Глава 6

Eccl.6:1–6. There is evil that I have seen under the sun, and it often happens among people: God gives man wealth and property and glory, and his soul lacks nothing that he does not desire; but God does not allow him to use it, but a stranger uses it: this is vanity and a serious illness! If a man were to give birth to a hundred children, and lived for many years, and the days of his life were multiplied, but his soul did not enjoy good things and there would be no burial for him, then I would say: a miscarriage is happier than him, because he came in vain and went into darkness, and his name is covered in darkness. He didn’t even see or know the sun: he was calmer than the other. And even if he lived two thousand years and did not enjoy good things, would not everything go to one place? There is evil that I have seen under the sun, and it is often among people. A man to whom God has given riches and possessions and glory, and who lacks nothing for his soul from all that he desires; but God did not give him the power to use it, but a stranger uses it. This is vanity and the worst evil: if a man gives birth to a hundred children, and lives for many years, and the days of his years are very many, and his soul is not filled with good things and there is no burial for him. I said that a stillborn is better than him. For he came in vanity, and went away in darkness, and in darkness his name will be hidden. And although he did not see or know the sun, he has more peace than the other. And even if he lived a thousand years twice as long and did not see good; Isn't it all heading towards the same place? He portrays a stingy rich man and says that this is a common evil among people: he has no shortage of anything that is considered good in the world, and yet he is tormented by the most stupid stinginess, saving his wealth to be squandered by others. Hyperbolically, he also adds that even if he gave birth to a hundred children and lived not about a thousand years, like Adam, but two thousand years, and meanwhile, if his soul languishes from greed and stinginess, then his condition is worse than a stillborn, who died immediately after, apparently, being born. For this one saw neither good nor bad; and he, who possessed blessings, was constantly tormented by worries and suffering: this stillborn has more peace than that long-lived miser. But nevertheless, both of them suffer the same end, when both are kidnapped by the same death. This can also be understood in relation to Israel - that God gave it the law and the prophets, the covenant and the promise, and yet the Savior says: “For the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and given to a tongue that produces its fruits” (Matthew 21:43). All this will be transferred to a people alien and gathered from pagans, and those (Israelites) see their benefits and do not use them. And we are in a much better position, we, who were considered as if stillborn and the last in the eyes of those who boasted of antiquity, were extolled by our ancestors and said: “the fathers of the imams of Abraham” (John 8:39). And yet, both we and they are going to the same place - to the judgment of God. And what is said in the middle: “and there will not even be a burial for him” means either that the rich man does not think about his death, and, owning everything, even skimps on building a tomb for himself, or that often dying a violent death, he throws himself without burial, or, which I recognize as the best, means that he will not do anything good so that he can leave a memory for himself in posterity and not live out his life without a trace, like cattle, although he had means by which he could declare his existence. Eccl.6:7–8. All a man’s labors are for his mouth, but his soul is not satisfied. What is the advantage of the wise over the foolish, and what is the advantage of the poor man who knows how to walk over the living? All a man's labor is in his mouth, and even his soul will not be filled. For what advantage does a wise man have over a fool, and what does a poor man have, if not to be able to go against life? Everything that people acquire through labor in this world is consumed by the mouth, and chewed with the teeth is given over to the stomach for cooking. Somewhat sweetening the throat, it seems to give pleasure, but only as long as it is in the mouth; and when it passes into the stomach, the difference between food ceases to be felt. And after all this, the soul of the walker is not filled: either in the sense that he again wants to eat, that both the wise and the fool cannot live without food, and that the poor does not care about anything else, except how he can support the organ of his body and not die of hunger; or that the soul does not receive any benefit from the satisfaction of the body, and food is equally necessary for both the wise and the foolish, and the poor strives where he sees wealth. But it is better to understand this in relation to a church man who, being enlightened in the heavenly Scriptures, has all his work in his mouth, and his soul is not filled, since he constantly thirsts to learn. And in this the wise man has an advantage over the foolish one, that, recognizing himself as a beggar (that beggar who is called blessed in the Gospel), he strives to assimilate what relates to life, walks the narrow and cramped path leading to life, is poor in evil deeds, and knows where Christ dwells - our life. Eccl.6:9. It is better to see with your eyes than to wander with your soul. And this is also vanity and vexation of spirit! It is better to look with your eyes than to wander in your soul. But this is also vanity and dreaming of the spirit. Symmachus clearly translated this, saying: “it is better to provide than to wander as you please,” that is, it is better to do everything according to the direction of reason, which is the eye of the soul, than to follow the will of the heart. For this precisely means “to wander in the soul,” as Ezekiel says: “who walk in the will of their heart.” Or, he denounces the proud and self-satisfied, and says that the one who is attentive to everything is better than the one who does not like anything except what he himself has done; There is nothing worse than this last one, and it is emptier than the wind. Aquila and Theodotion here also translated “languidness of spirit”: “grazing the wind”, and Symmachus - “contrition of the spirit”. It should be noted that among the Jews both spirit and wind are designated by the same word, that is, "ruah". Eccl.6:10. What exists has already been given a name, and it is known that it is a man, and that he cannot argue with someone who is stronger than him. What is, what will be - the name of that has already been given, and it is known that this is a man, and he cannot sue his strongest. It is clearly preached about the coming of the Savior that when He still had to appear, before He was visible in the flesh, His name was already named in the Scriptures, and is known to the prophets and saints of God - it is known that He is a man, and in human terms cannot be equal to the Father, as he says in the Gospel: “He who sent Me is a Father who is sick for me” (John 14:28). Therefore, in further words it is commanded that we should not experience more than what is written to us about Him, so that a person should not want to know more than what Scripture has testified. For since we do not know about our condition, and our life comes as a shadow and the future is unknown, it is not useful for us to inquire more than we can. Some think that this place indicates that God already knows the name of all people who are and will be clothed with a body, and that man cannot argue with his Creator about why He did this or that way. For the more we inquire, the more our vanity and vanity will be revealed. But God's foreknowledge does not destroy free will, since there are reasons before why everything happened this way. Eccl.6:11–12. There are many things that multiply vanity: what is best for a person? For who knows what is good for a person in life, in all the days of his vain life that he spends as a shadow? And who will tell a person what will happen after him under the sun? For there are many words that increase vanity. What is the benefit to a person? For who knows what is good for a man in life, even among the days of his vanity? And he will make them like a shadow, for who will tell a man what will happen after him under the sun? since, he says, a person does not know about his condition, and everything that he apparently knows and sees, he sees not as there is truth in itself, but through a dark glass, he sees as a shadow and an image; since he does not know the future and does not avoid sin by speaking too much: then let him put silence on his lips, and believe that the One about whom it is written has come; he believes without searching for how, in what way, and in what way He came.