Глава 10

Eccl.10:1. Dead flies spoil and make the aromatic ointment of the world brewer smelly: the same thing does a little stupidity of a respected person with his wisdom and honor. Dead flies spoil the incense; stronger than wisdom and glory is a little stupidity. The proof is provided by the thought of the previous verse, in which he said that because of one fool many good things can perish, that a bad person, mixing with the good ones, infects many, just as flies, if they die in a fragrant ointment, spoil both its smell and color. And since cunning is often mixed with wisdom, and intelligence is often combined with wickedness, he commands that we seek pure wisdom, so that it is combined with dove-like innocence, so that we are wise in good and simple in evil. There may also be this meaning: it is better for the righteous to have a little simplicity and, with extreme patience, when he leaves vengeance to God, to appear unreasonable, than, immediately taking revenge, to do evil, while maintaining the appearance of being smart. Otherwise: flies, which, according to Isaiah (Is. 7:18), own part of the river of Egypt, spoil the taste of the oil, leaving in every believer the smell and traces of their uncleanness. It was from these flies that the prince of the demons Beelzebub received the name (Matthew 12:24), which translated means: “idol of flies,” or “man of flies,” or “having flies.” Eccl.10:2–3. The heart of a wise man is on the right side, and the heart of a fool is on the left. No matter what road a fool takes, he always lacks sense, and he will tell everyone that he is stupid. The heart of a wise man is on his right side, and the heart of a fool is on his left side. But even on the road, when a fool walks, his heart diminishes, and he says that everyone is stupid. The Gospel commands that the left hand of a wise man should not know what his right hand is doing (Matthew 6:3). And those who receive a blow on the right cheek are commanded to offer not the left cheek to the one striking, but the other (Matthew 5:39). For the righteous has no left, but he has everything that is right. And when the Savior comes for judgment, the lambs will be on the right, and the goats will be on the left (Matthew 25:33). And in Proverbs it is written: “For the Lord tells the way on the right hand, the ones on the right hand are corrupt” (Prov. 4:28). So, he who is wise always thinks about the future, about what leads to the right side; and he who is unreasonable thinks about the present, which is placed on the left side. Following this, the philosopher and poet said: The right side leads us all to the walls of the great ruler; This is our way to the fields of the Champs Elysees; left He gives torment and brings the wicked down to hell. And our Firmian, in his beautiful book of instructions, recalls the letter V 6 and discusses in great detail about right and left, that is, about virtues and vices. And let us not think that this thought is contradicted by what was said: “Do not turn aside, either on the right hand or on the skin” (Prov. 4:27). For here the right side is accepted in the sense of good, but there it is not so much the right side that is blamed as the deviation from it, so that we do not philosophize more than is necessary, since virtue is in the middle, and any excess is a deficiency. And the meaning of the next verse, which says: “but even on the road, when a fool walks, his heart grows weak, and he says that everyone is a fool,” is this: the fool thinks that just as he sins, everyone else sins in the same way, and he judges everyone by himself. Finally, Symmachus translated this: “but even on the road, when a fool walks, he, being himself unreasonable, assumes of everyone that they are stupid.” But the Seventy gave a different meaning, saying: “everything that a fool thinks is very vain.” Eccl.10:4. If the boss’s anger flares up against you, then do not leave your place; because meekness covers even greater offenses. If the spirit of one who has power comes upon you, then do not leave your place, because healing calms great sins. Now the Scripture indicates the prince of this world and the ruler of this darkness, acting in the sons of disobedience, which the Apostle also mentions (Eph. 2:2,6:12), and says that if he enters our heart, and the spirit receives the wound of an evil thought, then we should no longer give him a place, but we must fight against the most wicked thought and deliver ourselves from the greatest sin; They must not, that is, fulfill their thoughts in deeds, since it is one thing to sin in thought, and another in deed itself. About this great sin it is written in the Psalm: “If they do not possess me, then I will be blameless, and I will be cleansed from great sin” (Ps. 18:14). Symmachus translated the Hebrew word “marphe”, which everyone similarly translated with the word: ï αμα, that is, healing or healing, translated in a different sense, saying: “if the spirit of the ruler attacks you, then do not leave your place: because chastity restrains great sins”, that is: if the devil tickles your mind and excites you to lust, then do not follow the most wicked thought and caressing lust, but stand courageously and firmly, and extinguish the flame of lust with the coldness of chastity. The Jew in this place suspected, I don’t know what, something like this: if in the world you receive any high rank and are made a leader over the people, then do not abandon your previous deeds, do not begin to forget about your former virtues, do not weaken in your former feat: for the healing of sins stems from a good life, and not from a proud and arrogant dignity. Eccl.10:5–7. There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, it is like a mistake that comes from the ruler: ignorance comes at a great height, and the rich sit low. I saw slaves on horses, and princes walking like slaves. There is evil that I have seen under the sun: it is, as it were, ignorance emerging from the face of a ruler - that a fool is placed on great heights, and the rich sit low. I saw slaves on horses, and princes walking on foot like slaves. Instead of what we put: “as if ignorance coming from the face of the ruler,” Aquila, Theodotion and the Seventy translated: “as if involuntary,” that is, ω᾿ς ακούσιον, “from the face of the prince.” And Symmachus, close to this translation, said that “the fool is placed on a great height, but the rich sit low.” So he mentions that he saw such evil in the world that, apparently, God’s judgment is unjust - that, whether in His ignorance or without His will, what happens is that both among the secular authorities and among the representatives of the church, those who are rich in word and wisdom, rich even in good deeds, sit unknown, and some fool takes first place in the church. The Apostle does not remain silent that this is done by the devil, who has the power in the world to oppress strong and learned men and not allow them to appear among the people, and to make those whom he knows in the churches to be foolish people leaders, so that they, the blind, will lead the blind into the pit. The following words give the same meaning: “I saw slaves on horses, and princes walking on foot like slaves.” Slaves of vices and sin, or people so insignificant that they can be considered slaves, are suddenly elevated by the action of the devil to a high position and trample public roads with their ambles, while some worthy and intelligent person, oppressed by poverty, walks on foot like slaves. The Jew, under the ruler and prince, on whose behalf ignorance apparently emerges, understood God - that people, given the inequality of conditions in this life, believe that He judges unfairly and not according to merit. Further, some think that these words need to be combined with the previous ones, so that the prince here is the same one about whom it is said above: “if the spirit of the ruler comes upon you, then do not leave your place.” So, let us not grieve if we seem insignificant in this world, knowing that through the action of the devil the foolish are exalted and the rich are humbled, slaves have the distinction of masters and princes walk in the humiliated form of slaves. It should also be noted that here the horse is taken in a good direction, as in another place: “and horses are your salvation.” Eccl.10:8. Whoever digs a hole will fall into it, and whoever destroys the fence will be bitten by a serpent. He who digs a hole will fall into it; and whoever destroys the fence will be bitten by a serpent. The meaning is partly simple and partly mysterious. And in another place Solomon himself 7 said: “the pit of fossils will fall into it, and the spreading net will get stuck in it” (Sir. 27:29), and in the seventh Psalm: “the pit of graves and fossils will fall into the pit that it has made” (Ps. 7:16). And the destruction of a fence or wall is church dogma and decree (institutio), founded by the apostles and prophets; whoever destroys them and wants to bypass them, in the very thing that he neglects, is struck by the serpent, about which Amos writes: “If he descends into hell, I will command the serpent and bite him” (Amos.9:3). Eccl.10:9. He who moves stones may injure himself, and he who chops wood may be in danger from them. He who moves stones will impale himself with them; and whoever splits wood will be in danger from it. And Zechariah (Zechariah 9:16) has holy stones rolling on the ground. For they do not lie in an unchanged position, but change place, and always striving for the highest, they hasten to move from here. Even in the Apocalypse (Rev. 21:18) the city of the Savior is built from these living stones, and the apostle says that the church is built from them. So, if someone, deceived by heretical false teaching, takes these stones out of the church building (which is why Aquila and Symmachus expressively, instead of what we said: “whoever moves stones will injure himself with them,” they said: “whoever moves stones will be wounded by them”), he will subsequently suffer torment. And since the Scripture says in general: “who moves stones, or who carries stones” without adding good or bad: then, therefore, one can understand the other way around - that a church man, that is, a bishop and presbyter, if, according to the commandment of the book of Leviticus (Lev. 14:45), from the house of a leper he takes away a stone, which he must grind into dust and ashes: then he will be sick from the very fact that he is forced to take the stone from the church Christ, speaking with the Apostle: “weep with those who weep,” grieve with those who mourn (Rom. 12:15) and: “Who faints and does not faint? If anyone is tempted, I will not be liquefied” (2 Cor. 11:29). And the one “who chops wood will be in danger from it.” Barren firewood and useless wood are heretics. Therefore, in the church of God it is forbidden to plant a forest and the empty shadow of leaves, that is, only crackling words, is despised. So, even if the man who splits this wood with the sword of his word was smart and learned, he will be in danger from them if he is not attentive enough, especially if what follows happens to him: “if the ax becomes dull and his face is confused,” that is, if his refutation is not found strong, if it does not have an edge to cut off everything contrary to it; but if the inner heart becomes dull, he will go over to the opposite side, and the evil force will strengthen him. This is exactly what the Seventy Interpreters expressed when they wrote “and he will be strengthened by strength”: having been strengthened, that is, by excessive wisdom, he will have strength and wisdom that is superfluous and which will not help the one who has it. Eccl.10:10. If the ax becomes dull, and if its blade is not sharpened, then it will be necessary to strain your strength; wisdom can fix this. If the ax becomes dull and is not the same as before, but is confused, it will strengthen itself with effort; replenishment of strength - wisdom. If, he says, someone sees that through negligence he has lost the knowledge of the Scriptures, if the edge of his mind is dulled, then in confusion of spirit he will no longer be the same as he began to be. It sometimes happens that someone, having received a little wisdom and become proud, stops studying and reading, and because nothing is added to this wisdom, it becomes impoverished, the soul becomes empty of knowledge and the iron that was sharp becomes dull; for idleness and inactivity are, as it were, a kind of rust for wisdom. So, if anyone endures this, then let him not despair of a means of healing, but let him go to the teacher and learn from him again: after work, study and extreme effort, he will be able to regain the lost wisdom. This is precisely what is said more expressively in Hebrew; “he will be strengthened by effort,” that is, by labor and sweat, by study and daily reading, he will achieve wisdom, and his effort will have the end that he will receive wisdom. Eccl.10:11. If a snake bites without incantation, then the evil-tongued one is no better than him. If a serpent bites in silence, then the evil-tongued one is no better than him. The simple meaning is this: the serpent and the evil-tongued one are the same: just as the former, secretly stinging, lets in poison: so the latter, secretly slandering, pours out the poison of his heart on his brother and is no better than the serpent. While man's tongue was created for the blessing and edification of his neighbor, the evil-tongued makes him equal to the serpent when he abuses its powers in the wrong direction. Otherwise: if someone is secretly wounded by a serpent - the devil and, unknown to anyone, infects him with the poison of sin: then if the victim remains silent, does not repent and does not want to confess his ulcer to his brother and teacher, in this case the brother and teacher, who have a tongue for healing, will not be able to quickly help him. For if a patient is ashamed to open his wound to a doctor, then the art of medicine does not cure what it does not know about. Eccl.10:12. Words from the mouth of a wise man are grace, but the mouth of a fool destroys him: Words from the mouth of a wise man are grace, but the mouth of a fool will destroy him. Stupidity would cause somewhat less harm if it were content with its ignorance. But she still wages a war against wisdom and, out of envy, does not tolerate anything that she notices intelligent in a learned person. A wise man expresses words of knowledge and words of grace that can bring benefit to the listeners, but the ears of a fool do not accept what is said as it is said, but on the contrary, the fool tries to trip up the wise man and make him like himself. And truly, a wise man, speaking to a fool, destroys himself, and his words, so to speak, perish in the abyss or abyss. Therefore, blessed is he who speaks to the ear of the one who listens. Ecclesiastes 10:13–14. the beginning of the words from his mouth is stupidity, and the end of the words from his mouth is madness. A fool will say a lot, although a person does not know what will happen, and who will tell him what will happen after him? The beginning of his words is stupidity, and the end of his mouth is the worst error? And a fool multiplies words. A man does not know what happened and what will happen after him; who will tell him? He also talks about a fool, whose lips destroy the wise, or, according to another translation, serve to the downfall of the fool himself. The beginning and end of his speech are stupidity and delusion of the worst kind; or, as Symmachus translated, “confusion and some inconsistency in words,” when he does not hold on to his thoughts, but thinks that by speaking too much he can avoid sin. For not remembering the past, not knowing the future, spinning in ignorance and darkness, assimilating imaginary knowledge, he imagines himself learned and wise because he is eloquent. This can be applied to heretics who do not accept the words of intelligent people, but are tuned in to contradictions, and the beginning and end of their speeches are made up of nonsense, confusion, delusions, and without knowing anything, they say more than they know. Eccl.10:15. The work of a fool tires him, because he does not even know the way to the city. The work of fools will tire those who do not know the way to the city. Connect these verses with the previous ones. He speaks either in general about all fools who do not know God, or in particular about heretics. Read Plato, get acquainted with the subtleties of Aristotle, look carefully at Zeno and Carneades - and you will see that what is said is true: the work of fools will tire them. Although they sought the truth with all zeal, but since they did not have a guide and a signpost of the way and thought that they could comprehend wisdom with human feelings, they did not at all reach the city about which it is said in the Psalm: “Lord, in Your city you will humble their image” (Ps. 72:20). And the Lord in his city will dispel all the shadows, various images and masks in which they have clothed themselves in various teachings - in his city, about which in another place it is written: “the river’s aspirations make glad the city of God” (Ps. 45:5), and in the Gospel: “a city cannot hide from the top of a standing mountain” (Matthew 5:14) and in Isaiah: “I am a strong city, a city at war” ( Isa.27:3). This city of true wisdom, a strong and strong city, is what all the sages of the century and philosophers are trying to overcome. And what we said about philosophers, the same should be thought about heretics - that in vain they labor and are weary in studying the Scriptures, when they wander in the desert and cannot find cities. The Psalmist also mentions their wandering, saying: “Having gone astray in the waterless desert, I have not found the way of the habitable city” (Ps. 107:4). Ecclesiastes 10:16–17. Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and when your princes eat early! It is good for you, land, when your king is from a noble family, and your princes eat at the right time, for strengthening, and not for satiety! Woe to you, land whose king is young, and whose princes eat early. Blessed is the land where your king is a noble son, and your princes eat in season, in strength, and not in confusion. Apparently, he does not approve of the rule of young men and condemns power-hungry judges - that the young prince does not have a strong mind for his years, and among judges even mature age relaxes from pleasures and, on the contrary, approves of a prince with good morals and well-directed, and also praises those judges who do not prefer pleasures to public affairs, but only after a lot of work and engagement in public affairs take food, as if out of necessity. For me, the literal meaning seems to be something more mysterious - that in Scripture those who deviate from the authority of antiquity and neglect the hoary commandments of their ancestors are called youths - those who, neglecting the commandment of God, want to establish human traditions. About them and in Isaiah (Is. 8), the Lord expresses threats to Israel because they did not want to drink the gently flowing water of Siloam and turned away from the old reservoir, choosing for themselves the streams of Samaria and the depths of Damascus. “And I will make, he says, young men their rulers, and insults will rule over them” (Is. 3:4). Read Daniel and you will find the God of old (Dan.7); read the Apocalypse of John, and you will meet the head of the Savior as pure as snow and white as a wave (Rev. 1). And Jeremiah, since he was wise and his gray hair was considered wisdom, is forbidden to say that he is young (Jer. 1). So, woe to the land whose king is the devil, who, always plotting something new, arms Absalom against his father; Woe to the earth, which has judges and princes who love the pleasures of this world, who, until the day of death comes, say: “Let us drink and drink, for in the morning we will die” (Is. 22:13). On the contrary, blessed is the land of the church, whose king is Christ, the son of nobles, descended from the line of Abraham, Isaac, the prophets and all the saints, whom sin did not possess and who, therefore, were truly free. From them was born the freest Virgin, Holy Mary, who did not have any twig, no side offspring, but all the fruitful power of Who gave birth to the flower that says in the Song of Songs: “I am a full flower and a full crop” (Song. 2:1). The princes of this land are the apostles and all the saints, who have as king the Son of the noble, the Son of the free, born not of the slave Hagar, but of the freedom of Sarah. They do not eat either early or soon. For they do not seek pleasure in this present age, but they will taste it in due time, when the time of reward comes, and they will taste it in strength, and not in confusion. Every good of the present age is confusion, and every good of the future is constant strengthening. Something similar is said in Isaiah: “Whoever works for me will eat, but you will hunger”; and again: “All those who work for me will rejoice, but you will be put to shame” (Is. 65:13–14). Eccl.10:18. The ceiling will sag from laziness, and when you give up, the house will leak. The ceiling will sag from laziness, and the house will leak from weakening hands. From creation the house destined for us and the habitation we have in heaven will deteriorate if we are lazy and slow to do good deeds. Any ceiling that should be high, falling to the ground, will crush the person living under it; when the active strength of hands and virtue weakens, then all sorts of adversities and rain storms fall on us from above. Then what we have explained in relation to one person can better be attributed to the church - that due to the negligence of its representatives, its entire height falls when temptations to sin occur where they thought to see the pinnacle of virtue. Eccl.10:19. Feasts are given for pleasure, and wine makes life merry; and silver is responsible for everything. The living eat bread and wine with laughter to feast. And everything obeys silver. I think that what follows depends on what came before. We explained above that because of the laziness and negligence of teachers, the church deteriorates, its top falls and its roofs leak. Now he talks about the same teachers. And since, apparently, he accused them, why were they silent and did not fulfill the duties of teachers, why, having been appointed bishops and presbyters in the church, did not labor in the word and teaching, which Titus is commanded to do and is prescribed to Timothy, so that he does not neglect the grace received through the laying on of hands, since this is what they should place their episcopal and presbyteral duties in order to take measures of healing and as teachers to seek the special honor due to those who labor in word and teaching (1 Tim. 4:14): - now, on the contrary, he accuses those who, although they speak in the church and teach the people, teach what delights the ears of the people, what encourages sinners in their vice and excites the noisy delight of the listeners. When in church you hear a kind word promising everyone bliss and the kingdom of heaven, don’t you imagine that the living eat bread with laughter and mix wine with joy? - that either those who teach themselves, through pleasant promises, seek wealth, bread and estates for themselves, or that they arrange the bread of the church, which is the bread of those who weep, and not of those who laugh (for blessed are those who weep, for they will laugh) in joy and joy? And the following: “money” or “everything obeys silver” should be understood in two ways, or that the teachers themselves, enriched through their caresses, reign over the people; or, since silver is always taken in the sense of the word, as: “the words of the Lord are pure, silver is kindled, tempted by the earth, purified by the sevenfold” (Ps. 11:7): ​​- it asserts that the ignorant crowd easily succumbs to eloquence and speech composed of empty phrases. Otherwise: those who have a groom and who are therefore forbidden to mourn and fast, eat bread with laughter, from such laughter Isaac received his name, and in joy they prepare wine for those who drink. So, every holy man who is a teacher of the church in the spirit of the commandment of Christ eats bread with laughter and joy and in joy prepares vessels for wine. And the silver, to which everything obeys, is these five, two and one talents of the householder of the Gospel and ten minas, which are entrusted to slaves for their use in business (Matthew 25). Eccl.10:20. Even in your thoughts do not curse the king, and in your bedroom do not curse the rich; for the bird of the air can carry thy word, and the bird with wings can tell thy speech. Do not curse the king in your mind, and do not curse the rich man in the secret of your chamber: for the bird of the air endures speech, and the winged one speaks the word. And simple instruction edifies the hearers. Under the influence of anger and irritation, let us not allow ourselves to scold and slander the king and his superiors; because sometimes, beyond our expectations, it happens that this is conveyed to those whom we slander, and we, for the intemperance of our tongue, are in danger. And what was said: “the bird of the air will speak, and the feathered one will proclaim the word” must be understood in the sense of hyperbole, just as we usually say that even the walls in front of which we speak will not hide what is said. But it is better to take this instruction in the sense of the commandment that not only should we not say anything unreasonable against Christ, but also in the secret of our hearts we should not think anything unholy, nothing blasphemous, even if we are depressed by various trials. And since we are obliged to love our neighbor in the same way as Christ, for “thou shalt love the Lord thy God and thy neighbor as thyself”: then we are commanded that, besides the King, we should not frivolously revile the saints and not gnaw with a sarcastic tongue those whom we see enriched in wisdom, knowledge and virtues: because the angels who go around the earth, who are ministering spirits and who speak to Zechariah: “The whole earth is devastated, and behold, the whole earth is inhabited, and is silent” (Zechariah 1:11), - angels, like birds, bring our words and thoughts to heaven, and it is not hidden from the knowledge of God what we think in secret. The letter, the meaning of which was repeatedly mentioned in the notes to the translation of bl. Jerome, the right side of which served as an allegorical expression of virtue, and the left side of vice. Apparently and bl. Jerome, in accordance with the opinion of many both Greek and Latin fathers, here recognizes Solomon himself as the author of the Book of the Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach. The preface to the interpretation of Ecclesiastes, where he counts all the books of Solomon, but does not say that this book belonged to him, however, contradicts this opinion.