CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER 2
1. (Verse 1). I said in my heart, etc. Here the author touches on his third point. So after the tedium of study there is a turning to pleasure. Since there were labor and vexation in study, he thought to leave that behind and turn to pleasure in which is delight. So he says: I said in my heart, that is, I made this decision because of the spiritual vexation in study. His word and reflection now is not of wisdom, but of dissatisfaction, because when he does not find rest interiorly, he looks for it outside. So he said: I will go and abound with delights and enjoy good things. I will go, by leaving good behind. Psalm 77:39 states: Human beings are made "a wind that goes and returns not." I will abound with delights, namely, carnal rather than spiritual.1 The Song of Songs 7:6 says: "How beautiful . . . are you and how comely, my dearest, in delights." He went back from spiritual to carnal delights. Isaiah 22:12-13 reads: "The Lord . . . called to weeping and mourning. . . .
Behold joy and gladness . . . the slaying of rams," etc.2 And enjoy good things, in rest. For men and women enjoy things when their desire has found rest. Wisdom 2:6 states:
1Hugh of St. Cher, 75c also calls these delights "carnal."
2All of Isaiah 22:12-13 reads: "And the Lord, the God of hosts, in that day shall call to weeping and to mourning, to baldness, and to wearing of sackcloth. And behold joy and gladness, killing of calves, slaying of rams, eating flesh and drinking wine: Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die."
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
"Come, therefore, and let us enjoy the good things that are present. And let us speedily use creatures as in youth."
And Proverbs 7:18 has: "Come, . . . let us enjoy the desired embraces." Because this reflection was blameworthy and reprehensible, he rebuked himself, for present delight is not a true delight, but a deception. So he adds: And I saw that this, too, is vanity, since it does not endure nor refresh, but fades away and deceives.
2. (Verse 2). So he says: Laughter I counted error, in that it seduces people. And to joy I said: Why are you vainly deceived?, because by rejoicing you are deceived. Laughter is exterior, while joy is interior. Laughter deceives, because it offers good that turns out to be evil. Proverbs 14:13 says:
"Laughter shall be mingled with sorrow, and mourning takes hold of the end of joy." And James 4:9 states: "Let your laughter be turned into mourning," because Luke 6:25 proclaims: "Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall . . . weep."3 This is the laughter of the delirious, for it is mistaken and passing. In the same way joy deceives interiorly. Job 21:12-13 reads: "They rejoice at the sound of the organ. They spend their days in good things, and in a moment they go down to hell." And Job 20:5 has: "The joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment."
3. (Verse 3). I thought in my heart, etc. The author treats here of the fourth point, namely, a return to a reflection on what is useful, a return from pleasure to sobriety. So he says: I thought in my heart, to withdraw my flesh from wine, because wine in an astonishing way inclines to pleasure. For Ephesians 5:18 reads: "Be not drunk with wine, wherein is voluptuousness." And Proverbs 20:1 states:
"Wine is a voluptuous thing, and drunkenness is riotous.
Whoever delights in these things will not be wise."4 He 3Hugh of St. Cher, 75g also cites Luke 6:25.
4Hugh of St. Cher, 75v, a also cites Proverbs 20:1.
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thought to withdraw from the beckoning of pleasure, so that I might turn to wisdom. That is, to reflect on the wise and to abandon reflecting on the foolish, such as in the preceding reflection. So he says: And might avoid folly, as he is encouraged to do by wisdom. Proverbs 1:22 advises:
"Children, how long will you love childishness? Fools, how long will they covet things that are harmful?"5 He does this not only for his own good, but also for the common good. So he continues: Till I might see what was profitable for men and women. And this in the present life. Wherefore, he also adds: What they ought to do, that is, what it is opportune to do, under the sun, all the days of their lives.
He saw this and wrote at the end of the book: "Fear God and keep God's commandments. This is all for men and women."6
4. These are the things that are useful. To keep the commandments of God, because as he says in 8:5 below: "The person who keeps the commandment will find no evil."
And in Proverbs 19:16 we read: "Men and women who keep the commandment keep their own souls, but those who neglect their own way shall die." – Deliverance from iniquity. 2 Timothy 2:21 reads: "If anyone will cleanse himself from these, he will be a vessel . . . sanctified and useful to the Lord, . . . for every good work" – Learning of truth. 2
Timothy 3:16 has: "All teaching,7 inspired of God, is useful . . . for instruction in justice," that is, to make a person just. – Exercise of piety. 1 Timothy 4:7 says: "Exercise yourself unto piety, for bodily exercise is useful for little, but piety is useful for all things."
5The Vulgate reads sibi ("to themselves"). Also the Vulgate reads cupiunt ("covet") while Bonaventure has cupient ("will covet").
6Ecclesiastes 12:13.
7The Vulgate reads scriptura ("scripture") whereas Bonaventure has doctrina ("teaching").
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
5. These are the things that are useless.8 Proud transgression of God's law. 2 Chronicles 24:20 states: "Why are you transgressing the commandment of the Lord, which will not be useful for you?" – Wisdom without teaching. Sirach
20:32 reads: "Wisdom that is hidden and treasure that is not seen, what use is there in them both?" – Teaching that is not put into practice in life.9 Luke 14:34 says: "Salt is good. But if salt loses its flavor, wherewith will it be seasoned?" – Contentious disputations. 2 Timothy 2:14 has:
"Contend not in words, for it is useless."
QUESTIONS 6
What does he means by the words: The person who adds knowledge also adds sorrow?10
Contra: 1. "All people by nature want to know."11 But when this is fulfilled, they are happy. Therefore, etc.
2. Further, or he is speaking of true knowledge, and this is false. Wisdom 8:16 states: Conversation with her (wisdom) has no bitterness. If he is referring to curiosity, this is false, because the curious get much delight when they can find something out.
I reply: The words can be applied to both true knowledge and to curiosity. It is true of curiosity because just as avarice and the desire to possess increase with riches, so too does the desire to learn increase for the curious per8Hugh of St. Cher has no parallel to Bonaventure's listing of four useful and four useless things.
9Literally: "teaching without life."
10Ecclesiastes 1:18. The Vulgate reads laborem ("labor") while Bonaventure has dolorem ("sorrow").
11On p. 21 n. 2 QuarEd refer to Book I, n. 1 of Aristotle's Metaphysica.
See WAE, vol. 8, 980a: "All men by nature desire to know."
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son. If he is speaking of knowledge of the truth from the viewpoint of taste, it delights. If he is speaking of knowledge of the truth from the viewpoint of recognition, this sometimes causes sadness either because of a person's besmirched conscience or because of the sight of wickedness in someone else.12
ECCLESIASTES 2:4-26
CURIOSITY AS IT PERTAINS TO
WEALTH AND PLEASURE
6. I have made great works for myself, etc. The author has already stated his curiosity in a search for wisdom. Now he goes on to state his curiosity in mechanical works that pertain to realities of a bodily nature whereas the search for wisdom is a matter of the spirit. The search for wisdom is a liberal art while human works are a work of skill.
– This section has two parts. The first deals with works of skill undertaken to acquire wealth. The second is concerned with pleasures where verse 8 says: I made singing men and singing women for myself.
ECCLESIASTES 2:4-8A
CURIOSITY AND THE
ACQUISITION OF RICHES
7. In the following order the author describes his curiosity in what pertains to acquiring riches. First, acquiring lasting possessions. Second, a large number of servants. Third, increasing the number of sheep and animals. Fourth, a piling up of minerals. These four categories cover almost all worldly delights.
8. (Verses 4-6). First, he expresses his curiosity in the possession of long lasting goods, namely, homes, vineyards, vegetable gardens, ponds of water for irrigation. So he says:
12See Question III which follows after Bonaventure's exposition of Ecclesiastes 2:10.
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
I made my works great, that is, I made myself great. 1
Kings 10:23 says: "King Solomon exceeded all the kings on the entire earth."13 He lists his accomplishments individually. I built houses for myself, because he built many.
And so we read in 1 Kings 9:10: "After Solomon built14 two houses that is, the house of the Lord and the house of the king," he also built a house for the daughter of Pharaoh.15
This was a work of curiosity and blameworthy. For Isaiah 4:8 states: "Woe to you that join house to house." I planted vineyards for drinking. Genesis 9:20-21 has: "Noah . . . planted a vineyard, and drinking of the wine, became drunk." – I made gardens and orchards and set them with trees of all kinds for eating. The Song of Songs 6:10 says:
"I went down into my garden16 . . . to see the fruits of the valleys and to look if the vineyard had flourished and the pomegranates budded." – Since these had to be irrigated, he adds: I made for myself ponds of water, that is, places to collect water, so as to water therewith the wood of the young trees by irrigation. For as it is said in Job 12:15: "If he withholds the waters, all things will be dried up." This was necessary in the promised land because of the lack of water. Deuteronomy 11:10-11 reads: "The land, which you are going to possess . . . is a land of hills and plains, expecting rain from heaven."
9. (Verse 7a). I acquired servants. Here in a second point he treats of his curiosity with respect to a large number of servants of both sexes and says: I acquired menservants and maidservants; and also of every age. Thus, the text
131 Kings 10:23 concludes: " . . . in riches and wisdom." On p. 21 n. 5
QuarEd accurately mention that the Vulgate does not read universae ("entire").
14The Vulgate reads aedificaverat ("had built") while Bonaventure has aedificavit ("built").
15See 1 Kings 7:8 which also mentions that Solomon had married the daughter of Pharaoh.
16The Vulgate does not have meum ("my").
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continues: I had a large family. 1 Kings 10:4-5 reads: "When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon . . . and the food of his table, the apartments of his servants and the order of his ministers . . . she no longer had any spirit in her."17
10. (Verse 7b). And herds. Here in a third point he treats of his curiosity in regard to herds of oxen and large and small animals, for he says: And herds of oxen and great flocks of sheep. Supply the verb: I possessed. Beyond all that were before me in Jerusalem. It is clear that he owned much, because he consumed much. 1 Kings 4:22-23 states:
"The provision for Solomon for each day . . . was ten fattened oxen and twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred rams, besides venison of harts, roes, etc."
11. (Verse 8a). I heaped together for myself. Fourth, he treats of his curiosity in piling up minerals when he says: I heaped together for myself gold and silver,18 that is, precious metals, and the wealth of kings and provinces, that is, precious stones and gems. 1 Kings 10:25-27 says: "Everyone brought him presents: vessels of silver and gold, garments and armor. . . .And he made silver to be as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones."
12. In the spiritual meaning,19 this Solomon, who made great works, is Christ the Lord,20 who is the King of peace.
17Hugh of St. Cher, 76i also refers to 1 Kings 10:4-5.
18Bonaventure has inverted the order of the Vulgate, which has "silver" before "gold."
19Hugh of St. Cher, 75v-76 deals with the mystical understanding of Ecclesiastes 2:7, but does not distinguish between the contemplative and active ways of life as Bonaventure does. In what follows I note the few points he has in common with Bonaventure.
20See Hugh of St. Cher, 75v, g: "So the true Solomon is speaking, that is, Christ the Lord."
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
Of his works we read in Psalm 103:24: "How great are your works, O Lord. You have made all things in wisdom," etc.21 Now Christ makes great works when he makes many great servants in the active and contemplative ways of life.
– For contemplatives, in so far as they are great in their way of life, have much conferred on them by Christ the Lord. They have houses, namely, peaceful consciences. Proverbs 24:15 reads: "Lie not in wait, nor seek after wickedness in the house of the just, nor spoil his rest." In this house one must rest, not in a strange house, since from a contrary perspective Sirach 21:25 states: "The foot of a fool is soon in his neighbor's house." – Vineyards, that is, affections of devotion from which wine is drawn. Judges
9:13 has: "Can I forsake my wine?"22 – Gardens, that is, exterior enclosures. The Song of Songs 4:12 says: "My sister, my spouse is a garden enclosed, . . . a fountain sealed up." – Trees, that is, various virtues.23 Numbers 24:5-6 states: "How beautiful are your tabernacles, O Jacob, . . . like valleys filled with woods." – Orchards, that is, good and well-regarded works. Job 9:25-26 reads: "My days have passed as ships carrying fruits," that had a good fragrance.
2 Corinthians 2:15 has: "We are the good fragrance of Christ unto God." – Ponds, that is, many tears. The Song of Songs 7:4 says: "Your eyes are like the ponds in Heshbon."24 Jeremiah 9:1 states: "Who will give water to my head and a fountain of tears to my eyes?"
21Psalm 103:24 concludes: ". . . the earth is filled with your riches."
22This passage occurs in Jotham's parable of the trees which want a king to rule over them. Judges 9:12-13 reads: "And the trees said to the vine: Come and reign over us. And it answered them: Can I forsake my wine, that cheers God and human beings and be promoted among the other trees?"
23Hugh of St. Cher, 76h writes: "I possessed menservants and maidservants] that is, the virtues."
24Hugh of St. Cher, 76g also cites The Song of Songs 7:4.
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13. Just as Christ magnifies his works among contemplatives, so too he magnifies them among those in the active way of life, for they need many things. Menservants and maidservants through humility. Luke 17:10 says:
"When you will have done all things that have been commanded you, say: We are unprofitable servants."25 – Herds of oxen through strenuous work, because it is not the job of oxen to rest, but to plow. Job 1:14 reads: "The oxen were plowing." Sirach 7:16 states: "Hate not laborious works."26
– Sheep, through simplicity of purpose. Matthew 10:16 has:
"Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves." 1
Peter 2:2 says: "As newborn babes, . . . desire milk."27 – Gold through love. Daniel 2:32 says of this statue: "Its head was of fine gold," because love is the head of the virtues. –
Silver through eloquence of speech. For Psalm 11:7 reads:
"The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried by fire." And Sirach 6:5 states: "A gracious word multiplies friends and appeases enemies." – The wealth of kings through generous giving. Sirach 13:30 has: "Riches are good to him that has no sin on his conscience."
ECCLESIASTES 2:8B-10
CURIOSITY ABOUT PLEASURES
14. I made singers for myself. He has spoken of his curiosity in anything to do with riches, and now he speaks of his curiosity about pleasures. He does this as follows. Since pleasures are not found by anyone at all, but by a person who wants them, is capable of them, and knows how to enjoy them, he shows, first, his care in preparing delights.
Second, his ability to complete them. Third, his wisdom in planning. Fourth, his pleasure in enjoying them.
25Hugh of St. Cher, 75v, g also cites Luke 17:10.
26On p. 22 n. 5 QuarEd rightly indicate that the Vulgate has non oderis ("hate not") while Bonaventure reads ne oderis ("do not hate").
271 Peter 2:2 reads: "As newborn babes, desire the rational milk without guile."
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
15. (Verse 8b). First, he shows his great care in preparing such pleasures both from the point of view of hearing and of sight. Of hearing he says: I made for myself male and female singers, for the sake of pleasure. So he adds: and the delights of men and women, and this for pleasure for the ear. For his eyes he made beautiful vases, for he says: cups and vessels to serve and pour out the wine, made by him for the sake of pleasure. He was then most diligent, and this is blameworthy. Amos 6:1, 5-6 reads: "Woe to you who are wealthy in Zion. . . .You who sing to the sound of the psaltery . . . and drink wine from bowls."
16. (Verse 9a). And I surpassed in riches, etc. He treats here of the second point, namely, his ability to complete pleasures. For poor people, even though they might begin artificial delights of this kind, do not finish them. But he was able to because he was rich. Therefore he states: And I surpassed in riches all who were before me in Jerusalem, for he exceeded all. 1 Kings 3:13 says: "I have given you riches and glory, so that no one has been like you among the kings in all the days heretofore."
17. (Verse 9b). My wisdom also, etc. Here he treats of the third point, namely, his prudence in planning, for he says:
My wisdom also remained with me. By this wisdom he ordered all that he made. 1 Kings 10:4-5 has: "When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon . . . and the order of his ministers, and their apparel and the cupbearers
. . . she no longer had any spirit in her." And 1 Kings 4:3031 reads: "The wisdom of Solomon surpassed the wisdom of all the Orientals and of the Egyptians, and he was wiser than all."
18. (Verse 10). And all my eyes desired, etc. He treats now of the fourth point, namely, his pleasure in enjoying the delights he had prepared. And since some pleasures come from outside, some from within, he notes both of them in
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himself. Of pleasures coming from outside, he says: And all my eyes desired, that is, seeing what was outside me, I refused them not. Rather he did wrong by satisfying himself. Lamentations 3:51 comments: "My eye has wasted my soul." And Jeremiah 9:21 observes: "Death has come up through my windows."28 – Of internal pleasure he says:
I withheld not my heart, that is, a desire of his heart, from delighting itself in the things that I had prepared. Against this we read in Sirach 18:30: "Son,29 go not after your lusts, but turn away from your own will."30 And because affection often distorts the judgment of reason, there follows a perversity of mind. Thus the text adds: And I esteemed this my portion, that is, I judged it was better for me to make use of my own labor, for the present. This is the opinion of the Epicureans who know of no other good or portion. On the other hand, the Saints have no portion here, but in the future. Thus, Psalm 141:6 says: "O Lord, my portion in the land of the living." And again Psalm 15:5 states: "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup."
QUESTIONS 7
I.1. Why was he sinful in delighting in these songs, and what kind of sin was it?31 – If you say that it pertains to inordinate pleasure, the question is asked: Since hearing is one of the senses, like taste and touch, it seems that 28On p. 23 n. 2 QuarEd correctly indicate that the Vulgate reads fenestras nostras ("our windows") while Bonaventure has fenestras meas
("my windows").
29The Vulgate does not have Fili ("Son").
30On p. 23 n. 2 QuarEd cite Book VI, n. 12 of Aristotle's Ethica nicomachea. See WAE, vol. 9, 1144a: "wickedness perverts us and causes us to be deceived about the starting points of action."
31See Ecclesiastes 2:8.
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
hearing should be a capital sin32 as is the case with touch.
And if it is not a capital sin, then why not?
2. Also I ask whether it is a sin to delight in such songs? It would seem not to be a sin, because the Saints wrote songs to the glory of God.
Now for the opinion that it is a sin, listen to what Augustine says in his Confessions: "As often as the songs themselves pleased me more than the words, I confess I sinned gravely."33
I reply: It has to be said that to take delight in such songs comes from internal devotion that looks only for a song and words that are good, or from inner pleasure and voluptuousness, or from a certain curiosity. The first of these is not a sin, but meritorious. The second is a sin closely related to voluptuousness. The third is the sin of curiosity which is remotely related to voluptuousness.
To the question: Why is a sin of hearing not a capital sin like touch and taste, I reply: Because there is not so much corruption or delight in it.
II. What does he mean by the words: I surpassed in riches all that were before me in Jerusalem?34 What is this? What he says does not claim much, because the only one to reign over Jerusalem before him was his father who rose up, founded the city, and expelled the Jebusites.35 Some say to 32See Roy J. Deferrari, A Latin-English Dictionary of St. Thomas
Aquinas (Boston: St. Paul Editions, 1960), 768: "capital sin, by which is understood either that which brings capital punishment with it or that which gives rise to and directs other sins."
33On p. 23 n. 4 QuarEd cite Book X, chapter 33 n. 50: "However, when it happened that I was moved more by the song than by the reality behind the song, I confess that my sin was punishable (poenaliter).
34Ecclesiastes 2:9.
35See 2 Samuel 5:6-10. See Jerome's remarks on 2:7 in his Commentarius in Ecclesiasten in CCSL lxxii, 265: "There is no great
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this that he is speaking not only of the kings of Israel, namely, David and Saul, but also of the judges.36 – But this was not much. – Therefore, it is said that before Solomon there were kings in Canaan, and these were rich and great. He was speaking of them. – Or the verse can be read to mean that the words, in Jerusalem, refer to the riches which he possessed in Jerusalem, not to kings. The meaning would be: I surpassed in the riches I had in Jerusalem all that were before me, for no one before him was like him.
III. Further, it is asked what is the meaning of the words:
My wisdom also remained with me?37
Contra: Sirach 6:23 says: The wisdom of doctrine is according to her name.38 Therefore, people are not wise unless they discern things as they should be discerned.39 But Solomon did not discern correctly, because he despised eternal goods and loved temporal goods. So he was not wise, but stupid. glory to Solomon who was richer than the one father who reigned before him. For Saul had not yet ruled in Jerusalem which was held by the Jebusites who had resided in the city itself."
36See Jerome's exposition of 2:9 in Commentarius in Ecclesiasten in CCSL lxxii, 267: "When he says all that were before me in Jerusalem, he is speaking of those who governed the congregation of the Saints and the Church before his coming."
37Ecclesiastes 2:9.
38On p. 23 n. 7 QuarEd accurately mention that the Vulgate reads illius ("her") while Bonaventure has eius ("her").
39On p. 23 n. 7 QuarEd cite Sermon 50 n. 6 of Bernard of Clairvaux'
Sermones super Cantica Canticorum. See SBOp 2.81 and Bernard of Clairvaux On the Song of Songs III, trans. Kilian Walsh and Irene M.
Edmonds, Cistercian Fathers Series 31 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Pubications, 1979), 35: "But not so affective love, since it always leads the ordering from the first. It is the wisdom by which all things are experienced as they are; as for example, the higher the nature the more perfect the love it evokes; the lower evokes less, the lowest nothing."
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
I reply: Wisdom in one way brings about knowledge only, and so it is said "wisdom is the knowledge of things sacred and human."40 In another way it brings about a taste and the savor and order of affection, and so is called wisdom by savor. In the first way there is an understanding of good and evil for those who have an enlightened mind to see the many truths about God and creatures.
The second way deals only with good things. Wisdom has endured through the first way, because understanding was not lost. Understanding in the second way was lost when people sinned and became stupid.41
IV. What does he mean by the words: And I esteemed this my portion, to make use of my own labor?42
1. So it seems that Solomon followed the opinion of the Epicureans who claim that joy is to be found only in the present, and this is heretical.
2. Also, if he was wise and intelligent and said this, one has to presume it is true.
40On p. 23 n. 8 QuarEd point to Book V, chapter 3 of Cicero's Tuscalan Disputations. See Cicero, Tusculan Disputations, trans. J. E. King, LCL
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1945). I adjust King's translation on p. 431: "And by wisdom's knowledge of things sacred and human, as well as of the beginnings and causes of every phenomenon, it gained its glorious name with the ancients."
41See the discussion of Bonaventure's four meanings of wisdom in Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Ed. Zachary Hayes and Philotheus
Boehner, Works of St. Bonaventure II (St. Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute Publications, 2002), 217-221, esp. p. 218: "The fourth is wisdom in a stricter sense (magis stricte), and means the cognition of God by experience (cognitionem Dei experimentalem). For wisdom is also one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the act of which is to taste the sweetness of God. This wisdom truly pertains to the mystical state; it begins in cognition and ends in affection, and has no limits as to its intensity. . .
.For all these names mean to him one and the same thing, the real goal of humanity here upon earth, the wisdom of the mystical union with God, which is knowledge by tasting."
42Ecclesiastes 2:10.
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I reply: We make judgments in two ways, namely, by a considered and thought-out process or by a process of seeing a value in something. I say that Solomon never held this opinion as a result of a considered and thought-out process, but only by seeing a value in it, just as all sinners put a value on what they are doing that it is good. Hence,
Solomon's error was not one of infidelity, but an error of deviating from good. On the other hand, the Epicureans not only see good in this, but also assert it as something certain. For them there is no other good, and so they are heretics and infidels.
2. To the objection that he was wise and therefore, etc., it has to be said that, even though he was wise, in this he acted stupidly and is not to be imitated. David was good, but did not do good in having Uriah killed.43 This was not said for us to imitate, but to condemn.
ECCLESIASTES 2:11
HE BLAMES HIS CURIOSITY FOR
THE VANITY HE FOUND
19. And when I turned myself, etc. He has dealt with his curiosity, and he now blames it for the vanity he has found, a vanity that consists in changeableness. This section has two parts. First, he condemns what he did out of curiosity in general, and second, in particular where verse 12 reads:
I passed further to behold.
20. (Verse 11). So by careful reflection he found vanity and vexation in what he had done out of curiosity. For this reason he says: And when I turned myself to all the works that my hand had wrought, that is, when I had carefully reflected upon them, according to what the Apostle says in Galatians 6:4: "But let everyone prove the worth of his own work." And to the labors wherein I had labored in 43See 2 Samuel 11:6-27.
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
vain. They were in vain, because they were not done for God, and so he had labored in vain. Wisdom 3:11 states:
"Their hope is vain, and their labor44 without fruit." I saw in all things vanity and vexation of spirit and that nothing was lasting under the sun. The works were vain and troublesome, because they were not lasting. Whatever does not last is vain in so far as it slips away, does not last, and causes vexation. Sirach 40:13 reads: "The riches of the impious45 will be dried up like a river and will sound forth46 like a great thunder in rain." Thus, 1 John 2:17 states:
"The world passes away and its concupiscence." "Its47 favor is deceitful, and its beauty is vain."
ECCLESIASTES 2:12-17
HE BLAMES HIS CURIOSITY IN
LEARNING WISDOM
21. I passed further to behold wisdom. He now shows in detail the vanity in his works. He divides the material to show, first, vanity in the work to learn wisdom and, second, in the work to gain riches according to the double work of curiosity already explained.48 This he picks up in verse 18: Again I hated all my application. So first he blames his curiosity in the study of wisdom as follows.
First, he implies the diligence of his study. Second, the preeminence he found in a wise person when compared to a foolish person. Third, the finding of another comparison.
Fourth, from this he concludes to the vanity and blameworthiness of his own work.
44On p. 24 n. 2 QuarEd accurately mention that the Vulgate reads labores ("labors") while Bonaventure has labor ("labor").
45On p. 24 n. 3 QuarEd rightly indicate that the Vulgate reads iniustorum ("the unjust") while Bonaventure has impiorum ("the impious").
46The Vulgate reads manebunt ("will endure") while Bonaventure has personabunt ("will sound forth").
47Bonaventure has adapted Proverbs 30:31 to his context by adding eius ("its"), which I, in turn, have added to "beauty."
48See above on Ecclesiastes 1:12 and 2:4.
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22. (Verse 12). So first he implies the diligence of his study in examining those things he chose to study. So he says: I passed further to behold wisdom, as something to be chosen, and error and folly, as things to be avoided. I passed, he says, from pleasure. For Sirach 24:26 reads: "Pass over to me, all you that desire me," etc. And while there was diligence in this, it was not enough. So he adds: What is a human being, said I, that he can follow the King, his maker?
As if to say: It is insufficient to reflect upon and see what the Lord sees beforehand. What is a human being? As if to say: Small and insufficient. Psalm 8:5 states: "What are human beings that you are mindful of them?" So that he can follow the King, his maker, that is, God the creator.
Isaiah 64:8 says: "And now, O Lord, you are our father, and we are clay. And you are our maker, and we are all the works of your hands." So no one can follow God. Job 11:7 counsels: "Perhaps, you will comprehend the traces of God and will find out the Almighty perfectly?"
23. (Verses 13-14a). And I saw that wisdom, etc. Second, he notes that he found the preeminence of wisdom over folly, as if there is no proportion between them. So he says:
And I saw that wisdom excelled folly, that is, it is more noble, as much as light differs from darkness. This is a good comparison, because wisdom enlightens and folly blinds or darkens. Therefore, he adds: The eyes of the wise are in their heads, namely, to guide them while fools walk in darkness, as if there were no eyes in their head. That wisdom enlightens we know from Wisdom 6:23: "Love the light of wisdom, all you who rule over people." For Christ, the wisdom of God,49 calls himself light. John 8:12 states:
"I am the light of the world." Contrary to this folly is darkness. Isaiah 5:20 reads: "Woe to you who call evil good,
49 See 1 Corinthians 1:24: ". . . Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God."
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
and good evil, who put forward darkness for light and light for darkness." For John 1:5 says: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." Thus since "they have not known nor understood, they, therefore,50 walk in darkness."51 John 3:19 has: "For they loved darkness rather than light."52
24. (Verses 14b-16a). And I learned that both alike were to die. Here he treats of his third point, namely, the likeness of the wise to the stupid both in and after death. Relative to their likeness in dying, the text says: I learned that both alike were to die, that is, in a similar way, because no one escapes the sentence of death simply by being wise. For 2
Samuel 14:14 states: "We all die, and like waters that return no more, we fall down into the earth." Just as the foolish take nothing away, neither do the wise. Job 1:21 reads: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return." – And because of this likeness, he despised wisdom: And I said in my heart: If the death of the fool and mine shall be one, what does it avail me that I have applied myself more to the study of wisdom? This is the same as saying: Nothing as far as death is concerned.
50On p. 25 n. 1 QuarEd rightly mention that the Vulgate does not read ideo ("therefore").
51Psalm 81:5.
52Hugh of St. Cher, 77v, d-f also comments in a christological vein:
"Because wisdom is light; and foolishness is darkness or blindness. Or wisdom may be taken to be Christ or wisdom as gift. . . .Note that there are three preliminary things required for a human being to possess wisdom. First, that human beings understand the dignity they have in this that in acquiring wisdom they can follow their creator, that is, imitate and be assimilated to God. Romans 13 says: Put on the Lord
Jesus Christ. Second, that they may understand the difference between wisdom and foolishness, because wisdom assimilates human beings to the true light which is God, but wisdom to the devil, who is darkness.
This is indicated here. . . .Third, that they understand that wisdom, by enlightening the eyes of the mind, gives human beings the eyes of an eagle, so that they can see the true Sun, in whose contemplation is the highest beatitude."
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Sirach 40:2-3 says: "The day of their end," that is, death, "from the one sitting," etc.53 – There is not only a likeness in death, but also after death. Wherefore, he adds: And I had spoken with my own mind, that is, reflecting in my mind, I perceived that this also is vanity, namely, to study wisdom more than a foolish person does, because the wise are not remembered any more than the fools. – So he says:
For there shall be no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever. And he adds the reason: And the times to come shall cover all things together with oblivion. In 1:11 above the author stated: "For there is no remembrance of former things, nor indeed of those things which hereafter are to come." Wisdom 2:4 reads: "And our name will be forgotten in time, and no one will have any remembrance of our works." Job 13:12 states: "Your remembrance will be compared to ashes, and your necks will be brought to clay."
25. (Verses 16b-17). From the likeness he has found between wisdom and folly, he concludes that his study has been vain and blameworthy. So he repeats the likeness by saying: The learned die in like manner as the unlearned, and thus they are equal. From this he concludes: Therefore, I was weary of my life, as if he refused to live because of weariness, as in Job 10:1: "My soul is weary of my life."
On account of occasions of sin. In Genesis 27:46 Rebekah says: "I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth."54 On account of labor. Numbers 21:4-5 states: "The people began to be weary of their journey and labor and spoke against God," etc. On account of trials. 2 Corinthians
1:8 reads: "We were pressed beyond measure . . . , so that 53Sirach 40:2b-3 reads: ". . . and the day of their end: From the person who sits on a glorious throne unto the person who is humbled in earth and ashes."
54Genesis 27:46 concludes: ". . . if Jacob (also) takes a wife of the stock of this land, I choose not to live." Genesis 26:34-35 describes Esau as taking foreign wives.
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
we were weary even of life." On account of a delay of future glory. Job 10:1 says: "My soul is weary of my life." On account of imminent temptation. Psalm 118:28 implores:
"My soul has slumbered through weariness, strengthen," etc.55 On account of the horror of imminent death. Mark
14:33 reads: "Jesus began to fear and to be weary." – When I saw that all things under the sun are evil, and all vanity and vexation of spirit. Wisdom 9:15 counsels: "The corruptible body is a load upon the soul, and the earthly habitation presses down the mind that muses upon many things."
Wherefore, it is a vexation to meditate frequently on the flesh.
QUESTIONS 8
I. First, what does he mean by: What are human beings that they can follow God?56
Contra: 1. Sirach 23:38 says: It is a great glory to follow the Lord.
2. Moreover, Job 23:11 states: My foot has followed God's steps.
I reply: To follow by being like God is not given to any creature. Because Satan wanted this, he fell. But one can follow by subjection and obedience. This is a possibility for human beings, but not for all, but for those to whom it is given by grace from God and whom God draws.57 And therefore, no one by themselves can follow God without God's help.
55Psalm 118:28 concludes: ". . . strengthen me by your words."
56Ecclesiastes 2:12.
57On p. 25 n. 8 QuarEd helpfully cite John 6:44: "No one can come to me unless the Father . . . draws them." They also refer to Augustine's
Enarratio in Psalmum 70, sermon 2, n. 6 on the double likeness to God.
See PL 36:896 and Exposition of the Psalms 51-72, 442-444.
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II. What does he mean by: What does it avail me that I have applied myself more to the study of wisdom? According to this it seems that a person is being advised not to study, while the contrary is often encouraged. Proverbs
27:11 exhorts: Study wisdom, my son, etc.
I reply: Wisdom can be studied in two ways, namely, for an advantage in the present life, or for a reward of eternal glory. As an advantage in the present life, wisdom is of benefit before death in that it guides us in our work. But it is of no advantage in death itself since the learned die in like manner as the unlearned, and it does not prolong a person's life. But if wisdom is studied for the advantage of eternal life, then it does not die, but lives.
Wisdom is useful for doing good. Sirach 21:24 reads:
Learning to the prudent is an ornament of gold, etc. – It is useful in avoiding evil. Sirach 3:32 admonishes: A wise and understanding heart will refrain from sin. – It is useful in increasing grace. Sirach 4:9 says: She will give to your head increases of graces. – It is useful for increasing glory. Proverbs 3:35 has: The wise will possess glory. – A person is exhorted, therefore, not to study wisdom for any present advantage or out of curiosity, but for eternal salvation. And so the writer blames himself, because he had labored out of curiosity and worldly vanity.
III. What does he mean by the words: For the wise will not be remembered any more than the foolish?58
Contra: 1. Proverbs 10:7 states: The memory of the just is with praises, and the name of the wicked will rot.
2. Likewise, Sirach 39:13 reads: His memory will not depart, and his name will be asked after, etc.59
58See Ecclesiastes 2:16.
59Sirach 39:13 concludes: ". . . from generation to generation."
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I reply: Some say that here the writer is giving the opinion of the carnal person, so that what he says is simply false. But it is true according to the opinion of carnal people. – But this clearly does not answer the question, because the opinion of carnal people is not to be upheld, but denied. Rather it has to be said that he is speaking of the memory of a wise person and of a foolish person, both in relation to God and in relation to human beings. If we speak with reference to God, the memory is of a good wise person who studies wisdom for the glory of God. But if we speak with reference to human beings, the memory of both good and evil people passes away, as most frequently happens as people remember little.60 – If the question is about an evil wise person, who is vain, there is no memory with God nor with human beings. Rather their name passes away like the name of a foolish person. Wherefore, it is foolish to work in wisdom to make a famous name for oneself. But Ecclesiastes is speaking of a vain wise person, who look to what is of the earth and who speaks of human memory, not of divine.
IV. What does he mean by saying: I was weary of my life when I saw that all things under the sun are evil?61
Contra: Genesis 1:31 states: God saw all the things God had made, and they were very good. Therefore, they are not evil, and this statement is heretical.
I reply: As the Apostle says in Romans 7:12: The law is holy and the commandment holy.62 But on occasion the 60See the reply to Question IV on Ecclesiastes 1:11 above: " . . . the text is not to be understood to be true universally, but very often. For more is forgotten than remembered."
61Ecclesiastes 2:17.
62On p. 26 n. 6 QuarEd helpfully quote Romans 7:11: "For sin, having taken occasion from the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me."
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commandment can be deadly and death-bearing for any who are without grace. Just as creatures are good to the just who love God very much and work together for good and are of themselves good, but to wicked sinners and to the foolish all things are turned into an occasion for evil.63
For Wisdom 14:11 reads: The creatures of God are . . . a temptation . . . and a snare for the feet of the unwise. And Sirach 39:32 states: All these things. . . will be turned into evil for the ungodly and sinners."
ECCLESIASTES 2:18-26
REBUKE OF HIS CURIOSITY OVER
THE WORKS OF HUMAN
INDUSTRY THAT LEAD TO
WEALTH 26. Again I hated all my application, etc. Above he refuted his curiosity with regard to works of wisdom. Now he refutes his curiosity with respect to his work of human skill aimed at wealth or skilled work of a mechanical nature.
He does this as follows. First, he refutes his curiosity because of the uncertainty of a good outcome. Second, because of the wearisome worry. Third, for preferring present comfort to this. Fourth, he condemns the worry itself because of the equity of divine judgment.
27. (Verses 18-21). He argues, first, against his curiosity in acquiring earthly goods because of the uncertainty of a good result. For he was not able to hold onto them forever, and he was fearful of having a useless successor. So he says: I hated all my application, that is, the curious care, wherewith I had earnestly labored under the sun, namely, to increase these goods. Jeremiah 6:13 remarks: "From the least even to the greatest all are given to covetousness." –
63In the background is Romans 8:28, as QuarEd point out on p. 26 n.
6: "Now we know that for those who love God all things work together unto good, for those who, according to his purpose, are saints through his call."
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
And the reason for this hatred is inferred from what follows: I would have an heir after me and do not know whether he would be a wise person or a fool. In fact the heir of Solomon was Rehoboam, a foolish son, who followed the advice of the young people and divided the kingdom according to 1 Kings 12:6-33.64 And he shall have rule over all the labors with which I have labored, in my body, and have been solicitous, in my soul. Of such sweat we read in Genesis 3:19: "In the sweat of your face shall you eat your65 bread." Of such solicitude we read in Matthew 6:25: "Be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on." And this is exceedingly vain.
Therefore, he says: Is there anything so vain? One should supply: as to work solicitously for a foolish and lazy person, as if to say, no.
28. Therefore, from this reflection on vanity he stopped being curious and says: Wherefore I left off, and my heart renounced laboring any more under the sun, that is, for temporal goods. I left off, in work. And my heart renounced, in my will. But an avaricious person does not stop for this reason. Ecclesiastes 4:8 below says: "There is but one, and he has no second, . . . and yet he does not cease to work."66
– And he repeats the reason why he stopped: For when a person labors in wisdom, in his heart, and knowledge, in his mouth, and carefulness, in his work, he leaves what he has gotten to an idle person. From this he concludes to vanity: So this also is vanity and a great evil. Vanity because riches are left to a useless person, but also a great evil. For Hugh comments: "It is a great evil that what one has won by work, should be misused in a lazy and wrong64 Hugh of St. Cher, 78i also refers to Rehoboam, who foolishly dissipated what Solomon had wisely garnered.
65 On p. 26 n. 8 QuarEd accurately indicate that the Vulgate does not have tuo ("your").
66 Ecclesiastes 4:8 reads: "There is but one, and he has not a second, no child, nor brother, and yet he ceases not to labor. . . ."
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ful manner by someone else."67 It is evil, because it goes to someone who destroys. Jeremiah 51:18 states: "Their68 works are vain," etc. Deuteronomy 28:32-33 says: "May there be no strength in your hand. May a people, who you do not know, eat the fruits of your land and all your labors."69
29. (Verses 22-23). For what profit, etc. Second, he refutes his curiosity to acquire because of the wearisome worry.
Thus, he says: For what profit will human beings have from all their labor, in their bodies, and vexation of spirit, in the soul, with which they have been tormented under the sun? As if to say, nothing. For Proverbs 23:4 says: "Labor not to be rich, but set bounds to your prudence." It does not benefit the person working to possess visible objects. Thus, Bernard observes: "The fruits of riches are with others, but their name and worry remain with the rich."70
And so it does not benefit. For Ecclesiastes 5:10 below asks:
"What does it profit the owner except that he sees his riches with his own eyes?" – Not only is it not a benefit, but it is also an obstacle. So he adds: All their days are full of sorrows and miseries, exteriorly; even in the night they do not rest in mind, interiorly. For it is said in Job 7:3: "I . . . have numbered for myself empty months and wearisome nights." And Proverbs 15:15 reads: "All the days of the poor are evil, a secure mind is like a continual feast." From this he concludes that such work is vain, because it is useless.
67On p. 27 n. 2 QuarEd refer to Homily 12 of In Ecclesiasten. See PL
175:200B.
68The Vulgate does not read eorum ("their").
69Hugh of St. Cher, 78i also cites this passage from Deuteronomy.
70See chapter 8 n. 14 of De conversione ad clericos in SBOp 4.88-89:
"Finally, where there are many riches, there are also many to consume them. And indeed, others use the riches and leave the wealthy only the reputation of being wealthy and the worry over their wealth." Bernard cites Ecclesiastes 5:10. Bonaventure's citation is not verbatim.
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
And therefore, he says: And is this not vanity? As if to say, yes indeed. In Ecclesiastes 5:9 below he remarks: "Those who love riches will reap no fruit from them. So this, also, is vanity," for riches are an obstacle. Thus, Ecclesiastes
5:12 below expresses the matter: "There is another . . . sickness, which I have seen under the sun, riches gathered," etc.71
30. (Verses 24-25). Is it not better, etc. Third, he prefers pleasures of the flesh to the aforementioned solicitude of curiosity. Is it not better to eat and drink and to show their souls good things from their labors? Supply: Rather than continuously and always working. As if to say, it is better, that is, less evil, because that evil is an evil of sin and punishment, but this is an evil of sin, but with gladness.
Isaiah 22:13 states: "Behold joy and gladness. . . .Slaying rams," etc.72 And that it is better is clear, because it is a gift from God, and so he says: And this is from the hand of God. Jeremiah 5:7 states: "I fed them to the full, and they committed adultery," etc. – He puts himself forward as an example to confirm this: Who shall so feast, in desire, and abound in delights, with abundance, as I? As if to say, no one. 1 Kings 4:22-23 reads: "Now the provision of Solomon for each day was thirty measures of fine flour, and sixty measures of meal, ten fattened oxen, and twenty oxen from the pastures," etc.
31. (Verse 26). God has given, etc. Fourth, he condemns his solicitude through the equity of divine judgment, because such solicitude is not given to good people, but to evil, and this is by divine judgment. Wherefore, he says:
71Ecclesiastes 5:12 concludes: ". . . to the hurt of the owner."
Bonaventure reads congregatae ("gathered") while the Vulgate has conservatae ("kept").
72Isaiah 22:13 reads: "And behold joy and gladness: Killing calves and slaying rams, eating flesh and drinking wine. Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die."
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To a person who is good in his sight, namely, who pleases God, not men and women like a hypocrite. Psalm 67:4 states: "Let the just feast," etc.73 God has given wisdom, concerning what is eternal, and knowledge, concerning the use of temporal goods, and understanding,74 concerning what needs to be understood or pondered.75 Job 38:36 reads: "Who has put wisdom into the human heart or who gave the cock understanding?" God does this from an abundance of mercy. But he adds from the equity of justice: But to the sinner he has given vexation and superfluous care, that is, God has allowed this to be given by just judgment, to heap up and to gather together and to give to the person who has pleased God. Proverbs 13:22 says: "The substance of the sinner is kept for the just." Proverbs 28:8 observes:
"The person who gathers76 riches by usury and loan gathers them for the person who is generous to the poor." And from this he concludes to vanity: But this also is vanity and a fruitless solicitude of the mind, for, as Proverbs 11:7 notes, "the expectation of the solicitous will perish."
32. Note what an effort and study77 it is to acquire wisdom. Proverbs 27:11 states: "Study wisdom, my son, . . . so that you can give an answer to the person who reproaches
73Psalm 67:4 concludes: ". . . and rejoice before God. And be delighted with gladness."
74The Vulgate reads laetitiam ("joy") whereas Bonaventure has intelligentiam ("understanding").
75Hugh of St. Cher, 78e comments: "Wisdom, by which God is contemplated and loved. And knowledge, by which one conducts one's life well in the world. And understanding, by which the mysteries of the Scriptures are penetrated. Or wisdom, by which they savor things according to their proper taste. And knowledge, by which things are considered according to their own value. And understanding, by which things are understood according to their total esse. And this reading is better."
76The Vulgate reads coacervat ("heaps up") while Bonaventure has congregat ("gathers").
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you." To act justly. Jeremiah 7:3 has: "Now make your ways and your deeds good." To satisfy concupiscence. Proverbs
23:29-30 reads: "Who has woe? Whose father has woe? Is it not those who pass their time in wine and studiously drink off their cups?" – To obey avarice. Jeremiah 6:13 observes: "From the least to the greatest all studiously engage in avarice." – The first two efforts and studies are good while the last two are evil. And in these we discern what is good for humans. Thus, Proverbs 20:11 states:
"From his studies and efforts a young child will understand whether his deeds are clean and right." Therefore,
Ecclesiastes condemned his study, because he had not yet studied the first two, but had studied and engaged in avarice and gluttony.
77In this paragraph Bonaventure plays on two of the meanings of studium: "study" and "effort." The translation tries to capture
Bonaventure's word play.