Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Book: Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture - Ecclesiastes

Excerpts

Page 190: Didymus - in one sense, though, the Spirit is the real author of this book.

Gregory of Nyssa - the book of Ecclesiastes must be understood spiritually and in light of other passages of scripture.

1:1 The name Ecclesiastes

Origen-Preacher / Didymus-Soloman / Jerome-the Church / Gregory of Nyssa-about the church and the one who leads it / Evagrius of Pontus-Christ the Author of True Knowledge

1:2 Vanity of Life

Evagrius of Pontus-for it is futile for medicine to sek a final cure, so it is useless to seek after knowledge of the Holy Trinty in the ideas of the present ages and worlds.

Jerome-If everything that God made is good, then how can everything be vanity?

Ambrose-Accordingly, let the person who wishes to be saved ascend above the world, let him seek the Word of God, let him flee from this world and depat the earth. For a man cannot comprehend that which exists and exists always, unless he has first fled from here.

Augustine-the reason why corporeal beauty is the lowest beauty is that it's parts cannot exist simultaneously.

1:3 Vanity of Human Labor

Augustine-So true life is be laid hold of, our investments are to be transferred to the place of true life, so that we may find there what we give here.

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