"—just as it says in the book of Proverbs: "I, Wisdom, dwell with counsel and knowledge, and I have called upon understanding," then he becomes entirely unassailable to his adversaries. Then the Ecclesiastes says:
§ II.
B VERS. 21, 22. "And indeed, to all the words that the ungodly may speak, do not give your heart, that you may not hear your servant cursing you; for frequently he will act maliciously toward you, and in many ways will harm your heart, because you yourself have also cursed others."
After showing that the excellent and mighty power of the wisdom from above exists for the liberation and salvation of those who have attained it, he transfers his discourse to the man himself who is most ardently inflamed with the zeal for attaining wisdom, rousing and urging him to lift up his spirits and lead a diligent life. He urges him not to place everything in the protection and help of wisdom in such a way that he himself relaxes his diligence, and, feeling secure and idle, gives himself over to sloth and torpor, thus easily admitting the persuasions of the ungodly, whether they be demons or perverse men. C Rather, he should be angry with them and vehemently indignant as often as they, in addressing him, give counsel that he should embrace the opinions of impiety and error. "For," he says, "do not give your heart to the words which they introduce." Now, this kind of contumacy, disdain, aversion, and contempt is indeed good and blessed. But even if some are found who assail you with insults, despise you, and mock you, do not therefore give your attention to them; nor, as with those others, show anger and heat of heart toward these. Rather, bear the petulance of your neighbors and the murmurings of their servants with mildness and patience, so that by exposing your wise and brave soul to scourges and blows of this kind, you may more easily bring them to a better way of life. D Therefore, do not give your heart to listening to ungodly counselors, whether external or internal, nor attend to those who in any way insult or curse you. Instead, behave toward them and toward the former group as if you had heard nothing, so that you neither follow them nor agree with their opinion in any way, nor, while attempting to fend off these later ones, do you heap upon yourself their mockeries and rage, increasing the insults which you would have to endure from them for the rest of your life; as if, by the words with which they tried to pierce you like arrows, you had collapsed with a wounded soul.
thinking vouchsafing an opinion A regarding those words, as though aimed like arrows, in order to wound; but let them be, and keep silent, thinking and pondering within yourself that you too have often cursed others, that is, mocked and sieved them with ridicule; but you did not wish in turn to be mocked by them and receive back those same insulting provocations.
If anyone assumes that this exhortation of the Ecclesiastes does not differ in the least from the apostolic and angelic commandments, he will certainly not stray from the truth. For they say there: "When we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure." And again: "Pray for those who abuse you and persecute you." And again: "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you." Then the wise Ecclesiastes says: B
§ VERS. 23, 24. "All this I have tested in wisdom; I said, I will be wise; but this was far from me, far beyond what it was; and a deep depth, who will find it?"
"All this"—what? Clearly the orderly motion and subjection and service of God’s creatures towards their own Creator and Lord; the vain labor of pleasure-loving and sin-loving and wealth-loving and stingy men; the immutable change and unalterable transformation of things that have subsisted and come into being; the wicked temptation which God permitted, that is, gave to the word of absolute lordship to the sons of men; the abundance of wisdom, that is, the superiority which it possesses towards the better, over against foolishness; C the fitting selection of opposite things at each appropriate time; and the list of the rest, as far as the discourse has detailed it. Since, therefore, I understood all these things through wisdom given to me from above, I consequently wished, with an affectionate disposition firing my heart and spurring it on towards such a desire, to become wise and to receive the operation and grace of wisdom even more and manifoldly, so as to behold and comprehend the beauty itself of that wisdom and the splendor of its nature. But this retreated from me by a much greater distance, and rose up and was lifted D higher than my understanding and knowledge. It is by nature
(90) Upon the LXX you shall read, "Who will find it?"
(91) The most wise Solomon clearly sets forth this sentiment to us as well, when he says: "I said, I will be wise; but this was far from me, far beyond what it was." Not indeed because it fled, but because they understand most clearly how much it surpasses the grasp of man, who by God's benefit have attained a knowledge more ample than the rest. For it is of those things which, as he has set out, it is difficult for man to investigate...
for it is incomprehensible and unsearchable to all. For it has darkness as its hiding place, and not even in its outward appearance can anyone reach it, even if he may have arrived at the pinnacle of knowledge and purity. For he indicated this as if with a kind of astonishment, saying: "And a deep foundation, who shall find it?" A hinting at its incomprehensible and utterly unsearchable nature. Then the wise Ecclesiastes says, and speaking more bitterly than death: "And I find it more bitter than death, the woman who is a snare," and indeed what those who are deranged do; they deprive a man of the finest things, and while filling the great gift of nature, they cause it to vanish. For they do not say, nor indeed do they wish, that a man should be in possession of his own power of choice, nor that he should render his preference free in things to be done, so that the inclination for each of his deeds should B not lie in his own will, but be distributed by the opinions of others. For "fate," as they say, and "nativity," according to what it deems, weighs out the life of each, and distributes to some the finest things, and to those with whom one might justly wish to associate; but it returns again to others, whom no one would choose to approach. So that one walks as if self-called in nothing, neither having the power over good things, nor indeed over the opposite; but being pulled by chains as if by necessity, if I may put it so, to both sides, so that he who has obtained the leadership of all from above no longer differs in any way from the irrational animals.
§ IV.
A VERSE 25. "I turned, I and my heart, to know and to investigate, and to seek wisdom and calculation, and to know the folly of the impious, and vexation and confusion; and I find it more bitter than death."
After the examination, consideration, and comprehension of the creatures in the creation and of other things that occur according to nature or free will to the sons of men, he desired and willed to ascend also to the knowledge and understanding of that wisdom itself from which he had obtained the knowledge of the aforementioned things. And finding himself quite unable to find anything more, but having instead grown dizzy, as he was least able to be matched with the height of its greatness, and having turned and been driven back to himself and to lower things; out of B extreme helplessness he came to the meditation of learning the art of the astrologers, so that he might discern on what arguments they rely when they profess, through the movement of the stars, to foretell the outcomes of future events, and to assign the births of men to the dispositions, movements, and agreements of those stars, and to attribute and ascribe to them human virtue and vice, and likewise all other things that are governed in this world. C He did this, not so that, like them, he might hold to the improper and false assumptions—by which is destroyed both the self-determination of the rational and intelligent soul, and the human power of choice, which is the inclination toward virtue or vice, the best, that is, and the worst—but rather to challenge them. For he shows that those senseless men have approached these things: what is it in man that is most excellent? They snatch it away from man and take away the great gift of nature with their vain inventions. For they deny that a man is master of his own will, and do not want him to be in possession of his own liberty, whatever he may do; indeed, for as he is carried toward any action whatsoever, he does nothing by his own will, but has D that which is prescribed by the opinion of others. For "fate," as they say, and "nativity," governs the life of each one according to its own whim, and to some it grants the best things, and what anyone might desire for living well; but to others, on the contrary, it sends in the cravings of those things which no one would ever have wished to touch. And so, man undertakes nothing of his own accord, having no power of [index: entries preserved] acting well or badly.
A It is shown, moreover, long before, that the good Creator of all things was the cause of evils, since from Him the stars were created, which are said to bring evils and to be the causes of vices. He did not, therefore, seek to learn the art of the astrologers in order to hold such absurd and impious opinions, and such as are entirely worthy of ridicule, but rather that, on the contrary, by the very experience of knowledge, he might detect the folly, the turmoil, and the wandering of the wicked. For by naming “wisdom and calculation,” he clearly indicated the art of the astrologers; for this art seems to consist especially in the computing of calculations. The art of the astrologers is also signified by the terms—turmoil, I say, and wandering—since it brings upon those who follow it constant, or rather perpetual, disturbance, and to those who follow and believe them, it announces and predicts this or that; and it arrives at the opposite state of wandering, so that those who have received the promises of their introduction always await the outcome of things that either gladden or sadden them, and for this reason they never find their own heart freed from grief, on account of the anticipation of such things, or [on account of] useless gladness, which provides them no joy; but rather, because they have been disposed toward this very thing, they are carried away into their own carelessness and into hardships and calamities. For the wise Ecclesiastes indicated this by saying: “And I find her more bitter than death.”
B Her, whom? Namely, “wisdom and calculation,” or the art of the astrologers, as she always subjects to a thousand deaths those who wish to follow her, both because of the fear of sad things and because of the frustration of joyful things. For it is appointed for a man to die once, as he is mortal by nature. But to be subject on such conditions to so many, continuous, and long-lasting expectations of difficult and sad things, and indeed to the frustration of supposed good and joyful things, how does this not show such a calculation and art to be more bitter than death? But as to what the Ecclesiastes says: “I went around, I and my heart,” let no one think that the word “I” signifies one thing and “heart” another. For man is indivisible, even if he is divided by the meanings of words; but let him consider that the aforementioned [phrase] signifies the search from the heart concerning the matter. He proceeds, moreover, to deride the deceits and fallacies of these men by what immediately follows. For he says:
C
Verse 26. The woman who is a snare of hunters, and her heart a net, her hands as bonds. He who is good before God shall be delivered from her, and he who sins shall be taken by her.
(94) D [The text here adds:] The LXX has “prey” instead of “snares.” But indeed in the Apostolic Constitutions the whole sentence is thus cited (lib. 1, c. 9): “I hated more than death the woman, who is prey and a net of the heart, and her hands are bonds.”
A For just as she hunts the young with deceitful words, so too does this art hunt the foolish, weaving the nets of syllogisms. B Having termed the calculation of the astrologers more bitter than death because it involves futile occupation and unprofitable labor, he now compares it to an adulterous and wicked woman, who by the nets of her words and outward appearances charms, bewitches, snares, and nets the incautious living in inattention, and leads them into every pit of sin and death. For, contemplating in her heart and revolving the syllogisms of deception and defilement, just like a sea-polyp, she spreads out as if they were hands the tresses of her more flourishing ornaments and the cords of her deceitful words; she binds and hunts the simpler ones, who seem to themselves to taste a brief sweetness in the carnal and loathsome pleasures, but who shortly thereafter will find such sweetness more bitter than gall, and sharper than a two-edged sword. One clearly finds something similar in the art of the astrologers. For, charming and dragging away the minds of the initiates by the pleasure and sweetness of the high and great promises—as if they had knowledge of all things, and could foresee the future, and grasp all hidden things—they cast them into the net of deception and destruction, subjecting them to useless and superfluous occupation and to vain labor. C But the man who is found good and diligent, and a lover of what is honorable and beloved of God, clearly escapes and flies away alone from it—that is, from both (for the Preacher used the phrase "from her" in a common sense). For this is what he signifies by the words: “before God,” pointing out a lover of truth, and one who studies to please God above all else. Just as, conversely, he said that the one who has a base and malicious intent in it is overcome and caught, as is fitting. For he says: “And he who sins shall be taken in her,” that is, by the adulterous and wicked woman, and indeed also by the calculation of the astrologers. For he who has not placed his hopes in the Lord, nor believes and confesses Him alone as the Creator of the ages, the one who holds all things together, the Governor and Savior, is bound and chained in the bonds of his own unbelief and hopelessness. D But where now are those who spend the span of the present life in astrological exercises and calculations, and who fix their minds on observing the movements of the stars and their relationships to one another, and who proclaim that human life and administration are governed by these, and who suffer from such a disease of impiety? The wise Preacher, when wishing to demonstrate this most clearly, said: “That I might consider and seek out wisdom and calculation, and that I might know the folly of the impious, and the turbulence and corruption.” Do you see the title of "the impious" attributed by the divine Scriptures to those who study astrology? [alt-version omitted]
But hear even the most loud-voiced of the prophets, Isaiah, proclaiming, mocking, and ridiculing those who boast that they know future events through the movement of the stars, and who attribute to these the causes of human prosperity or adversity. For he says: “Where are your scribes? Where are the counselors? Where is one who counts those who are gathered? A depraved people, and there is no understanding for the one who hears. B Let the astrologers of the heavens stand and save you, those who look upon the stars, and let them report to you what is about to come upon you. Behold, all of them shall be burned as stubble in the fire, and they shall not deliver their own souls.” If, then, the art of astrologers is thus refuted and mocked by the divine Scriptures, how are those who pursue this laborious vanity not found to be deranged and impious? C Then the wise Ecclesiastes says:
§ VI.
“Behold, this I found, said Ecclesiastes, one by one to find the reasoning which my soul sought, and I did not find. And one man out of a thousand I found, and a woman in all these I did not find. Only behold, this I have found, that God made man upright, and they themselves have sought out many reasonings.”
Having said a moment before: “I went around, I and my heart, to consider and to seek wisdom and calculation,” that is to say, the art of astrology—not that he might harmonize with their opinion, but rather that he might mock and refute it, and show it to be a vain labor and full of much impiety. And having then added: “And I find it more bitter than death,” after this same declaration, he exhorts every one who might come upon the present book to understand and to discern clearly that he found what he sought and perceived, and D that he justly disapproved of the empty labors of astrology. For he says: “Behold, this I found, said Ecclesiastes”—that is, for the time being this—for God was the one speaking. It is therefore possible to understand clearly from them themselves, since they have poured out the lie-loving and money-trafficking magic of the stars to their own destruction. Our holy prophets have truly existed among us, not accustomed to measure out the movement of the stars, not occupied in curiously inquiring into the use of the elements, nor dragging human nature toward those things that are not fitting, nor trusting in futile deceptions; but foreknowing the future from the manifestation of the divine Spirit, they indicated them to us long before they happened. None of those things, moreover, that they foretold was in vain; but through the turns of time the nature of events follows very closely, or rather keeps to the very same footprints of those things which were foretold. For it was God who was speaking. You are permitted, therefore, to understand now, clearly, with what destruction those liars pour out their deceits—enticements for money—under the name of astrology.
A I desire, by this one discovery of the sought-after truth, to find in sequence another—that is, the "Reason which my soul sought, and I did not find." This is the thing I wish to teach these very same people: what is the cause of utility that plunges astrologers into such a great and vain occupation, so that they utterly neglect the constant service, care, and turning toward their own Creator and God and Master. "And I did not find," he says, because many men are much more prone to useless examinations and investigations of words, and they overlook the paths of truth and justice, which alone can preserve the likeness to their Creator and Master, in whose image they were created, and can, moreover, carry them upward to the height of His greatness. Instead, they turn aside into crooked and difficult byways, so that scarcely one in a thousand is found who, with much diligence, is addicted to truth and justice. "Moreover, I sought for a woman who excelled in all good things, but I did not find one."
Furthermore, O mortal, you should know clearly that all men were created upright by our Author and Artificer, with a natural reason and an appetite in no way perverse, nor entirely alien to the truth. B But men themselves, by wicked counsel and foolish rashness, have divided and distracted the simplicity of nature into many inconsiderate and perverse reasonings, seeking things which it is not lawful to seek, and being unoccupied with those things from which they could obtain no utility whatsoever. For this reason, indeed, he added:
§ VI. CAP. VIII. VERS. 1. Who knows the wise, or who knows the solution of a word? The wisdom of a man will enlighten his countenance, and the impudent one will be hated for his countenance.
Just as if he were to say: Thus, therefore, men, having fallen into inconsiderate and perverse reasonings, have perniciously confounded the simplicity of right reason—which was given to man by God—and have been carried away to the examination and investigation of useless things. But if anyone should wish to escape the nets of human complications, let him seek wise and prudent men. C D
A men who have preserved intact and entire the natural faculty of their soul for discerning and acting; and who, for this reason, are able to distinguish truth from falsehood, to deliver those who approach them from erroneous opinions, and to guide them along the paths of salvation. For such men know how to provide a solution to every word proposed out of perplexity, and to illuminate the intellectual countenance of the disciple, so that he, in turn, through the solution and wisdom received from thence, is able to illuminate others. In fact, those who approach the wise with moderation, meekness, and a disposition of heart free from vain curiosity, and who learn from them the knowledge of things both unprofitable and advantageous, render their own life free from stumbling. Just as the impudent B man, and one puffed up with pride and vainglory, who in no way wishes to approach the school of the Spirit, is found to be hateful and abhorred by the prudent and wise, receiving this as the reward of his own boasting. For having been unwilling to learn from the wise what is fitting and advantageous, but rather speaking freely and shamelessly in malicious talk and mendacious speech, he renders himself hateful. Then the Ecclesiastes says:
§ VIII. C VERS. 2-4. "Keep the mouth of the king, and for the sake of the word of the oath of God, do not be hasty; go forth from his presence; do not stand in an evil word, because all that he wishes he will do, just as a king speaks having authority; and who shall say to him, 'What do you do?'"
Having set forth to guard the true opinions regarding God, and in no way to adulterate the image of piety with the unsightly and falsely-colored pigments of those busy with astrological calculations, but rather to think and proclaim one primary Nature which at that time ordained the whole most wisely and advantageously, and [to hold] that the choice of each man, concerning the inclination to either side—that is, both of those things within our power and those not within our power—has the authority; he now passes on to another admonition, and gives assurance that one must by no means publish what has been said by the king, so that he who does this may not find it a stumbling-block, and an obstacle, and a useless trial. Because the saying of divine Scripture also says somewhere: "It is good to guard the secret of a king." D Afterward, he warns [us] not to be ready for an oath, nor to allow the tongue, which is prone to slip, to bring forward the name of God into our conversations with our neighbors. This has a twofold meaning: either that one should in no way, upon the name of God—for any pretext that may arise—
use it, nor suggest to others that they should take an oath, since the sin is equal in both cases. A But when he says: *From his presence you shall walk, do not persist in an evil word*, the author is advising that, once you have heard what has been spoken by the king, you should not, by letting your thoughts wander, conceive some shameless or dishonest idea, nor form within yourself a harmful plan, which leads you to convince others of what you heard in secret, as though no one would report your name after such an utterance; for fear that if the king should learn of it, he might trouble your life as he pleased, since there is no one who can oppose him, or who could curb his indignation and assault, or who could rescue you from the sentence of judgment and punishment which has been pronounced against you. He then says:
§ IX. *He who guards the commandment shall not know an evil word. And the heart of the wise man recognizes the time of judgment; for there is a time and judgment for every matter.* B
Although he spoke of the "commandment" indiscriminately, he did not introduce a simple, but a manifold and varied meaning of the commandment. For whether one guards the commandment of God—that is, the commandment of Him who rules in His eternal kingdom—or the commandment of one who has attained a kingdom on earth, or of a natural father or mother or teacher; and since this is likewise divided and utilized in many ways, both in the introduction of our sincere faith and divine dogmas, and in the reception of introductory and child-like teachings, and even in the recognition of all other mechanical arts; that man surely *shall not know an evil word*, whereby he might become guilty and be condemned for the contempt and violation of a commandment. Truly, if there is much difference in the commandments themselves when they are considered separately, the penalties and punishments will likewise correspond to their violation. C
Moreover, whoever guards the commandment, in whatever way it has been given to him, will entirely escape vengeance, according to the reason of the commandment and the penalty to be imposed. For it behooves both the old man, and the youth, and the boy whose heart is now wise—for that is what he calls "wise"—to occupy themselves in the keeping of the holy commandments, and in the deep remembrance of the Lord Jesus of glory. For he who guards, he says, the commandment, *shall not know an evil word*, that is to say, he shall not turn aside to evil and base words. It means he shall not experience an evil deed, for he will not turn towards wicked and harmful words. D
A of the wise man he has revealed by name, as the command given by someone will have its own proper time of judgment, in which it will receive examinations and inquiries regarding the keeping or transgression of the command. For to every deed fulfilled by a command there necessarily follows a time of examination and judgment for the reception of approval or condemnation. Therefore, it is urged that the given commands, from wherever they may be found to be given, should be kept entirely, so that the life of the one who has received the command might remain untried and free from every injury and punishment. For the one who commands others is found to be in every way greater and better than those who have received and taken it, even if there is said to be a great difference among those who command; and those who have received the commands will in any case be brought to account at the proper time by those who gave them. B And for this reason, one must be diligent in keeping the decrees of those who gave them—rulers, kings, parents, and teachers—in every respect, and much more so those of the Creator and God and Master of all; so that those who keep them may provide for themselves the ease of life, and shall also attain the heavenly and godlike rewards. The discourse calls a "command" that which possesses the light of truth and justice, not that which is done by some base and wicked people concerning the worst things. Then the Ecclesiastes says:
§ X.
"For the knowledge of man is much upon him; for there is no one who knows what will be, for as it will be, who will announce it to him?"
He removes the excuses of those who receive commands, from whomever they may receive them, and who in no way keep or observe them; and who, when the time of judgment and examination arrives, at which they are to be affected by the deserved punishment, are accustomed to put forward as a defense, while being condemned, ignorance of their neglected and violated duty, or the simplicity of their own mind, or something else of the like. For, he says, do not pretext ignorance when you have not kept the command which you received from a greater and better one; for you will be found to be lying against the truth. For what cause? "For the knowledge of man is much upon him," C that is, toward the things that are profitable and advantageous for his own life. And in vain will someone say: "I did not know that I would be condemned if I did not keep the command." For he is convicted of knowing that every man who has not kept the command given to him will have judgment and condemnation in accordance with the transgression thereof. D
A On the man himself, therefore—that is, regarding the course and life of his own conduct—there is much knowledge for him; for nothing that is for his benefit escapes him. And he must be strictly on guard not to overstep or deviate in any way from what has been commanded and decreed for him through inattention, contempt, or mental sloth. For even if he does not know how great the judgment of his condemnation will be—whether harsh and severe, or easy and light—yet he knows securely and firmly that he who keeps a command is judged worthy of acceptance and rewards by the One who gave it, while he who does not keep it, on the contrary, is judged worthy to undergo judgment, condemnation, and punishment according to his merits.
As for what he says: "For as it shall be, who shall announce it to him?" B he likewise indicates ignorance of the retribution and judgment that will overtake him. For no man knows the measure of the anger of a king, or of parents, or of teachers, and much less of the unfathomable judicial decrees and counsels of God, whose justice no one can attain. For men, while often thinking they have sinned only slightly, have been convicted by judges of having sinned greatly; much more so, then, before Him who searches the hearts and knows the thoughts of men, of whom John the theologian also says in one place: "For God is greater than our heart."
Do you, therefore, O mortal, endeavor with all your strength to receive—and hasten to keep and observe—every command given to you by the Master and God of all, or by any others who in any way are superior and greater; do not entertain excuses or pretexts for going forward, being drawn by them toward transgression; C but rather, by keeping and observing them, confidently hope for the acceptance and praise that will surely come to you. Hence, he immediately added thereafter:
§ XI. VERS. 8, 9. "There is no man having power over the spirit, so as to restrain the spirit. And there is no power in the day of death, and there is no release in the day of war; and wickedness shall not save him who is possessed by it. And all this I saw, and I gave my heart to every work that is done under the sun, which man has done by his power over man, so as to afflict him."
The wise Ecclesiastes makes each of his hearers more attentive D and more sober in his life, to always order his life according to the good commands he has received and to conform his own way of living according to the instructions of those who are better, having regard for those things which often happen and are neither apparent nor foreseen beforehand: namely, the arrival of that final day which transfers man from the perils of human condition and the place of mourning—that is, from this present life—to that which is hoped for and future. For not even in the human spirit, or in one’s own volition...
A (for he has indicated this now by the name of "spirit"), does it lie to prevent the soul from being separated from the body, or to exchange and pass beyond the day of death as it arrives. But it is in the power of Him who has both bound them together and set a limit for their dissolution, according to the time that He Himself has willed, judged, and predestined.
With all diligence, therefore, it behooves us to guard the divine commandments, and the instructions and teachings of those whom we have chosen as our guides and wise instructors, so that being prepared and pre-trained in the perfections of the virtues, we may say with the prophet David: “I was prepared, and I was not troubled” B (Ps. CXVII, 60), and may we in no way be disturbed or troubled when our spirit—that is, the soul—is about to be separated from the body. For at that time, after the decree has been issued from above by the divine will, there is no profit to man, even if we weep ten thousand tears. For just as on a day of battle it is impossible for an embassy, once it has been put forward, to effect anything toward conciliation and a peaceful disposition—for those who are at that moment engaging in it ought to have done so long before—so, when death is standing over us and separating our soul from the body, no profit remains to the one dying, even if he offers ten thousand supplications and prayers for delay, for a temporal reprieve, or for salvation in the present.
This, then, being the inevitability of the determined day upon the separation of the soul from the body, is common to all men. However, those who have lived piously and justly in this present life, guided by a good and divine hope toward the recompense of future good things, will find eternal salvation. But he who has lived wickedly, impiously, and basely in the present C life, and departs from it, will be sent away to unbearable and everlasting punishments, being led toward no hope of salvation. For he signified this when he said: “And impiety will not save the one belonging to it”—that is, its lover, its fosterling, and its accomplice; nay rather, it will become an indictment and a most authoritative accusation against him.
Having foreseen all these things in the current contemplation, the wise Ecclesiastes added: “And I saw all this, and I gave my heart to every work that is done under the sun”—not, indeed, of those things made by God (the creative cause of all things, clearly), but those which base and beauty-hating men contrive, who have as their intention all sorts D of injustice, avarice, and calumny, and who walk toward an end, and are in no way satisfied in their evil deeds.
For this he made clear by saying: "How much a man has exercised power over man to afflict him." For having misused the free will of the rational and intellectual soul upon base things, he who inclines the impulse of his choice toward wrongdoing exercises power—that is, he has been permitted both to deceive and to slander, and to defame, and to covet, and in many ways and manifoldly to harm his neighbor. Consequently, therefore, he immediately added: A
§ XII. VERS. 10. And then I saw the impious brought into the sepulchers. B That is to say, when they acted arrogantly toward those who were weaker, and arrived at the extremity of wickedness and depravity and predatory and covetous practices, then, he says, death suddenly and beyond expectation coming upon them, struck them down to the earth and covered them with sepulchers. The prophet David clearly represents this same thing as well, when he says: "They have failed, they have perished by reason of their iniquity." And again: "I have seen the impious one being lifted up and exalted as the cedars of Lebanon, and I passed by, and behold he was not, and I sought him, and his place was not found." For, by the arrival of the death that suddenly came upon them, they were dismissed into eternal destruction. For he showed this by those things which he immediately added: C
§ XIII. And they went from the Holy, and were praised in the city, because they did so. And this too is vanity. The impious, he says, having been brought into the sepulcher, were separated from God. For the designation of "the Holy" indicates this place now, according to that which is written: "Let the impious one be taken away, so that he may not see the glory of the Lord." But those who shared with them the same work for impiety and crimes, and have followed their footsteps in this life, do not cease to celebrate and adorn them with proclamations because of these very things which they committed wickedly and impiously. For the city has many such people; for D among the wicked, consensus is more frequent than among the upright and the honest, so that, therefore, it should be no wonder that those who think and feel the same way should bestow praise upon them even when they are dead. Therefore the wise Ecclesiastes says: "And this too is vanity," repeating the customary formula for condemning and disapproving of deceptive and evil opinions and deeds. And then, as if to demonstrate the cause for which they were led to praise even dead impious men, he immediately added:
A
Verse 11. "Because there is no contradiction made against those who do evil, therefore the heart of the sons of men is speedily filled in them to do evil, as much as he has sinned from then and from the length of their days."
He says, therefore: There is no one who rebukes the impious and restrains their impiety and evil deeds; nor is there anyone who, by contradictions and constant warnings, might delay those who voluntarily rush into error and flagrancy and every kind of wickedness. Since they undertake any crime whatsoever fearlessly and with complete ease of mind, as there is no obstacle placed in their way from any quarter, they immediately gather to themselves many others as companions, imitators, and ministers of that same wickedness. B For, because the impiety and evil-doing of those people is exempt from rebuke, the crowd of other men takes courage and persuades itself that the things done by them are not so absurd, and for that reason they deem them more fortunate than others. Therefore, it emulates their wickedness and strives toward equal improbity and similar crimes, occupied with the same zeal and in the same shameful acts.
For this he signified by saying: "Therefore the heart of the sons of men is filled in them to do evil." Then, showing what that evil is, he immediately added: "As much as he has sinned from then and from the length of their days, to do evil." For the word "sin" is clearly a comprehensive, universal, and C general term; and if one says that there are men who are heterodox, or rapacious, or evil slanderers and devilish, or fornicators and… D
A unholy, all are found to be subject to sin, as if under a distinct genus. But in order to show the different end of both—that is, of those who love piety and are witnesses to orthodox dogmas, and of those who are diligent workers of sincere and prudent deeds, and indeed of those who choose and do the contrary to these—he immediately added: B § XV. Vers. 12, 13. "For I know that it shall be well to them that fear God, who fear before him; and it shall not be well to the ungodly, and he shall not prolong his days in the shadow, who is not fearing before the face of God."
As if he were to say: "I have explored this, and I know it to be most true, that those who carry the fear of God before their eyes, and address Him with those words, 'Fix my flesh with Thy fear' (19), so that they may never fall from the dignity of virtue; because they purely keep the orthodox faith, C and indeed conduct their lives according to the principles of justice, excellent rewards shall be given to them by the most just judgment of God—namely, the glory and the blessedness of the supercelestial angels and the intelligent powers and orders, who perpetually contemplate the splendor of the divine Sun of glory, and who drink in the ineffable and divine joy and sweetness therefrom. But for the ungodly and the wicked and those who despise divine laws, no such form of reward shall be given at all; but rather tribulation and distress and wrath and indignation for D every soul that works evil."
This is also confirmed by the prophet David, when he says: "God hath spoken once, twice have I heard this, that power belongeth to God, and unto Thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy; for Thou shalt render to every one according to his works." And this is shown even more clearly in the Gospel of our salvation, where it is said: "And they that have done good shall rise unto the resurrection of life, but they that have done evil unto the resurrection of judgment" (20). And long before, the prophet Daniel spoke in exactly the same sense: "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall rise, some to eternal life, and others to eternal punishment" (21).
As for what is added, "And he shall not prolong his days in the shadow, who is not fearing before the face of God," he clearly signifies a just and hasty wrath in this present life as well. For he called the present life of every man a shadow, because it passes by most quickly, and like a shadow perishes, as soon as
A it has shown itself, and come into the sight of men. For even if we know that not all the impious have been short-lived, and have departed this life more swiftly, carried off in the middle of their course, yet because of this, if account is taken of those things which we have accepted as having happened to various ages, what is said here ought not to be thought to have been brought forth by the Ecclesiastes rashly [(22)]. Then the Ecclesiastes says:
§ XVI.
Verse 14. *It is vanity, which is done upon the earth, because there are just men, because it comes to them as the act of the impious; and there are impious men, because it comes to them as the act of the righteous. And I said: This also is vanity* [(23)].
An absurd distribution and a corrupt judgment, and one entirely false, have been introduced by dishonest, perverse, and impious men, as much toward the pious and the just and those who love virtue, as toward the impious and the flagitious, by which they exchange in truth the opinions of both, and invert the fitting and proper rewards. Thus, the things which are owed to the good and just, they assign to the impious and the flagitious; and on the contrary, the things which hang over the latter, they reflect back upon the former, clearly opposing the divine goodness and just judgment. For God indeed gives good rewards to the good, and in the same way, evil rewards to the evil, for He weighs with a most just balance and distributes to each what he deserves. But the judgment of the human mind, on the contrary, assigns to the good even evil things, and to the evil good things, and subjects the former to punishments and C torments, and sometimes sends them into various exiles, or shuts them in long-lasting prisons; sometimes it even tortures them with hunger and whips and fire and iron, or delivers them as food to beasts, judgment being passed unfairly and with a demented mind; whereas it honors the latter, and deems them worthy of luxury and power and glory.
This, then, is found to be full of all unreasonable judgment, indicating the highest madness and a thing worthy of all condemnation. Therefore he says: *And this also is vanity*, using the customary phrase of contempt for such things. For having thus chided and mocked such an incongruous and irrational reversal, he turns himself in the same way to the straight opinion of those things that are conducted in this life, so that we, being rid of perverse opinion and wicked actions, and having proved ourselves the better, may strive to maintain true judgments and straight opinions concerning good and godly and earnest men, and on the contrary, concerning the impious and wicked and base; so that every one of us, with a confident mind, may accost God, the Lord of all, along with the prophet David, and say: "Partition [seeketh] in the present, in which all that we live is brief, a shadow, and an image: *For man walketh in an image* (Ps. XXXVII, 7); but rather, that he may fear for the future, lest the length of his life, where true life is, be shortened."
A I am a partaker of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts (Ps. CXVIII, 63). And again: *But to me thy friends, O God, are made exceedingly honorable; their beginning is exceedingly strengthened* (Ps. CXXXVIII, 17). And contrariwise: *Have I not hated them that hate thee, O Lord, and pined away at thy enemies?* (ibid. 21). Therefore let us attain to the inheritance of the heavenly kingdom with Christ our God himself, to whom be glory and empire with the Almighty Father and the holy and good and life-giving Spirit, now and always, and unto the endless ages of ages. Amen.
BOOK EIGHT
B 214 § 1. Vers. 15-17. *And I commended joy, because there is no good for a man under the sun, except to eat and to drink and to be merry.* And this same shall be with him in his labor through the days of his life which God hath given him under the sun. In which I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to see the distraction that is made upon the earth, for both day and night he is not seeing sleep in his eyes. And I saw all the works of God, that man shall not be able to find the work that is wrought under the sun. However much man shall labor to seek, and he shall not find. Yea, even if a wise man should say that he knows it, he shall not be able to find it. Wherefore I gave all this into my heart; and my heart saw all this: how the just and the wise and their deeds are before God (24).
C After he rejected the preposterous and absurd perversion of judgment concerning both, as well the good and pious as the impious and evil; and likewise the changes and removals of the remunerations which every sensible and honest man would feel ought to be given for the sake of these very persons out of a fitting and just judgment—inasmuch as they have been introduced against the decree and just sentence of God; and after he found nothing in the pursuits of the impious and mad men whom he noted to be worthy of any commendation; by way of juxtaposition and comparison with all their other impious and flagitious deeds, he passes over to the praise of that more human joy of theirs, which they establish for themselves in eating and drinking; and D the only such
being constructed by food and drink, A or rather solely distinguishing and assigning the good to such men, as if they were able—or, more accurately, willing—to acquire nothing else good in the present life; yet not even in the life to come will they find anything at all, save only the prosperity, cheer, and delight in the present life which is through eating and drinking. For it is as if he said: They are deprived of all good things, both in the present life and in the life to come, inasmuch as they have willfully cast themselves into every unjust action and fit, absurd opinion; so that they might fittingly and properly hear, for this very reason, from the divine counsel and righteous judgment: “You received your good things in your life, and because of this you are now suffering.” For while living under this visible sun, and before yet being covered by the earth, you deemed no care for the future age worthy of yourselves. Therefore, having now been translated to this [state], you have found, as was fitting, the just reward of your own impieties and evil deeds.
These things, says B the wise Ecclesiastes, having considered: “I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to see the distraction which has been done upon the earth”—in that the wicked and haters of good, having it as an inhabitant, grant no sleep to their eyes nor slumber to their eyelids; but all the day and night they devise unjust and evil plans against the godly and righteous men, to remove even the memory of them from the earth through various and manifold punishments and torments. For indeed, since he said beforehand, “Because I know that it will be good for those who fear God, which will not be for the impious”—prophesying from thence, as I think, the good reward from God for the holy apostles and C martyrs in the kingdom of heaven, for the labors and toils they endured, having been perfected through myriad torments—then immediately adding and saying, “that there is a vanity which has been done upon the earth,” clearly by the unjust and impious men, which exchanges the reputations of the righteous for those of the unjust, and of the impious for those of the pious; and proclaiming through the aforesaid things the reversed, distorted, and crooked judgment of the impious and lawless kings and tyrants, which they exercised upon the athletes of piety and defenders of the truth and martyrs of our sincere faith; and furthermore, those who were seduced and obeyed their commands, and became renegades—and having submitted to the highest reproaches and mocked all these things—he proceeded logically to speak of D and to signify also the restless distraction which they had day and night, raging against the saints, to drag down and pull back the praiseworthy tension of their courage and God-beloved resolve.
“Child, remember that you received your good things in your life, and Lazarus likewise the bad; but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony.”
A Signifying, therefore, the blindness of such men and their darkness, he said again: “And I saw all the works of God, that a man shall not be able to find out the work that is done under the sun.” For they neither knew, nor understood, but walked in the darkness of their own blindness, saying to the stone, “You made me,” and to the gold-wrought image, and indeed to the wood-wrought one, “You are my God.” For, being unable to understand because of their great foolishness that all matter was created by God, and that every other creature of those we see was made by the Creator for the service of men, they strayed into such erroneous and foolish notions. And for this reason, however much care those who are deemed wise among the Greeks took to search for and find the only true God, they did not find Him, but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened; professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. “But I,” he says, “having examined all these things in my heart and understood, I perceived accurately and discerned that the righteous and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; and even if they appeared in the eyes of the foolish to have died, and their departure was accounted as evil, yet their hope is full of immortality.”
B The wise Ecclesiastes, prophesying in this way, surely forestalled and foretold the animosity and madness of impious kings and tyrants against the athletes of piety and the triumphant martyrs, whose noble struggles and every sort of torture and punishment and pains rose up as a most fragrant incense to the high and holy altar of God, and there they stand written, and stand forth proclaiming and testifying to the courage of the athletes and their love toward Him who is truly and solely the true God. And at the same time they declare the hatred and abhorrence against the devil C and the deception of idols—all of which, the senseless and the mad and the impious, indiscriminately and confusedly, or rather, to speak more accurately, in an inverted manner, honoring their own designations and opinions, change and transpose the nature of things. And they count as good what is evil, and conversely what is evil, as good; and they hold darkness to be light, and light to be darkness; and they call what is sweet, bitter; and what is bitter, sweet, contrary to the instruction of holy Scripture. D Which the wise Ecclesiastes, in order to demonstrate, immediately follows up and says that the work that is done under the sun, as much as a man may labor to seek, he shall not find.
A
§ II.
*And indeed, a man knows not love and hatred. All things are before their face. Vanity in all things.* (27) That is, to those of foolish mind, who call what is pious and just, iniquitous; and on the contrary, what is iniquitous, pious and just. (28) Even though the divine Scriptures forbid this very thing in these words: "He who calls the just iniquitous, and the iniquitous just, is unclean and abominable before God." (29) And these things are fittingly applicable to the insane and foolish men of all times and all ages. For this life has always been found to be full of those who introduce such crooked judgments, falsified against the nature of things. And especially and singularly do they suit those times in which falsehood excels the truth, and impiety and injustice fare better than piety and justice. Therefore, B the wise Ecclesiastes immediately added:
§ III.
*As is the happening to the just and to the impious, to the good and to the bad, and to the clean and to the unclean, and to one sacrificing and to one not sacrificing: as the good, so the sinner; as one swearing, so one who fears an oath. This is the wicked thing in everything that is done under the sun, that there is one happening to all. And indeed the heart of the sons of men is filled with evil, and madness is in their heart in their life, and after this to the dead.* (30)
To those who possess the senses of the soul unexercised for the discernment of good and evil, and of the useful and the harmful, C and in whom no difference of love for God or hatred is considered, because they have crooked paths of their own designs and thoughts, it seems that there is one happening; that is, a single end and term for those who have been disposed and have thought and reasoned and lived in opposite ways; so that even those who have achieved every idea of piety and justice must find the same and one end as those who, on the contrary, have wrought every impiety and wickedness: which indeed seems to the wise to be a wicked thing, and an indication of complete dementia. For if he who strives for the truth and for piety, and lives in justice, and [illustrates his life before] God with constant and mystical sacrifices and liturgies D...
shall have the same end as the one who has not even entertained any thought of these things, how would this not appear utterly unjust to all who were created under the sun, and who have received a discerning mind regarding the nature of things, which is indicative of all injustice? A Yet the heart of the sons of men, being filled with extreme malice and with restless and irrational wandering, slips away and is brought down to lawless and false opinions throughout their entire life, bringing forth evil thoughts and notions from the evil treasury of wickedness. Moreover, those who possess such an evil heart, when they depart from this present life, and as mortals move on after those who have already died B and been extinguished before them, they command that the remnants of their own wicked doctrines be strengthened and guarded by those of like mind. And as the Prophet says: “The remnants of the impious shall be destroyed,” by the word of truth, which the divine Scriptures testify is stronger than all else. Then the Ecclesiastes says:
§ IV. Vers. 4. “For who is there that communicates with all the living?”
For those who live in the truth, and keep the justice of God and the rectitude of natural reason uncorrupted in their thinking and acting, C they deliver those who approach them—and who have been received into the communion and partaking of their true and life-giving doctrines—from the deceits and wicked habits with which they had been rashly imbued by others. Then he says:
§ V. Vers. 5, 6. “There is hope, for the dog that is still living is better than the dead lion. For the living know that they will die, and the dead know nothing; and there is no longer any reward for them; for their memory has been forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their zeal has already perished. And there will no longer be a portion for them forever, in all that is done under the sun.”
Having triumphed over and pillaged those who held false opinions concerning those who love the God over all—who D pass through the stadium of life with all piety and a godly state—as well as those who are impious, wicked, and base, and who provide opposing views concerning both types of life; and having said, “And after these things to the dead; for who is there that communicates with all the living?” he proceeds to draw a comparison between those who have departed from this life and those who still live in it; and he shows that...
A those who have acted impiously and have died in their impiety, having shown no change nor repentance toward the better, shall no longer be altered from their impious opinions and evil deeds; nor shall they be redeemed from any of the eternal punishments and torments hanging over them from thence. But those who are still surviving and living in this life, through the suggestions of men who are better and wise and prudent—those who truly live for God—will be easily and readily transformed, as if by good leaven, and will be seasoned with the salt of true dogmas, and will depart from evil-minded dogmas, even if they are insignificant individuals and small and utterly dishonored and overlooked like dogs. B But those who have died together with their own impieties, and have departed to those who have already passed away before them with their impious opinions and abominable deeds, shall no longer obtain any release from such things through a change for the better, even if they were some rulers, or wealthy and powerful men and kings, so as to be likened to lions due to the arrogance of their current authority and power. For they have already been put to death, and according to that which is written, “God has shut them out.”
This, therefore, is what the wise Ecclesiastes says: “There is hope, that a living dog himself is better than a dead lion.” C He calls the one who is dishonored and accounted as a dog, on account of the obscurity and poverty and destitution present in him, “better” because of the change toward the better;* whereas the “lion” is the one who was formerly exalted and boasted in the purple and the diadem with the stone and the pearl, but is now dead and become a corpse, and for this reason is unable to receive any correction and improvement. For that which follows immediately confirms this, saying: “For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.” D For he who has died with his own impieties and transgressions and evil deeds, even if he was illustrious and glorious, and shining and adorned with the wealth and boasting of the prosperity surrounding him on all sides, is found to be worse than the most humble and destitute and poorest, who is clothed in torn rags and is begging, but who is not yet dead, but is hoping [for correction]. For all their things have departed and been scattered.
*(34) Drusius, indeed, thinks that this proverb is one (Prov. ch. 1, lib. 2, n. 35) intended to declare that the condition of the living is in all respects better than that of the dead: but that this was used according to the opinion of voluptuous men, because they believed that nothing of man survived in death, and therefore they preferred life, however abject and contemptible, to it. Yet he himself adds what accords most with the interpretation of our Gregory; he says: “The words, ‘To him there is hope,’ when one is called good before a lion, who was once puffed up with pride and luxury, and displayed purple and a diadem of gems and pearls; but now indeed, extinguished and numbered among the dead, he can in no way be corrected and return to better fruit.” (35) David’s words seem to be indicated (Ps. xxxv, 3): “Shut up against them that persecute me.”
the better state is naturally brought about have vanished, neither the affections of the soul (that is, love or hatred), nor physical organs are able to perform anything toward repentance and conversion. Then the wise Ecclesiastes says:
VI-VII.
B 222 Ver. 7, 8. Go, eat your bread in gladness, and drink your wine with a good heart, for God has already been pleased with your works. At all times let your garments be white, and let not oil be lacking upon your head.If we wish to explain this saying in its obvious and common sense, we may not improperly say that it is a just exhortation, in which Ecclesiastes warns us to leave behind and turn away from the crooked and winding paths of wicked men and enemies of the truth; and that, having embraced a simple way of life and being devoted to the doctrines of sincere faith in God, we should eat our bread in gladness and drink our wine in a good heart; so that we may neither fall into words of malice nor involve ourselves in any entanglement, but rather always think on what is right, and, as far as is lawful, bring aid to the needy and the poor through mercy and liberality: being devoted, of course, to those pursuits and deeds in which God himself delights. For in those things which men of this kind perform—seekers of simplicity and always ready to obey—there are found white garments at any time, that is, good and radiant deeds, and oil is never lacking upon their heads C (36). For since what they lend to the needy they lend to God, they receive from God the energy and grace of the most holy Spirit, which protects and cherishes their head and their whole life.
But the method of anagogy leads us to a higher contemplation and teaches us to consider the heavenly and mystical bread, which descended from heaven and brought life—D
(36) Drusus also recognizes these two things in Proverbs (cl. II, lib. II, n. 28, 29): the first, "Let your garments always be white"; the second, "Have your head always anointed with ointment"; and by both, he maintains, he teaches us nothing else than that we should love cheerfulness and seek for ourselves perpetual joy of soul. Yet the ancient Fathers did not interpret these things in this way. For hear what Cyril of Alexandria first thought: he says, that is: "But Solomon also writes somewhere: 'Let your garments be splendid at all times'; but I think, and indeed rightly, that the most wise man Solomon would never have stooped to such trifles, as to persuade us to be delighted in a childish way with the splendor of garments; but he likens a splendid garment to a life washed, as it were, and free from all filth." (Tom. I, De ador. in sp. et verit. lib. xiv, pag. 545.)
Therefore, we shall rightly think the same about the use of oil or ointment, which he wishes to be constant; so that the meaning of these words is this: just as those who serve the pleasures of the body make it their delight to anoint their heads with balsam oil, so it should be the concern of a man pursuing heavenly things that his mind should always exhale something sweet and pleasing to God. The similitude, however, is taken from the banquets of the Hebrews and all Orientals, whom we know were accustomed to recline with anointed hair. To this pertain those words of our Lord: "You did not anoint my head with oil" (Luke vii, 46); and: "But when you fast, anoint your head" (Matth. vi, 17); as also what Mary Magdalene did: who in the house of Simon the leper poured precious ointment over the head of Jesus as he reclined (Matth. xxvi, 7). On these, if you have leisure, read Frider. Bucherus in Antiq. evang. in Matth. c. xxvi, § 55.
A to the world: life; and moreover to drink the spiritual wine in a good heart, clearly that which flowed from the side of the true vine at the time of the life-giving Passion. Concerning these, the Gospel of our salvation says: "And Jesus, having taken bread, blessed it, and said to his holy disciples and apostles: Take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you for the remission of sins; likewise also the cup, and said: Drink of it, all of you; this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins." For those who eat such bread and drink the mystical wine are rightly made good and are gladdened B and almost cry out: "You have given gladness into our heart." But I think that the wisdom of God, Christ our Savior, has indicated such bread and such wine also in the book of Proverbs, saying: "Come, eat of my bread, and drink the wine which I have mixed for you," hinting at the mystical participation of the Word. For they who worthily partake of it at every time, their garments also, that is, the works of light, are found white like the light; as the Lord says also in the Gospels: "Thus let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." But also oil is said to be C perpetually overflowing on their head; that is, the Spirit of truth, protecting and delivering from every injury of sin. Then the Ecclesiastes says: "And see life with the woman whom you have loved all the days of the life of your vanity, which have been given to you under the sun; for this is your portion in your life, and in your labor in which you have labored under the sun." Having exhorted one to eat the bread attentively, and to drink the wine in simplicity of heart, and not D to turn aside to the crookedness of [wrong] reasonings, subsequently he also has one garment of gladness put upon me. "And see life with the woman whom you have loved all the days of the life of your vanity, which have been given to you under the sun... or in your labor, in which you labor under the sun."
On Ecclesiastes - Book VIII
A for it is blessed and rejoices in the works of the Church. For this reason, Solomon also, hinting at this grace, says in Ecclesiastes: "Come, eat your bread in gladness" (the spiritual bread. Come, he calls the saving and beatifying vocation). "And drink your wine in a good heart" (the spiritual wine). "And let oil be poured upon your head." (Do you see how he also hints at the mystical anointing?) "And at all times let your garments be white, because God is pleased with your works." For before you approached grace, your works were vanity of vanities. But after you put off the old garments, and put on those which are spiritually white, it is necessary that you always be dressed in white. We do not absolutely say this, that you must always be dressed in white garments, but that those which are truly white and brilliant and spiritual, it is necessary for you to be dressed in them, so that you may say according to the blessed Isaiah: "My soul shall exult in the Lord; for he has clothed me with a garment of salvation, and has put upon me a tunic of gladness" (Isa. LXI, 10).A and to turn aside toward the crookedness of thoughts; consistently, he also teaches that one man should have one wife, the one loved and taken from the beginning; and that in no way throughout all the days of one's sojourn here should one ever know another at all. Rather, the one man should be content with the one woman, according to the decree and word of the Creator, who said: "It is not good that the man should be alone; let us make him a helper comparable to him" (Gen. II, 18). And He, having taken one of his ribs, "filled up the flesh in its place" (Gen. II, 21), and shaped that rib which He had taken into the form and likeness of a woman. This, therefore, is the portion given to man; for one rib was clearly a part of his nature. Know and recognize this, he says, all the days of this life and vanity; but may you never know another at all. He named the vanity of life the alteration, instability, and changeability of the inclination of human intentions, because of which the wretched man, through a certain negligence and relaxation, often slips into revolving in his mind things that lead to sin. Then he says: B
§ VIII. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest" (Eccl. IX, 10).
Ecclesiastes shows himself to be an excellent instructor of human life and a wise counselor. For he proposes to his hearers the marks of a life that is blameless and as free from sin as possible, and teaches that nothing that belongs to the power of human nature should be overlooked, and that nothing that is pleasing to God and contributes to His honor and to the keeping of the divine commandments should be omitted. But if anyone finds even a short time of leisure for the singing of hymns and for prayers, or for the contemplation and meditation C of heavenly and intelligible things, and for temperance and fasting, and for the timely reduction of many and various foods; or for mercy and liberality toward the needy and the poor and the destitute; or for the discernment of justice and the clearer illumination of the truth; or for the consolation of those in calamity, and the defense and protection of those who are suffering unjustly at the hands of certain unrighteous judges or callous and inhumane potentates; then all these things, and whatever else of a like nature is enumerated in the chorus of virtue, are to be undertaken without delay and with one's whole soul. Since, indeed, the present time is suitable for performing good and noble deeds, whereas the future D gives no place to those who have departed to perform any such thing. This he revealed when he added: "For there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest."
A Not that the soul puts off or completely casts away the innate reasonings of the soul and its essential knowledge and wisdom, but that after death it is in no way able to offer the confession here of the sins it committed with the body, or to take up again what is better and more advantageous. For the human being is a composite of both, namely of the soul and the body; and every achievement and transgression that occurs here by the agency of both is likewise naturally meant to receive healing from both. Even if someone should choose to put forward the impious and wicked thoughts, as if they were performed solely by the rational faculties of the soul without the body participating at all, as they have not yet proceeded to action—yet, since it is joined to the body, it brought B even these forth through its association with it.
There is, therefore, "no wisdom and knowledge and reasoning in the grave, whither thou goest," that is, for correction and improvement. And for this reason, he exhorts us that we should not neglect or overlook anything useful and saving for the soul while we live, but rather pursue it quickly with all our might. Then he says:
§ IX.
"I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of knowledge; but time and chance happeneth to them all. For man knoweth not his time. As the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, so are the sons of men C snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them."
From what, then, does he say he returned? From the cares and anxieties that surrounded him, many and of every kind, inasmuch as he was king and judge and helmsman of the great ship of the innumerable multitude of the Israelites entrusted to him by God. For it was fitting for him to be occupied with the administration of the royal providence that arose. Returning from there, then, he says, having left aside the occupation of the matters that were set before him and coming into his view, I drew my mind toward the contemplation set before me, and I saw, clearly with the eyes of the mind, that not every man D who utilizes the swiftest feet and is very naturally suited for a tense and very light course has obtained the prize of victory. For having often slipped or been tripped, he has been declared inferior to his opponents. For not even for the most valiant is the battle naturally successful; and a natural power over enemies does not always produce victory.
A Likewise, the downtrodden and B the humble are sometimes found to have vanquished and defeated the powerful, as David the boy bears witness, having overthrown the giant Goliath: "For he shall not take pleasure in the strength of a horse, nor does he delight in the legs of a man; but the Lord delights in those who fear him, and in those who hope in his mercy," as he himself says.
What, then, is one to say regarding the food owed to nature each day, namely bread and those things similar to it? Have these been allotted more to the learned and the wise, or, on the contrary, to the unwise? A Nay, it is manifest that even to plowmen and sailors, among whom there is not even a suspicion of any wisdom, neither bread nor any of the other things that are sufficient for sustaining life has been lacking; just as riches have often fallen to others who have attained no level of knowledge, unlike the wise. For noble and wise men, while they devote their leisure to higher and more excellent things, are sometimes even postponed after these, so that they look with gaping mouths to the hands of the crude and unlearned. Nor is it the case that those who excel in the knowledge of divine and human affairs are always regarded by the dynasts and kings of the earth. For these [rulers] for the most part rejoice and delight in the manners and speech of the more ignorant, and spend their time with them. B But why and for what reason? "Because," he says, "time and opportunity shall happen to them all," calling the incidental occurrences and the irregularities of human life "time" and "opportunity." For what reasons these things happen, he alone knows precisely who "has placed the seasons and times in his own power," and who "both makes poor and makes rich, and raises the needy from the earth, and lifts the beggar from the dunghill," according to the judgments of his divine goodness, to which it is not permitted to attain.
If, however, we should wish, according to the measure of human understanding and apprehension given to us, to afford some cause, this would seem to us the reason why C God has made the day of our end uncertain; and whether it shall come today, or tomorrow, or after a whole year, or after many more years, he has left it unclear to us, so that, because of the uncertainty of expectation, we may keep ourselves perpetually in virtue. D Regarding Hades—that is, the place to which it is said we depart—it is void of wisdom and sense. These things, indeed, are vain; but I know well that neither do those who seem to excel in the fleetness of their feet reach that great course, nor do the powerful and fearsome, who are held in esteem among men, win that fearsome battle. Nor is prudence tested in the abundance of food, nor is sagacity wont to have anything in common with wealth. Nor do I think those are to be congratulated who imagine that all will meet the same fate. For those who think such things seem to me to be oppressed by a heavy slumber, and they do not reflect with themselves that, caught away like fish and birds, they shall be worn away in evils, suddenly paying the penalty for their crimes. The Fathers agree that this was God’s plan in concealing the supreme day of our life. D "So also," says one of the many, Chrysostom, "God has made the day of our death uncertain for us; he has not revealed to us whether it will be today, or tomorrow, or after a whole year, or after many years; so that, through the uncertain expectation, we may keep ourselves perpetually in virtue." (Hom. 4, n. 1, in Epist. ad Hebr. c. iii.)
A it is often permitted that contrary things befall the sons of men, in order that no one, relying and placing his hope in the swiftness of his own feet, or in the strength of his arms, or in the abundance of his wisdom, understanding, or knowledge, might be found an arrogant despiser of the inclination, attendance, prayer, and supplication due to his own Creator, God, and Lord; but rather that all might place their hopes in Him, and from His benevolent and philanthropic providence, might seek out prosperity, redemption, salvation, and victory over their adversaries. For this reason, He has ordained that the hour of death should be unforeseen by men, so that, because of the obscurity and uncertainty of that time, we might always be sober and vigilant, lest the house of our soul be plundered and we lose the treasures of hope and faith set in God. B
Therefore, the wise Ecclesiastes says: "Because man does not know his time," but like fish "which are caught in an evil net," and like birds that fall into a snare, men themselves are also frequently caught and ensnared, specifically by the snares of sin and the net of those evil counsels which the malicious enemy of our race, the devil, employs when he invades those who are less diligent and unsuspecting.
But let us be found always sober and watching, living attentively and calling upon the grace and cooperation from above, through which we may be able to escape the snares, all the deceits, and the fury of the insnarers, thieves, and robbers who plot against us. C May we be found better, and be completely joined to God through a state of living that is perfectly holy and spiritual, so that we may also inherit the kingdom of heaven, in Christ our God himself, to whom belong glory and power, together with the almighty Father and the all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
BOOK NINE
§ 1.
And I saw this, wisdom under the sun, and it is great to me: a small city, and few D men in it. And a great king comes against it, and he will encircle it, and will build great siege-works against it; and he finds in it a poor wise man, and he will save the city by his wisdom.
A And the man did not remember that poor man. And I said: Wisdom is better than power; and the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heard.
Since shortly before he affirmed that the sons of men are caught and ensnared, like fish and birds, by the nets and snares of hunters who lie in wait for both soul and body, because man is ignorant of his own time of death, both the natural one and that which is brought on by sin, he now shows the knowledge of that wisdom and grace divinely given to man for overcoming such ambushes. For the sake of an example, he assumes and sets forth a small city, inhabited by few men, which a powerful king, having set up camps or wall-engines, besieges and brings up engines of every kind in order to gain that city; and at the same time [he brings in] a poor but wise man, who, by the help of his wisdom, could save the city from the besiegers and enemies. Moreover, if we look at the obvious meaning, he seems to earnestly commend the pursuit of wisdom, namely that which is given by God to ward off external enemies, who indeed besiege visible cities, B and by a long siege defeat and capture them, and lead all the inhabitants away as captives, or kill them with the sword. But if the principle of anagogy is taken into account, he names as the "small city" the rational soul of man, which has few men—that is, its faculties: intellect, thought, opinion, imagination, and the power of sensation—which the proud Satan, called "king" by misuse, as he who possesses the empire of sin and death, does not allow to rest, being surrounded by a siege; even as he is also called a lion and prince of this world, because he has prevailed over the imprudent, and employs all kinds of engines so that he may gain the city of which we are now speaking. C If he finds the human intellect diligent and sober, and fortified by heavenly wisdom and grace, he falls crushed and takes to flight, struck down by the engines and counsels of the one poor man and put to rout with disgrace.
He called the human intellect a "man," who I suppose is brought forward by the appellation of the masculine gender, while the other faculties of the soul are all of the feminine gender: perhaps indeed for this reason also, because it is lifted up lightly and without hindrance just like the air, and D rises to the higher and intelligible contemplations, or is called a "poor man" because it is needy of the gifts of the body. But I indeed prefer the strength that is in wisdom to this popular power. But here, wisdom is despised when it dwells with poverty. That is: I truly esteem wisdom so much that I would consider even a small city, inhabited by a few and besieged by a great king with an army, to be great and populous, if it had even one poor wise man as a citizen. For he would be able to protect his city safe from the attack of the enemies, and from their ramparts and mines. And although others do not recognize that poor wise man, I nevertheless prefer the powers of wisdom to this popular power by far. Yet here, indeed, wisdom lies [neglected] and is despised, which is joined with poverty.
A It flies off to supernal and spiritual contemplations: but it is called poor, because it lacks the weapons and resources of the body for the struggles against spiritual ensnarers and enemies. This man, therefore, who is called poor—that is, the intellect—by the wisdom and grace he has received from God, wrestles down and casts to the ground foreign foes and enemies, and keeps safe the city of the soul (whose most powerful faculty it is, and in which it remains) from being captured by adversaries, those that are visible, that is, and those that are intelligible. For he who has received from above divine wisdom and grace not only foresees and forestalls the diabolical and demonic intrigues of wicked thoughts, but also the deceits of malicious, cunning, and envious men, and breaks them and renders the machinations of both of them utterly useless and vain.
B That the rational soul is called by the name of a city, the prophet David shows when he says: “The streams of the river make glad the city of God” (Ps. XLV, 5), calling the virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit “streams of the river,” by which the soul is exhilarated, provided it has placed its hope in God. Therefore, in order to confirm an interpretation of this kind, the wise Ecclesiastes also added: “And no man remembered that poor man.” For among all other men, not one has been found who knew the struggle and victory of that man, at the time when the soul, or rather the city, was being besieged; nor by any others were his words heard—the words of the intellect, that is—by which he warded off his adversaries. For this reason, the wisdom of such a poor man is often despised and held for nothing, because it is not known C how great a contest he sustained and how great a trophy he erected.
But the wise Ecclesiastes extols this athlete on account of the wisdom and grace given to him by the author of the contest, and says: “And I said, Wisdom is better than strength.” And this statement clearly corresponds to the words of the prophet David saying: “He will not find pleasure in the strength of the horse, nor does He take pleasure in the legs of a man; but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, and in those who hope in his mercy” (Ps. CXLVI, 10). For the throngs of hostile demons, and furthermore of envious and evil-minded men, are cast down and turned to flight much more by wisdom, grace, and prudence than by physical strength. For, to confirm this, the wise Ecclesiastes immediately added:
D
§ II.
VERSE 17. The words of the wise are heard in quiet, more than the cry of them that have power among fools (48).As if he were saying: The thoughts and words of the wise man of whom we are speaking are hidden from all others, and they possess an arcanum and mystical method of fighting and exercising; for those who wish [to]
B to learn are heard, since He Himself makes them manifest and declares them to those who approach and inquire with reverence, and He inscribes them upon their hearts with a sound greater than that which resounds in the theaters among those who live by their own laws and who call out the words of their games to one another with clamor. For this is what he signaled by saying, "above the clamor of those who have power in follies." Then he says:
§ III.
VERS. 18. Bona sapientia super vasa belli, et peccans unus perdet bonitatem multam.
As the literal sense suggests, he prefers heavenly wisdom and grace over military machines and instruments in the same way. For where prudence is absent, all their apparatus and supplies are found to be entirely useless. But if you attend to the force of the anagoge, he declares that there is no need whatever for any sensible machines for drawing up a battle line against the devil and his associates and the evil demons; but [there is need only] of alertness and sobriety, which heavenly wisdom grants to those who have set their hope in God. For this alone instructs and strengthens the human mind to nullify their siege engines and towers.
As for what he says, "And one who sins will destroy much goodness," he indeed indicates the treachery that frequently occurs in sensible wars—a thing not at all rare—which turns the zeal of all the tribesmen into destruction, when, by the betrayer's information, the enemy is led to oppress the besieged during the battle itself. C But from the interior sense he teaches and demonstrates that when the intellect languishes through voluntary negligence, and closes its battle-line, and thus provides an entrance for the unforeseen assault of impious thoughts, it loses the previous "much goodness"—namely, virtue—and that which is the companion of victory in pious contests: the struggle against spiritual adversaries and enemies. For it behooves us to be sober at all times, to be vigilant, and to look around carefully for the aggressions of spiritual enemies, lest at some time the intellect, D while failing to guard the truth, should lapse from the victory...
and lose all its former glory and zeal. Then the Preacher says:
§ IV.
A Dead flies spoil the composition of the oil of sweetness.
Literally, the present saying refers to those small insects that fly about, sting, and molest men along with all other animals, and which, falling into oil prepared for the sake of sweetness, are stifled and die by the thickness of the material, and by their death render that which is sweet foul-smelling, or rather stinking and repellent. Allegorically, however, we reckon the "dead flies" to designate the malignant demons, who, like flies, settle upon the weals of human souls and, moreover, drive in the sting of sin, which is altogether death; and from this, they spoil the composition of the spiritual oil of the soul, which is accustomed to be produced through the aromatics of virtue for the sweetness of divine pleasure and God-befitting goodness, by means of the death of sin, and make it appear foul-smelling to the olfactory powers of God; so that the Lord in no way perceives as a sweet-smelling fragrance such a composition of the oil obtained through virtue.
B Very appositely, indeed, he brought forward the example of the flies, comparing the demons to them, both because they are borne about through the air everywhere like flies and sting and wound men, and because they possess an impudent, bold, and shameless character, which they have in a manner similar to flies. For since a little before he said, "And one who sins will lose much goodness," consequently he has introduced the flies that kill and make putrid, in order to show clearly that he is alluding chiefly to the death of sin, which, whenever it comes upon someone due to the unwatchfulness and sloth of the mind, destroys the much virtue won by long sweat and all kinds of struggles. Therefore, he surely added:
C A little of wisdom is more precious than great glory of folly.
For he shows from this that even a small measure of wisdom and grace gifted from above by God is more desirable and useful—indeed, more precious—than the great glory which those who are full of folly, or rather wickedness, in their pursuits and deeds obtain from those of like mind, concerning whom the Apostle says: "Whose glory is in their shame."
D Hine enim statuit, vel exiguam partem ejus, quae a Deo datur, sapientiæ atque gratiæ, optabiliorem multo esse et utiliorem, quam honores eorum, qui studiis factisque amentiæ atque nequitiæ plenis apud asseclas suos magnam sibi comparant gloriam (54); de quibus ait Apostolus: "Quorum gloria in confusione ipsorum." Nam qui se exer-
Acent in gymnastic contests, or who practice leaping upon several horses yoked together and flying like birds, or who excel over others in gluttony and drunkenness, or are more than sufficient in shameful intercourse, they think that they derive glory from this among those who have zealously pursued the same evils of life. The wise Ecclesiastes, belittling and mocking these men, has added once more:
VERS. 2. Cor sapientis in dextro ejus, et cor stulti in sinistro ejus.
By this he signifies the voluntary inclination of sensible and virtuous men toward those things that are good, useful, and pleasing to God, and conversely, the inclination of the imprudent and the senseless toward those things that bring harm and destruction. For by the name of the right part is designated the choice of all that is good and honorable, and on the contrary, by the appellation of the left is indicated the choice of those things which are held to be entirely the opposite. Therefore, he immediately added:
§ VI. VERS. 3. Etiam in via, cum stultus ambulat, cor ejus deficiet, et quae cogitaverit omnia stultitia sunt.
Since the fool has no care to please God, as he spends his life at home in idleness and wickedness, so also, when he goes abroad, he abandons useful and honorable things behind him. For he does not, when about to leave the house, implore help from on high, nor does he pray to the Savior of all, God, to find divine assistance. B Consequently, he has immediately added:
§ VII.
And indeed in the way, when the fool walks, his heart will fail, and all that he thinks is folly.
The fool, having neglected the pleasing of God, just as he lives at home in sloth and vileness, so also in his goings-forth, he falls short of what is due and fitting. For when he is about to leave his room, he does not call upon the help from above, nor does he go forth having found divine aid as a helper. He who has warmed his mind, and raised up his soul, and transported himself toward heaven, and thus has called upon his Master, and has been pricked in heart concerning his sins, and has prayed for their forgiveness, and has entreated Him to be merciful and gentle, he sets aside all worldly care from his time spent in these words, and finds wings, and becomes higher than human passions. Even if after prayer he sees an enemy, he will no longer look upon him as an enemy. Even if he sees a beautiful woman, he will not be stung by the sight, because the fire that remains within from the prayer, and every absurd thought... C D
but goes forward after the manner of irrational animals, pondering nothing of what befits rational men, but everything he calculates is clearly an offspring of folly; practicing vain and false things against his neighbor, while hoping for future gains and an outcome of a life free from harm; yet finding the opposite of those things which he had hoped, practiced, and desired. For sometimes, through some reversal of human life, having fallen into disadvantageous circumstances, he has endured many difficulties and harshness. But the wise Ecclesiastes for this very reason especially instructs those who hear him to have their heart always turned toward their own Maker and God and Master, and from thence to seek the discernment of profitable and saving things, so that we may never be passed over in silence by the Lord and rendered like unto those who go down into the pit A. Then he says:
§ VIII. VERSE 4. *If the spirit of him who has power rise up against thee, leave not thy place: because a cure will make great sins cease.*
He exhorts us in no way to give place to the snares of Satan, since here he calls the devil "him who has power"; just as the great apostle Paul, writing to the Ephesians, says: *"According to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience"* B. And indeed, since a little before he had fittingly praised the city of the wise man and the victory over the spiritual adversaries, he consequently commands now that we should not receive the assaults of impious thoughts or of shameful and abominable pleasures; since it is permitted to him to use his power and to cast and inject wicked thoughts into the rational and intellectual soul; yet not so as to take root, and grow strong, and prevail, unless through some inattention of the mind and sloth they are accepted and conceived in the treasuries of the heart C.
...[a portion of footnote 59 continues]... That is, *He who kindles his mind and lifts his soul and transmits it to celestial things, and has thus invoked his Lord, and having recalled his sins to memory, has conversed with Him concerning their remission, beseeching that He may deign to be appeased and propitious to him, he, after such entreaties, casts off every care of the present life, is lifted up by hope, and is exalted above all human affections.* And whether he sees an enemy after his prayers, he will no longer look upon him as an enemy; or a beautiful woman, he will not be broken by the sight of her, the fire kindled within by prayer still enduring and dispelling every absurd thought D.
...[the text continues from the footnote/commentary section]... that is, *Indeed, you are not the only one who has done the deed, but there is also another, a most wicked instigator, the devil. He suggests to all, but he does not prevail over those who do not obey.* Therefore the Ecclesiastes says: *If the spirit of him who has power rise up against thee, leave not thy place;* that is, shut thy door, and put him far from thee, and he will not harm thee. From how many things have you departed, and you will not neglect the present things? Have you conquered physical and practical fornication? The enemy adds another for you through your senses. But when you restrain yourself from this also—because it is the first among evils, fornication—and it dwells in the spaces of the mind, he wages an immaterial war against you. For he brings in comely faces, and unseemly shapes, and past conversations to those who remain in stillness.
A For if the mind, through the watchfulness and sobriety which befit sensible and understanding hearts, would wish to distinguish and discern evil thoughts from pious opinions, the spiritual cogitations of wickedness will be found totally unacceptable to the chambers and storehouses of the heart. But if, at any time, the mind—not foreseeing a sudden assault—should be slow, you must even for a brief time restrain and repel the thoughts of wickedness; furthermore, by calling itself back again, the mind will contrive a healing thought, and will frustrate and destroy the assaults of the adversary. For this is what he indicated when he added: "For a cure will cause great sins to cease."
The Lord indeed says in the Gospels: "The prince of this world comes, and in me he finds nothing" (61); declaring plainly and completely that His own immaculate and divine mind was immune from every sinful thought. For when He was, and had already received the baptism which purified our nature, and was persevering in the desert, the devil approached Him, introducing thoughts of pleasure and of vainglory and of greed with great impudence; yet, finding no place for himself anywhere, he was repulsed and perished utterly, never again daring to contend with Him, B by whom he had been defeated with fitting and appropriate replies, and from whom he had fled in no other way than as a servant, struck with scourges and wounded. Then the wise Ecclesiastes adds:
§ IX. VERS. 5-7. There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error that proceedeth from the face of the ruler. Folly is set in great dignities, and the rich shall sit in low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth (62).
The meaning of the words is plain, and here, too, it seems that the unexpected favors and absurd promotions of the powerful are being indicated, through which it often happens that a foolish man obtains military ranks and great dignities, and has great power, either because of a similarity of morals, or because of an old and long-standing friendship, or for some other foolish cause among those C which the false judgments of men are accustomed to follow. For when men of this sort have attained the highest dignities of magistracies, you will find that, vice versa, those who were rich are transferred to an obscure, abject, and humble life (63): and as for the rule of those who were formerly servants, princes are seen living in D a servile manner on the earth.
It is necessary not to consent to the phantasms. For it is written: "If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place." For the consent to these things is a rival to worldly fornication. [alt-version omitted]
A And I mean by rulers and rich men those who are in truth filled with princely wisdom, and possess an abundance of natural perceptions highly suitable for the exercise of princely authority.
This, then, the wise Ecclesiastes says is a "wickedness" under the sun, which he has seen: either because those who are promoted are unknown to those who promote them, or because they are deceived by certain hopes of better outcomes. For one must believe that when he says "as if involuntary," he means that it is not "altogether involuntary," but "as if involuntary," that is, it bears a certain resemblance to an unwilling administration. For this reason, those who hold power often, having repented because of unexpected outcomes, remove such men from the princely and important offices they occupy. For by "him who has power" he means the one who has chanced to rule and reign at any given time. He therefore condemns those who, in making their appointments, do not choose those who have been recognized as possessing a princely mind, and who are free from the slavery of psychic and fleshly passions, and who are rich in natural and voluntary goods. B
But if anyone should wish to interpret the present statement anagogically, he might rightly consider that it signifies the exchange and relocation of both peoples, that is to say, of the Jews and of those from the Gentiles. For he who was previously known as a fool, he from the Gentiles, and who said in his heart, "There is no God," or even to a stone, "You are my God," and to a piece of wood, "You made me," he has entered in the place of the other into the high and great enjoyment of divinely fitting good gifts and of spiritual and saving graces. But those who were conversely rich in such things, that is, in the Mosaic law and the prophets and in the intimacies and promises toward the God of all, have been emptied and utterly humbled; and they are seen walking now like slaves upon the earth throughout the whole world, according to what is written: "The Lord makes poor and makes rich, he humbles and he exalts, he raises the needy C from the earth, and lifts the poor out of the dunghill." For thus it has been clearly stated that the exchange and relocation of both has occurred, because of their own unbelief the Jews were cast out, and conversely those from the Gentiles were introduced, because of their hope and faith in Christ, the God of all.
Indeed, therefore, mocking and disparaging the unbelief and perverse counsel of the Jews, he aptly named this evil "as if involuntary." For they fell voluntarily into the snares of unbelief; but they suffered their downfall and the relocation from God and divine things even against their will, thus D being brought low—that is to say, it was permitted for him to be exalted according to this world. But it has been permitted not without judgment, but in order that, having appeared highly lifted up, and having fallen from thence, he might undergo an incurable ruin. As the Scripture cries out: "The impious man is given into great heights."
A by the divine counsel and vote of God, who holds power over all things, justly decreeing. Or, on the contrary, the one who is a eunuch by nature, though he flees the devil involuntarily, is exalted; while those who bore God, being warred upon, walk in humility. Then says the Ecclesiastes: B
§ X. Vers. 8-10. *He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him. Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby. If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.*
Those who secretly and stealthily weave and arrange frauds for the harm and destruction of their neighbors, through which, unobserved and unexpectedly, they fall into the pits of worldly calamities, the wise Ecclesiastes now seeks to deter, lest they ever plan or do such a thing; for surely they shall deservedly fall into the same hardships which they devised for others, and shall pay the penalty for all those things which they attempted: just as the prophet David also says: "He hath opened a pit and digged it, and is fallen into the pit which he made. His labor shall return upon his own head, and his iniquity shall come down upon his own crown." C For this is what those words signify: "And whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him," i.e., he who breaks down a hedge not for the benefit of his neighbor, but for the unimpeded and easy entry of thieves. For the serpent shall bite him, he says—clearly the one who does harmful and destructive things to his neighbor; from these things will spring up, take hold, and bite, the venomous temptation of the serpent. And further, "Whoso removeth stones," i.e., the obstacles to those who lie in wait, against which those [targeted] would have stumbled, finding their access to the snares blocked, he says that this man shall be afflicted with pain, that is to say, he shall labor greatly.
The same thing, since the matters are similar, is also shown by these words: "He that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby; if the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength": for he who splits and cuts wood—not in order to cook some choice dish to receive guests humanely, but to kindle thoughts and cogitations of wickedness that were previously extinguished—it happens to him at times that the iron slipping, D that is, the evil mind pouring forth into a pernicious discourse, he himself finds the danger in these things instead: which we ourselves know has happened a thousand times, with evil counsel turning back upon its own authors, and all in
A heaping upon them destruction. Thus he who splits the wood is seen in vain to disturb the countenance of the plotter; nay rather, he further confirms his strength, or renders him much more valiant for staging his snares—provided that he has, without doubt, acquired a greater abundance of wisdom, that is, a more ample knowledge and discernment, alongside his former courage.
But whoever has taken up the same interpretation according to the method of anagoge will not wander from the truth. For whoever is moved by Jewish rashness and perverse counsels, or has an tongue infected by some heretical and evil-minded opinions, and for this reason tears down the hedge of the Law and the tower of the truth with foreign teachings and interpretations—and with oblique and distorted explanations—finds the crooked serpent, that is to say, the beginner of evil, the devil, consuming him with his own bites and thrusting him into the B pit of destruction. Furthermore, each of the other examples clings to the same theory, and for this reason is easily grasped by all who wish to understand it, so that there is no need for our interpretation to pursue every individual part in these, lest we be blamed for repeating the same things. But what follows now confirms what has already been said.
§ XI.
*If the serpent bites in no whispering, then there is no excess for the charmer.*
One must take even this saying, like the former, according to the anagogical method. For here he signifies the serpent, of whom Moses the theologian says: *But the serpent was craftier than all the beasts of the earth* (Gen. III, 1); clearly indicating the man-killing devil who whispered into the ears of Eve and through her tricked the progenitor Adam with false promises. This serpent, therefore, if he C bites the soul of any man *in no whispering*—that is to say, not in slight and minute and bare suggestions of absurd thoughts, but in fierce and great and plentiful deceptions of wickedness—will inflict upon him a cruel and very violent wound, so that there is no help left for the charmer—that is to say, for the teacher who tries to expel the poison of that man’s malice in return, and to provide to the bitten and wounded soul the soothing remedies of truth and justice.
Even the proverb hints at the danger of the matter, saying: *He who cleaves wood will be in danger by it, if the iron fall out.* For he who divides things by his discourse, and separates those things which are considered to be united in their natural D constitution, and shows them to be entirely alien to one another, while wishing to distinguish what is truly good from what is only thought to be so—if he does not have his argument secured on all sides, he runs a risk among his listeners, because a discourse that has fallen away from safety provides an occasion of scandal to those who are being taught.
A Therefore, the wise Ecclesiastes advises us that we must be on our guard, lest that serpent, the author of evils, insert his evil counsel into the inner chambers of the soul like fangs, and take possession of the rational faculties of the mind; rather, we should keep watch over the beginnings of wicked thoughts, and quickly drive them away and far from the court of the inner man through the attentiveness and sobriety of the mind, according to that which was said from the beginning by God through Moses: "He shall observe your head, and you shall observe his heel" (Gen. III, 15). He bids us watch out for the beginning of an evil suggestion, and at once, like a decayed head, to crush and shatter it with the rod of faith and the sword of the spirit, "which is the word of God," as the great apostle Paul says (Ephes. VI, 17), to sever and slaughter it; which the inspired Habakkuk, prophesying and addressing Christ our God, expressed when he said: "You have hurled death onto the heads of the impious, you have raised bonds up to the neck; in an ecstasy you have severed the heads of the mighty" (Habac. III, 13). For if you do not watch for the head, that is, the beginning of an evil suggestion, through the attentiveness of your mind, but allow it to enter the inmost chambers of your thoughts, swelling and inflamed B with the venom of wickedness, they will render the soul such that it is impossible or at least very difficult to be restored to health thereafter.
§ XII.
VERS. 12. *The words of the mouth of the wise man are grace, and the lips of the foolish will undo him.*
He honors and extols once more those who possess wisdom in their mouths and utter words wisely; he calls them "grace," as they bring many and various benefits to their hearers. For so it is said in the book of Proverbs: "From the mouth of the just, graces distill" (Prov. X, 31).
C For he institutes a ratio between the serpent and the slanderer. For what is rendered "slanderer" could also be rendered "gossip," or one who is skilled with his tongue. But if we look at the words, some judge that this signifies that he who hunts snakes should use his skill in good time, lest the snake bite him unawares, and make his art useless. Wherefore we are warned by this example, that we should perform the tasks of our duty in due time.
D Christ, namely, in the flesh to come, signaling God and man, who, born of a Virgin, condemned the violator of the human race by his incorrupt birth. Indeed, Isidore reads clearly: "He shall crush your head"; and adds: "The Lord Christ himself has crushed the head of the serpent, that is, the kingdom of sin." However, Lucas Brugensis defends the Vulgate reading. . . . For those heads of the mighty, which God amputated, are the tyrants whom, with God as their guide, the people of Israel defeated in the borders of Palestine when they were receiving the land promised to them. And yet there is some similarity in these things, namely that just as with their heads or leaders removed, the enemies of the Hebrews collapsed; so, once the first impulse of the devil is suppressed, the mind is left in safety, and with the danger removed, peace and tranquility are restored to the soul. Below, however, you will read, v. 32, *The lips of the just distill graces.*
A for he who thinks on the things of truth, and has his own mouth guided and regulated by the rules of rectitude, pours forth words that are, as is fitting, good and that infuse grace into those who listen. Not only does this remove the surge of passions that surround them, or whatever despondency and grief might be prevailing in the inner man, but it also carries them over into a participation and portion of consolation, diversion, and gladness.
But those who possess a malicious and envious mind—whom he has also identified by the name of "the fool"—assailing those things which have been wisely and prudently set forth, overwhelm and submerge them with the most violent onrush of foolish words, like sea waves, just as he confirms in the Book of Proverbs, saying: *The ungodly will despise wisdom and instruction.* B What if he says that the lips of the fool submerge that very man, and no one else? *For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned,* says the Lord in the Gospels; just as that champion of piety, Job, also uttered an oracle of this kind in a certain place: *Let your mouth argue against you, and your lips will testify against you,* clearly implying that the condemnation caused by the fool himself is contained within his own words. And often the foolish words of malicious men are found to quench the words of the wise, rendering them ineffectual through the interruption and contradiction of the mindless; indicating these, he added again:
§ XIII. VERS. 13. *The beginning of the words of his mouth is folly; and the last of his mouth is wicked circumlocution. And the fool multiplies words.*
By the things said by the fool at the beginning and the end, he disparages and mocks the whole utterance of his speech, just as the prophet Jeremiah also, alluding to such men, says: C *Their tongue has learned to speak lies; they acted unjustly, and did not cease to repent.* *Their tongue is a wounding arrow; the words of their mouth are deceitful; he speaks peaceable things to his neighbor, and in himself he harbors enmity.* David the prophet also confirms this same thing, saying: *Their words were smoother than oil, and they are darts.* And what is more grievous: that while speaking foolishly and irrationally, they do not know that they are speaking and uttering things to their own censure and condemnation, and for this reason they multiply their words. This is what he hinted at when he said: *And the fool multiplies words.* For he did not heed the admonition of him who speaks: D *In the multitude of words you will not escape sin.*
The wise Ecclesiastes therefore counsels, and ensures for all his listeners, that they should not have a hasty mouth...
A nor offer senseless words, nor, indeed, in wicked-speaking and much-speaking, show that they possess foolishness; but rather to set a door, as it were, of restraint to their lips and mouth, just as David the hymn-writer prayed to God who is over all. Then the Ecclesiastes says B:
§ XIV. “A man has not known what has happened, and what is to come, for who shall declare to him what is after him? The toil of fools will weary him, who has not known to go into the city.”
The wise Ecclesiastes sets forth instructions of great and manifold utility to those who listen. For I think—or rather, I clearly know and contend—that he draws attention in this place to the most shameless and most arrogant leaders of the impious sects, and that he aims to humble, overthrow, and terrify their conceit C and grandiloquence; I mean, obviously, those around the most lawless Eunomius and the false-named Aetius, who was his initiator, and those similar to them, who have driven themselves to such an excess of madness and impiety as to dare to say that they possess knowledge of the essence of God—which is held and preached to be impervious and arcane even to natural intelligence and theological instructions, and which is altogether incomprehensible to all, and alone truly beyond thought to everyone. “For a man has not known,” he says, “what has happened and what is to come.” For Eunomius, having not discerned the reason of His own essence, nor perceived how the union and symphony of the four simple elements, mutually opposed and hostile, came about for the constitution D of human nature and the existence of other irrational animals, much less did he know what is to happen to it; that is: how the soul, separated and divided from the body, remains by itself until the common and universal resurrection, when, by the divine decree, it will again assume it at the glorious and second coming of Christ. Since, therefore, he knew neither what had happened of old nor what is to come, he fell into such madness and frenzy as to say, in his extreme shamelessness, that even the essence of the incomprehensible God was known to him. Him, therefore, he who boasts of having grasped the knowledge of things that are, let him explain the smallest of the things that appear before us, just as it exists by nature, and let him say what the nature of the ant is, if by spirit...
and breath its life is held together; if its body is divided by bones; if it stretches its joints with nerves and ligaments; if the nature of its nerves is maintained by a covering of muscles and glands; if the marrow is extended from the sinciput A through the spinal vertebrae down to the tail; if from the complexity of the nervous membrane there is the power of movement for its bodily members; if it has a liver, if there is a gallbladder under the liver; if it has kidneys and heart and arteries and veins and membranes and diaphragms; if it is hairless or hairy; if it has one claw or many on its feet; how long it lives and what is the method for the propagation of its offspring; and if not, how many fold is the fetus carried in the womb by it; and how it is that not all ants are pedestrian, nor all are winged, but some creep on the ground, while others fly through the air. Let him, therefore, describe for us the nature of ants, he who boasts with pride that he has attained the knowledge of those things that are in nature, and only then let him dispute about that power which surpasses every intellect. If, however, you do not yet grasp with your knowledge the nature of the most minute ant, how do you boast that you have comprehended with your imagination the incomprehensible power of God?
B The wise Ecclesiastes, having beheld this, and those like him, with prophetic eyes, calls them back from pride and arrogance and leads them to the humility which is fitting for men, so that they might not think or speak of such things, but might know surely and cry out with that golden mouth of Paul: "Now I know in part and in a glass and in a riddle; but then I shall know face to face."
And let no one suppose that I bring in such an opinion falsely and vacuously, as if Ecclesiastes had not intended anything of the sort. For if we do not assign the present saying to such persons for the reason we have stated, it might seem foreign and superfluous. For he says: "Man does not know what has happened and what is to come." And yet we all, as men, know almost everything, that the breadth of the heavens and the weight of the earth have been created by the Artificer and Creator of all, brought forth from nothing and suspended by the sole omnipotent will of the One who made them; and at the same time the abysses and mountains and valleys, and the sun and the moon and the whole array of the stars, and the catalogue of all other living creatures are clearly known. Furthermore, we know what is to come, C being taught by the divinely inspired Scriptures and receiving through faith that the heavens and the earth and what is in them will be changed and transformed into a better state. How, then, does "man not know what has happened and what is to come, because who will announce to him what is after him?" For behold, we have been taught and we know both what has happened and what is to come through the divine prophets. But it is manifest that, by these words, he is hinting at the pride and blasphemous conceit and the most impious arrogance of those mentioned, and of those heresiarchs similar to them, to the fitting D measure of man’s proper humility, as I have already said. For this indeed is the calling back to humility.
B This is also indicated by what immediately follows; for he says: "The labor of fools will afflict him, who knew not how to go to the city." For having attained a mind that was, as it were, "lofty," through much labor and toil and diligent effort—the subject of our discourse—they met with their own destruction and the deprivation of eternal life, having sought such labor and such study. For they did not know how it was necessary to travel to the city above, namely, the intelligible Jerusalem, the mother of Peter and Paul and of those who, in a manner similar to them, applied themselves to live and conduct their lives. But, in the pride of their own arrogance, those who imagined themselves able to discern things lofty and transcending nature and all human comprehension, and who boasted greatly, were excluded from the kingdom because of their false opinions and heterodox dogmas. Then the wise Ecclesiastes says:
B § XV. VERSE 16, 17. "Woe to thee, O city, whose king is younger, and whose princes eat in the morning. Blessed art thou, O land, whose king is the son of free men, and whose princes eat at the proper time in strength, and shall not be put to shame."
Explaining the obvious sense of these words, we say that "king younger" in this passage is not necessarily to be called "younger" because he is a youth in the time of his life and in the flower of his age. For many have often been found who are younger by nature and in the prime of life, who nevertheless possess a senile prudence and maturity, and who combine an impeccable life with long-standing counsel and knowledge of how to conduct affairs: like Daniel, like Jeremiah, like David, as also Solomon, who alone in his final days slipped into that which is forbidden. And the most wise Solomon himself shows this in his other books, saying: "Venerable old age is not that which is long-lasting, nor is it measured by the number of years; but gray hair is prudence in men, and the age of old age is an immaculate life."
D It is not, therefore, one in the prime of life and naturally young whom he calls "king younger" here, but rather one who serves the youthful appetites of the body and suffers shameful and abominable pleasures to rule over him, being dragged like a slave by ruling sin into every outrage, even if he has an advanced and aging life, and already carries gray hair upon his head and chin. For such a man who is enslaved to the allurements of corruption, if it is thought that our author mentions the kingdom, it is only to indicate with whom we ought to sympathize and whom we ought to follow, whoever of us desires to possess the happiness of eternal life. All, assuredly, who have embraced heresy have departed from the way and, having abandoned the footsteps of the apostles, have wandered far from the heavenly city which they held. For, as Cyprian once wrote to his people, "God is one, and Christ is one, and the Church is one, and the chair is one, founded by the voice of the Lord upon the rock. Another altar cannot be constituted, nor a new priesthood be made besides the one altar and the one priesthood. Whoever gathers elsewhere, scatters."
A If one would care to offer an interpretation that leans more toward anagoge, we should say that the king here must be interpreted as the intellect, since it presides over and commands the other faculties of the soul and of the entire nature. The city, moreover, is undoubtedly the soul itself, whose force, the intellect, is that which is more sovereign, paramount, and commanding of all the others. If, therefore, through some carelessness and sloth, it should happen that it falls away from the more spirited and luminous desires and inclinations, it will lose the whiteness and purity of its natural dispassion and holy state; it is found, in a certain way, to be a "junior" and unworthy of the title of elder, inasmuch as it has become surrendered to youthful debaucheries and luxuries, and has been exposed as dishonored by youthful wanderings. B To the city, therefore—that is, to the soul—of a king who has been received to live in such a youthful manner, the wise Ecclesiastes addressed the "Woe," as it has no one to direct and govern it magnificently and kingly.
We must understand the "princes" to be, by logical consequence, the other faculties of the rational soul, which—when the king is inactive toward better, more luminous, and more godlike things, and has become enslaved to and unoccupied with useless and worse things—show themselves in agreement with such an inclination, greedily filling themselves at unseasonable times with passionate thoughts and, beyond the proper time, satiating themselves with illicit fantasies. Just as, in the case of the sensory mind, the Word understands as "princes" those who use no order in the consumption of food at appropriate times, but from early morning hasten toward voluptuous and Sybaritic tables, C and who glut and carouse, without deeming the citizens of the city or those under their charge worthy of any foresight.
For he who is deficient in age is not altogether blameworthy, but he who lives according to passion; such as was Rehoboam, concerning whom it is written that Rehoboam was a junior and timid in heart. For this reason, Ecclesiastes also says: "Woe to you, O city, for your king is a junior, and your princes eat in the morning." D For it is not the one who is young in age, but the one who is imperfect in soul, who is called "junior" here. Since, indeed, age is no obstacle to one wishing to live according to virtue, the Lord demonstrated this in the words to Jeremiah, saying: "Do not say that I am a junior." For He did not deny that he was a junior, but said that youthful age was not an obstacle to him on account of the perfection of his soul: "For to all to whom I shall send you, you shall go; for I have seen you to be senior in judgment, in that I perceive the hidden gray hair and gravity [of the soul]."
Commentary on Ecclesiastes
[index: entries preserved]A This interpretation is confirmed and clarified by what follows: namely, that the saying is more fittingly explained according to the anagoge than by the obvious sense and meaning of the words. For he says: "Blessed are you, O land, whose king is the son of a free man, and your princes shall eat in strength at the right time, and they shall not be put to shame." For by calling the king the "son of a free man," he indicated an intellect that is the master of passions and king of pleasures, being a branch and sprout of a free soul that has never served or been subjected to the ignominy of passions and bodily pleasures. Or why should "son of a free man" not also signify the intellect as the son of the Holy and Divine Spirit, who fashions the intellect to be wise and pure, and marks it, and brings it forth as holy and altogether free-born and noble? For the Spirit of truth, being of its own right and altogether free, "blows where it wills" B and, as it wishes, makes the intellect a partaker of itself; and the intellect, having received the power of the Holy Spirit, regulates, governs, and keeps its princes in their duty—that is, the other faculties of the rational soul—so that at fixed and timely hours they may take the food of mind and spirit in all strength, lest they be put to shame by being led into the servitude of ignominious passions; but rather, by pursuing better and more divine things and being devoted to their meditation and study, they may altogether escape all confusion.
If, however, anyone wishes to understand also the common sense of that "land" which Ecclesiastes pronounces blessed, let him take this from the explanation concerning the C deplorably cited city, which is contracted to the words themselves as they sound. For when he has understood this city in the reverse, he will have an easy and prompt interpretation. But the wise Ecclesiastes, from the things which he has immediately added again, teaches that these things are rather to be received according to the anagoge, as I have already said. For he adds and says:
§ XVI
VERS. 18. In laziness the roof-timber shall be humbled, and in idleness of hands the house shall drip.For the power of the Holy Spirit, which was protecting and guarding the intellect that had abandoned good and holy meditations and was altogether ceasing [its activity], D has succumbed under its protection; not, indeed, that its powers were diminished, nor its natural grace and divine authority and
rank, but because it had relaxed its care and preservation of the mind, which had yielded to sloth and to the idleness of sublime and intelligible contemplations, and from that point on had rendered itself unworthy of the oversight, that is, of the shelter and preservation, that comes from above.
Even if, according to the sensible understanding, it has an obvious arrangement: for to all who have been lazy about renovating the roof of their own sensible [house] when it has already grown old, it is found to be altogether weaker, providing no security to those who dwell under it. For if it is not tilled and has not received, through the industriousness and hard work of the hands, the things necessary for repair and improvement, it allows drops of rain to pass through from above, and in the fitting season, snows. Then the wise Ecclesiastes says: B
§ XVII.
VERSE 19. *In laughter they make bread, and wine gladdens the living, and to silver all things obey.*
The divine grace has an unspeakable wealth of care for the human race, such that all who hear and perceive these things with understanding must be amazed at how it has joined sublime theories to common language, and through sensible meanings, as if in mirrors C and curtains, has veiled the exposition of the more spiritual understanding: so that it might neither prepare the hard-hearted and contentious Jews of that time, due to the exceedingly clear advance proclamation of future things, to despise the Mosaic laws, as if they were one day to be received, nor [expose] the initiates...
We may learn what is said by examining together the passage in the Ecclesiastes before us. For it says there: *In slothfulness the roofing will be humbled, and in the idleness of hands the house drips.* For just as if the timbers that support the roof were weak and slack from thinness, and the master of the house were a sluggard regarding the care of the house, he would gain nothing, as rain flows through the roof in drops; for the roof necessarily becomes hollow, yielding to the weight of the water, and the weakness of the timbers does not withstand the assault of the weight, giving way. For this reason the water that has been captured by the hollow spreads to the interior, and these drops, according to the proverbial saying, drive a man out of his own house on the day of the rain. Thus, by the riddle of the parable, it is commanded that through the vigor of the virtues we be unyielding to the streams of temptations, lest, having been softened through the fall of passions, we become defiled, and we receive [the water]—the kind of water that flows from outside onto the heart—into our interior, into the storehouses, through which our hidden treasures are destroyed.
A For it provides an occasion to despise the Mosaic laws, as if they were once received by those who would disregard them, and it might fill those initiated into evangelical perfection, upon the occurrence of the things foretold, with every utility and gladness; for the things now set before our own eyes were prophesied and foretold from afar. Thus you will find the majority of the Mosaic laws and decrees, as well as the other prophetic suggestions and predictions, to be of this sort.
In the same way, therefore, concerning this present saying of Ecclesiastes, we also find a twofold meaning of interpretation, by which the intelligible sense is concealed beneath sensible representations. For by saying, "They make bread for laughter, and wine gladdens the living," he signified that the sensible bread is a source of joy for those who prepare it. For he named joy as "laughter" here, just as indeed the blessed Sarah, having borne Isaac, says: B "The Lord has made laughter for me; for whoever hears it will rejoice with me." For bread, being prepared, is naturally accustomed in some way to bring joy to those who are hungry and in need of food. And wine also gladdens the living, as David says: "And wine gladdens the heart of man" (Ps. CIII, 15). And the Ecclesiast well said "the living," for it is drunk only by such as these, and not by those who have departed and passed away.
But further, in the same words you will find the mystical bread, which descended from heaven and gives life to the world, most specifically called to mind and foretold; regarding this the Lord says: "Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you for the remission of sins" (Matt. XXVI, 26). C And indeed, the mystical wine, [the fruit of the vine], which is taken [for this purpose], does most especially and above all gladden the living; regarding this the Lord says: "Drink from it, all of you; this is my blood which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins." And again: "I am the bread of life which descended from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever" (John VI, 51). And again: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life" (John VI, 54). Likewise, everyone who wishes will find that the "silver" also has a twofold interpretation, both according to the obvious sense and according to the anagogy; for by sensible silver— D [just as it is written:] "A slothful and lazy man reduces his household, becoming a scoffer, and abusing his own gluttony before all, being led by silver, enduring for the sake of small gain at any price to do everything shamefully and basely..."
A For almost all men obey silver, so that they attend those who provide it, appear as their footmen, join themselves to them, and for their sake construct ships, build houses, and carry out the various and diverse tasks that are of use for other needs of life. Since, however, there is also found in the Divine Scriptures what is called spiritual silver, which is the evangelical and instructive word—as the Lord says, "You should have invested my silver with the bankers"—and much earlier the prophet David said: "The oracles of the Lord are pure oracles, silver purified in the earth, refined seven times"—we must understand that he prophetically announces, in relation to the evangelical preaching, the most manifest obedience and following that the holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of God, which is under heaven, would exhibit. The wise Ecclesiastes, clinging to this same concept, adds and says: B
§ XVIII.
VERS. 20. In your conscience do not curse a king; and in the chambers of your bedchambers do not curse a wealthy man: for a bird of the air will carry your voice, and that which has wings will tell your words.
This also has a double interpretation, namely, the sensible and the spiritual. He warns and commands that no one, at any time or in any manner, should curse, condemn, or revile with insults him to whom it has fallen to rule upon the earth, nor any magistrate or potentate; for he signified the latter by saying, "And do not curse a wealthy man," so that, should he perchance learn of it, he might exact penalties for your imprecation, and you might undergo severe punishments for the rashness of your words and the reviling of your superiors and betters. C This is something that the great Moses had already greatly secured against much earlier, saying: "You shall not speak evil of your gods, and you shall not speak evil of the ruler of your people," prescribing that no one should despise, blame, or persecute a king or a prince, but rather keep his thoughts and words contained within the chambers of his heart with patience and long-suffering. "For," he says, "a bird of the air will carry your voice, and that which has wings will tell your words." By the name of the bird and that which has wings, he hints at the unforeseen and completely unexpected, and never-before-suspected, announcement, transport, and manifestation of the things spoken by you. For he is all but saying, "Do not curse a king and a potentate, because from a place you do not suspect, your word will be revealed D and will cause you trials and tribulations that are not common." Such, then, regarding the letter, is the explanation of what has been said.
A Let us now explain what depends upon the anagogical and intellectual sense. For in announcing that one should not curse a king or a rich man, he signifies Christ, the God of all and the King of glory, to whom the Prophet addresses himself, saying: "Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages, and thy dominion is in every generation and generation." For He is by nature both king and rich, in the sense of truly being a Potentate, as the Prince of peace and the only-begotten Son of the Almighty God and Father, insofar as He is God by essence; moreover, according to the assumption of human nature, He is also the son of a king, namely David, just as it is written in the Gospels that when He asked the Jews whose son He was, they said, "David's." And when He countered them and said: "How then does David say, 'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand'? If therefore David calls Him Lord, how is He his son?" He did not do this to deny that He was the son of David, but to confirm the truth of the two natures, I mean the divine and the human, which concurred in Him. For this reason, the prophet David says of Him again in another place: "The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory." B Do not, he says, curse this King, which is to say: do not reproach, nor insult, nor mock Him, O Jewish people—you who are uncircumcised in heart and stubborn—nor any other of the unbelieving nations, for whose sake He chose, by His own will and out of love for mankind, to descend to the lowest human condition and to put on the humble nature of His own creation, so as to reform it and transfer it to a more blessed end and state. Do not imagine in the chambers of your heart that the incarnation was unworthy of such a King, nor despise or condemn the fact that, having assumed a body, He endured voluntary death on the cross and was closed in a tomb for three days; through which, in judgment and justice, as it is written, He prostrated the murderous and arrogant Satan, and kindly delivered you from his tyranny, madness, and domination, and raised you to the height of His own majesty.
C As for the addition: "For a bird of the air will carry your voice, and that which has wings will tell the words," he clearly signifies the devil and his associates, the malignant demons, who watch what you say and even what you think. Like birds of the air, they plot snares and fly about, keeping watch without any rest, and they are always hostile and terrible to those who love God. D When they discover that impious words have been uttered by anyone against the King of whom we speak, or that evil thoughts have been received into the inner chambers of the soul, they immediately spring forth to accuse whatever that person has said or conceived in his mind—not because they see and know the invisible thoughts of the soul (for no one ought to think that at all), but because they perceive whether these thoughts have been admitted or not through outward motions.
themselves, from certain symbols and signs that they follow, A either accepted or did not accept the blasphemous thoughts that are insinuated by them; then the wise Ecclesiastes says.
§ XIX. "Cast your bread upon the face of the water, for in the multitude of days you will find it."
As I think, this also has a twofold interpretation, the sensible, of course, and the intellectual. For he suggests to those who hear him not to be gluttonous and voracious by any means, but to strive with all their strength to achieve every temperance, as much as possible, and at the time of nourishment to send the bread with sensible water, and not to weigh down the mind with more expensive foods and wine-drinking, so that it may not be hindered from ascending to sublime and intellectual contemplations. For if the nature of the body itself is light and empty of weight, it unceasingly applies itself to prayers and supplications to the God over all. For he who thus sails the sea of life lightly and unencumbered will find, because of such a simple diet, the fruit that brings him to the island, in the multitude of the days of his own life. For he signified this by saying, "For in the multitude of days you will find it." B
But if we wish to render the explanation of the saying according to anagoge, we would say that it means to send and give bread to the hungry, that is, to perform almsgiving generously toward the needy, mingled with the water of the tears flowing from the eyes, at the time of praises, doxologies, and prayers to the God over all; which he even more signaled by saying, "Upon the face of the water." For he means the water flowing through the cheeks of the face in the form of flowing tears. For when both are joined to one another in this way, they draw down the divine grace from above upon the person acting rightly, so that he may deservedly hear what Cornelius heard: "Your prayers and your alms have ascended for a memorial before God." C And such a person will surely find the most beneficial and saving fruit of such an activity D and action.
It is written (De Eccl. dogm., cap. 81): "We know for certain that the devil does not see the internal thoughts of the mind: but we have learned by experience that they are gathered by him from the movements of the body and the signs of the affections. But he alone knows the secrets of the heart, to whom it is said: 'You alone know the hearts of the children of men.' And not to omit the Greeks, it is discovered that Isidore of Pelusium felt thus, from his epistle 56, book III: 'The things that are revolved in the mind, O good man, the devil does not know at all. For this belongs exclusively to the divine power, which fashioned our hearts one by one: but he hunts for the counsels of the soul from the movements of the body.'"
A And it shall attain a blessed end, as the Lord says: "Blessed are they that weep, for they shall laugh," signifying through these words an ineffable and perpetual exultation and joy. Next, Ecclesiastes says:
Verse 2. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight, for you do not know what evil shall be upon the earth.
It requires us to give a portion to the seven, namely to this septenary life, and its days, and its ages. For from the seven days, which were fashioned by God, and which are repeated very often, or rather by the perpetual cycle of which the whole age—or if you prefer to say, the worldly ages—has its own essence and constitution of this production. "Give therefore," he says, "a portion to the twice seven," that is, to the more human needs of nature while you live: food, certainly, and clothing, and a bed, and shelter, and all the other things by which the present life is accustomed to consist and be defined. B But now, give a portion also to the eight, that is, to the age to come, which is the one after the seventh age; of which David the prophet also speaks: "A Psalm for the eighth," having called the future life the eighth, inasmuch as men are to live it after this septenary one. For all men shall rise from the dead, some to life eternal, and others to punishment and perpetual torment. C But you, O mortal, he says, give a portion also to the eight, that is, be kind and generous to all the needy, and break your bread to the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house. Pour out abundant tears, and offer constant prayers and hymns and supplications to Him who has both led you into this present, or septenary, life, and will lead you out of it again and receive you into the eighth, which is the state of the future age: so that, while you are still dwelling in this life and inhabiting the earth, you may not encounter any evil, D that is, any sinful and wicked deed, or any harsh and grievous occurrence of temptations. For you do not know what evil shall befall you while dwelling on the earth, or whether, after your departure and transition from here, you shall find some punishment and torment. But if you do not devote yourself solely to this septenary life, but maintain measure and order in this regard; and if you bestow upon the present life only the things that are by nature most necessary and sustain life itself, but to the future age you bestow more, and better, and more precious things, inasmuch as it is much more excellent; you shall completely escape every evil outcome and punishment and condemnation, both in the present life and in the future. He says then: [alt-version omitted]
§ XXI. A Verse 3. *If the clouds be full, they empty out rain upon the earth; and if a tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be.*
Using manifest and natural examples, he very wisely hints through them at spiritual and mystical contemplations. For he says, as it were, "Just as when the natural clouds are filled with the vapors of the earth and the waters drawn up from the sea, they immediately pour down rain upon the earth; so also do the spiritual clouds, that is, the mists about which the God of all speaks through the voice of Isaiah, *And I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it* (Isa. v, 6), that is, upon the Jewish people; when they are filled with the intelligible waters of the all-holy Spirit, they then suddenly dissolve and lavishly pour out a spiritual shower upon the earth, that is, upon those who dwell on the earth." By this, he foretells and signifies the coming and descent of the divine Spirit, which occurred upon the blessed and all-praised apostles on the day of holy Pentecost. Being filled with His gifts and heavenly riches, they B spread the saving proclamation of the Gospel over the whole earth; and having watered all who dwelt upon the earth, they dissolved the drought of godlessness and unbelief, and rendered the land—which was once uncultivated and utterly barren—a spiritual meadow and an intelligible Paradise. And in whatever place the saving wood of the Cross was planted by them, whether toward the south or toward the north, there that wood took root entirely, and there it shall be, bringing forth the fruit of the destruction of unbelief and idolatry, and the crushing of the devil, and C the glory of Him who, in ineffable mercy, was fixed to the cross in order to redeem and save the human race. In this way, the wise Ecclesiastes manifests, in terms of sensible things, matters that are secret and wondrous.
D And the Psalms for the eighth, that is, those concerning the age that is after this time. And in many places, the Jews who are in the manifest, and their polity, are taken as the "seven." *Give a portion,* he says, *to the seven, and also to the eight.* This is so that the testimony of the Old Testament should receive something from God, and the New [should also do so], and they should come into one harmony with each other. [D (margin)] *If the clouds be filled... and if it be toward the north.* But give freely, and divide your own things to the more numerous. For you do not know what the coming day has brought about. Nor do the clouds hold back their own great rain, but they pour the shower upon the earth. And tree does not stand forever, but even if men spare it, it will at least be overturned by the wind. [D (margin)] Or "trees," *there it shall be:* there they shall be ready.
A the glory of Christ, who was affixed to the wood of the cross for the sake of ineffable mercy, and the redemption and salvation of the human race. Thus, most clearly, does the wise Ecclesiastes shadow forth the mystical and paradoxical nature of things through sensory names, declaring from afar the things to come for the benefit and salvation of those who hear with understanding. Then he says:
§ XXII.
Vers. 4, 5. *He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. In which there is no one knowing what is the way of the spirit, as the bones in the womb of her that is with child, so thou shalt not know the works of God, who made all things.* (6)
And now again, in the literal and plain meaning, he hints at and intimates a moral teaching. For just as he who keeps watch of the winds, seeing contrary conditions, is unwilling to sow, even though the season presses; and he who watches the clouds, since they are continuous and move in repeated succession, becomes reluctant to reap, although he does not clearly know what outcome the storm of the heavens will B have—for this is what he signified by saying, *In which there is no one knowing what is the way of the spirit*—those who observe these things, and pay attention to signs and symbols, could neither sow nor reap because of such vain and irrational observation; and as a consequence, they perished miserably from hunger and thirst. For they should not have neglected the season of sowing and of the harvest, but rather, having their heart strengthened by hope and faith in God, and seeking from Him with an unobservant intention, they should have trusted in the success of the seed and the attainment of the harvest.
Thus, O mortal, do you too, resting upon the innate boundaries of prudence and the rational faculties which you have received from the Creator—evaluating and thinking upon what is fitting, useful, and salutary, and not laboring over winds or clouds—be ever prepared to sow the varied seed of virtue. And no less, reap, by winning for yourself heavenly rewards and divine benevolence, through mercy, that is, through generosity, supplications, and abundant tears, then through righteous judgments, long-suffering, and the patronage of those who, because of weakness and poverty, are in need of the help and protection of the stronger. Therefore, acquire for yourself the best of virtues. For you have, even without spiritual winds and clouds—that is, the written laws, oracles, and teachings—a natural power and strength C to discern what is useful from what is harmful. And it is necessary that, neglecting nothing that is around you, you should never remain without fruit, but like a good and fertile vine, and like rich and fruit-bearing soil, of your own accord and from within yourself, you should pour forth much and bear mature grapes, requiring in no way the works of others, like the just Abel, like Enos, like Enoch, like Noe, like the blessed and patient Job, like the holy Abraham. For unless you are moved of your own will and by yourself to do good deeds, and show that you have brought forth fruit,
A to the extent of thirty, sixty, and an hundred, but instead wait for the teachings, proofs, and promptings of others, you shall be proven a man in name only, as one who overlooks his own natural powers and looks toward the suggestions of others’ impulses; just like those who observe the winds and the clouds, and often, remaining without seed and having achieved no harvest, are consumed by famine. B
For just as it is impossible for a man to examine the bones of a child not yet born, but still existing in the womb of the one carrying it, and to grasp and discern them through touch, so too is it impossible to comprehend the works of God accurately. For we know that He Himself made all things, and is the creator of things above and things below, and of all the ages; yet we do not know, according to the true word, the measurement of the height or breadth of the heavens, or of the earth or the sea, or the shifts of the clouds and winds. For in a brief moment of time, contrary to expectation, their shifts, changes, and displacements are often seen. Wherefore one must sow when the time of sowing is at hand; then also reap, unobservantly and confidently, through hope and faith in the Almighty Lord—both for the sensible seed, and much more so for the intelligible; and not remain idle regarding the fruit that is naturally one's own, so that we may be found offering to the all-working God, the Author of all good things, a life pleasing and glorious forever. C
(7) He partakes of that evangelical parable of the word of the kingdom, where the Lord says: *But he who is sown on good ground is he who hears the word, and understands it, and bears fruit, and yields in one case a hundredfold, and in another sixtyfold, and in another thirtyfold.* (Matt. XIII, 23.) That “hundredfold” is he who receives the divine seed, as if on good ground, sown for yield; and he is said to bring forth fruit in greater or lesser measure according to the varying nature of the soil and the industry of the cultivation. In *Opus imperfectum*, which was once rashly attributed to Chrysostom, we read: “Now the good ground are those who abstain from evil riches, and do good according to their strength, and their fruit is thirtyfold. But if they despise all their goods, and approach to serve God, they have sixtyfold. But if infirmity of body happens to them, and they endure it faithfully, they have the hundredfold.” (Montf. Op. Chr. tom. IV, hom. 51.) By which Germanus seems to adapt these to the various conditions of men. For he says concerning God: D That is: For since He is a lover of mankind, He did not cut off one path, nor did He say: “Unless one produces the hundredfold, he is fallen,” but even he who produces the sixtyfold is saved; and not this man alone, but also he who produces the thirtyfold. He did this to make salvation easy to prepare. And you, then, are you unable to practice virginity? Marry with sobriety. Are you unable to become without possessions? Give from what you have. Can you not bear that burden? Share your belongings with Christ. Do you not wish to surrender all to Him? Give even the half, or give the third part. Is your brother also your co-heir? Make him a co-heir here as well. Whatever you give to him, you will have given to yourself. (Tom. VII, hom. 45, in Matth. n. 2.) Furthermore, it is established that in the Holy Scriptures the greatest fruit of all is called the hundredfold, as when Isaac is said to have sown in Gerar, and to have found in that same year a hundredfold, or the hundredfold fruit (Gen. XXVI, 12); as Pliny says concerning the region of Libya, which was of exceptional fertility, with the earth rendering a return to the farmers of a hundredfold fruit. (H. N. lib. V, c. 4.)
(8) In the *Synopsis* of Sacred Books, which is edited among the works of Athanasius, you will find it noted: That is: He also condemns the superstition of the Egyptians concerning divination from a man’s birth, saying: *He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who looks at the clouds will not reap, in which there is no one who knows what is the way of the spirit. As you do not know the bones in the womb of the one with child, so you will not know the works of God, which He will do.* (Synops. eccl. init.) However, it is Montfaucon’s opinion that the author of this *Synopsis* wrote after Chrysostom. (Tom. VI Diatr. in Synops. Chrysost.)
A and that we may inherit the kingdom of the heavens, in Christ Himself our God, to whom be glory and power with the omnipotent Father and the all-holy and good and life-giving Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
TENTH LOGOS
265 LIBER DECIMUS.
§ 1.
VERS. 6. *In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hand rest. For you do not know which will prosper, this or that; and if both are to the same end, it is good* (9).
Taking a sensible image from him who is accustomed to sow his seed at dawn—wheat, perhaps, or barley—the wise Ecclesiastes exhorts those whom he instructs to cast the intelligible and spiritual seed as long as they see the light of this life, and to distinguish by judgment and knowledge between things good and evil, and beneficial and harmful; and through all the days of life and the whole span of their age, to cleanse and renew the furrows of the soul, and not, even when they reach the evening—that is, its ends and its setting—to grant any truce to such seed of virtue, not otherwise than farmers are accustomed to do. Therefore, just as they, when evening comes, depart for home and take the rest necessary for nature, so let not those who sow the spiritual seed, of which Christ says, *The sower went out to sow his seed* (Luc. viii, 5), leave off the good work and pass an idle, carefree life, as if they had performed great labors in youth and had done sufficient sowing for eternal felicitous life, and for that reason in old age itself delay the sowing of good studies and right works C (10).
*For, you do not know, O mortal, what will prosper.* For God surpasses human minds beyond all comparison, and perhaps that seed of virtue, which in the first or second age D was sown... Neocaesariensis seems to recognize nothing mystical in these things: *Sow,* he says, *in season, gather the fruits, whenever the time for this has come.* For it is uncertain which of these which have been sown will be better. May all things, however, turn out well. (Ibid.)
A It did not admit the sowing, because it was mixed with weeds, that is, with an affect and desire, and was not entirely free from every vice; whether because you did not look upon it as a good, although it really was a good, but had superimposed something foreign upon it, namely the tares of human levity, or of the pursuit of vainglory, or of any other desire of this life. Therefore, he says, it is necessary that we never cease from the sowing of good and worthy thoughts, and words, and actions, from childhood even until old age; for these things are clearly indicated by the "morning" and the "evening." It is necessary that we exercise ourselves in prayers and in the praises of the most high God, and in fastings, as far as our strength allows, and in gentleness and love and mercy toward the needy and the poor, zealously and bountifully; so that, if the first things we did were not pleasing and acceptable to our Creator and Lord, those which we do in the evening—that is, at the end of life—may have their reward and praise; or, if not these, then at least those. But if both are acceptable to the all-seeing eyes of the Lord who knows all things, it shall be well for him who has sown the most good, and he shall reap more abundant fruits from God. Then the wise Ecclesiastes says:
§ II.
VERS. 7. And the light is sweet, and it is a good thing for the eyes to behold the sun: for if a man live many years, he shall rejoice in them all, and shall remember the days of darkness, because they shall be many (11).B He proceeds logically with sensible images, so that through them, as through mirrors, he might represent the beauty of those things which are primary and incomparably better. For it is sweet, he says, this light, and very good for the sight of our physical eyes to behold this visible sun. But to state and teach this is superfluous and useless, unless he is looking toward some other more excellent light, and wishes to lead his hearers to the spiritual sun of righteousness. For all men know, even without Ecclesiastes, that this light is sweet, and that it is good to behold the sun. For from this, human life has its constitution, and all the duties of life are directed, and the natures of things receive their differentiation and distinction from one another. For if light were removed, the world would be without form, and life would be without life. Therefore, that beholder of God, Moses, forestalling this, said: C "And God saw the light, and said that it was good" (12).
That, therefore, no one might think the wise Ecclesiastes was speaking in vain, or superfluously, or foolishly—as if he were trying to teach what is most manifest and known to all—it is necessary for us to understand that, in the manner of the prophets, when he named the sensible light, he had before his eyes the great and true and eternal light, which "lighteth every man that cometh into the world," that is to say, Christ the Savior and Redeemer of the world, D fore-
A who, having become man, arrived at the extremities of the human condition; of whom the prophet David says: “Sing to God, chant to His name, make a way for Him who ascendeth unto the west; the Lord is His name, and exult in His presence.” And again, the most vocal Isaiah: “Land of Zabulon and land of Nephthalim, and the rest who dwell by the sea and beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people that sat in darkness, see ye a great light; to you who dwell in the region and shadow of death, light shall shine forth.”
He called the light sweet, and announced the good to be seen with his eyes: the Sun of glory, the very One who at the time of His divine incarnation said: “I am the light of the world; he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” And again: B “And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world.” Thus, therefore, through this solar light which is seen by our bodily eyes, He foreshadowed the intellectual Sun of righteousness, who was in truth most sweet to those who were deemed worthy to be instructed by Him, and to behold Him as He dwelt and moved among men, even though He was not as every man was. For He was also true God, and for this reason He caused the blind to see, and the lame to walk, and the deaf to hear, and He cleansed those covered with leprosy, and by a mere command, He recalled the dead to life. Furthermore, even now it is in truth most sweet to fix one’s spiritual eyes upon Him, and to contemplate His simple and divine beauty and to ponder it in one’s mind; C then, from that very communion and fellowship, to be enlightened and adorned, and to be suffused with the sweetness of the soul and to put on holiness, to acquire understanding, and finally to be filled with that divine exultation which may be prolonged throughout all the days of the present life.
For the wise Ecclesiastes hinted at this when he said: “For even if a man should live many years, he will rejoice in them all.” For in truth, that Sun of righteousness becomes the author of all rejoicing to those who look upon Him; of whom David the prophet says: “Let them exult in the presence of God, let them delight in rejoicing.” And again: “Exult, ye just, in the Lord; for the upright, praise is becoming.” D When, however, he said: “And he shall remember the days of darkness, because they shall be many,” he called the days of darkness—clearly the former days of unbelief—that time in which man had not seen upon the earth the Sun of glory clothed in flesh, nor the true light, of which the most vocal Isaiah says: “Ye who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, see ye a great light, and light shall shine upon you.” Those days, then, which preceded the rising of the Sun of righteousness.
A He called days of darkness. For many, when counted, will evidently be found to be the days in which the human race existed in the darkness of idolatry and impiety; of which days man, after having beheld the true and most sweet light, will certainly be mindful, and says fittingly: How did the nature of men, walking in darkness, in former days not know its own Maker and Lord and Creator of light, but worshipped the creature instead of the Creator, and by the voluntary blindness of its mind, from the magnitude and beauty of all created things, did not wish at all to discern and worship proportionately the Master-Artificer and Creator? This same thing also the prophet David signifies when he says: “They knew not, nor did they understand, but walked in darkness,” being deceived by the fraud of the devil. Then the Ecclesiastes adds: B
VERS. 8. All that is coming is vanity.
“All that is coming”—but what? For one must not accept what is said indefinitely or altogether without distinction. For he who would affirm this would seem to be a great fool, since he would have called the most cohesive and excellent of goods a vanity. For the Sun of glory, that is, the great and true light, concerning which he spoke just now, “Sweet is the light, and good for the eyes to see the sun,” which at the end of the ages rose embodied upon the earth, not that He might judge the world, but that He might save it, will come again to judge. For the heavenly angels also said to his disciples and apostles: “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in the manner ye beheld him going into heaven.” C But also the Gospel of our salvation says thus: “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him.” So that from this it is consequently to be hoped for, and the kingdom of the heavens, and the inheritance and reward of the ineffable goods promised to the saints are clearly expected. Is, then, each one of these things, which we hope will come, a vanity? Far be such an absurdity! Therefore it behooves us to receive what has been said with determination and not without just discrimination. D And indeed, since He called the light sweet and said it is good for the eyes to behold the sun, proclaiming the incarnation and presence of Christ our God, the Orient that has dawned from on high, it follows that He should also prophesy the insolence and madness of the wicked Jews against Him.A For in one brief statement he designates their entire conspiracy, their bloody purpose, their madness, and the very murder of Christ, which they perpetrated against the most sweet light of the Sun of righteousness, who saved the human race by His own incarnation. Therefore, he immediately adds:
§ IV. VERS. 9. *Rejoice therefore, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth.*
As if he were saying: They, that is to say the Jews, will meditate vain and empty things, barking against Christ the Saviour, saying: "Take him away, take him away, crucify him." But you, O young man, who have recently embraced a sure and steady faith in Christ, hold the mighty anchor of hope which you have placed in Him, and by no means slacken in your hold on the love and faith you have toward Him; rather, rejoice, and may your heart fill your life with every goodness, since you have been deemed worthy to hope in the living and true God in the days of your youth, that is to say, in the days in which you were reborn from water and the Spirit from above, and have received the seal and the pledge of adoption before the God of all through divine baptism.
B John the Theologian and greatest of the evangelists also writes things similar and akin to these words of the Ecclesiastes, saying: "I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." By naming "young man," the wise Ecclesiastes now also designates someone who is flourishing in faith and who, with spiritual and intellectual strength, holds firmly to the love, hope, and faith toward Christ the Saviour and Redeemer of the world, and who has divested himself of the old man of sin C and put on the new Adam, who has rendered void the power of death and corruption. Therefore, the wise Ecclesiastes indeed adds and says:
D ...men, so that he may know he will be judged in all things, and may flee from evil thoughts as much as from libidinous desires, knowing that foolishness is coupled with youth: and let him always remember his Creator, before the days of Babylonish and Roman captivity arrive, in which he will be unable to have his own will. And they explain this entire passage from the point where it says, *Before the sun and the moon and the stars are darkened*, up to the place where Scripture records: *And the dust shall return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it*, concerning the state of his condition. Furthermore, if you have the leisure, read the summary of this explanation in Jerome.
A VERS. 9, 10. And walk in the ways of thy heart, in purity, and in the sight of thine eyes; and know that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment: and put away wrath from thy heart, and remove wickedness from thy flesh, for youth and folly are vanity. And remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the days of darkness come, and the years draw nigh, in which thou shalt say: I have no pleasure in them.
Truly, some have thought foolishly and insanely that the wise Ecclesiastes advises the young man to walk in the ways of his own desires and to pursue the enchanting sights and pleasures of his eyes. B Yet he completely removed such a presumption by saying, "And know that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment: and put away wrath from thy heart, and remove wickedness from thy flesh, for youth and folly are vanity." For if he places the argument of judgment and retribution clearly before the eyes of the young man, and through these very words encourages him to banish and put far away wrath from his heart, and to look upon and tread underfoot the detestable pleasures of the flesh as wickedness, it is manifest that, by alienating the young man from passionate dispositions, sinful acts, and carnal baseness, he suggests that one should possess spiritual joy and goodness in the storehouses of the heart—in heart-felt love and faith for Christ our God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world, whom he also called the most sweet "Sun of justice," using these common and accessible symbols and images to indicate the archetypes of the heavenly and divine C and efficient causes. For that sweet light, that Sun of glory, this light also and this visible...
Indeed, one reflecting in his mind—that the sun is beautiful, and this life is sweet, and it is a good thing to live a long time always rejoicing, and that death is something fearful, an eternal evil that leads to nothingness—thinks that one ought to enjoy all the present and seemingly pleasant things. And he also suggests to the young that they should misuse the bloom of their youth, abandoning their souls to every kind of pleasure, yielding to their desires, and doing whatever seems good to them, and looking upon what brings delight, and turning away from what is not so. To whom I will say this much: You are senseless, O man, who do not expect the judgment of God, D the avenger of all these things. But also, riotous living and lust are evil, and the filthy abuse of our bodies is pestilential. For folly is a companion of youth; and folly leads to destruction. It is, however, worth the effort, while you still bloom in your youthful age, to be affected by the fear of God before you deliver yourself to evils, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes..... (Ibid.)
A Having hinted at the causes, both substantial and efficient, for the naming of the sun—for that sweet light and the sun of glory, He truly established this light also from non-existence, and originated the visible sun, or rather the two great luminaries and all the stars, and created them by his will alone—he confirms this interpretation by immediately adding: "And remember your Creator in the days of your youth." By calling the author of human nature, of whom we are speaking, the "Sun"—who formed man after his own image and likeness and appointed him king of all things upon the earth—he B says: "Remember him in all the days of your youth," and at the same time, the great and many benefits bestowed upon you by him; and "put to death your members which are upon the earth," and destroy the disposition of the flesh, and suppress the shameful passions of death through the memory, meditation, and reflection upon him who, for your sake, was raised upon the cross, suffered death, was buried, and rose again from the dead on the third day, and became the author of life. Therefore, he says, remember him constantly in your youth, as long as your strength is equal to cultivating temperance, enduring fasting, performing supplications, and as long as you are able to stretch out your hands to heaven; with which you may surely lift up and join your soul and mind to the height of his God-befitting majesty and glory; so that, when the days of shadows come and the years of old age approach, in which it will not be possible for you to rouse your will and purpose in the same way toward an upright life and spiritual institutions, you may not lose heart, recalling and reflecting upon the spiritual contests you have stored up for yourself and the many and various labors you have endured in this life for the sake of virtue. Then the wise Ecclesiastes says: C
CHAPTER XII, VERSE 2. Until the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain (23).
What has been spoken here by Ecclesiastes are signs of the consummation, which the Author of the ages also sets forth in the Gospels. For he says: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken" (30); by which he announces and represents the end of this septenary life, and D demonstrates his second glorious advent (24). Therefore, what the Lord said, in order to show...
and signify the complete and universal consummation, these things now the wise Ecclesiastes has judged to be fit and useful to apply to the end and conclusion of each person's life. For he surely considered and reflected that, since none of us men will receive an extension of life until the consummation of the present age, but each according to his own generation, having served in this life and with the flesh, is taken A away and departs from the present life long before the consummation. And through his own death, he ceases to see this sun, and this perceptible light, and the stars. In a certain way, the sun has darkened for him, and the moon and the stars have set, and the light has been withdrawn, and as far as the deceased is concerned, each of these is inactive, providing no illumination to the one who has finished his life.
Thus, therefore, he thought it right to apply what was announced and expected to occur regarding the complete and universal consummation to the particular deaths and the consummations of each life. For this reason he says, "Until the sun and the light and the moon and the stars be not darkened" (Eccl. XII, 2), which is to say, before the conclusion of the present life comes upon you, remember your Creator, and keep his commandments, and do what is good, and perfect your virtuous life, so that you may pass from the joy that is in accordance with virtue toward the ineffable exultation of the saints. B
Concerning what he says: "And the clouds shall return after the rain," one must think it signifies that the deceased will no longer see the rain falling from the clouds upon the earth, just as he will not see the light of the sun, or of the moon, or of the stars (25). But if one understands it more figuratively, [it refers to] the sparrow, and they shall look from the height, and there shall be terrors in the way (Eccl. XII, 5). What shall they see? Then they shall see the Son of man coming upon the clouds of heaven. And the tribes shall mourn tribe by tribe (Matt. XXIV, 30; Zachar. XII, 12). C And what happens when the Lord has come? "The almond shall flourish, and the locust shall grow fat, and the caper shall be dissipated" (Eccl. XII, 5). As the interpreters say, the flowering almond signifies that the winter has passed. It will be that, at that time after the winter, our bodies will blossom with a heavenly flower. And the locust shall grow fat—that is, the winged soul clothing itself with the body—and the caper shall be dissipated: that is, the wicked, being like thorns, shall be scattered.
There is also a short work by the elder Epiphanius, not yet published, which the Alban library preserves, entitled, *Testimonies of the divinely inspired Scriptures and of the saints concerning the advent of the Only-begotten God the Word from heaven to earth, and the miracles performed through Him, and the passion and resurrection, and the second and future manifestation.* Regarding the fact that the sun and moon shall be darkened, D the Ecclesiastes says: "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and remove anger from thy heart, and remember thy Creator, until the days of evil do not come, until the sun and the moon and the stars be not darkened, and the windows become obscured" (Eccl. XI, 9; XII, 1-3). (25) Others think these words refer to the afflictions of old age, that the old man's eyes grow dim, the heaven...
A darkened, and the windows become obscured, while he sees the bright things of the world as if through a veil. Others think that by the "clouds" are meant the teachers of the Church, who will no longer offer you the rainfall of spiritual life, virtue, and good instruction; but as far as you are concerned, having departed from this life, they will return after such rain—that is, they will delay, and by no means shed it upon you. It is necessary, therefore, he says, before all these things happen, that you fight the good fight, run the race of virtue, and perform all the things significant of sincere and perfect love and faith toward God. Then the wise Ecclesiastes says: B
§ VII.
VERS. 3, 4. *In the day, when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the men of strength shall be bent, and the grinders shall cease, and be diminished; and those that look out of the windows be darkened, and they shall shut the doors in the street, in the feebleness of the voice of the grinder. And he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of song shall be brought low, and they shall look from the lofties, and terrors in the way; and the almond tree shall flourish, and the locust shall be fattened, and the caper shall be dissipated* (26).
In describing and designating the death and migration of each person, the wise Ecclesiastes brings forth such words, wishing to stir and impel his hearers, so that before the arrival of death and of that last day and hour, they may have a constant memory of their Creator, and direct their mind and soul toward Him, and render to Him all the worship that is due and becomes pious men, and lead a life, as much as possible, immune to stain, and show themselves rich in every kind of good deed and full of the fruits of justice. For he says: *"In the day, when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the men of strength shall be bent."* C I think, however, that what is indicated by him are the rational faculties of the soul, especially the intellect and the power of reasoning, by which we deliberate and, using our bodily members as instruments, we are able to perceive what is better and conducive to salvation, so that they may be pleasing to God (27). Therefore, he says, before that day comes in which the keepers of the natural dwelling shall be moved—that is, they shall become feeble and be deprived of the strength by which they could perform works of virtue... D
A and if the men of strength are perverted (it signifies these same faculties of the A thinking soul of man: which before they are perverted, that is to say, before they are turned away from the things of this sensible and present life, and incline and bend their own energies toward the future and intelligible life, toward which they are already about to proceed), make sure that you are always found in the struggle; think, meditate, speak, and do what is good, so that when you arrive at such a day, you may be found prepared for your departure, and may say with confidence with the prophet David: "I was prepared and was not troubled," [Ps. CXVIII, 60] and may proceed with good hope toward your own Creator and just and impartial Judge, who will render to each according to his works, whether good or evil.
"Keepers," therefore, and "men of strength," as we have interpreted it, he called the faculties of the soul; for these are the ones that guard this our outward and earthen dwelling, and struggle on our behalf through labored reasoning against our intelligible antagonists and enemies, and, wielding the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, [Ephes. VI, 17] "in the morning they slay all the sinners of the land," [Ps. C, 8] that is, the sinful thoughts. For this reason they were called "men of strength." They also guard the earthen dwelling of the body, distinguishing and separating from the virtues, and from the permissible foods, those which ought to be chosen, and the paths that lead to salvation from those that lead to destruction. When he says, C "And the grinders shall cease and be diminished, and they that look out of the holes shall be darkened," he indicated by these the names of the bodily organs, saying that the teeth or mills, through which we grind our food, shall be idle. D The powers from above, the guardian angels of the world, shall be moved in that tempest and tumult of all things. "The grinding women: Two women shall be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left." [Matt. XXIV, 41] Gregory says: "Just as men of power shall cease, so shall the women who work cease, fleeing into the dark parts of the rooms, with all the doors closed; and some woman, ceasing her grinding because of fear, shall use a voice most faint, like the most delicate bird, and all the impure women shall fall to the earth, and the cities and their bloodthirsty magistrates, awaiting the punishment from above, when the most bitter and bloody time arrives, just as when an almond tree blossoms, and with the punishments following fast one upon another, like a great multitude of flying locusts, and with wicked men cast out and removed, just as some black and despicable caper." [Ibid.]
A Migne’s rendering, when he says: “God shall smash their teeth in their mouth; the Lord has shattered the molars of the lions” (29); and the pupils of the eyes shall also be blunted, the power of seeing which was previously present having been weakened, and they will at length be entirely idle in those apertures. For in the orbs of the eyes, as in apertures, the pupils have their seat circumscribed and fenced about, and thence they exert the power of seeing for the perceiving and judging of the things subject to them. And for this reason, at whatever hour the forces of nature shall have been weakened, these also are weakened at the same time: and they first of all begin to grow livid and utterly dim; then they are completely obscured, closing their doors for the rest of the time, which he called apertures, so that they no longer see or recognize anyone of those things which are in the market-place, that is, in this present life.
Wherefore he indeed added: “In the weakness of the grinding voice” (50). For with difficulty, and only moving the lips of the mouth, it emits a most infirm voice through the tongue and teeth. Furthermore, these are proofs and signs of the death or consumption of each one. Indeed, what he says: “And all the daughters of song shall be brought low,” B represents the same weakness of the natural instruments at the final hour. For when the instruments of the voice have been weakened, which he properly called daughters of song (31), they pour forth no speech, whether for the glorifying of God or for the holding of conversation with men. But with the holy angels sent down from on high standing by to lead the soul away from the body and to separate it, the pupils—which previously saw things sensible in a sensible manner, but now [see them] in a spiritual manner—behold them, and stupor takes hold of them on account of the near migration, which they had not known up to this time. For this is what he signaled by saying: “And they shall look from on high, and there shall be terrors in the way,” C that is to say, they shall see those who have been sent and have come down from on high, and they shall be seized with stupor and dread on account of that unaccustomed and unexpected spectacle.
On the interpretation of the [above] passage
(ibid.), from the voice, as he himself says, of a grinding woman, the ancients caught an omen. He takes the example from Homer, where he introduces Ulysses seeking a double omen for himself from Jove (Odyss. l. xx, v. 98); for there we read that, the prayer having been completed, a mill-woman immediately sang:
Fame from within the house a grinding woman uttered Nearby, where the millstones of the shepherd of the people lay. To these twelve women in all were allotted, Making flour and meal, the marrow of men. The others slept, since they had ground their wheat; But one ceased not, being the weakest of all. Having stopped the mill, she spoke a word, a sign to the king: "Zeus Father..."
D ...it is, to use the words of my old comrade and companion, a cultured and learned man, Bernard Zamagna: "And no less did the captive woman suddenly raise her voice, crying out in the inner seat, where stood the marble masses, apt for the crushing of grain. These twelve handmaids were pressing, ordered always to break both the corn and the berries of the fat olive. And now other bodies, finished with their tasks, were giving themselves to sleep; but one alone of all these, more weary, and not yet ceasing, held back the revolving stone, and thus uttered a broad omen with her mouth: O king, etc."
You see, I suppose, how little these things differ from those which we just now brought forward from the interpretation of Gregory of Neocaesarea: so that it may be allowed to suspect that Solomon and Homer, who are thought to have been contemporaries, agreed in drawing from the custom of the common times.
(31) He seems to follow the Hebrew text, since he renders it thus: “And all things that belong to song shall be bowed down”; or: “All things that make for song shall be inclined.” But most of the moderns have thought that singing girls are designated, and Gregory of Neocaesarea, whose words we brought forward a little above, thought no differently.
Regarding his statement, A "And the almond shall flourish, and the locust shall grow fat, and the caper shall be dissipated," by the name of the caper he hints that the bitter misery of the life of this present world will pass away. For by nature, this plant is bitter, full of thorns, and replete with unpleasantness, even if by certain preparations it is changed to be edible for the infirm. But in saying that the almond shall flourish and the locust shall grow fat, he announced that the souls of the just, after the exit from this present life, shall truly enjoy spiritual and celestial things; and he likened them to locusts because it is a winged creature, and one borne with great violence to destroy whatever the Creator may will. Such, then, is every soul of the just, which, after it has departed from here, destroys and renders void all the profitless B impulses of wickedness. And by the blossoming of the almond, he indicated pure and light-like souls; for the blossom of the almond is white, and it appears first, as is evident, at the time of spring. But the passage which he has inserted in the midst of the verses, "And it shall rise up at the voice of the bird," seems to me to describe at once the death of human nature, and at the same time to announce the resurrection that will happen at the time of the last and final day, when the archangelic trumpet shall sound, C and the dead shall rise incorruptible, all who have been from the ages. For he called the voice of the archangel "the voice of the bird," because of the speed of its flight, as I think, and the purity of its way of life. He also confirms such an interpretation through the things that immediately follow. For he says:
§ VIII.
"For man has gone to the house of his eternity, and the mourners have gone about the marketplaces, until the silver cord is not overturned, and the golden D flower is crushed, and the pitcher is crushed upon the earth, and"
the wheel runs to the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (35).
It is most clear and manifest to all A that the eternal home of man, to which he has gone, is called the tomb; and it is fitting that after the signs prescribed and defined by Him for one who is ill, in the process of dying, and expiring, the tomb should be the objective—that place where he is received as a guest, or rather, where he dwells until the common and universal resurrection. As David the prophet expressed this when he said: "This is my rest forever and ever; here I will dwell, for I have chosen it," signifying the subterranean habitation to which, when the deceased man has arrived and is laid to rest, those who lament and mourn him in the marketplace B—that is, those who are left behind in this life—run, because they will no longer see him with their eyes among the living in this present life.
They do this because of kinship, natural affection, and ardent love, or because of the memory of many benefits of which they now know they must be deprived, or because of the universal virtue or wickedness of the deceased. And these people act for such a cause; but others weep and lament the departed for this reason: the one, because he has departed from life into eternal death; the other, because the light of his noble deeds has been extinguished, and he no longer illuminates with the splendor of his virtues those who looked up to him C.
It is natural for these things to occur, and those who remain in this life continue to lament and weep for the departed as long as this world exists and has not undergone the consummation and the change and transformation for the better. For He signified this by saying, "Until the silver cord is overturned, and the golden flower is crushed." For the silver cord is the present life, to which silver is the share and lot, and with which life is associated, like a sort of golden flower blooming and enticing those who are greedy for gold and silver. For D Moses, the beholder of God, also received this expression in the same way, saying: "When the Most High divided the nations, when he dispersed the sons of Adam, he set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God; and Jacob, his people, became the portion of the Lord, the cord of his inheritance, Israel."
But also Sophonias, the divinely inspired prophet, clearly understood the "cord" with regard to the same meaning—that is, of a portion; for he says: "Woe to you who inhabit the cord of the sea, O sojourners of the Cretans."
A Ait deinde sapiens Ecclesiastes: "Et conteratur hydria super terram: et convolvetur rota ad cisternam, et revertetur pulvis in terram, sicut erat." By the breaking of the pitcher upon the earth, he has revealed clearly the earthen nature of the human body, concerning which the great apostle Paul also says: "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels." And again: "We know that if our earthly house of this habitation be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." But when he said also for the wheel to be rolled to the cistern, he clearly hinted that the whole time-span of the life of each person must be finished and filled up, since it is natural for it to revolve like a wheel, returning again from the same to the same, and then going down into the cistern—that is, into death. For in the divine Scripture, the cistern usually signifies death. And because of this, the prophet David says: "Lest you keep silence from me, and I become like those who descend into the cistern." And again, the prophet Zechariah says somewhere to Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world: "You have sent forth your prisoners from the cistern, in which there is no water." And "the dust shall return to the earth, as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it"; plainly naming the body of our humility "dust," which he also said returns to the earth, just as it is its nature to come into being.
C It is indeed the anthemium, which is also called anthemis, a genus adorned with small flowers, which, as Pliny says: "It is gathered in the spring and laid up for garlands." (H. N. l. XXII, c. 21); but it is called by Hesychius... or rather, as it should be read with Salmasius (Exerc. Plin. p. 1081). For, as he himself says: "Another Lexicon not yet published..." The Greeks also called this flower of gold, or foam,... the reason is at hand; for the foam of gold is electrum, which is mixed with gold and silver; which, because it is harder, he says was so called. Moreover, in the Hebrew exemplar it is written *lecythus auri*; and in the Vulgate we have *villa aurea*. But as they wish for the brain to be signified by the *lecythus*, so they say that the *villa aurea* is that which surrounds the brain, and refers to the color of gold.
D Reliquary parts of the body are thought to be recalled: that the pitchers are the veins, the fountain is the liver, the wheel the head, the cistern the heart: which all being joined together, the dissolution of the body is described. There is a work, however, that you should read by the London physician John Smith: *Pictura Senii Salomonica*, in which work each of these things is recalled to anatomical principles. With the body turned into the earth, the Spirit is said to return to God, who gave it. David also indicated this return of the soul to God when he sang: "Do not recall me in the midst of my days." (Ps. CI, 25.) Nor did Paul wish to signify anything else when he wrote to the Philippians (cap. I, v. 23): "Desiring," that is, to be bound, or rather to be unloosed from here and return to God, and thus to be with Christ; for it is not written "to be unloosed," but "to be unloosed," as noted above.
A It is wonderful how he shaped the expression, saying, "To the earth, as it was," that is, just as it also was before such a body was fashioned by the Creator. For the great Moses says: "And God formed man, taking dust from the earth" (39). And every one who wishes may observe how he distinctly said that the body, or the dust, returns to the earth, but the spirit to God, thereby most manifestly demonstrating the immortality of the soul. For indeed he says: "And the spirit shall return to God, who gave it," confirming the doctrine of Moses, the man of God, concerning the soul, and obviously intervening with the saying that states: "And God formed man of dust from the earth, and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul." Therefore, the breath, or life, which arose from the grace of the divine breathing that took place from God, and which was given to our progenitor, the first-formed man made from the dust, the Ecclesiastes now calls the spirit, which he distinguished from the dust that returns to the earth, and he announced that it returns to God, who gave it.
B It is therefore necessary to note that some have thought emptily and altogether irrationally, in the previous discourses, that the wise Ecclesiastes opined that the soul of man and of the beast is the same, when he says: "And as for the lot of the sons of men, and the lot of the beast, one lot is to them; as the death of this, so the death of that, and there is one spirit in all. And what has man over the beast? Nothing. For all is vanity; all go to one place: all were made from dust, and all return to the dust. And who knows whether the spirit of the sons of men goes upward, and the spirit of the beast goes downward to the earth? (40)." For here he has removed all suspicion of this kind, and convicts of stupidity and perverse opinion C those who have in any way surmised such a fiction in him, since here he expressly says: "Dust shall return to the earth, as it was. And the spirit shall return to God, who gave it." For he has wondrously and egregiously distinguished and judged both, declaring that the dust returns to the earth, but the spirit, that is, the soul, by no means returns to the earth like the dust, but to God who created it and, into the statue devoid of sense and soulless and made from dust, implanted it by the grace of His own breathing (41).
D Finally, let the adulterators of the truth grow red with shame, and let their faces be filled with ignominy, when they see, as has been noted by many for a long time, in the commentaries of those who are heard as masters among the Hebrews, that we have received it written that there was a great controversy among their ancestors concerning the authority of the book of Ecclesiastes. "The wise men, they say, were seeking to hide the book of Ecclesiastes, because they found in it words inclining toward heresy." See Mellif. Hebr. Christoph. Cartwrighti cap. 12.
A Seeing the wise Ecclesiastes declare that the dust, or the body of our humility, returns only to the earth from which it was taken, while explicitly proclaiming that the soul departs to a better destination. For let everyone who cares to do so observe how, distinguishing each thing, he has assigned the dust fittingly and appropriately to its kindred earth, saying: "And the dust shall return to the earth as it was," because it was taken from it, and had its origin and essence from it; whereas the spirit, that is, the soul, he does not represent as returning to the earth like the dust, but rather to Him by whom and after whose image and likeness it was made, by the grace of the divine in-breathing. Then the wise Ecclesiastes says:
§ IX. "Vanity of vanities," said the Ecclesiastes, "all is vanity." B Clearly he now subordinates to the same terms those things which were named before, which are, as we have already said, all the fruits of an evil, base, and hateful disposition, which characterize the wretched life of wicked men. Then he says:
§ X. "And further, because the Ecclesiastes was wise, and taught man knowledge, and he will not search out the order of parables." C He clearly hints at the highest and most perfect wisdom, which God gave him, through the designation of "the abundance," just as it says in the Books of Kings: "Behold, I have done according to thy words: behold, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart, so that there has been none like unto thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee." And again, "The Lord gave prudence to Solomon and wisdom exceeding much, and an abundance of wisdom, as the sand that is by the sea, and the wisdom of Solomon was multiplied exceedingly above the prudence of all the ancients, and above all the wise men of Egypt, and he was wiser than all men." D Nor does the wise Ecclesiastes say this without cause, but rather in order to render his own instructions more worthy of belief to those who ask, and to confirm clearly that such wisdom was granted to him by the God of all not for his own benefit alone, but also in order to teach men knowledge and wisdom and understanding, so that all may...
A walk in wisdom, and order their own lives with prudence, and bring forth words from their lips with understanding, and do everything for the pleasure of God, the Maker and Creator.
For what he says, "And he will not explore the ornament of parables," B declares the multitude of his figurative examples and meanings and words, through which the character of the evangelical truth is introduced and signified to those who understand. For in the present book, as well as in others, he clearly announced the descent and coming of the only-begotten Word of God, and his voluntary suspension on the wood of the cross, and his three-day burial and resurrection, through sensible enigmas and symbols, or rather, through human appellations and natural things. Regarding such things, therefore, he says, "And he will not explore the ornament of parables." For the discourse of figurative terms and sensible symbols was accustomed to be as an ornament to the calloused and hard hearts of the Jews, preparing them to busy themselves with the ready literal interpretation, and to foolishly persist in the sensible and perceptible observances of the Mosaic law, C but not to look toward higher meanings, nor to be caught up to those hidden and underlying notions which were illustrated by figures and parables, and to elevate their intellect. For the wise Ecclesiastes was prompted to say everything for the apprehension of the evangelical truth, and through such parables to elevate those of understanding toward more anagogical meanings. But the hard and stubborn race of the Jews, to which the God of all says, "I know that you are stubborn, and your neck is an iron sinew," D persisted so stubbornly that it only attended to and set forth the obvious meanings of the words.
(46) The Ecclesiastes truly performed his duty remarkably well, for he proposed to us so many precepts for correctly ordering our life in the books that are still extant: in which, to use the words of Jerome (epist. 35, ad Paulin.): "Solomon, the peaceful and beloved of the Lord, corrects morals, teaches nature, joins the Church and Christ, and sings a sweet epithalamium for the holy nuptials." Of whom it is written (III Reg. iv, 32): "And Solomon spoke three thousand proverbs; and his songs were one thousand and five; and he spoke of the trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall; and he spoke of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes." He exercised himself, says Suidas, in every kind of wisdom, which is joined with the grace of God, and he had many hearers of his doctrine. Regarding the works attributed to Solomon, see, if you have the time, the *Codex Pseudepigraphus* (no. 187), which Johann Albert Fabricius edited at Hamburg (1713).
(47) These things are often noted by the Hebrews in the *Dialogue with Trypho*. To cite one passage, when he had mentioned Moses, who by God's command had made a bronze serpent, and had set it up as a sign (Num. xxi, 9), he added: "For he did not, having abandoned God, become the author for the people to place their hope in the beast through whose guidance transgression and disobedience originated." These things were done and announced by the blessed prophet with great counsel and mystery; and there is nothing among those things which have been said or done by all the prophets plainly, which can deservedly be blamed by anyone, if indeed you hold the understanding of them. But if your teachers explain those things to you generally—why camels in this place are not called females, or what those are which are called female camels, or for what reason such and such measures of flour, and such and such measures of oil are explained to you only in the offerings, and these things in a lowly and base manner, while they never dare to speak or explain the great and worthy things of inquiry; or even when we explain them, they command you not to listen at all, nor to enter into a communion of words—are they not rightly heard, those things which our Lord Jesus Christ said to them: "Withered graves, appearing beautiful on the outside, but inside full of dead men’s bones; you who strain out the gnat, but swallow the camel, you blind guides"?
"? A I know that thou art stubborn, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thou hast stood up contentiously, only to think and to speak the immediate notions of the letter; which the wise Ecclesiastes, hinting and providing, immediately added:
§ XI.
VERS. 10. *Multum quæsivit Ecclesiastes, ut inveniret verba voluntatis, et scriptum rectitudinis, verba veritatis.* B "Verba veritatis," that is, he sought with much and great vehemence the apprehension of the divine will; concerning which the great apostle Paul also says, "Studiously seeking what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God"; and furthermore the words of rectitude and truth, which Moses truly wrote concerning Christ, our God and Savior. For He himself says in the Gospels, "I am the life and the truth." And C the most wise Solomon himself says in the Song of Songs, as if crying out to Him, "Rectitude hath loved thee." Ecclesiastes, therefore, sought exceedingly to find the words of His will, which are saving for all men, and indeed he found them and entrusted them to those who came after him. But those who had an untamed heart and darkened eyes of the mind, neither recognized the truth of what was spoken by him, nor were they able to behold its light. For "they knew not, neither did they understand," D but walked foolishly and impiously in the darkness of their own arrogance; to the point that they were very angry and vexed at the words of Ecclesiastes and of the others who similarly announced to them the coming of the Word of God; for, as if wounded and struck by certain arrows, their own senseless hearts were smitten by them. For this reason he immediately added:
§ XII.
VERS. 11. *Sermones sapientum tanquam stimuli, et quasi clavi igniti, qui ab ordinibus dati sunt ex pastore: et amplius ex ipsis.* Of what wise men? Of those, surely, who from Moses until the becoming man and the coming of the Word of God mystically announced through sensible names and parabolic resemblances the mystery of the divine incarnation, which had been hidden from the ages; for such words were given by the orders, or rather were uttered to those who understood the things said by the theologian Moses, and indeed also by the prophet and king David, and by this very Ecclesiastes, who were the leaders of these holy things.
A For to the treatises of these and the other holy prophets, the wise words concerning the subsistent Wisdom—which summoned every thought and counsel out of non-being—were produced by one shepherd, that is, from the very God-ruling Word himself, and Christ, and our Savior. For he himself says: “I am the good shepherd”; concerning whom the prophet Zacharias also says: “I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.” B Toward whom also, long before, the prophet David cried out: “You who feed Israel, pay heed; you who lead Joseph like a sheep.” Therefore, through the grace and gift of such a true shepherd, all who have spoken wise words concerning him have done so, and those who understand them find in them an abundance, namely, eternal life and ineffable rejoicing. Then Ecclesiastes says:
§ XIII
B VERSE 12. My son, take heed not to write many books. There is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
Having set forth the words of paternal care, benevolence, and providence, Ecclesiastes deservedly calls him a son who hears them, and C indeed he shows him to be a person who refers the words of the prophet to God. The same author, when writing on Matthew, showed that he was in doubt, and spoke in this manner: “This is written in other words in the prophet Zacharias, and, if I am not mistaken, it is said in the person of the prophet to God: ‘I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered’” (In chap. XXVI of Matt., v. 31). Nor was there truly no cause for doubt; since the prophet, if we wish to consider the whole context of the discourse, seems to have introduced God the Father commanding with his sword; for these are his words: “And he shall say: With these I was wounded in the house of them that loved me. O sword (framea), awake against my shepherd, and against the man that cleaveth to me, saith the Lord of hosts: Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn my hand to the little ones” (Zach. XIII, 6, 7). These things indeed, if you strip away the prophetic ornaments, are the same as “I will smite,” and while the words of both differ, one must say that the sentiment is one. For what the Septuagint interpreters have, does not appear in all copies; and the supervisors of the Roman edition warn that in the other books it is written just as the Vulgate interpreter also rendered it. D *Framea* is, if you listen to Augustine (Epist. 120, chap. 16), a sword, as in the Greek *rhomphaia*, [a] spear. For on the manners of the Germans, ch. 7, he writes: “They carry spears (frameas) even in their own language, with narrow and short iron, but so sharp and fit for use, that with the same weapon, as occasion demands, they fight either in close quarters or from a distance.” Furthermore, *rhomphaia* even according to Hesychius is a Thracian and dart-like defensive weapon, a sword, knives, or long javelin.
A He exhorts us to remain within the boundaries of those wise words that have been delivered to us—by many divine prophets, indeed, but stemming from one Shepherd, God the Word—and have been entrusted to us as through initiation; and in no way to turn aside toward heterodox teachings and erroneous opinions, in which much heavy care is expended to grasp what is sought, but no terminus is found—that is, no end to the discernment of the truth is reached—but it only brings weariness to the flesh, meaning sleeplessness, suffering, and exhaustion in the babbling of newer discoveries. For those who give themselves over to disputatious activities, besides gaining nothing from such things, are also greatly afflicted.
This is also pointed out by Paul, the great apostle, writing to Timothy and saying: B “If anyone teaches otherwise, and does not draw near to the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the teaching which is according to godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is sick about questionings and disputes of words: from which come envy, strife, blasphemies, evil suspicions, wranglings of men corrupted in their minds and deprived of the truth” (I Tim. vi, 3). Similarly to the things currently addressed to the great Paul, the wise Ecclesiastes advises and exhorts those who value the truth highly to remain in the simple tradition of the faith of the divine prophets, and to preserve and keep undefiled the notions and opinions about God proclaimed and spoken by them, and in no way to corrupt the words of the orthodox dogmas, nor to turn aside to crooked and twisted paths, a fate that has befallen the ungodly and deranged heresiarchs who have turned aside from the simple and uniform truth and have slipped into the varied opinions of falsehood; so that those who have lost the straight path may not exert themselves in vain and murmur—about whom the prophet David says: “For the way of the ungodly shall perish” (Ps. I, 6).
I, avoiding this toil, and standing aside from the danger that threatens from God those who devote themselves to writing on divine matters, would seek to defend myself by the authority of Scripture in refusing to write many books. For Solomon says in Ecclesiastes: “My son, beware of making many books; there is no limit, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” C And he adds: “Ego laborem fugiens, et eo periculo circumsessus, quod a Deo impendet iis, qui ad scribendum in divinas Litteras sese contulerunt, Scripturæ patrocinio tueri me possim, multus libros scribere recusans: sic enim in Ecclesiastes Salomon, ‘Fili mi, cave ne facias multos libros: non est finis, et meditatio multa labor est carnis.’” (Ex Tomo V, in Evang. Joan. praef.)
Grotius, who had excluded the book from being Solomon’s, wrote of this passage: “He seems here to be addressing Zerubbabel. For he invented that this was the shepherd, about whom mention was made a little earlier.”
But Jerome explains the actual sentiment of Ecclesiastes regarding the multitude of books in an entirely different way, and comforts and restores himself with an apt interpretation regarding the writers of many works, among whom he understood that his place was the most significant. “It is the custom of the Scriptures,” he says, “although there are many books, if they do not disagree with one another and are written about the same matter, to call it one volume. D For both the Gospel and the Law of the Lord are called immaculate and turning souls, even though there are many Gospels and many commands of the law. So too the volume sealed in the speech of Isaiah is all divine Scripture, and John and the book of Ezekiel share one chapter (Ezech. viii, Apoc. x). The Savior too, prophesied by the voices of all the Saints of old, says: ‘In the chapter of the book it is written of me’ (Ps. xxxix, 8). According to this sense, therefore, I judge the present commandment: that multiple books should not be made. For whatever you say, if it is referred to Him who was in the beginning with God, and was God the Word (John i, 1), it is one volume; and innumerable books are called one law, one Gospel. But if you dispute about diverse and discrepant things, and with excessive curiosity turn your mind hither and thither, even in one book there are many books. Whence it is said: ‘Out of much speaking you will not escape sin’ (Prov. x, 19). For such books, therefore, there is no end. For every good thing and truth is concluded with a certain limit; but malice and falsehood are without end; and the more they are sought, the greater their series grows. Regarding this matter, study and meditation are a labor of the flesh.”
A And shall find judgment and everlasting condemnation for the life to come; which the wise Ecclesiastes, signifying and demonstrating—and furthermore confirming through what immediately follows—implies and suggests:
§ XIV. VERS. 13. *Hear the end of the matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole man; for God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.*
The knowledge, wisdom, and grace given from above to the Ecclesiastes by God, the author and bestower of all good things, which is found in these words and writings, he has sealed at the end in a marvelous way as if with a golden royal seal, namely, with the name of God and the fear and the keeping of His commandments. B By this, confirming and very wisely declaring that the entire series of all that was said by him was uttered by the will and grace of God through Solomon, which labors for the salvation of the human race and leads toward the blessed end those who willingly present themselves to be initiated and learn the wise instructions of the Ecclesiastes. "For the end," he says, "of the matter, hear all: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole man." As if to say: This is the end and goal of the entire preceding discourse—to call back all who hear to the fear of God, and to persuade them to keep His commandments and enter upon the straight paths of salvation, through which everyone who wishes can return again to God, from whom he was fashioned and created, and from whom he had fallen away by a voluntary lapse when he transgressed His commandment. C For on this very account man came into being and was made in the image and likeness of God, in order that, looking perpetually toward that supreme and principal beauty, and according to his own strength bringing his life into clear conformity with it, he might become a partaker of His divine glory and nature. He was by no means [to be] removed from Him by voluntary defection, nor, now bereft of the divine likeness, to pervert the mark of the principal beauty and, showing a counterfeit image, be sent away into eternal ruin: just as the prophet David cried out to that same God of the universe: "Those who distance themselves from Thee shall perish." D This is the man: to fear God. This is the wise man: the whole man, that is, the perfect and complete one.
A For the deprivation of life is death, and the falling away from salvation leads to destruction through works of wickedness and baseness. The wise Ecclesiastes, hinting at this and driving it home, added: "For God will bring every work into judgment, in every hidden thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil." B By proclaiming this as an evangelical and mystical dogma—one which is a matter of controversy for many people—he speaks thus: That the wretched man flowed away from life through his transgression, and became far from his Creator, and slipped into death and corruption through the deception of the serpent, is most evident to all who are in any way informed of divine and Mosaic instruction. For this is what the God-judging decree B threatened the progenitors, by averting the tasting and eating of the forbidden tree, and by foretelling to those who had transgressed, that they would immediately find death and corruption as a just condemnation and judgment.
However, they do not equally, without controversy, believe in the universal resurrection of the dead from the graves, which has already had its beginning through the incarnation of the only-begotten and most divine Word, who for unutterable mercy and incomparable love for mankind assumed a human body, paid the debt of human nature through voluntary emptying, C endured the cross, death, and three-day burial, and demonstrated a life-giving resurrection. They do not confess this, but rather they believe it impossible that the nature of men, which has once been converted into the elements of which it was composed, could be brought together by the divine will, and rise again incorruptible at the last and final day to receive the reward of their lives. And whoever distorts the words of the Lord to suit his own desires, and says that there is neither resurrection nor judgment, this man is the firstborn of Satan. D Indeed, our author seems to me to be noting the error prevalent in his own age. For those opinions, I believe, are what these words declare: when Origen, among others, had taught many things about the resurrection of the bodies that were alien and absurd, his opinions revived with great partisan zeal, especially under Justinian, at which time our author was growing up. And later, Eutychius, that patriarch of Constantinople whom Justinian—most steadfast in the Catholic profession—had ordered into exile, when he was restored, revived the errors of Origen concerning the resurrection in a written commentary. The debate that Gregory the Great—who was then serving as apocrisiarius in Constantinople—had with him, he himself narrates at greater length (Moral. lib. xv, c. 29). Our author therefore wished to rebuke him and those who felt as he did, following the excellent example of the Fathers, who always strove to refute and attack those heresies which seemed to dominate; as their books declare. Would that this were done more freely and more strongly everywhere in our own age than it is.
A To the merits of a life must it be given. Therefore the wise Ecclesiastes has demonstrated by a single phrase that what seems to such people impossible is in fact very easy, saying: "For God will bring every work into judgment." For when he named God, who is omnipotent, or rather, to speak more accurately, who alone possesses infinite power, who commanded all things that are grasped by the mind or the senses to come into existence when they were nowhere, and who stretched out heaven like a skin, and suspended the earth, which rests on no foundation, and established the two great luminaries and all the other stars for the illumination of day and night—by this he brushed aside such a controversy. For it is not by some succession of nature, he says, that "every work" will be brought into judgment—that is, everything that comprises a rational and intelligent soul, and is endowed with the freedom of its own will, and possesses the discretionary choice and inclination toward either side; but this shall happen by the omnipotent will of God, who even before this formed man from the four opposing elements, and brought the nature of things that are contrary and at war with one another into a single compact and harmony, and who has ordained a day of judgment and of just retribution, on which day all, both good and evil, shall receive what they have merited in the body, whether good or evil, according to what each has done.
B It is evident, therefore, that he in no way dissents from evangelical doctrine, for he also foretold long before the universal resurrection of the dead, as it is found in other places of the divine Scriptures. For indeed the athlete of piety, Job, says in his book: "It is written that he himself shall rise again with those whom the Lord raises up." And the prophet Isaiah says: "The dead shall rise, and those who are in the tombs shall be awakened." Then too the divine prophet Daniel: "And many shall rise from the dust of the earth, some to eternal life, and others to judgment and perpetual punishment." C All these things, as everyone knows, are a kind of proclamation and prediction of the evangelical doctrines. Being illuminated by these, let us obey the light of sincere faith and the worship that we all owe to God, and let us contemplate in our minds the resurrection of the dead; then, regulating our own life in the fear of God, and keeping his saving commandments, let us strive to enter into his grace through constant struggle, and let us make it our aim, as far as it is permitted to man, to avoid every stain of sin: so that we may find a blessed end, and on the day of judgment may be numbered among the just, and attain the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven: through the same Christ our God, to whom be glory D throughout the ages. Amen.
may we inherit the kingdom in Him, Christ our God, to whom be glory and power, with the almighty Father and the all-holy and good and life-creating Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen. The End of Ecclesiastes.
296 APPENDIX.
It remains for me to perform what I undertook in the annotations to the commentary of Leontius, namely, that I would ensure the Dissertation of Giovanni Lanza regarding the age of our Gregory be published at the end of the Work. Behold it here, as it was published among the *Opuscula of the Sicilian Authors*, vol. IV, page 5, at Palermo in the year 1760.
DISSERTATION ON THE AGE OF THE BLESSED GREGORY, BISHOP OF AGRIGENTO BY GIOVANNI LANZA OF PALERMO.
I. B Octavius Cajetanus, a man of excellent, or rather singular, learning, and one who brought the greatest increase to the Sicilian name, while preparing the lives of the illustrious Sicilians renowned for their sanctity, committed to the press the Commentary of the monk Leontius—written indeed in Greek, but represented only in Latin by the translator Francisco Rajato—concerning the deeds of the most holy Gregory, Bishop of Agrigento, which had for so many centuries lain hidden in the library of the Basilian monks in Messina. Indeed, he took upon himself the task of illustrating with notes whatever in that work was worthy of this office, whether written by himself or others whose work he brought forth; he labored at this very task in publishing the history of Leontius. Therefore, when he took it upon himself to inquire into the age in which Gregory lived, he arrived at the opinion which he defends with all his might, as it were, concluding that he lived in the times of the Emperor Justinian I, and he accuses both the Menology, written at the command of the Emperor Basil I, and the author of the epitome of his life—the Greek exemplar of which the distinguished Constantinus, a Benedictine abbot, had sent him, taken from a Venetian manuscript, and which, rendered into Latin and augmented with his own observations, he supplied to the Leontian history—of error, because they expressly refer the times to those of the Emperor Justinian II. The foundation of his opinion is placed in the fact that Leontius, after having narrated that Gregory had been present at the ecumenical Council of Constantinople, representing the bishop of Constantia in Cyprus, and that he had utterly routed the heretics, reports this: "When many had received these things, [they asked] whence [came] this man? They said: For [he is] an angel..." C ...surpassing everyone, it seems clearly to those holy fathers. But beyond others, the most pious Emperor Justinian and the entire senate conceived an incredible joy from the man. Therefore, all the fathers who had gathered for that synod embraced him, and, having congratulated him as we have already said, each returned to his own see.
Therefore, Cajetanus decided thus: If, in the year the ecumenical synod was held at Constantinople, Justinian Augustus was in power, then Gregory’s age must be brought back to Justinian I, in the 26th year of whose reign, in the Dionysian year of Christ 553, the fifth ecumenical synod was convened at Constantinople—for as far as concerns the sixth, which is the third Council of Constantinople, it was assembled in the year of Christ 681 under the Emperor Constantine Pogonatus. Since, however, Leontius was equal in age to Gregory, as is drawn from the commentary itself, it is by no means to be doubted that neither did Baronius relate the truth, who in his notes to the Roman Martyrology defends Gregory as bishop in the years of Maurice Augustus and Gregory P. M., nor the Basilian Menology itself, nor finally the Greek Epitomast, who bring him down to the times of Justinian II Rhinotmetus. This is the sum of Cajetanus’s opinion, which, while not devoid of the appearance of truth, is in reality (if I may say so with the permission of such a great man) quite abhorrent from the truth, which I am confident I will make clear from more than one heading. Therefore, I will re-read the Leontian history; then, I will set forth those things that occur to me in order to overthrow the opinion of Cajetanus; finally, I will say what I think about the age of Gregory, and I will confirm it with the weight of arguments.
II. Come now, [to the point that] Leontius [says] he had abandoned his ancestral home...
A to contemplate Jerusalem, while he was in his eighteenth year, and that three days later he arrived by ship at Carthage, and was there received into hospitality by the very shipmaster who had transported him; and that he remained there just so long as it took for the monk Mark to arrive from Rome with Serapion and Leontius, who (so God prompted) was to lead him to Jerusalem: six months having passed from his departure from Carthage to his arrival at Jerusalem, where he was ordained deacon by Macarius, bishop of that city, on the Pentecost which followed closest: then that he subsequently went into the Mount of Olives, where he spent an entire year: from there he withdrew into the desert, in which he hid for four years: then returned to Jerusalem, while Macarius was still bishop, and stayed for one year; then migrated to Antioch, the metropolis of Syria, on the 4th of the Ides of April, and spent a B year there; from there he went to Constantinople, and was present at the ecumenical synod, and once that was dismissed he proceeded to Rome, where he arrived on the 11th of the Kalends of July, and was shortly proclaimed bishop of the Church of Agrigento. From this narrative of Leontius, Cajetan establishes the following chronology:
542. In his 18th year, warned by an angel, he undertakes his flight and pilgrimage to Jerusalem on the day before the Kalends of July. 543. After nearly six months, he arrives at Jerusalem, and venerates the holy places, where in the holy days of Pentecost he is ordained deacon by Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem. 544. A year later he spends time in the monasteries of the Mount of Olives. 549. From the Mount of Olives he withdraws into the inner desert, and stays for four years with a certain old man. 550. He returns to Jerusalem to bishop Macarius: he spends one year here: soon he sets out for Antioch on the 14th of the Ides of April. 552. Where he spent a year at Antioch, he goes to Constantinople. 553. There he attends the synod, which was held in the year of Christ 553; from the synod he arrives at Rome immediately on the 11th of the Kalends of July, to venerate the sepulchers of the holy apostles. 555. Here he is ordained bishop of Agrigento by the Roman pontiff, just as it was fitting that this should be done by Pelagius.
Now let us bring everything to the examination. III. Furthermore, as it pertains to the pontificate of Macarius, Cajetan says it began, under the authority of Baronius, in the year 544 (correct to 546), but according to the opinion of others in the year before; but one that must nevertheless be traced back to at least the year 542, when, in the year 543, in which Gregory entered Jerusalem, Macarius was already presiding over the Church, by the testimony of Leontius. On this point, I shall first have to deal with Cajetan, who thought Macarius was bishop of Jerusalem in the year 542, which is scarcely to be borne. For indeed, in the year 544, Justinian I issued an edict against the Three Chapters, to which the subscribers were Mennas of Constantinople, Zoilus of Alexandria, Ephraem of Antioch, and Peter of Jerusalem. By his order (that is, Justinian’s, says Liberatus in chapter 23 of his Breviarium), the dictation C of the condemnation and that anathematizing of the Chapters was made against Origen, and those who subscribed together with Archbishop Mennas were found at Constantinople, and then it was directed to Vigilius, bishop of Rome, to Zoilus of Alexandria, to Ephraem of Antioch, and to Peter of Jerusalem, with whose reception of it Origen, who had once been condemned while living, was condemned dead. Baronius logs these things to the year 546, but I agree with Pagi, who brings it forward by two years (to the year 544). Who, therefore, is this Cajetan who foists upon us Macarius as bishop of Jerusalem in the year 542, when Peter was still holding the bishopric in the year 544? And for whom Gregory was appointed deacon by Macarius not yet bishop in the year 543? Certainly Peter, who subscribed to the edict of Justinian, was called the pontiff of Jerusalem in the year 525, when he succeeded John. There is therefore no Macarius before Peter, who could have received Gregory among the deacons. Therefore, let Cajetan perceive the character of Macarius's bishopric resisting him, as he elevates Gregory to the times of Justinian I.
IV. What, then, of the fact that the Easter which Gregory celebrated at Jerusalem falls on the 6th of April, since Leontius reports that Mark, Gregory's guide, departed from there on the 17th of the Kalends of May, on the day after the New Sunday? New Sunday among the Greeks was the same as the Sunday in albis depositis among the Latins; and it was so called, whether because the whole week which followed Easter was called *diakainisimos* by them, and because of this each day of this week was new, or because the ecclesiastical year began from Easter, which Leontius himself hints at, when, about to say that on the day after Easter a meeting of bishops was to be held at Rome, in which the crime of which Gregory was accused was to be judged, he designates it according to the second day: "They affirm" (he says) "that they had heard about the arrival of men: but it was the day of Parasceve when they had arrived." Therefore the bishops speak to the pontiff thus: "Command all the bishops to meet, and if the will of God bears it out, decree the second day"; and soon he counts the ninth day, which is certainly from Easter: "But when the ninth day arrived," the pontiff commands Gregory to perform the divine office. Nor did the Gauls and Belgians otherwise begin their year, which was at last abrogated by them in the year 1577, and by others in the year 1564. (Page in Perf. Græco-Dom. no. 15). Now if the second day from New Sunday falls on the 15th of April, therefore Easter is on the 6th of the same. Shall we express this from Cajetan's Chronology? In the year 543, it was the 20th of the solar cycle, 12th of the lunar, thus the Dominical letter is D, the Easter limit is the 4th of April, and Easter is the 12th of the same, for the limit fell on the 7th day, and thus Easter had to be diffused to the other Sunday, lest it coincide with the Jews, to the 5th of April, if indeed that custom did not hold in the Jerusalem Church. Wherefore, when New Sunday falls on either the 19th or the 12th of April, it follows that Mark must have left Jerusalem on the 21st or the 14th day, if we adhere to Cajetan's chronology.
not the 15th of April, as Leontius clearly testifies. Furthermore, this 15th of April, on which Mark the abbot departed from Jerusalem, coincides with a Tuesday; but in the year 543, it coincides with a Wednesday. I await a helping hand that might soothe with present remedies the very grievous wounds of Cajetan's opinion. But let us pursue the rest.
V. At the time when Gregory went to Antioch, Eustathius was governing the Church. Thus, having departed from Jerusalem (says Leontius) on the fourth day before the Ides of April, he proceeds to Antioch, and when he had arrived there, having been received in his home by the holy Eustathius, the archbishop of that city... From the last year of Justin Augustus, that is, the Dionysian year 526 of Christ, in which Euphrasius, bishop of Antioch, perished buried under rocks in the memorable earthquake of that city (Theoph. *ad h. a.*), until 546, Ephraem was placed over the Antiochene Church, and was succeeded by Domnus II, who departed from the living in the year 559. Who, therefore, is this Eustathius of the nations, who, according to Cajetan, sat on the Antiochene throne in the year 552? Cajetan saw the problem, nor does he disentangle it in any other way than by doubting: B did Eustathius administer that see between Ephraem and Domnus? Or has Leontius’ memory lapsed? For if the rest were to stand in accordance with Cajetan's wish, I would yield to the doubt: but since in the entire history of Leontius there is absolutely nothing that does not refute Cajetan's opinion, it would be a sin to consider Eustathius a pontiff of the Antiochene Church between Ephraem and Domnus.
Let us grant meanwhile what Cajetan requests, provided he understands how many things contradict him. Therefore, I ask this from Cajetan: what is the meaning of these words: "The Roman (Pontiff), indeed, being held fast by a grave illness, sends with his own hand a document written regarding the sentiment of the orthodox bishops who were holding his place?" And what of what follows shortly after: "But the bishops sent to the council by the pontiff, anticipating Gregory's arrival, informed the pontiff himself that by Gregory’s virtue and wisdom, the audacity and petulance of the heretics had been repressed?" When the fifth ecumenical synod gathered at Constantinople, Pope Vigilius was residing there, having been called forth from Chalcedon by Justinian in the year 552, from whence he had fled in the previous year to avoid the emperor's wrath, which he had stirred up against himself by approving the Three Chapters—which, in the year 547, indulging the prince’s whim, he had condemned in Constantinople, where he had been summoned. But he neither wished to be present at the council himself, nor to send legates; for having been invited once and again by the synod’s legates to meet with the other bishops, he, excusing himself first with this and then with that, could never be brought to hold the council in his presence. He, however (these are the words of the synod’s orators, set forth in the third collation), replied that he could not meet together with us, because "many here are indeed Eastern bishops, but few are with me"; moreover, he intended to form an opinion by himself, and offer it to the most pious lord. And this he plainly carried out: for he sent to Justinian Augustus a document, which he called a *Constitutum*, in which he revealed what he thought regarding the Three Chapters, and the emperor wished it, after being translated into Greek by Constantine, quaestor of the sacred palace, to be read in the synod, as is related in the seventh collation. Since, therefore, Vigilius was residing in Constantinople and had intended, by his disposition, to attribute no authority to a council which was lacking in the presence of its own head—that is, the ecclesiastical senate of the prince—there was no reason why he should choose men to perform the duty of legates for his own side, from which he would necessarily call it a legitimate synod. And indeed, from the Acts of the council themselves, we elicit that there was no legate of the Roman bishop, which all investigators of ecclesiastical matters admit, and that little index in the royal Paris library, a manuscript praised by the most learned Stephen Baluze in his Supplement to Book V of *De conc. sac. et imp.*, chapter 21, teaches (so that the matter might not be transacted without an ancient testimony), at the end of which the Roman pontiffs, under whom ecumenical synods were held, are recounted, along with the names of those who sustained their person in them. Behold it:
VI. Regarding these things, Leontius writes: "He therefore reveals the impious heresy to Gregory (the Archbishop of Constantinople), which had then arisen from Sergius, Cyrus, and Paul, those most pernicious authors." Thus, the blessed man published many orations composed both for teaching and for praising, so that his fame even reached the ears of our most pious emperor. "Thereupon, after many days, the bishops arrived: the Alexandrian, the Antiochene, and all the Orientals. The Roman, however, for in fact he was held by a grave illness, sends a document written by his own hand regarding the sentiment of the orthodox bishops who were holding his place." I will not here raise a fight against Cajetan because it is openly stated that a synod was held to proscribe the Monothelite heresy, and even to mark with a black theta Sergius, Cyrus, and Paul, the ringleaders of the heretical faction. Whatever this is—which is certainly great and kills Cajetan’s cause—he finds it suspicious, D and yet I do not see how justly. Simeon Metaphrastes tells of the same things, whom nevertheless he does not hesitate to praise as being in agreement with him: the *Epitomastes* of his life tells the same. But
[Table follow entries: Popes: Sylvester, and Julius. Damasus. Celestine. Leo. Vigilius. Agatho. Adrian. Legates: - / - / - / - / Cyril. Paschasinus. - / George. Theodore, George and John. Peter and Peter.]
A Do you see how under Damasus and Vigilius no legates appeared, whom they had sent to the Constantinopolitan synods I and II? Now let us compare these things with the Leontian accounts. If Vigilius replied to the synod's legates that he would formulate his opinion himself, and offer it to the most pious lord—as he certainly did offer it—how, I ask, do these things harmonize with the Leontian testimony, by which it is revealed that the Roman bishop sent to the synod a booklet concerning the opinion of the orthodox prelates preserving his own place? This booklet was sent before the synod was convened, whereby the pontiff declares his own opinion, and there he promises to the emperor—and indeed gave it, while the three Chapters were still being discussed in the council—that he would concede. To these things, who were those sacred prelates, discharging the roles of the Roman pontiff, if none of his legates were in that council? And if, when the synod was indicted, Vigilius was present at Constantinople, who would send the bishops who were to attend the synod? Would he send bishops from Constantinople to Constantinople? Finally, what of this, that the bishops returning from the synod taught the pontiff himself, under whom the synod was held, at Rome, how the boldness and petulance of the heretics had been repressed by the virtue and wisdom of Gregory, when Vigilius was living his life in exile in the East, his churches in the West having been restored in the year 555, or even partly in 554, and he no longer visited Rome? For, being recalled from exile by the Emperor Justinian, he set out for Rome and arrived in Sicily, and there he died from the disease of the stone in the year of the consulship of Basilius the illustrious, XVI, that is, in the Dionysian year of Christ 558, as Victor of Tunnuna, a writer of that time, reports in his Chronicle. Wherefore those things which Cajetan observes regarding the cited Leontian testimony are of no account: "It was," he says, "this Vigilius whom Metaphrastes says sent a man learned in sacred letters to fulfill his role." Zonaras therefore errs, who makes the Roman pontiff Vigilius the president of the council; that he was absent, besides Leontius and Metaphrastes, even Evagrius, Nicephorus, Photius, Cedrenus, and others teach. In principle, Metaphrastes does not even hint at Vigilius in the Life of Gregory: he only says B I think that in actual fact Pope Vigilius presided over the synod of Constantinople: not, however, the ecumenical one of the year 553, but that which gathered in the year 548 from 70 bishops, to examine the three Chapters: and since nothing had been deliberated in it, it came about that Vigilius issued that famous *Judicatum*, by which he proscribed the three Chapters. Wherefore let this stand, that in no way can the testimony of Leontius be twisted toward the 11th ecumenical synod of Constantinople, nor to Vigilius, the bishop of the Roman Church. C that a legate was sent by the Roman pontiff to the Constantinopolitan synod against Cyrus, Sergius, Pyrrhus, and Paul, the Monothelites, to act in his stead, which, as we shall demonstrate, contributes to our cause and utterly overturns the Cajetanian position. Again, Evagrius, Nicephorus, Photius, Cedrenus, and others tell the truth indeed when they write that the Roman pontiff did not attend the II ecumenical synod of Constantinople; but that fact came about not because Vigilius was absent from Constantinople, but because he declined that office, and this they themselves most clearly admit. And yet it was not possible for the Roman pontiff, under whom the synod was performed—in which Gregory disputed against the heretics—to convene, being detained at Rome by serious illness; therefore, he sent a booklet, written by his own hand, concerning the opinion of the orthodox prelates preserving his own place. Regarding Zonaras, who says Vigilius was the president of the council (our Glycas in his *Annals*, part IV, strikes upon the same rock), it is false from that D VII. Leontius continues: "Afterwards, when the multitude of the Fathers gathered in the temple, all sit down, while in the meantime peace reigned in the great, and indeed so wondrously founded, city. There the Fathers exhort Gregory, and persuade him, that he should obtain the throne of the bishop of Sardica and Constantia of Cyprus; and he himself, indeed, was ill." That Gregory sustained the role of the bishop of Sardica and Constantia of Cyprus in the synod supplies a new argument by which the opinion of Cajetan falls to ruin. Cajetan will not be able to deny to me that both Sardica and Constantia were the sees of 300 bishops. The bishop of Sardica exercised the honor of metropolitan in the province of Dacia Mediterranea, which was one of the seven from which was coalesced the exarchate of Achrida, or Justiniana Prima of Dardania, instituted by Justinian I in the year 535, in the consulship of Belisarius (see Justinian's *Novella* XI, coll. 2, tit. 6). But Constantia, which is the metropolis of Cyprus, and which was subsequently termed *Justiniana Nova* by Justinian II, the pontiff was called not only metropolitan of Cyprus, but also autocephalous archbishop, that is, endowed with the same rights as a patriarch; for he was subject to no throne, and his freedom was upheld by the Fathers of the I ecumenical synod of Ephesus in the year 631, against the attempts of John, archbishop of Antioch, contending that the island of Cyprus was a portion of his patriarchate (see canon 8), then furthermore by Zeno the Emperor, who resisted Peter the Dyer, pontiff of Antioch, seeking rights over the Cypriot Church, ordering that the integrity of the *autocephaly* of the metropolitan of Constantia be preserved, and most of all, because for that very reason, at the time when these claims were put forth, the body of the apostle Barnabas was discovered in Cyprus, on whose breast lay the Gospel of Matthew, copied by the hand of Barnabas himself (Niceph. lib. XVI, cap. 37); to which refer both Leo the Emperor in his *Diatyposis* and Nilus Doxopatrius in his *Taxi of Thrones* (in which, however, the Gospel of Mark is erroneously read instead of Matthew), who for that reason report that *autocephaly* was given to the Cypriot metropolitan, which nevertheless is in reality certainly older. Now, therefore, if one and the same bishop of Sardica and of Constantia appears, at the time of the ecumenical council of Constantinople the rights of Constantia were derived into the Church of Sardica—for as often as a Church, which excelled in singular dignity, was occupied by barbarians, with the Christians expelled or sacred ceremonies entirely forbidden, its rights were transferred to another so that they would not be entirely lost. "Therefore, in the *Taxi of Thrones* of the metropolitans, which the most illustrious Emmanuel Schelstrate edited according to the faith of a Vatican manuscript, vol. II, *Antiq. Eccl.*
p. 784, you may read that the rights and dignity of metropolitans were arrogated to the bishop of Philadelphia in Lydia, to the bishop of Heraclea in Pontus, to the bishop of Claudiopolis in Honorias, and to the bishop of Attalia in Pamphylia Secunda, who had previously been their A *eparxiotai*; and also that the rights of the metropolitan of Ancyra in Galatia were attributed to the exarch of Thessalonica. Now, I would very much like to know from Cajetan: who ever reported that the island of Cyprus was invaded by the Barbarians during the reign of Justinian I, with the Christians being driven out, such that the rights of Constantia were yielded to the metropolitan of Mediterranean Dacia? If we were to unroll all the histories, it would never happen that we should encounter such a thing; rather, it is expressly written by Constantine Aug. Porphyrogenitus in book I of his *Themes*, where he speaks of Cyprus: "Time having elapsed, and the Roman arms having been weakened through neglect, the Sarakynoi took possession of it, from the reign of Heraclius, and the first who crossed over into it was Abubacharos (whose daughter's tomb also appears there), and he took possession of it." Through the passage of time, with the Roman weapons worn down by that negligence, they [the Sarakynoi] occupied it, while Heraclius was reigning. Indeed, the first one to invade it was Abubacharos (of whom the daughter's tomb is also shown there), and he subjected it to his empire. Abubacharos, the *Amermummes* II of the Arabs, entered upon his empire in the year 531 (the 21st year of Heraclius), during which Muhammad vomited up his impure soul on June 16; and he ruled for 2 years and 6 months (Theoph. in *Chronogr.*). Therefore, there was no incursion of the Barbarians into Cyprus before the year 821, from which they might have destroyed the Church of the Christians.
VIII. But there still remains something that proves the synod, of which Leontius writes, should in no way be regarded as having been gathered in the kingdom of Justinian I. Thus, then, Leontius [writes]: "There began in that heresy which had arisen long ago a fraudulent disputation, and many things were proved by the orthodox that day against the heretics. Moreover, Gregory, as the most worthless of all, was answering nothing to these things. Then, while the Catholics sat, the heretics on the other hand (for a huge multitude was present) were puffed up with pride, lifting their spirits high, and as if being borne aloft on wings. Thereupon, with the grace of the Holy Spirit B enlightening him, Gregory began to act calmly against the bishops of sick mind, using at first a dogmatic oration concerning the holy, incorrupt, and inseparable Trinity, partly by answering them on individual points, and partly by demanding that they demonstrate what they were saying. And so much wisdom, so much intelligence was given to him, that no one at all from that crowd could sufficiently respond to the words which he drew forth from the sacred Scriptures. And in this way he shuttered the mouths of the heretics, so that all the Fathers were quite astonished at such grace bestowed upon a man by the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. And so, not a few of those who appeared as princes among the heretics, already at that time, when Gregory restrained them through citations and petitions, took refuge in the orthodox faith of the Catholic Church. From that day forward, moreover, the impious did not dare even to mutter against the Catholics, nor to boast the empty and fraudulent voices which they had attempted, noticing that sharp and foul things had happened to them. Immortal God! What yet remains..."
...concilium, in which Gregory was present, is in no way to be understood as that Constantinopolitan one, which was acted upon by the authority of Justinian I? What? In that synod there were no divisions concerning the business of religion, no heretics whose wicked impetus must be crushed. There was a dispute only concerning the orthodoxy of Ibas of Edessa, Theodore of Mopsuestia, and Theodoret of Cyrus; in addition to these, it was acted upon concerning Origen, Didymus, and Evagrius, who were condemned by the one consensus of all the Fathers. Let us hear one witness before all others, Gregory P. M., nicknamed the Great (I pass over the acts of the synod itself, from which that too might become clear), writing these things to Constantine, bishop of Milan, lib. III, epist. 37: "As for the fact that you wrote that you by no means wished to send my letter to Queen Theodelinda for the reason that the fifth synod was named in it, if you believed that she could be scandalized from that point on, it was rightly done that you did not send it at all. Whence we now act in such a way, as you pleased, that we have praised only four synods: but concerning that synod which was afterwards held at Constantinople, which is called the fifth by many, I wish you to know that it did not constitute or feel anything against the most holy synods, since in it something was ordered only concerning persons, but not concerning faith; and it was concerning those persons about whom nothing is contained in the Council of Chalcedon; but after the stated synods or canons, contention was made, and the final action of these persons was aired." If, therefore, it was acted upon in the fifth C ecumenical synod only to determine whether or not the epistles of Ibas to Maris the Persian ought to be proscribed, then Theodore, whose disputations against Eunomius and Apollinarius were extant, suffering from Nestorianism, finally Theodoret, who fixed the stigmata upon the 12 chapters of the Ephesian faith written by Cyril, bishop of Alexandria, if Origen, Didymus, and Evagrius, with no one dissenting, were struck by anathemas, why that [story] that Gregory had checked the foaming boldness of the heretics and finally imposed shame upon them, if he was indeed present at the fifth ecumenical synod? Nothing was done there regarding heretics, but [it was] regarding the heretics Origen, Didymus, and Evagrius, indeed regarding the three bishops, whose memory, just as their impious doctrine, was uncertain [as to whether it was to be] condemned or observed, since they had died in piety and in ecclesiastical D association. This one thing came into the contest; for it was doubted by none of the Fathers co-opted into the council that what Ibas, Theodore, and Theodoret had poured forth in their epistles and *hypomnemata* against Eunomius, Apollinarius, and Cyril, reeked of rotten heresy. I admit, indeed, not without a plan—that is, a very crafty and wicked one—was that Camarina [trouble] moved by the Acephali; for they looked to this, that by the hands of those devoted bishops the authority of the Council of Chalcedon might be raised up, and so they might more safely vomit out the most foul blasphemies: but in the council, it occurred to no one either to call into controversy the doctrine of the Chalcedonian Fathers, or to vindicate the errors of Ibas, Theodore, and Theodoret:
it was held as most certain by all that their dogmas, which were commonly drawn by many from their own books, were to be cast into the abyss of hell. Therefore, either let Cajetan imagine a new ecumenical council convened under Justinian I, at which the legates of the Roman bishop were also present, who brought forward his libellus, in which he set forth his own sentiments regarding the matters which were coming into question, and at the same time the bishops sent by him to act in Rome, who might be joined to the Orientals, and who, upon their return, might have instructed him in how great things Gregory had achieved; then Gregory was so cultivated by the bishops of Sardica and Constantia, performing their parts, and he who had disputed so many and illustrious things against the heretics that he had at last overcome their fury; or finally let him admit that Gregory must be assigned to other times, and as he himself judged, that it could not happen that he was enumerated among the participants of the fifth ecumenical council.
B IX. Nor are these the only things which dismantle Cajetan’s opinion; and there are other things which I shall add by way of a supplement. Among the bishops who, delegated by the Constantinopolitan patriarch, were to investigate the cause of Gregory with the Roman pontiff, a Corinthian is mentioned. "The archbishop likewise (that is, the Constantinopolitan," says Leontius) "sends the bishops of Cyzicus and Corinth, who had been summoned, to Rome from there." But whom might he pass over under Justinian I, and for some years after, the bishop of Corinth, of Hellas, and the exarch of Achaia of the Roman patriarchate, just as also of Thessalonica, and of Justiniana Prima, and by that name held the office of vicar of the Roman pontiff in his own exarchate, with which dignity were invested both the bishop of Thessalonical and the bishop of Justiniana of Dardania? (See Baluz. in *Supplem. ad lib. v de Concord. sac. et imp.*, cap. 29, n. 11.) How then did it happen that the Constantinopolitan patriarch, to the master of affairs Justinian I, summoned the bishop of Corinth—over whom no right was attributed to him—to the city, and ordered him, adorned with the office of his legate, to make for Rome, to be a judge of Gregory?
C X. Besides these things, acquitted of a false crime, Gregory goes from Rome to Constantinople, and there he is heaped with most generous gifts by the Emperor Caesar Justinian and by the Augusta. "And indeed," says Leontius, "the most pious Augusta did not yield anything to the man, but truly endowed Gregory with many gifts, with gold and silver, which was sufficient for the making of ecclesiastical vessels." But who, indeed, was this Augusta, the wife of Justinian I? History transmits the only wife of Justinian I as Theodora, who nevertheless finished her human life in the year of Christ 548, the 22nd year of the reign of Justinian, in the month of June, in the 11th indiction, as has been set forth by Theophanes in his *Chronographia*, and before him by Procopius, in whose lifetime Theodora departed, in Book IV of the *Gothic War*. Cajetan saw this cliff, nor was he equal to escaping it. For he confesses that it is unknown to him which Augusta reigned at that time when he established the guest Bishop Gregory in Constantinople. To whom, finally, could it have been known, when all histories are absolutely silent? And when it is not even credible that Justinian in his old age (for he was 65 years of age when he was widowed of Theodora) would have celebrated new hymns?
XI. Finally, let that be weighed: namely, that Gregory, after he had been judged pure of the guilt of which he had been accused through a very great crime during the Paschal holidays at Rome, where he had spent 2 years and 5 months, having been consigned to chains by the pontiff to whom the crime had been reported, set out for Constantinople, and there celebrated Easter; 302 then, dismissed by the Emperor Justinian, returned to Rome on the 23rd of July, and from there sailed to Sicily and arrived at the river Acragas on the 10th of September; after this, having entered the river at the third hour of the day, he arrived at the market town of the Agrigentines, which was a day and a half’s journey away, on the Sabbath day, that is, on the 11th of September, the day after the ship had arrived at the river Acragas: for the arrival at Acragas and at the market town was not on one and the same day; for otherwise Leontius would have indicated the characteristic of the Sabbath on the 10th of September, when he reached the river; nor was there any reason why he should designate then, when he touched the shore of the market town, just as on that day, because it was the Sabbath, he had done anything worthy of being recorded in letters. Behold the words of Leontius as they are translated into Latin: "Therefore, having departed from Rome and having arrived in Sicily, they came to Agrigento on the 10th of September; so, however, with the will of God, who had always kept and aided them, they entered the river into the suburb, which is called the market town, at the third hour of the day: it was, furthermore, the Sabbath when they arrived there." Now, truly, from the year 554, which followed the fifth ecumenical council, to 565, the last year of Justinian I Aug., the 11th day of September falls on a Sabbath in the years 555 and 560; for in the year 555, the 4th year of the solar cycle began on the Kalends of January, and therefore the Dominical letter is D; in the year 560, the 9th year of the solar cycle, the Dominical letter is DC; and from this you may discern that the characteristic of the 11th day of September was the 7th day of the week (Saturday). But the year 555 is not to the point, both because Cajetan thinks Gregory was inaugurated as bishop in this year, and because between the Roman chains and the return of Gregory to his Church, 4 years had elapsed, and at the same time it is certain that Gregory heard that the bishop of the Agrigentines, after the ecumenical council of Constantinople, that is, shortly after the year 553, according to the opinion of Cajetan, from which you would count only two years to 555. But neither does the year 560 contribute to our cause. Pope Vigilius died on the 10th of January of the year of the era of St. Basil 17, namely the Dionysian year of Christ 568, according to the witness most certain of all, Victor of Tunnuna, a bishop who was a contemporary of Vigilius and was present at the Constantinopolitan council, and was accustomed to Vigilius in the royal city. The *Anypata*, or years designated by no consul according to Basil, began from the year 542 and ceased in the year 566, which was the first of Justin II Aug., as is evident from the consular Fasti, but most of all from the Heraclian ones. Furthermore, the year of Vigilius’s death must be compared with the Dionysian year of Christ 558, so solemnly handed down in ancient catalogs of the Roman pontiffs that John of Ceccano, who otherwise wrote the pontifical *Chronotaxis* upside down, could not deviate into anything else. Therefore, let them see how sweetly they allow themselves to be led.
A 303 have passed by, along with the Dionysian dates of Christ, so that the truth of the matter might emerge from there. That Gregory left Agrigento for Carthage on the day before the Kalends of July, and arrived there after 3 days, does not come into controversy, for we learn this from the clear testimony of Leontius. And that likewise, having set out from Carthage with the monks Marcus, Serapion, and Leontius, he arrived at Tripoli, having completed 20 days on the journey, and stayed there for an entire month, and having sailed again from there and spent 4 months embarked on a ship, he finally entered Jerusalem—so that from his departure from Carthage to his entry into Jerusalem 6 months or somewhat more had intervened—Leontius also maintains, so that no place for doubt remains here.
But as to what Cajetan concludes from this, that Gregory had entered Jerusalem before a year had elapsed since he fled his fatherland, and not far from the Pasch, which Leontius records as having been completed on April 6th, we in no way approve of this, if indeed we wish to follow the history of our leader Leontius, as it is entirely right to do; for what, then? Abbot Marcus, who led Gregory to Jerusalem on the second day after the New Sunday, which followed the only Pasch that he celebrated there, departs to Tripoli of Syria, where he arrives on the Kalends of June, where—having embarked on a ship—he sails to Sicily; he arrives at the shores of Pleuthiadas on the 17th day before the Kalends of July, and from there he enters the Acragas River, and from there first the suburb, which is called the port of the people of Agrigento, then the city, and there, on the day after the sacred rites were most religiously performed for the most holy apostles Peter and Paul, it happened that Gregory’s parents came to the city bringing necessities, in order to perform the funeral rites for their son; for on that very day Gregory had departed from there on the day before the Kalends of July. Therefore, while they are paying funeral honors with tears and lamentations to their son, whom they believe to be dead, Marcus the monk inquires about the cause of their mourning from Bishop Potamio, and the bishop says to him: "Listen, Father, I shall now teach you what has happened in this city for the past two years." Then he sets forth the matter, relating that the parents he saw mourning were those of a certain Gregory, a youth of exceptional promise, who, having been entrusted to the discipline of the archdeacon, had vanished from the eyes of the city.
Come now, if Gregory departed from his native borders on the day before the Kalends of July, if in the following year Abbot Marcus celebrated the solemnities of Pasch in Jerusalem with Gregory, and on the day after the New Sunday of the other year he set out from there and arrived at Agrigento at the end of June, B and on the day before the Kalends of July sees Gregory's parents performing the funeral rites for their son, surely on that day one year is to be counted since Chariton and Theodote lost their sweetest and best pledge. But the bishop speaks of a two-year period: therefore, Cajetan incorrectly counts a single year from the time Gregory departed from his paternal home, and since Marco, Gregory’s guide, came to Agrigento for the Jerusalem pilgrimage from Jerusalem. Why, a manifest trace of this same two-year period exists in the account of the events which Leontius sets forth, from the departure of Gregory to his arrival at Jerusalem, and the Paschal events there? He says first that Gregory was received in Carthage with hospitality by the shipmaster himself. C D
XII. Now since the opinion of Cajetan regarding the age of Gregory—to which he imputes [the cause]—does not rest upon a stable foundation, the time has come for me to propose at last what I feel about this matter. But what shall I propose, except what we derive from the *Menologion of Basil* edited by authority on August 1st, from the *Summary of the Gregorian Life* written in Greek, from Nicetas the Studite monk, from our Leontius, and from the Metaphrast—namely, to refer Gregory to those times when the ecumenical synod against the Monothelites was convened at Constantinople, and consequently that he lived under the Emperors Constantine Pogonatus and Justinian II, to whom, having had his nose cut off in the year 695 by Leontius who was ejected from the royal throne, the surname Rhinotmetus was given? I shall therefore bring forth nothing new; I shall only ensure that the authority of the name of Cajetan, which is indeed great, does not drive anyone from the path of truth.
XIII. At the start of my arranging the years of Gregory, which [span] from his departure from his fatherland to his inauguration as bishop,
A I have often considered the account of that man who had led him there; for, being devoted to the study of divine matters, he would sometimes pass two days, sometimes three, and sometimes even a whole week in fasting; and from this you may understand that Gregory did not spend a few short days in Carthage. He subsequently records that the messenger, full of wonder at such a thing, had reported this to the city’s bishop, who then sent for Gregory; that Gregory was ready for all things which he was asked by the pontiff to perform: and then, at length, he asked that the holy man would pray for him, so that his intention of plying the holy places of Jerusalem might go well: the bishop wished him a favorable and propitious journey, and at the same time begged him to remain with him until the holy feast days. Here I ask, which are these feast days, if not the Nativity of Christ or the Paschal feast? Therefore, since Gregory met with the Carthaginian bishop, the day of the Nativity of Christ or of the Pasch was not far off; for who should persuade himself that the bishop would have proposed that a man burning with a desire to leave should be detained for a long time? Meanwhile (Leontius adds) Abbot Marcus had not yet arrived, who by God's admonition was to lead Gregory to Jerusalem: eventually he arrived with Serapion and Leontius, and after four days had been spent in Carthage, they all left together. And truly, when I consider that Gregory and the monks had exhausted five months at sea after they departed Carthage, to reach some port whence they might proceed to Jerusalem on foot, I do not doubt that the voyage was undertaken with the seas closed near the time of the Nativity of Christ; for in a more favorable season of the year, not even a month should have been consumed at sea. Thus, if from the departure from Carthage to the end of the voyage six months were spent (for they stayed one month in Tripoli), and if they departed Carthage in December, the end of the voyage was surely in June, and therefore, they entered Jerusalem in July, at the earliest—both because those places are far from the sea, and because the journey was performed only on foot. Is it not now apparent that the Paschal feast which Gregory celebrated in Jerusalem was not the first, but the second which occurred to be celebrated after he had left his fatherland? With these points established, I shall institute this canon, which will soon be called for examination, so that the matter which comes into question may be confirmed by its own weights. XIV. Year of Christ: 674. ... 675. ... 676. He returns from the wilderness to Jerusalem, and resides there for a whole year. 677. He moves from Jerusalem to Antioch on the 4th of the Ides of April, and tarries for one year. 678. He arrives at Constantinople from Antioch, where he is detained by the patriarch Theodorus, in order to attend the indictive ecumenical synod. 679. ... 680. He is present at the Sixth Ecumenical Synod in Constantinople, representing the bishops of Sardica, Constantia, and Cyprus, and putting to flight the heresy of the Monothelites. 681. He sets out from Constantinople for Rome, which he reaches on the 11th of the Kalends of July; from there he is announced as bishop of Agrigentum by the Roman Pontiff Agatho, and soon, having departed for Agrigentum on the 18th of the Kalends of September, he enters the city on the 16th of the Kalends of October.
XV. Thirteen years passed from Gregory's flight from his fatherland and home to the beginning of his pontificate in the Church of Agrigentum; for as many years does Chariton, Gregory’s father, count, while he teaches at Rome, B still not recognizing his own son, whom he had lost. But Chariton was indeed present at Rome with the other men of Agrigentum who were begging the Roman Pontiff to give them a bishop, since the people, divided in their various loyalties, had not agreed on whom to appoint. Now, if Gregory left his fatherland on the day before the Kalends of July in the year 669, the 13th year from the time the father had been deprived of his sweetest son began to be numbered on the same day of the year 681. To this is added the fact that the Roman Pontiff had laid hands on Gregory’s head, thereby creating him bishop of the people of Agrigentum; this same pontiff had also sent legates and bishops to the ecumenical synod, as is established from Leontius, whose words are: "But the bishops sent to the council by the pontiff, preceding the arrival of Gregory, had instructed the pontiff himself that the audacity and petulance of the heretics had been repressed by the virtue and wisdom of Gregory." Meanwhile, while Gregory remained at Rome, the bishop of Agrigentum (Theodorus) died, and a great sedition arose at Agrigentum, with the people stirring up riots: and these indeed were choosing Sabinus the presbyter, while others were choosing Crescentius the deacon. Meanwhile, the leading men selected from the Church of Agrigentum and from the neighboring regions took the sea route and crossed over to Rome, asking the pontiff to create a bishop for them. Furthermore, Agatho, under whose pontificate the ecumenical synod was convened at Constantinople, died on the 4th of the Ides of January in the year 682, and was followed by an interregnum of one year, 7 months, and 5 days (Anastasius Bibliothecarius in the life of Agatho). But when Gregory, as soon as he heard at Rome that he was the bishop of the people of Agrigentum, had undertaken the journey to his church on the 18th of the Kalends of September, it is certain that he entered upon his bishopric only in the year 681; and from there, if we count back 13 years to fix the epoch of Gregory’s flight from his fatherland, we arrive at the year 669. Caietanus, having no concern for the fact that at the same time when the great synod gathered at Constantinople, Gregory was already called bishop of the Agrigentines and created—C 669. Gregory departs from Carthage, where he disembarks after three days, having left there in the month of December. 670. He arrives at Tripoli in the month of January, and after one month has passed, he sails again, and having finished 4 months, he comes to Jerusalem in the month of July. 304 671. The Pasch is celebrated at Jerusalem on the 6th of April; Pentecost is counted by the deacon from Bishop Macarius; then he goes away to the Mount of Olives, wanders through the dwellings of the monks, and spends a year among them. 672. He leaves the Mount of Olives and goes into the desert, where he lives for 4 years. 675. ...
A he points out a certain bishop, who succeeded Vigilius, under whom the Fifth Oecumenical Synod was completed at Constantinople: to omit for the present that he declares him to have been substituted for Vigilius in the year 555, when it was actually done there in the year 558, as we have previously demonstrated; but in this place, Caietanus is worthy of pardon, along with Baronius and others, who have assigned the year of Vigilius's death to the Dionysian year of Christ 555.
XVI. Now, we must consider whether the commentary of Leontius causes any trouble for our Chronologism, as we have seen happen to Caietanus, or if everything in it is exact according to the norm of Leontian history. First, that which we opposed to Caietanus: it was the Jerusalem episcopate of Macarius, which does not concur with those years which Caietanus thought Gregory spent in Jerusalem. Yet our Canon is free from this annoyance. From the year of Christ 636, August 26, when, by the testimony of Theophanes, Sophronius, the patriarch of his Church, departed this life, to Anastasius, who ended [his term] in the year 709, we have a mutilated Catalog of the bishops of Jerusalem, and it has not yet been granted to writers of ecclesiastical affairs to complete it. The learned Honuphrius Panvinius saw this and gave warning before Baronius (in his Chronicle to the year 636), for whom, after Sophronius, no other bishops of Jerusalem were known B in the seventh century, except Theodorus, Elias, and John. But once those monuments were brought to light which had been concealed in the age of Panvinius, the number increased somewhat, so that this series of bishops of the Jerusalem Church is presented in that century: Anastasius IV, John, Theodorus, Eusebius, Elias, Theodorus, Elias again, and John. What then, if we do not refer the benefit to Leontius as a common one, by suggesting Macarius to us, by whom we fulfill that gap of the seventh century in part? What if we are also bound by another name, with Eustathius of Antioch having been supplied, the bishop who preceded Macarius, who was ejected from the chair in the year 681, by the authority of the oecumenical synod which was held at Constantinople against the Monothelites, with Theophanes (abbot of the Sicilian monastery which was called Baiae) having been substituted in his place? After Gregory II, the pontiff of the Church, finished his life in the year 629, 305 ecclesiastical history narrates these successors: Anastasius III, Macedonius, and Macarius, of whom we have spoken. But neither the year of death of Anastasius nor of Macedonius is C explored, nor do we know that Macarius was immediately substituted for Macedonius; we only know this, that a certain Macedonius existed before Macarius, who managed the Church of Antioch. Therefore, with Leontius as author, let Eustathius precede Macarius, whom he obtained as successor at least after the year 677, since in this year Eustathius was caring for that Church, while meanwhile we await more certain information from monuments still hidden, with which we might determine whether, after Gregory II, Anastasius, Macedonius, and Eustathius alone governed the rudder of the Church of Antioch, or if others must be added in, so that the entire series of Antiochene pontiffs of that century might stand.
XVII. I come now to the character of Easter, and I might lock horns here even with Hercules: so certain am I of victory. In the year that Gregory was staying in Jerusalem with three monks, Mark, Serapion, and Leontius, the Paschal holidays began on April 6, as our Leontius signifies. Now D because in the Dionysian year of Christ 674, from the 8th year of the solar cycle, the 7th of the lunar, with the Dominical letter E, we find the Paschal term [to be] March 30, we understand that in that year the Pascha agreed on April 6, for the term ended on the first day of the week. Nor should anyone doubt that the Pascha completed at that time in Jerusalem was on the same day as among the other Churches of Christians, because perhaps the Jerusalem Church was using a Callippic lunar year, just as all the Jews in exile use [it] even on this day; whence, from a different form of the year, a different day of Easter might emerge from that which the rest of the Christian Churches were celebrating. For since, according to the prescription of the Mosaic law, the Pascha was to be celebrated on the 15th day of Nisan, the Palestinian Church, constant in the ancient institution and obedient to the decree of the Council of Nicaea, could have the Jewish Phase before its eyes, so that it might call the Easter [celebration] the Lord's day, which would follow immediately after that. But surely, whoever suspects these things is ignorant that the corrected doctrine of the Christian Pascha did not flow from any other source except from the lunar year, which prevailed among the Hebrews, as it still prevails, but [which was] nonetheless corrected by Rabbi Adda, who took away two days, having completed 297 Callippic periods in the Dionysian year of Christ, that is, 608 years, so that on the 4th day of September of that year the new Tisri would have entered, when, with the neomenia not being disturbed from its original position, it would have been required to be entered on the 6th of the same.
XVIII. Indeed, Adda saw, having compared between themselves 16 Callippic lunar enneadecaeterides and the Julian solar years; that in 304 years, which 16 lunar enneadecaeterides constitute, the solar reckoning exceeds the lunar by one day, and thus in 32 enneadecaeterides, or 8 lunar periods, the solar [reckoning] exceeds the lunar by 11 days. And so, if in the 1st year of the 4th Callippic period the lunar Tisri began on September 6, in the year 305 it must be cast to the 5th day, in the year 609 to the 4th, in the year 613 to the 3rd, and so on. But Adda was not entirely obeyed by his own people. They indeed did subtract that two-day remnant from their year, but for later times no additional day was erased. We have illustrious testimony regarding this matter from Nicephorus Gregoras, who in his computation relates to us that in the year of Christ 1318 the Jews celebrated Pascha on the 20th day of March, when the Christians [did so on] April 24. It was the year of the Seleucids 1628, that is, 33 of the 22nd Callippic period; the 33rd Callippic Tisri of the 1st period began on September 12, whose character [is] 2, 9, 1066, that is, the second day of the week, the 9th hour, 1066 being the monuments, of which 1080 constitute the hour. The Addaite Tisri 33, of period 9, from which the two days were taken away, [began on] September 10, and its character [is] 4, 11, 666. So that therefore the neomenia of the Callippic Tisri of the 33rd year of the period, remaining on September 12, Nisan would have begun on March 8, so [it was] perpetually attached to the auspice of the 33rd year of the period.
D Dominical letter E. In the year 1317, however, the character of Tisri being 4, 8, 286, and when the year was 10 of the solar cycle, which exhibits the Dominical letter G, the 4th feria does not fit, except on September 7. It is evident, therefore, that in the 14th century of Christ, the Hebrews did not yet follow the epilogisms of their Adda, except that they had cast out a two-day interval from the ancient Callippic year.
XIX. This being posited, it is better first to propose a table in which, against the years of the period 1, corrected by Adda (which is Callippic 9), and [the years] of Christ, and [those] of the solar cycle, I will then describe the Dominical letter itself, the new moon of Tisri in the Julian year, and its character, as well as the years of the lunar cycle, which correspond in the following [columns] to when Nisan [falls], of which I will also indicate the new moon and the character 306; after this I will add the days of the Jewish Phase, then the Paschal limits of the Roman, Constantinopolitan, Alexandrian, and Antiochene Church, responding to one lunar cycle, for I will not proceed further.
TABLE.
[The following is an index of the table entries preserved]
307 XX. The incomparable Joseph Scaliger has discussed the rationale of the Jewish year extensively in his golden volumes *De emendatione temporum*, and he drew his doctrine from their own calculation, which he published in Book VI and adorned with scholia. Therefore, I shall not waste time with notes on the things we present in this diagram, which are all exact to the form of the Jewish year. I proceed, therefore, to the matter that is properly our own. From a comparison of the Jewish Passover with the Paschal terms of the Christians, one understands without difficulty that these are the same as their Passover. Wherever there is a disagreement, the disagreement lies in the fact that it is not given to us to define [it] more correctly; since indeed they do not use a period of 76 years, but only a single cycle of nineteen years. Since, therefore, the character of the term, which in one cycle coincides with an ordinary year, falls in another upon a leap year, it follows that one cannot safely always assign the Paschal term to the same day. Thus, in year 17 of the cycle, the Paschal term is said to be April 9. This is indeed true for years 4, 42, 61 of the period, because they all coincide with ordinary Julian years, but not, however, in year 23 of the period, which falls in a leap year, and therefore the seat of the terms must be advanced by one day. Conversely, it happens that the Paschal terms are delayed by one day; this is on account of the omitted day by which the lunar year sometimes abounds, which happens fifteen times in the entire period, that is, in years 3, 10, 14, 19, 24, 30, 35, 40, 41, 51, 56, 60, 65, 70, 76. In year 8 of the lunar cycle, the Paschal term is assigned to April 18. But this is true in years
of the cycle 33, 52, 71, which are all ordinary lunar years, and not year 14, which is intercalary. This is the reason why Paschal terms of Christians do not always differ from the Jewish Passover by one day, either earlier or later.
A XXI. As regards the translation of the Passover from Nisan to Jiar, whenever the Passover precedes the vernal equinox, this did not first enter the minds of Christians, but was done by the example of the Jews. For when this happened, the latter, bound by ancient religion, did not think the Passover should be omitted in the month of Nisan; but because for so many centuries they had never eaten the legal unleavened bread except after the vernal equinox, they therefore performed the mandate of the Unleavened Bread again on the 15th of Jiar, so that in one year a double Passover occurred; which the great Caesar Constantine mocks in a certain letter to the Churches, which Eusebius sets forth in book III of his Life, chapter 17. Moreover, if we investigate the oldest times of the Christian Church, it will be manifest to us that Paschal terms were held on days before the equinox, which is especially clear from the sixteen-year cycle of Hippolytus, bishop of Portus, composed in the year of Christ 222, in which the terminal day is offered as March 17 in years 6 and 14, whence it is represented in the dominical table: if the term falls on A, that is, feria 1, the Passover is to be celebrated on March 25; if on Z, that is, feria vi, March 26; if on S, that is, feria vi, March 20; if on E, that is, feria v, March 21; if on A, that is, feria iv, March 22; if on F, that is, feria iii, March 23; if on B, that is, feria ii, March 24. C What of the fact that even in the year 403 the Roman Church did not consider it a sin to set its own Passover at a pre-equinoctial term? At that time, Innocent the Supreme Pontiff strenuously fought for the appointment of the Passover on March 22, which Theophilus, bishop of Alexandria, opposed by all means, not allowing it to be committed in his own Church; for the true day of the Passover seemed to him to be March 29. In order for the Paschal rites to be performed on March 22, the term could not be held later than March 20; for if it had fallen on the 21st, there would have been no causes for dissent: for since the character of March 21 was feria vi according to the most ancient custom of the Roman Church, which was in force even in the age of Hippolytus of Portus, as is clear from his canon, the Passover should have been postponed to the following Sunday, and by that agreement the Roman Church would have concurred with the Alexandrian. Therefore, the Paschal term to which Innocent looked preceded the equinox; since he designated the Passover for March 22. D Since these things are so, who would deny that this Jewish Paschal leap was invented before the Council of Nicaea, since many years later that custom had not yet been adopted by Christians? For the fact that in the year 403 Theophilus transferred the Paschal solemnities to March 29, the cause was that he judged the legitimate term of the Passover to be March 22, and this is clear from his cycle: for when it was the 4th year of the Alexandrian lunar cycle, the Paschal new moon was inscribed as 13 Phamenoth, March 9, and thence the term 26 Phamenoth, March 22. And who has not granted me, whatever finally the matter regarding the Paschal cycle established by the supreme Churches of the Christians, that it erupted from Hebrew sources?
XXII. And would that there had never been a delay or shame in summoning the lunar calculations of the Jews to our aid, as often as the true day of the Passover was called into doubt! Truly, neither would so many have spent good hours wrongly in constructing new and more new canons, by which nothing more was obtained except that sin might be committed more safely; nor would they have labored with so many troubles of the Christian Church. In the year 417, what struggles intervened between the bishops Innocent of Rome and Cyril of Alexandria, the latter determining the Passover on April 22, the former on March 25? The same was reborn in the year 444, with Leo of Alexandria on April 23; and no differently in the year 455, when the same Theophilus cast the Passover to April 24, but Leo to the 17th of the same month. In the year 577, a similar dissension separated the Gauls and the Spaniards from fellowship, the former conferring the Passover on April 25, the latter on the 18th of the same month, following the cycles of their own kinsman Victorius. In the year 760, there was sin in the East in the performance of the Paschal day: for some celebrated it on April 6, others on April 13. From the table which we have constructed, you yourself will be able to judge safely to whom the cause in these litigations stood, provided you add 311 to the years of Christ that you have proposed, which the Calippic-Seleucian era preceded the Dionysian era of Christ, and from there remove 76, as much as allowed; for what remains demonstrates the year of the period, which teaches both the Tisri of the previous year, started in September or August, and the new moon of Nisan in March or April, then the day of the Passover, whence having obtained the character of the feria of that day from the year of the Solar cycle, which was active then, you will properly know the day of the Passover.
D XXIII. Now therefore (to return to the path), if the Paschal terms of the Christians, and those amended, are the very same as the Jewish Passover, from which they sometimes depart only because of the intervention of the bissextile in the Julian solar year, or because of an omitted intercalary day in the lunar year, there remains no cause from which we might suspect that in the year 671 the day of the Passover in the Church of Palestine was not the same as that of the rest of the Christians. And clearly, if we consult the table, we will find the matter speaking for itself. That year was 928 of the Seleucian era, and therefore 70 of the period 13. Therefore, since the Jewish Passover occurred on March 30, and indeed on feria 1, it necessarily follows that the Passover was celebrated at Jerusalem on April 6, which Leontius explicitly attested. Wherefore, even if we are destitute of any other aid from which to show that Gregory should be removed from the age of Justinian I, by this one testimony we have clearly won the case. For in all the years of the empire of Justinian I, there occurs no Passover which was performed by Christians on April 6. Truly, Christ cannot be triumphant over death on April 6, except in the years of the enneadecaeteric cycle 7, 8, 15, 4, 12, when the Paschal terms are March 26 and 30 (nay, even 31 in year 59 of the period, which is 15 of the cycle) April 1, 2, 4; or
even in year 1 of the cycle, which sets the limit on April 5, A how was that custom, at that time among the Oriental Churches, not everywhere prevalent of deferring Easter to the second Sunday, whenever the term fell on a Saturday? We have a noble example of this in the Easter of the year 760 of the lunar cycle 4; for then the orthodox heard those who celebrated the Paschal rites on April 6, whereas those who deferred them to April 13 (see Theophanes' *Chronography* and Paul the Deacon's *Miscellanea*, book xx) were relegated to the census of the heretics—not because the Paschal date was postponed on account of the term falling on a Saturday, but because those who delayed until April 13 held the Paschal term of April 6, as the Church of Antioch had established for all time in its Canon: though in reality it is not always true that the terminal day of year 1 of the lunar cycle is to be taken as April 5, as the Roman, Constantinopolitan, and Alexandrian Churches decreed, or April 6, as the Church of Antioch decreed, but partly April 5 and partly April 6. Indeed, in years 7 and 64 of the period, the true term is day 5, and in years 26 and 45, day 6. Yet, in the year of Christ 760, the year of the Seleucids was 1071, which is 7 of the Callippic period, and consequently the legitimate Paschal term is April 5. Now, the Emperor Justinian I began his reign in the Dionysian year of Christ 527, in the month of August, at the end of year 2 of the 12th Callippic period, which was the Seleucid year 838; he departed this life in the year 565, in the month of November, which was the new year 41 of the 12th Callippic period, the Seleucid year 877. In this course of years, the Paschal terms suitable to our plan present themselves in the years of the period 5, 7, 10, 13, 18, 21, 24, 29, 32, 37, 40. B But in year 5, which is 530 of Christ, with the solar cycle 7 and dominical letter F, the term is on Friday (feria vi). Therefore, Easter is March 31. In year 7, which is 532 of Christ, with solar cycle 9 and dominical letter DC, the term is on Monday (feria ii). Therefore, Easter is April 11. In year 10, the Dionysian year of Christ 535, with solar cycle 12 and dominical letter G, the term is on Friday (feria vi). Therefore, Easter is April 3 or 10 (for we do not know what the custom of the Church of Jerusalem was when the term fell on a Saturday). In year 13, 538 of Christ, with solar cycle 15 and dominical letter C, the term is on Wednesday (feria iii). Therefore, Easter is April 4. In year 18, 543 of Christ, with solar cycle 20 and dominical letter D, the term is on Friday (feria vi). Therefore, Easter is April 7. In year 21, 546 of Christ, with solar cycle 23 and dominical letter G, the term is on Sunday (feria i). Therefore, Easter is April 8. In year 24, D 549 of Christ, with solar cycle 26 and dominical letter C, the term is on Monday (feria ii). Therefore, Easter is April 4. In year 29, 554 of Christ, with solar cycle 3 and dominical letter D, the term is on Monday (feria ii). Therefore, Easter is April 8. In year 32, 557 of Christ, with solar cycle 6 and dominical letter G, the term is on Friday (feria vi). Therefore, Easter is April 1. In year 37, 562 of Christ, with solar cycle 11 and dominical letter A, the term is on Wednesday (feria iii). Therefore, Easter is April 7. In year 40, 565 of Christ, with solar cycle 14 and dominical letter D, the term is on Thursday (feria iv). Therefore, Easter is April 5. What asylum will finally remain, to which Caietanus might flee, recalling Gregory to the times of Justinian I, when such an illustrious record of Easter, which is celebrated there at Jerusalem—a record which bears the most certain testimony of all—might detach him from that age? Such a noble argument has provided us with an abundant field for discussion, such that a reader burdened by no prejudice might defend the rights of our cause. Now I shall proceed with the rest. B But it is now right to demonstrate, so that not even an iota might be opposed to us from the Leontian history—which, rather, adds the most grave weight to the opinion we have put forward, as it narrates everything pertaining to this matter—that this illustrious man, were he looking upon the light today, would not depart from the opinion. Leontius says, therefore, that Gregory, when he was staying in Constantinople and considering Rome, was detained by the Archbishop of Constantinople so that he might not leave so suddenly: that he had exposed the wicked fury of the heretics, who, devoted to the parties of Sergius, Cyrus, and Paul, had stirred up fatal tragedies in the Church; that these acts needed to be opposed, and that for this reason a council had been ordered. Now, from our Canon, the arrival of Gregory at Constantinople occurred in the year 678, at which time the most pious and orthodox bishop Theodore presided over that great Church, who in that very year was cast from his throne, with George, a leader of the Monothelites both in deed and in dignity, being subrogated in his place, although he eventually abjured his sacrilegious error at the synod. And the council, indeed, was indicted under Patriarch Theodore in the year 678, although it is clear from the testimony of Anastasius, librarian of the Roman Church, writing in the *Life of Agatho*, that it was gathered at the end of the year 680. He writes: "The most pious princes Constantine, Heraclius, and Tiberius Augustus had sent letters through Epiphanius, who was their secretary, to Donus, whom they thought still living, the predecessor of Agatho, in which they urged that the Pope should send priests or others to the royal city to reconcile the Churches at long last." Having received these, Agatho did not think such a matter should be managed slowly or languidly. He therefore immediately sends Abundantius, Bishop of Paternus, John of Reggio, and John of Porto, as bishops, and in addition Theodore and Gregory as priests, John the deacon, and Constantine the subdeacon, along with Theodore the Ravennate priest and servants of God the monks. They depart for Constantinople, are honorably received by the emperor, and are advised not to carry out their business through tumult and discord, but calmly and moderately. There were present at the synod, besides the emperor, Macarius of Antioch and George, Patriarch of Constantinople, and the legates of the Apostolic See themselves, and 150 bishops from the East. The question was asked, in order to be explained more clearly, whether there are two wills in Christ the Lord. Now, therefore, the sixth ecumenical synod, of which Anastasius writes, was indicted
under the Roman pontiff Donus, to whom letters were written concerning this matter, which, however, were not brought to Rome until he was deceased. And if Donus died on the 4th of the Ides of April in the year 678, who would deny that the synod was indicted in this very year, when Theodore still occupied the helm of the Constantinopolitan Church? Panvinius, in *Chronicon Ecclesiasticum*, writes that Theodore entered the patriarchate in the year 680 and held it for 2 years and 3 months. Although this, if it were true, would inflict no wound upon our judgment; for it would be easy to say that Gregory indeed came to Constantinople in the year 678, but was detained by Theodore in the year 680 from departing for Rome; yet I cannot conceal that in this Panvinius is egregiously wrong. For if Theodore ruled the Constantinopolitan Church for 2 years and 3 months, if he was heard of as pontiff in the year 680, it follows that he finished his pontificate in the year 682. But it is placed beyond the hazard of controversy that the patriarch George presided over the synod which, begun on the 10th of November in the year 680, ended in the year 681. Therefore, either two bishops sat on the throne of the Constantinopolitan Church at one and the same time, or that which Panvinius thought regarding the year of the beginning of Theodore’s pontificate is entirely false. Thus, his opinion being exploded, one must cling to the footprints of those who maintain that Theodore was ejected from the pontificate in the year 678, which he entered again in the year 683, after George had departed from mortality.
XXVI. He therefore subjoins that the Roman bishop, being infirm, sent a document to the synod written by his own hand A concerning the judgment of the orthodox prelates who were filling his place. What could be said more truly about Agatho? For he truly sent as legates Abundantius of Paternus, John of Rhegium, and John of Portu, the bishops, to act as his proxy in the synod, and at the same time a synodical letter, to which 120 bishops subject to his patriarchate subscribed, just as the aforementioned Anastasius relates. But they anathematized Macarius the stubborn, who would not listen to the synodical letter of Agatho to which the 120 bishops of the West had subscribed, expelled him from the synod, and cast him into exile at Rome along with his own.
XXVII. In that synod, the role of the bishop of Sardica was assigned to our Gregory, for the bishop of Constantia in Cyprus was afflicted with illness. And indeed, there is nothing to prevent the bishop of Constantia in Cyprus and of Sardica from being one and the same person at this time, the rights of Constantia having been adopted for the time being by the Church of Sardica. For in the 8th year of Heraclius Constans II Augustus, in the Dionysian year 648, the Arabs—under the leadership of Mu'awiya, the Emir of Egypt, who later, after the death of Hoamen or Othman, became their fifth Amermumnis (they call them *Amiral-mumanin*)—invaded the island of Cyprus, having expelled all the Christians from there (Theoph. in *Chron.*), and they did not return to their ancestral hearths until the 1st year of Justinian II Rhinotmetus, B under Abd al-Malik, the eighth Amermumnis of the Arabs, in the year of Christ 685, when a peace was entered into between both princes on the conditions which Theophanes recounts for the 1st year of Justinian. Among the other exiles was numbered John, Archbishop of Constantia, who was therefore used as an archbishop in title only. But should this be endured any longer, especially when the custom had grown strong in the East that, once churches had been laid waste by the fury of the Barbarians, their rights—whether they held principality over provincial or diocesan matters—were transferred to another? Behold the year in which the synod of which we speak was held: the province of the Hellespont was torn away from the patriarchate of Constantinople and attributed to John, Archbishop of Constantia, so that he might exercise there the rights he used in Cyprus. Canon 39, by which that is sanctioned, C says these words: "Our brother and fellow-minister John, the prelate of the island of Cyprus, along with his own people, has migrated from said island to the Hellespontine province, as well by the incursions of the Barbarians, as by the fact of being liberated from heathen slavery, and purely to be subjected to the scepters of the most Christian empire, through the providence of the Man-loving God and the labor of our Christ-loving and pious king; we decree that the privileges granted by the God-bearing Fathers who formerly gathered at Ephesus to the throne of the aforementioned man be preserved without innovation; so that the new Justinianopolis may have the rights of Constantinople, and the most God-beloved bishop established over it may preside over all the bishops of the Hellespont D province."
XXV. Nor indeed, as the author of the *Breviary of the Life of Gregory* writes, did our Gregory, while George was granting rights to the Constantinopolitan Church, seek the royal city, changing his counsel. Many things are recounted in that epitome which depart from the commentary of Leontius, and therefore from the truth. The epitomator says that Gregory was enrolled into the clergy at the age of 18 by Potamion, Bishop of Agrigentum: but Leontius records that this took place when he was 12 years old, and that he actually left his country in his 18th year. The epitomator adds that Gregory lived for 4 years with Mark the abbot at Carthage, by whom he was instructed in sacred discipline. But Leontius signifies nothing of the sort, but shows that this four-year period was spent on the Mount of Olives, after he first emigrated from Jerusalem, where he truly lived for 4 years with a certain aged ascetic, and was instructed by him in divine matters. The epitomator adds that Gregory, together with Mark, set out from Carthage to Antioch, and from there to Jerusalem, where he was placed among the deacons by Bishop Macarius: but it is established from Leontius that Gregory never visited Antioch with Abbot Mark, but only went there after leaving Jerusalem for the second time, intending to set out for Constantinople. Since the epitomator hands down so many things that are not related to the truth—if indeed we claim the most certain faith for the Leontian history, as it must undoubtedly be claimed, for he agrees with him who declares that George occupied the throne of the Church of Constantinople when Gregory entered the royal city? But I return to Leontius.
A This is: Our brother and colleague John, Archbishop of Cyprus, together with his people, having crossed over from the said island into the province of the Hellespont, both because of the incursions of the Barbarians and so that he might be removed from the servitude of the heathens and might obey only the scepter of the most Christian empire, by the providence of the merciful God and the work of our Christ-loving and pious emperor, we have decreed that the privileges granted to the throne of the praised archbishop by the holy Fathers formerly gathered at Ephesus shall remain firm, and that the new Justinianopolis shall have the right of Constantinople, and that the most holy bishop imposed upon it shall preside over the entire province of the Hellespont, and shall receive the imposition of hands from his own bishops according to the ancient custom. The Augustan writer Constantine Porphyrogenitus touches upon all these very things in his book *De Administrando Imperio*, chapter 47, but (which is the perpetual calamity of that little book) there is a wonderful error in the designation of the years due to the fault of the scribes. Thus, therefore, he says: [Greek text omitted]. This is: The island having been captured by the Saracens, and remaining uninhabited for seven years, and Archbishop John having reached the royal city with his people, an arrangement was made by Emperor Justinian in the holy Sixth Synod that he should take over Cyzicus with his bishops and the people of the island, and perform ordinations whenever a bishop is lacking, so that the authority and rights of Cyprus might not perish; for indeed Emperor Justinian himself was a Cypriot, as the account has prevailed even to this day among the old Cypriots. So it was also decreed in the holy Sixth Synod that the Archbishop of Cyprus should ordain the president of Cyzicus; as is recorded in the 39th (read 39th) chapter of the same holy Sixth Synod. This is: The island having been occupied by the Saracens, and remaining without natives for 7 years, when Archbishop John was staying with his people in the royal city, it was decreed by the authority of Justinian Augustus in the holy VI Synod that he should be placed over Cyzicus, and over the bishops and people of that province, and should perform the imposition of hands, lest the authority and rights of Cyprus should perish thereafter when a bishop was lacking. For Justinian himself was a Cypriot, as the ancestral fame of the Cypriots proclaims to this very day. It was likewise decreed in the VI holy Synod that whoever was metropolitan of Cyzicus should be inaugurated by the Archbishop of Cyprus, just as it is written in chapter 39 of the same holy Synod. Since the VI Synod met in the year 680, and the Cypriots left home in the year 648, they could not have counted less than 32 years from the year of their migration to that synod. Therefore, for that which stands as 'for 7 years', it must be amended to 'for 32 years'. Constantine continues: B [Greek text omitted]. This is: After 7 years, by the will of God, the emperor was moved to settle Cyprus again, and he sent to the Amermumnes of Baghdad three of the noble Cypriots, being natives of the same island, who are called Phangumes, along with a certain royal and illustrious man, writing to the Amermumnes that he should release the people of the island of Cyprus who were in Syria to their own place. And the Amermumnes, obeying the emperor's letter, sent throughout all of Syria noble Saracens, gathered all the Cypriots, and sent them over to their own place; and the emperor also sent a royal official, and he brought over those who had settled in Romania, that is, in Cyzicus, and in the Cibyrrhæotic theme, and in the Thracesian, and the island was inhabited. This is: After 7 years (by the author God) it stood with the emperor to restore Cyprus to the citizens. Therefore he sent to the Amermumnes of Baghdad three natives from the primary nobility of Cyprus (they were called Phangumes) with the addition of a grave and illustrious man from his retinue, writing to the Amermumnes that he should send home the Cypriot people exiling in Syria. The Amermumnes assented to the emperor's wishes, and sent Saracens of the highest name throughout all of Syria, who were to search out all the Cypriots, and send them C to their fatherland. To these the emperor sent a man from the court, who was to send to their former seats as many of the Cypriots as were living in Romania, Cyzicus, the Cibyrrhæotic theme, and the Thracesian, and thus the island was frequented again. The year of the written peace between Justinian and Habdimelech was the first of Justinian, in which he began to reign alone, that is, the Dionysian year of Christ 685, as handed down by the most accurate Theophanes; the year of the synod was 680. From the synod, therefore, to the return of the Cypriots to their fatherland, 5 years intervened, which are to be restored, so that for 'after the migration' one reads 'after five years', 'after seven years'. Nor doubt that the calculation must be instituted having regard for the year of the VI synod, and not indeed the Quinisext, convened in the year 691, which, because it is a supplement to the V and VI synods, could therefore be called holy in the VI synod, which in reality it was in the Quinisext, namely years later. If you think that, you either argue the most learned Caesar of stupidity, or you will create monsters for yourself. For what? Justinian, having once established peace with Habdimelech in the year 685, in the year 690, which was the 6th of his reign from the passing of his father Constantine, broke it, and ordered the Cypriots to migrate again from the island, which served partly himself, partly Habdimelech, which was one of the chapters of the peace? (Theoph. in Chron.) Now if in the year 690 the laws of peace were violated, and the Cypriots left home, if in the year 691 the Quinisext synod was held, where is that seven-year period D which Constantine counts from the migration of the Cypriots to the synod? But this is light: I urge more gravely. From the year 690, in which new hostilities arose between Justinian and Habdimelech, wars and hatreds were never again laid aside by the Protosymbols of the Arabs and the Constantinopolitan Caesars, whence the affairs of the Christians became worse day by day, until at last the very seat of the empire, Byzantium, conceded to the tyranny of the Barbarians. Therefore, if in the year 690 the Cypriots again exiled from their fatherland, what Justinian seven years later delegated peaceful envoys to Habdimelech, when, with the seed of enmities once cast, they never again returned to friendship, nor in the year 697 did Justinian himself possess the Constantinopolitan scepter, but Leontius, by whom he was driven from the kingdom
A So then, in order for the things which Constantine puts forward to stand, it must be affirmed that the Cypriots, in their exile—the era of which began in the year 648—reckoning 32 years, returned to their ancestral homes five years later, in the year 685, by the work of the Emperor Justinian, who sent envoys to Abd al-Malik regarding this matter, and the embassy succeeded quite happily. For which reason (to return to my track)—if the Constantinopolitan pontiff had allowed the greatest province of the Hellespont, in which John exercised the magistracy of an archbishop, to be torn away from his patriarchate, why, before he had been armed with it, upon the death of the bishop of Sardis, would that Church have been entrusted to him, where he might act as archbishop, and all the more so B because at that time the exarchate of Justiniana had seceded from the Roman patriarchate and was adjudicated to the Constantinopolitan, as I shall soon say? These things have no place during the time of the Fifth Ecumenical Synod; as no calamity was brought upon Cyprus by the barbarians, and it obeyed the mild scepter of the Constantinopolitan emperor. What, therefore, remains, so that we may plainly affirm that Gregory was present at the Sixth Ecumenical Synod, at which the heresy of the Monothelites was proscribed, and those consigned to hell—Sergius, Pyrrhus, Paulus, and Petrus of Constantinople, Cyrus of Alexandria, and Theodorus of Pharan, the heads of the Monothelites, some of whom the Life, whether by Leontius, Metaphrastes, or its epitomizer, explicitly names—so that Caietanus toils in vain, who called this very thing into suspicion, because it would not conduce to his case?
XXVIII. But look, says Caietanus, a fulcrum still remains, by which the opinion that the Life of Gregory was composed under Justinian I Augustus is supported, insofar as it is read in that same Commentary of Leontius so manifestly that he lived under that Justinian, under whose reign a great synod was held at Constantinople; which can be affirmed of only Justinian I, under whom the Fifth Ecumenical Synod was completed; for it convenes by force, when Constantine Pogonatus was in possession of affairs at Constantinople. Truly this is that great Achilles of arguments, with which Caietanus trusts he can strike down even a thousand Hectors. What, therefore, shall I do? Christ God, I swear by your faith, Christ God, I give you thanks, more than can be expressed, how great a divinity I feel is yours, by which, C saturated, I shall wash away the words of Caietanus with no labor at all. Let us unroll the History of Leontius, and let us weigh it, whether and when it might first produce the name of the emperor, so that finally it may be manifest how improperly Caietanus has contended from it that our Gregory lived his life under Justinian I. Certainly Leontius praises the emperor first, yet with a silent name, when he writes: "Then after some days he (Gregory) petitions the archbishop through Constantine, that he might dismiss him with favorable prayers: but he, having summoned Gregory, asks that he be willing to wait a little while: that an enemy human being had sown tares in the midst of the wheat of the catholic Church: that the most pious emperor had commanded that the bishops be present on the spot to pluck out by the root the tares which had sprung up." Moreover, when he soon adds this, passing over the name of the Augustus: "So many orations did the blessed man compose at Constantinople, both for speaking and for praising, that the fame even reached the ears of our most pious emperor." Thus far Leontius narrates those things about Gregory which happened before the council; for immediately he follows up: "Then after many days the bishops of Alexandria, of Antioch, and all the Orientals are present: but the Roman, truly, since he was detained by a grave illness, sends a document written by his own hand." But at last he finally produces the name of the emperor, when he follows up those things which were done after the synod: "The holy synod having been concluded, moreover, (he says) all congratulate Gregory... but beyond the others, our most pious emperor Justinian, and the whole senate, began to feel an incredible longing for the man." From this, what Caietanus thought—that this same emperor was the one who congratulated Gregory, and the one who both ordered the council and received the fame of Gregory's virtue, to conclude from thence that Gregory, while Justinian I was reigning at Constantinople, sojourned in the same city, and for that reason was present at the Fifth Ecumenical Synod—is in no way to be approved. If Leontius had brought forth the name of Justinian Augustus when he mentions that he either ordered the council or had heard of the fame of Gregory, certainly there would be a reason why he deservedly might recall the most holy man to the times of Justinian I: D but inasmuch as he uses that in a narration of events which followed the great synod, we say freely that the opinion of the distinguished man labors under a most foul error. Furthermore, it is established from Theophanes, the most accurate writer of Greek affairs, that Justinian II was declared Augustus by his father Constantine Pogonatus, with his brothers Heraclius and Tiberius ejected from that dignity, in the 15th year of his reign, which began in the year 668, in the month of July. When, therefore, in the month of July of the year 680 Augustus Constantine began the 13th year of his reign, Justinian II being taken into association of the empire by his father in that same year as it was ending, or in the new year 681, that is, with the synod not yet finished. To this is added that, the province of the Hellespont was given to John, archbishop of Cyprus, by power of the synod, under the authority of Justinian Rhinotmetos, which is explicitly handed down by Constantine Porphyrogenitus in chapter 47 of the *De administrando imperio*, brought forward by us before in its entirety:
There occurred an economy by the emperor Justinian at the holy sixth synod.
Hence it follows that Justinian, before the synod was dismissed, was already adorned with the Augustal dignity, for whose sake Constantia of Cyprus, having obtained the name of Justiniana or Justinianopolis the new, was so made in the same synod. Nicephorus denies this in Book XVII, chapter 28 of his *Ecclesiastical History*, who writes that that name was obtained from Justinian I for the sake of the honor of his wife Theodora, whom he reports was a Cypriot by birth. But that man's authority is not such that he might extort assent from me even against my will. He says that the same thing happened to Constantia, because it offered a cradle to Theodora Augusta, as happened to Achrida, the homeland of Justinian Augustus, that it was affected with archiepiscopal dignity by Justinian I, which is manifestly false;when long before the metropolitan of Constantia [had been] heard [to be] an autokephalos archbishop, which has been demonstrated by us. If [one] slips on such flat ground, what wonder is it, where there are ruts? Nor are signs wanting, which reveal Nicephorus' hallucination. Indeed, three Justinianae are numbered: Achris, which is I; Cyprus, or Constantia, which is II; [and] Carthage, which is III; and they are enumerated in that order by Georgius Codinus: First Justiniana, Achris; second, Cyprus; and third, Carthage. That Achrida and Carthage obtained a new name from Justinian I is clear from his Novel XI, collation 2, no. 6, and likewise from book 1, chapter *De offic. praef. praet. Afr.* Therefore, the dispute is about Constantia alone. Now, since this is called second in order, when by the Fathers of the VI synod it is called the new Justiniana in canon 39—"so that the new Justiniana may have the right of Constantinople"—I not unworthily conclude from this that Constantia was called Justiniana by Justinian II, not by the Fathers, since Carthage followed it in order, which was truly new, whereas Constantia was named by Justinian I. Therefore, that the Fathers of the VI synod call Constantia "the new Justiniana" is an argument that it was a new name, with which Constantia was then endowed, and for that reason it was called the second Justiniana, even though in respect of time it was actually the third, because it was the homeland of Augustus, by which title it should have been preferred to Carthage, while the nomenclature of Achrida as Justiniana I remained intact, because it was the homeland of Justinian I. Therefore, not only does the fact that Justinian II wished to give the Hellespont province to the archbishop of Cyprus with the right of *autokephalia* by the Fathers of the VI synod show that he was already hailed as Augustus at that time, but also that "the new Justinianopolis" is used by the same Fathers for Constantia, when new names were imposed on cities by Augusti. Therefore, when in the Anastasian life of Agatho we read: "Thus, the schism having been removed (he speaks, indeed, of the matters in the Trullan synod, that is, those transacted in the sixth ecumenical [synod]) and civil war between Christians having been composed, John, Bishop of Porto, on the day of Pascha, before the prince and the Patriarch in the Church of blessed Sophia, celebrates mass in Latin, with all applauding and proclaiming the praises of the most pious ones"; you must interpret these Augusti absolutely as Constantine the father and Justinian the son, who, having been declared colleague in the empire by his father, [reigned] after Heraclius and Tiberius his brothers were driven into private life. Wherefore that most firm foundation of the Caietan opinion completely collapses, since the Justinian whom Leontius and Metaphrastes name particularly is not to be considered that great one under whom the ecumenical council was convoked, but the son of Constantine Pogonatus, by whom, having been recently called into the consortium of the kingdom by his father, the great VI synod was completed.
XXIX. Although more is not desired for it to be clear to all that Gregory was present at the sixth ecumenical synod as a colleague of Constantine the father under Justinian II, and that for this reason Caietan’s opinion is to be utterly exploded, C nevertheless I think it will be worth the effort if I show that the remaining things which I have opposed to Caietan are not equally hostile to me. And first of all, I will reveal that character of the seventh day, with which the day of 11 September is marked, when Gregory, having returned from Rome, landed at the emporium of the Agrigentines, [which] adds no little momentum to our cause; and for that reason I will institute a new Canon from the year 682, in which the first year of Gregory’s pontificate is completed, to 711, which is the last of Justinian II Aug., and in it I will set forth the things which conduce to our purpose.
An. Chr. 682. Agatho P. dies on 19 January, and the Roman Church remains without a successor for 1 year, 7 months, 5 days. (Anast. Biblioth. in Agath., author of the Chron. Fossae Novae, although he errs in designating the year of death, and others.) 683. Leo II Siculus is created on 10 August, who held the pontificate for 10 months, 18 days. (Anast. in Leon.) 684. Leo II dies on 28 June, to whom succeeds, after an interpontificate of 3 months, 18 days, Benedict II. (Idem.) 685. Benedict II dies on 15 May, and John V is substituted [for him] on 25 July. 686. John V dies, 15 August. Because of a division of parties, Conon Siculus begins his pontificate on 21 October. 687. Conon lived until 22 September, and after the schism was extinguished, Sergius the Panormitan is proclaimed P. M. on 18 December. 688. . . . 689. . . . 690. . . . 691. In the month of October Gregory navigates to Rome, to undergo the judgment of the P. Max., which he entered in the month of November, and there he is immediately thrown into prison by Sergius. 692. . . . 693. . . . 694. On 20 April, that is, the day after Pascha, Gregory is brought before the council, and the case having been examined, he is judged innocent; thence he departs for Constantinople. 695. He spends Pascha at Constantinople; thence he departs for Rome, where he arrives on 20 July. Finally, he journeys to his own church, lands at the Acragas River on 10 September; on the following day he leaves for the emporium of the Agrigentines, which he reached on the same day, the seventh day of the week. In this year Justinian II Aug. is driven from the kingdom by Leontius, in the month of July. (Theoph.) 696. . . . 697. . . . 698. Absimarus Tiberius Aug., with Leontius driven out. (Idem.) 699. . . . 700. . . . 701. Sergius P. Max. departs from the living on 29 October, and John VI is substituted [for him].
702. 703. 704. 705. John VI departs from the living on 7 January, and John VII succeeds him on the Kalends of March. Justinian II reigns again. 706. 707. John VII dies on 17 October; the following day, his successor Sisinnus is elected, who puts off the man on 16 November; then, on 23 December, Constantine P. M. is saluted. 708. 709. 710. Constantine the pontiff moves to Constantinople. 711. The same returns to Rome on 24 October. At the end of this year, or the beginning of the next, Augustus Justinian is killed. A Thus he spent nearly 4 years away from his Church. These things are from the *History* of Leontius. Now, from the year 682 to 711, which is the last year of Justinian II, the 11th of September day falls on the 5th day of the week in the year 689, cycle of the sun 26, in the year 695 cycle of the sun 4, in the year 700 cycle of the sun 9, and in the year 706 cycle of the sun 15. But the return of Gregory to his Church cannot be adjudged to the year 689; for if he had returned to Agrigentum in 689, he would have departed from there at the end of 685, and at the same time the judgment regarding him would have been instituted the day after Easter in 688. But from the precipitous year 685 to 688, three pontiffs are counted: John V, Conon, and Sergius; yet under one only was Gregory both confined in prisons and finally vindicated from calumny. Nor does the year 700 suit our case, at the end of which year, or the beginning of the next, Emperor Justinian is killed.
B ...riuson, Justinian II was in power, though from the year 698 to 705, Absimarus Tiberius was reigning in Constantinople. The year 706 is equally stubborn, for from it a judgment would have been called for Gregory in 705 by John VII, who had heard the pontiff a few days before, that is, on the Kalends of March, since we learn from Leontius that that pontiff, who presided as judge in the council in which Gregory's cause was decided, was none other than the one who cast him into custody. There remains, therefore, the year 695, which is entangled in no perplexities. From 18 December 687 to 29 October 700, Sergius held the Roman pontificate, and at the same time, until the month of July of the year 695, Justinian II dominated affairs in Constantinople; whence you understand how free of difficulties our Chronologism is. For it is plain that all these things happened under one pontiff, Sergius, and that Justinian II was truly ruling in Constantinople when Gregory left there to seek Rome. For if he returned to Rome on 21 July, he set out from Constantinople at the latest in the month of June, while Justinian was still being driven from the empire by Leontius in the month of July. Behold, therefore, standing before us that character of the 5th day of the week, which coincides with 11 September, which, as we have demonstrated, never supported the opinion of Caietanus in the years of Justinian I.
XXX. Now let it be recalled to memory what we said before, that Gregory was detained in prison at Rome by the pontiff for 2 years and 5 months because of the name of lewdness brought against him. Certainly, when Gregory was asked by the bishops of Cyzicus and Corinth, who were present at Rome, having been sent by the Patriarch of Constantinople to judge in Gregory's own cause, how many years he had spent in prison, he confessed 2 years and 4 months. But yet, at that time, the accusers from Sicily had not yet arrived, who were to be summoned to judgment along with Gregory. But when the day finally arrived for Gregory, and the accusers, and the little woman with whom he was accused of having had relations—the meeting being set for the day after Easter—that most impure woman, who had been held by an evil demon a little before Gregory set out from Agrigentum to be led to Rome, and who on that very day that Gregory, the accusers, and she herself stood before the council, C finally confessed the calumny and, having been freed from the demon at the prayers of Gregory, made it plain to all that she had been held by a foul spirit for 2 years and 6 months, so that she might pay the penalties for such a lost imposture. Come then, if the woman agitated by furies [was possessed] for 2 years and 6 months, if you take these [months] a little before Gregory sailed to Rome, and remove one month from the six, which would be quite enough for completing the sea voyage, it appears that Gregory was held in the prisons of Rome for 2 years and 5 months. And this is that which necessarily remains in our case, and thus it is evident that that character of the 5th day of the week, on which the 14th day of September fell, the day on which Gregory arrived at the emporium of the Agrigentines, coincides with the single year 695, which we sought in vain in the Chronologism of Caietanus.
XXXI. Furthermore, Gregory remained fettered in the prisons of Rome under one pontiff, as we saw before, for 2 years and 5 months. Having been judged innocent by the sentence of the council the day after Easter, he sets out shortly after for Constantinople, where he celebrates Easter, and from there, while Justinian II was still reigning, he goes to Rome, where he arrived on 20 July, and from here setting sail for Sicily, he reached the emporium of the Agrigentines on 14 September.
XXXII. But, you will say, if Gregory left Constantinople in the year 695 and sought [funds for] a new temple and for the building of an episcopal house in half of Agrigentum, who was that Augusta who emulated her husband's generosity, and added to Gregory gifts, indeed very ample ones? Here, certainly, I hesitate, since history fails me. Indeed, the Augusta Anastasia is mentioned at that time, but she was the mother of Justinian, not his wife. It is also related that Justinian’s spouse was the Augusta Theodora, sister of the Chagan of Chazaria, but he married her in the year 703, when he was in exile from his kingdom, in the 6th year of the reign of Absimarus Tiberius in Constantinople, and he crowned her along with Tiberius her son in the year 705, when he was restored to the empire (Theoph. in *Chronogr.*), having taken vengeance—and truly horrible ones—upon Leontius and Absimarus. What then? [Was it] perhaps in the same...
manner that Sicily, Calabria, and that of Saint Severina were joined to the throne of Constantinople, once torn away from Rome, when the Barbarians, having seized the Pope, converted Rome into spoils for their own use, just as Crete, while under the Roman [Empire], was made Constantinopolitan? Nevertheless, the Pontiff is found to have kept certain lowly parts and some bishoprics in Sicily and Calabria; for he held metropolitan sees and cities in those regions that were more illustrious and worthy than those of Constantinople until the arrival of the Franks. Likewise, in Longobardia (that is, the Trans-Tiberine region) and Apulia, and in all those regions, the Constantinopolitan [Patriarch] formerly possessed the greatest metropolitan sees, while the Roman possessed the rest, so that those regions might be possessed in parts; for it is discovered that the melodist and poet, Lord Marcus, had been sent by the Constantinopolitan. When, however, the whole dukedom of Longobardia, which was ancient Hellas, was under the Constantinopolitan Emperor, but the Pope lived separated under other nations, for that reason the Patriarch held the Churches; for Brundusium and Tarentum received priests from the Constantinopolitan, and of this nothing is hidden. But when the Franks occupied this dukedom, then the Roman held ordinations in all these churches; for in those regions which the Constantinopolitan Emperor held, or later recovered from the barbarian nations, the Constantinopolitan Patriarch held the right of ordination, since Rome, alienated in every way from Constantinople, had submitted itself to others. But that the Pope held certain parts in Sicily previously, it becomes manifest from the *Life of Saint Gregory*, Bishop of the city of the Agrigentines, which is now called Gregentium: for in it, it is written that the holy Pope ordained Gregory as Bishop of the Agrigentines; but at that time Rome had not yet been completely separated from Constantinople. Thus the Constantinopolitan held for many years from that time Sicily and Calabria in part, and the Pope held some few things, just as he did in Longobardia, until the separation; for then the Pope was separated from these regions until the arrival of the Franks. I have not been burdened to bring forward so many things, because not a few things among them are most worthy of observation.
XXXIII. What now, finally, of the Bishop of Corinth, who sat at Rome as judge in the case of Gregory, as a legate of the Patriarch of Constantinople, that is to say, of Callinicus? That is known, that three exarchs obeyed the Roman patriarchate by singular right in the East: the Corinthian, the Thessalonian, and Justiniana I, whose exarchate in part coalesced with the Thessalonian, and this by the authority of Justinian I, which we have shown before. But the Roman bishops ceased their rights over the exarchate of Justiniana I, the Church having been ruined by the Bulgarians, who occupied those regions: when, however, in the year 861, religion was restored in Bulgaria by the work of King Michael, with the Roman Patriarch protesting in vain, the Bulgarian Church was subjected to the Constantinopolitan Archbishop, and a decree concerning that matter was written in the year 859 in the Eighth Ecumenical Synod, the Seventh Constantinopolitan, although the legates of the Roman Pontiff opposed it. But finally, under Basil II Porphyrogenitus, the exarch of Achrida, or Justiniana I, was heard to be *autokephalos* (independent), so that he obeyed no patriarch, as we learn from the *Notitia Patriarchatuum* of Nilus Doxopatrius, which Stephen Le Moyne published in his *Sylloge variorum opusculorum*. They commonly wish the Thessalonian and Corinthian exarchate, just as Sicily and Calabria, to have been torn from the Roman patriarchate by the Augustus Leo the Isaurian, so that he might avenge the injury brought upon him by the Roman Bishop Gregory II, by whose work it is handed down that Italy fell away from him. But long before these times, the aforementioned Nilus writes of this deed, discoursing about the Constantinopolitan Patriarch, whose [words] I recite here, rendered into Latin: "Again, from the Western diocese, two exarchs similarly, being far more excellent than the remaining subject metropolitans, subjected themselves, namely the Thessalonian and the Corinthian, whom the remaining metropolitans and archbishops who were under them followed.... Sicily, moreover, and Calabria subjected themselves to the Constantinopolitan, and holy Severina, which is also called Nicopolis....."
XXXIV. In the beginning, they are argued to be false who trace the distraction of the Roman patriarchate from the times of Leo the Isaurian, since Nilus teaches that it had occurred long before Rome had completely fallen away from the Constantinopolitan Emperor; nor, however, did it fall away until under Leo the Isaurian in the year 726, at which time the Senate and the people elected for themselves a leader to whom the sum of affairs was entrusted, although later, having been reduced again into office, [it remained] until in the year 774 [the people] threw off the royal empire of Constantine Copronymus Augustus entirely, giving themselves over into the rights of the Pontiff (see the page on the year 796 and 799); but Nilus openly testifies that Sicily, Calabria, and Crete had been added to the Constantinopolitan Patriarch, when the Barbarians, having seized the Pope, converted Rome into spoils for their own use; and likewise he writes of Longo-
Longobardia transtyberina A and the principal churches of Apulia having adhered to the Constantinopolitan bishop, Rome being most exposed to the Barbarians; and these things accord with those times which preceded Leo the Isaurian, when indeed the Longobard kings heaped miseries upon Italy and upon Rome herself even. Certainly in the year 658, when Paul, metropolitan of Crete (which is a portion of the Thessalonian exarchate), rendered void the appeal of John of Loppis in his own province to Pope Vitalian, what is this, if not that in the person of Vitalian he did not acknowledge his own patriarch? Are we to imagine him so ignorant of affairs, or so insane, that he would not have known that it was permitted for a bishop to appeal from the judgment of a metropolitan to the patriarchal tribunal, according to both imperial and ecclesiastical laws; or if he knew it well, nevertheless prohibited the legitimate course of judgments? If we do not grant this, we must conclude at last that John B of Loppis, the bishop, did not appeal to Vitalian because he acknowledged him as his own patriarch, but because he professed him to be the head of the universal Church of the Christians; and that Paul intervened in the appeal because it was rarely the case that an appeal was made to the Roman pontiff by those bishops who were subject to another patriarch, inasmuch as contention arose; since appeals to the Roman bishop were always invidious; so much so that not even the Africans themselves allowed them; and yet their Church was contributed to the Roman patriarchate; because in the first centuries of the Church, the Carthaginian bishops behaved themselves in the same way as exarchs of the African Church, and the Alexandrians, Antiochians, Ephesians, Caesareans, and Heracleans in their own dioceses, since there was no authority greater than the exarchic; C nor did they at last feel themselves subject to the Roman patriarch, except by the authority of Justinian I Augustus, who issued the 123rd novel constitution, by which the, rights of the Roman patriarchate were restored over all the Churches of the West, among the census of which the African was placed, diffused just as the Mian, Pontic, and Thracian Churches had previously borne their fate, whose exarchs submitted their necks to the Constantinopolitan patriarch—who adopted their rights, when previously he was merely a suffragan bishop of the metropolitan of the European province, that is, the Heraclean bishop, who also was exarch of the diocese of Thrace, which consisted of the provinces of Europe, Thrace, Haemimontus, Rhodope, Moesia II, and Scythia; and by that name the right to ordain the Constantinopolitan D patriarch remained perpetually in the Heraclean bishop, who for the sake of honor was called the president of the most honorable. Wherefore we conclude that in the year 658 the province of Crete, which was one of the six from which the Thessalonian exarchate was formed, was detached from the jurisdiction of the Roman patriarch, and from that example we can divine that, either at such a time the remaining provinces of that exarchate also fell away from the Constantinopolitan patriarch—that is, Macedonia I, Thessaly, Epirus Vetus, Epirus Nova, and part of Macedonia Salutaris—or even Achaia, which was formerly a part of the Thessalonian or Illyrian diocese; but afterward it was heard of as a singular exarchate, over which presided the Corinthian bishop. What, then, of the fact that the Corinthian bishop—nor can anyone doubt that our Gregory, whom we have placed before Leo the Isaurian, lived in his time—is already demonstrated by Nilus, since the latter writes that all the most well-known examples, which to us, lost by the injury of time, are clearly obscure; so much so that not even the Hydruntines themselves, who communicated the affairs of their own Church with Ferdinando Ughelli, had any inkling about Bishop Marcus, and why was he omitted by Ughelli?
XXXV. Then from the fact that Nilus, to show that some Churches in Sicily survived which obeyed the Roman pontiff, produces the inauguration of Gregory, bishop of the Agrigentines, performed by the Roman patriarch, we elicit a new argument by which to establish his age, contrary to what Cajetan might think. No one will deny to me that in the time of Gregory the Great the Churches of all Sicily obeyed the one Roman patriarch, which is established by his own epistles. But Gregory entered the supreme pontificate in the year 590, 25 years from the death of Justinian I. If, therefore, Gregory of Agrigentum lived under Justinian Augustus, and indeed under that Justinian in whose reign Sicily was partly subject to the Constantinopolitan and partly to the Roman patriarch, if under Justinian I no Church of Sicily was torn away from the right of the Roman pontiff, who cannot understand that it must be attributed to the age of Justinian II? But if indeed under Justinian II Augustus, both in Sicily and in Longobardia transtyberina, and elsewhere, the rights of the Roman patriarch, which the Constantinopolitan usurped for himself, were diminished, why should we not equally acknowledge that the same thing was done in the Thessalonian and especially the Corinthian exarchate, when Leontius, a most certain writer, reveals to us that the Corinthian bishop was from the Constantinopolitan convent under Patriarch Callinicus, from whom he was sent to Rome as a legate to his own office, so that he might judge concerning the crime of Gregory, of which he was accused?
XXXVI. Indeed, if I must offer some conjecture at this point, I would not unaptly say that that defection of the Churches of Illyricum, Achaia, Sicily, and Calabria to the Constantinopolitan patriarch took place under Heraclius Constans II and Pyrrhus, the Constantinopolitan bishop, the standard-bearer of the Monothelites, whose *Ekthesis* or *Typos*, which Pope Martin had devoted to anathema, caused him in the year 649 to be first deported to the island of Naxos, and thence to Constantinople, where, heaped with every injury, he is finally sent off as an exile to Cherson, at the order of Constans Augustus, who defended the party and heresy of Pyrrhus. Since, therefore, both the Emperor Constans and Patriarch Pyrrhus had been so wickedly disposed against Martin, why should not that have been added to the other injuries with which he was afflicted, that Sicily, Calabria, Achaia, and the Churches of Illyricum were incited to defection? Behold, Martin himself, after the condemnation of the *Ekthesis* and the *Typos* of Pyrrhus, appoints John, Bishop of Philadelphia, as his vicar in the Orient; what is this, if not a most evident argument that the Thessalonian and Corinthian exarchs had revolted from him, to whom it had been perpetually enjoined...
that it was the duty of their bishops, who paid them obedience and had not yet openly rebelled, that this office should at last be entrusted to a bishop of a province situated outside those exarchates? For the bishop of Philadelphia was from the synod of the province of Lydia, which was joined to the Constantinopolitan patriarchate. Since this is so, let Caietanus cease to say to Leontius that the Pontiff, anxious in his mind about what was happening, so that Gregory’s innocence might be made manifest to him, had consulted Mark the abbot, who had once brought Gregory from Jerusalem: "Hear me, master, and accept the counsel of your servant: for we cannot pass judgment on a man unless with the counsel of the archbishop of Constantinople, and also of our most pious A emperor..." The counsel is approved by the Pontiff, wherefore he writes accurately to our most pious emperor Justinian and the most holy archbishop of Constantinople, and summoning two bishops who had been with Saint Gregory in the council (i. e., the Constantinopolitan one), having given them what was necessary for the journey, he sends them to Constantinople. Caietanus has not stomached this; "For what," he says, "does the Roman pontiff have to do with the Emperor of the Orient and the Patriarch of Constantinople in matters that pertain to judicial proceedings, with bishops, and especially those subject to the Roman see, such as it is certain the bishops of Sicily were at that time?" But that which Caietanus declares to be certain is the very thing that we plainly deny, if indeed we look to the times of Justinian II. For at that time, truly, almost the entire Church of the Sicilians was compliant with the authority of the Bishop of Constantinople, and although the Church of Agrigento still maintained the Roman side, we nevertheless do not know what compacts were sanctified by each patriarch, from which the limits of their rights were circumscribed. Nor is that true which Caietanus exaggerates so greatly, that in the judgments of bishops nothing was attributed to the emperors: nay, rather, entirely too much was attributed to them, in that it was permitted to them to appoint bishops, who would investigate causes, and to hear those who appealed, and to give counsel to them. (See Euseb. Eccl. Hist. lib. x, cap. 5; Marc. De conc. sac. et imp. lib. vii, cap. 9.) Is this not enough for us to say that Abbot Mark acted prudently with the Roman Pontiff, he being the author of the plan to refer the matter to the emperor, when, as he pleased, he could choose a bishop who might render judgment for Gregory, without the Roman Pontiff arrogating to himself the least bit in that judgment? Wherefore let Caietanus see by what right he has declared the narrative of Leontius suspect, which he rehashes like warmed-over cabbage as often as things do not turn out to his liking. Whether this is to be approved, let heads of sound learning judge: I, addicted with eternal devotion to the hands of the great man, shall execute what is to my purpose.
XXXVII. After I have said so much in defense of the age of Gregory, what else remains but that I should provide a supplement, by which so great a business may be concluded? Come then, Pope Sergius, having perceived the innocence of Gregory, and at the same time the holiness that produced miracles, summons him to himself, and says: "What," he says, "my son, are you suddenly offering for all that God has bestowed B upon us through you? And you already know that half our city, and likewise the bishopric, belongs to the holy and prince of the apostles, who is here?" Gregory affirms that the matter is precisely so. But the Pontiff says: "I myself have already decided with myself that the half of our city, which is peculiar to us, having been donated by our holy, divine, and eternally praise-worthy emperor Constantine to the prince of the apostles, is now to be attributed by you to God and to the temple that you are to build." ... Then, summoned by the Pontiff, the beloved of the Church and the notables of the city, and when they had sat down, together with the Pontiff they wrote a book, which, sealed by the bishops of the synod and the whole Church, they gave to blessed Gregory. Here Caietanus finds fault with a corrupted reading; he does not think, he does not suffer the Pontiff to be so lavishly generous. He hears that Metaphrastes agrees with Leontius; nor with two witnesses is there faith with him. And yet, excluding suspicion, there is no sword with which he might slay the testimony. He grants only this much: that a part of the estates was bestowed by the Pontiff, over which the Roman Church might have power in Sicily. Nor does he restrain the liberality of the Pontiff, but also that of the emperor. When Gregory had betaken himself from Rome to Constantinople, he was of such admiration to Justinian Augustus that when he had requested from him a place in the city of Agrigento, where he might place a new episcopal temple, since the one that remained had been defiled by the sacrileges of a certain Leontius, a heretic proscribed in the Laodicene synod, who, in his absence, had acted as a pseudo-bishop: "Behold," he says, "Emperor, half the city, which is piously subject to our empire, we give to God through you, and we say that you should restore a loyal house to God, and a bishop's residence, wherever you please." Then he orders the place and many possessions to be decreed and given to Gregory. Caietanus does not consider these things written with historical faith, but rhetorically, that is, C hyperbolically. On the contrary, since we see that Caietanus’ suspicion is supported by no pillar, we interpret the matter as it plainly sounds. But let us consider what comes to the point of the case.
XXXVIII. Pope Sergius therefore says that Gregory was gifted by him from the half of Rome, which had been bestowed by Constantine Augustus upon the prince of the apostles, half the part. But who, I pray, is this Constantine, who offered that gift? Is it that Great one, who shone as a star of peace for the Christian people? Far from it, they go off in indicating the words of Leontius. Weigh these things of Sergius, which Leontius teaches were uttered under our emperor Constantine, then you will see that the Constantine who is the author of the donation must be proclaimed to be one, in whose reign both Sergius and Gregory lived; for who would call our emperor "Sergius," to whose power he was never subject? Furthermore, Caietanus, intending to demonstrate Leontius to be of the same age as Gregory, relies most on the argument that he uses the word "our" in naming the Emperor Justinian, which no one would condemn. Jurisconsults refer their Ulpian to the times of Antoninus Caracalla, because in law 32 "On donations between husband and wife," he calls that emperor: "Our emperor Antoninus."
A Roman pontiffs gradually invaded the principal power; and when it was certain that a certain Constantine Caesar had bestowed a half of Rome upon the apostolic Church, the opportunity was seized from that point to forge a new donation, whose author was not Constantine Pogonatus, but would be alleged to be the Great, and who gave not a half share of the customs, in which a half of Rome was signified, but the entire city itself with the right of the sword: and not Rome only, but, so that the donation might appear more magnificent, not a few provinces, to which others were added in the place of a supplement, so that the principate of the Roman pontiff might be illustrated on equal terms. Wherefore, to all the other matters which refute the Constantinian donation, of which not one copy exists, let the testimony of Leontius be added, which not only detects the fraud of a most impudent impostor, but also [shows] from what seed that monster was born which for so many centuries has been before the eyes of men.
nus Aug., before the passing of his father Severus, in a speech A delivered in the senate, was the author of the opinion that something should be relaxed from the rigor of the law; nor was there another way to proceed in defining the age of others. Thus if that Constantine, who wished the Roman Church to be endowed with half the city, spoke the law, while Sergius was enjoying his era, Caietanus would never have obtained that Gregory be adjudged to the times of Justinian I. There is no Constantine Aug. before Justinian who ruled in Roman affairs, except that Great one, the bulwark of Christian matters: for as far as concerns Constantine the son, no empire was given to him in Italy, but in Gaul, Britain, and Africa Proconsularis. But if from the year 337, in which Constantine the Great departed, to 560, before which Caietanus does not think a day was fixed for Gregory in Rome, a full 223 years intervene, in no way is Gregory to be ascribed to the years of Justinian I, under whom neither he, nor the Roman pontiff could have said that they had formerly obeyed the Emperor Caesar Constantine the Great. But if we defer Gregory to the times of Justinian II, immediately Constantine Aug., the father of Justinian, shall emerge, truly most pious, and born for the good of the Church, whom both Sergius and Gregory revered while he governed. This Constantine, therefore, first of all gave and donated to the Blessed Apostle Peter a half of Rome, that is, of the defined customs B (τῶν ὡρισμένων συνκληρῶν), or the Canon, which the Roman people represented, whence there were sufficient expenses which the Church needed, just as later Justinian I gave to the Church of Agrigento a half part of Agrigento, so that both a new temple and the bishop's house might be built, in which [donation], concerning the tributes which the people were to pay, you would understand nothing at all, for it is not permitted to suspect that the very right of empire was given, since it is clearly monstrous that one and the same city should obey two lords, and the gift was not donated either to the Roman or the Agrigentine bishop, but to Peter and to God, so that the expenses of the Church might be provided for; which is clearly signified in the Agrigentine donation, and it must be affirmed that it is not otherwise for the Roman.
XXXIX. And here let it be allowed for me to congratulate the community of scholars, [who are] adorned by a singular benefit from our Leontius, to whom thanks are indeed most wonderfully to be given in that name. For how many are there who do not know what divisions the donation of Constantine Aug. has stirred up, by which the Roman Church is said to have been augmented? There are those who stigmatize it as pseudo-epigraphic, there are those who embrace it as the most genuine writing of Constantine, there are those who declare it a corrupted and illegitimate work; but to those who hold it to be supposititious, it has not yet been discovered from what C source that fable erupted. Yet at length our Leontius has finally brought a light to dispel these shadows by a testimony which is more precious than gold, and which Caietanus tries in vain to impugn. From it we understand that the Roman Church was endowed by Constantine Pogonatus with half of the tax (canon) which the Roman people contributed to the imperial treasury. But because, in the process of time, the power of the Caesars in Italy and in the city itself fell, weakened, there is no doubt to me, that
XL. Since these things are so, what more remains so that the opinion of Caietanus regarding Gregory, bishop of the Agrigentines, [as living under] Justinian I, may be said to be drained of its strength? Since so many things oppose it, and conspire against everything to declare that Gregory led his life under Justinian II, who can be of so insanely stubborn a mind as to swear nonetheless by the words of Caietani? No one among the ancient writers referred Gregory to the times of Justinian I, except Nicephorus Callistus, lib. xvii, cap. 27 H. E. But who is this Nicephorus? A writer of the fourteenth century, who committed so many blunders in narrating ecclesiastical matters, that his History is read only with weariness by men of sharp judgment. Would I, therefore, dare to call the Leontian faith into danger by such a slippery testimony, which so many other things oppose? Besides the Epitomator of the Gregorian life, and the Basilian Menologium, there are from Leontius [the works of] Simeon Metaphrastes, the Greek Menologium translated into Latin by Guglielmo Sirleto, [and] Nicetas the Studite monk, whom Caietanus nonetheless does not fear to praise as authors of his own opinion. Shall we bear this brazenness (εὐστομαχίαν), or shall we say with the Terentian Simon (in Andr. act. v, sc. 3): D "Does he thus boast? I marvel at his great confidence!"
XLI. Metaphrastes wrote as clearly as light itself that Gregory was present at the great Constantinopolitan synod, which gathered to consign the Monothelites to the abyss, but especially Cyrus, Sergius, Pyrrhus, [and] Paul, the ringleaders of the Monothelites; and at the same time that he led his life while the Emperor Justinian Aug. was reigning. What is this, if not that Metaphrastes agrees with us? But because Caietanus thought that he would be brought over to his own arguments, provided he said that the narration about the synod gathered against the Monothelites was corrupted. What (evil) calamity is this, by which both Leontius and Metaphrastes are so desperately pressed? "The Commentarius of Leontius is corrupted, where Gregory is listed as chosen among the theologians who were to proscribe the Monothelites in the highest assembly; the life of Gregory which Metaphrastes compiled is corrupted in this very place." A marvelous matter, to which no one would grant credence, unless they were of the genus
of those who imagine that our Gregory arrived at Panormus A from Rome with Bishop Felix, by whom he was placed upon the Agrigentine throne, writing as follows: "Therefore, they sojourn in their own episcopal seat, which had taken its name from Saint Gregory, which surely had once belonged to the Agrigentine Church, called 'Libertinum'." It is permitted to surmise, not without reason, that the Agrigentine episcopate located at Panormus—just as it was previously called Libertian from Libertinus, the first bishop of the Agrigentines—subsequently adopted the name Gregorian from a certain Gregory, a bishop of that same city. Does Sirletus’ Menologium celebrate this man on December 19, or the one of whom the praised history of Agrippina speaks, if indeed he is different from the one whom Leontius mentions in passing, or some other person, provided he is not ours, knowledge of whom has perished? Let Cajetan attach as many B bishops of the Agrigentine Church as he wishes to the time of Justinian I, provided he does not disturb Leontius from the age of Justinian II, if he wishes the faith of Leontius’ History to remain whole and intact. And these things hold true, if indeed we grant to Cajetan that the Gregory whom the Sirletan Menologium mentions on December 19 is different from him whose deeds are recounted in summary fashion on November 23. What if they are one and the same? How often does it happen in Menologies, both Greek and Latin, that mention is made twice or thrice in the year of one man illustrious for the fame of his sanctity? If the Gregory who is thus indicated on December 19 differs from him whose life is described precisely on November 23, why is the latter omitted without praise? It certainly behooved them to touch lightly upon his deeds as well. Wherefore, if Sirletus’ Menologium cannot be snatched at even with a hook to sustain Cajetan’s cause, C if it is even more recent than the Basilian—for there is nothing older than that—who is of so dull a mind as not to understand that the Sirletan Menologium has said the same things as the Basilian Menologium, and therefore comes over to our side and departs from the Cajetans?
XLIII. I come at last to Nicetas. If I linger here, I shall waste my time to bad effect: for since he reveals (Book *Contra Latinos*, vol. VI of the *Antiquae Lectiones* of Henricus Canisius) that Gregory was present at the Constantinopolitan synod under Emperor Caesar Constantine Pogonatus, and Pope Agatho, we cannot defend the rights of our cause with a better advocacy. Cajetan keeps asserting that Nicetas stands for him, because he struggles to prove that the Gregory of whom he speaks is someone other than Leontius. But in truth, Leontius commends to us no other Gregory D than one who lived under the supreme leader of human affairs at Byzantium, Constantine Pogonatus, and his son Justinian II, the partner in his reign, while the high priest of sacred things at Rome was Agatho; so that the Gregory of Nicetas is the very same as that of Leontius, and to double him is tantamount to piling up new intermundia for the Epicureans. But let Cajetan finally cease—since he cannot fight with the sword—to fight with tweezers, and let him cease trying to recall Gregory to the age of Justinian I, which Leontius strenuously opposes, and from whose commentary whatever posterity knows of so great a bishop has flowed as if water from a fountain.