:
1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. 9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth? 10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. 11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. 12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. 13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. 14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. 15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past. 16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. 17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. 18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. 19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. 20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? 22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
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[AD 220] Tertullian on Ecclesiastes 3:1
What, then, is the Paraclete’s administrative office but this: the direction of discipline, the revelation of the Scriptures, the reformation of the intellect, the advancement toward the “better things”? Nothing is without stages of growth: all things await their season. In short, the Preacher says, “A time to everything.” Look how creation itself advances little by little to fruitfulness. First comes the grain, and from the grain arises the shoot, and from the shoot struggles out the shrub. Thereafter boughs and leaves gather strength, and the whole that we call a tree expands. Then follows the swelling of the germen, and from the germen bursts the flower, and from the flower the fruit opens. That fruit itself, rude for a while, and unshapely, little by little, keeping the straight course of its development, is trained to the mellowness of its flavor. So, too, righteousness—for the God of righteousness and of creation is the same—was first in a rudimentary state, having a natural fear of God. From that stage it advanced, through the law and the prophets, to infancy. From that stage it passed, through the gospel, to the fervor of youth; now, through the Paraclete, it is settling into maturity.

Source: ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS 1
[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Ecclesiastes 3:1
“To everything then is its season, and a time for everything under heaven,” a time to gather the goodly pearls, and a time after their gathering to find the one precious pearl, when it is fitting for a person to go away and sell all that he has in order that he may buy that pearl.

Source: COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 10:10
[AD 270] Gregory of Neocaesarea on Ecclesiastes 3:1
For this present time is filled with all things that are most contrary to each other— births and deaths, the growth of plants and their uprooting, cures and killings, the building up and the pulling down of houses, weeping and laughing, mourning and dancing. At this moment a man gathers of earth's products, and at another casts them away; and at one time he ardently desires the beauty of woman, and at another he hates it. Now he seeks something, and again he loses it; and now he keeps, and again he casts away; at one time he slays, and at another he is slain; he speaks, and again he is silent; he loves, and again he hates. For the affairs of men are at one time in a condition of war, and at another in a condition of peace; while their fortunes are so inconstant, that from bearing the semblance of good, they change quickly into acknowledged ills. Let us have done, therefore, with vain labours. For all these things, as appears to me, are set to madden men, as it were, with their poisoned stings. And the ungodly observer of the times and seasons is agape for this world, exerting himself above measure to destroy the image of God, as one who has chosen to contend against it from the beginning onward to the end. I am persuaded, therefore, that the greatest good for man is cheerfulness and well-doing, and that this shortlived enjoyment, which alone is possible to us, comes from God only, if righteousness direct our doings. But as to those everlasting and incorruptible things which God has firmly established, it is not possible either to take anything from them or to add anything to them. And to men in general, those things, in truth, are fearful and wonderful; and those things indeed which have been, abide so; and those which are to be, have already been, as regards His foreknowledge. Moreover, the man who is injured has God as his helper. I saw in the lower parts the pit of punishment which receives the impious, but a different place allotted for the pious. And I thought with myself, that with God all things are judged and determined to be equal; that the righteous and the unrighteous, and objects with reason and without reason, are alike in His judgment. For that their time is measured out equally to all, and death impends over them, and in this the races of beasts and men are alike in the judgment of God, and differ from each other only in the matter of articulate speech; and all things else happen alike to them, and death receives all equally, not more so in the case of the other kinds of creatures than in that of men. For they have all the same breath of life, and men have nothing more; but all are, in one word, vain, deriving their present condition from the same earth, and destined to perish, and return to the same earth again. For it is uncertain regarding the souls of men, whether they shall fly upwards; and regarding the others which the unreasoning creatures possess, whether they shall fall downward. And it seemed to me, that there is no other good save pleasure, and the enjoyment of things present. For I did not think it possible for a man, when once he has tasted death, to return again to the enjoyment of these things.
[AD 379] Basil of Caesarea on Ecclesiastes 3:1
It is necessary to bear in mind that for certain other tasks a particular time is allotted, according to the words of Ecclesiastes: “All things have their season.” For prayer and psalmody, however, as also, indeed, for some other duties, every hour is suitable, that, while our hands are busy at their tasks, we may praise God sometimes with the tongue (when this is possible or, rather, when it is conducive to edification); or, if not, with the heart, at least, in psalms, hymns and spiritual canticles, as it is written. Thus in the midst of our work we can fulfill the duty of prayer, giving thanks to him who has granted strength to our hands for performing our tasks and cleverness to our minds for acquiring knowledge, and for having provided the materials, both that which is in the instruments we use and that which forms the matter of the arts in which we may be engaged, praying that the work of our hands may be directed toward its goal, the good pleasure of God.

Source: THE LONG RULES 37
[AD 390] Gregory of Nazianzus on Ecclesiastes 3:1
We ought to think of God even more often than we draw our breath; and if the expression is permissible, we ought to do nothing else. Yea, I am one of those who entirely approve that Word which bids us meditate day and night, and tell at eventide and morning and noon day, and praise the Lord at every time; or, to use Moses’ words, whether a person lie down, or rise up, or walk by the way, or whatever else he is doing6—and by this recollection we are to be molded to purity. So that it is not the continual remembrance of God that I would hinder, but only the talking about God; nor even that as in itself wrong, but only when unreasonable; nor all teaching, but only want of moderation. As of even honey, repletion and satiety, though it be of honey, produce vomiting. As Solomon says and I think, there is a time for everything, and that which is good ceases to be good if it be not done in a good way; just as a flower is quite out of season in winter, and just as a man’s dress does not become a woman, nor a woman’s a man; and as geometry is out of place in mourning, or tears at a carousal. Shall we in this instance alone disregard the proper time, in a matter in which most of all due season should be respected? Surely not, my friends and brethren (for I will still call you brethren, though you do not behave like brothers). Let us not think so nor yet, like hot-tempered and hard-mouthed horses, throwing off our rider reason, and casting away reverence, that keeps us within due limits, run far away from the turning point. But let us philosophize within our proper bounds and not be carried away into Egypt, nor be swept down into Assyria, nor sing the Lord’s song in a strange land. By this I mean before any kind of audience, strangers or kindred, hostile or friendly, kindly or the reverse, who watch what we do with great care, and would like the spark of what is wrong in us to become a flame, and secretly kindle and fan it and raise it to heaven with their breath and make it higher than the Babylonian flame which burned up everything around it. For since their strength lies not in their own dogmas, they hunt for it in our weak points. And therefore they apply themselves to our, shall I say “misfortunes” or “failings,” like flies to wounds. But let us at least be no longer ignorant of ourselves or pay too little attention to the due order in these matters. And if it be impossible to put an end to the existing hostility, let us at least agree upon this, that we will utter mysteries under our breath and holy things in a holy manner, and we will not cast to profane ears that which may not be uttered, nor give evidence that we possess less gravity than those who worship demons, and serve shameful fables and deeds; for they would sooner give their blood to the uninitiated than certain words. But let us recognize that as in dress and diet and laughter and demeanor there is a certain decorum, so there is also in speech and silence; since among so many titles and powers of God, we pay the highest honor to the Word. Let even our disputings then be kept within bounds.

Source: AGAINST THE EUNOMIANS, THEOLOGICAL ORATION 1 (27).5
[AD 390] Gregory of Nazianzus on Ecclesiastes 3:1
Sow in good season, and gather together, and open your barns when it is the time to do so; and plant in season, and let the clusters be cut when they are ripe, and launch boldly in spring, and draw your ship on shore again at the beginning of winter, when the sea begins to rage. And let there be to you also a time for war and a time for peace; a time to marry, and a time to abstain from marrying; a time for friendship, and a time for discord, if this be needed; and in short a time for everything, if you will follow Solomon’s advice. And it is best to do so, for the advice is profitable. But the work of your salvation is one upon which you should be engaged at all times; and let every time be to you the definite one for baptism. If you are always passing over today and waiting for tomorrow, by your little procrastinations you will be cheated without knowing it by the evil one, as his manner is. Give to me, he says, the present, and to God the future; to me your youth, and to God old age; to me your pleasures, and to him your uselessness. How great is the danger that surrounds you. How many the unexpected mischances. War has expended you, or an earthquake overwhelmed you, or the sea swallowed you up. Or a wild beast carried you off, or a sickness killed you, or a crumb going the wrong way (a most insignificant thing, but what is easier than for a man to die, though you are so proud of the divine image), or a too freely indulged drinking bout. Or a wind knocked you down, or a horse ran away with you, or a drug maliciously scheming against you, or perhaps was found to be deleterious when meant to be wholesome. Or [there was] an inhuman judge, or an inexorable executioner, or any of the things which make the change swiftest and beyond the power of human aid.But if you would fortify yourself beforehand with the seal and secure yourself for the future with the best and strongest of all aids, being signed both in body and in soul with the unction, as Israel was of old with that blood and unction of the firstborn at night that guarded him, what then can happen to you, and what has been wrought out for you? Listen to the Proverbs: “If you sit,” he says, “you shall be without fear; and if you sleep, your sleep shall be sweet.” And listen to David giving you the good news: “you shall not be afraid for the terror by night, for mischance or noonday demon.” This, even while you live, will greatly contribute to your sense of safety (for a sheep that is sealed is not easily snared, but that which is unmarked is an easy prey to thieves), and at your death a fortunate shroud, more precious than gold, more magnificent than a sepulcher, more reverent than fruitless libations, more seasonable than ripe firstfruits, which the dead bestow on the dead, making a law out of custom. No, if all things forsake you or be taken violently away from you; money, possessions, thrones, distinctions, and everything that belongs to this early turmoil, yet you will be able to lay down your life in safety, having suffered no loss of the helps which God gave you unto salvation.

Source: ON HOLY BAPTISM, ORATION 40:14-15
[AD 420] Jerome on Ecclesiastes 3:1
"Everything
has its season, and there is a time for everything under the heavens. "He has taught in the previous verses the doubtful and
changeable state of humanity; now he wants to show that all things are opposed
to each other in the world, and that nothing remains forever of those things,
which are under the heavens and beyond time, since the other spiritual
substances are contained neither in the heavens nor in time.

Source: Commentary on Ecclesiastes
[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Ecclesiastes 3:1
When, however, the disciple had professed his faith, he charged them, it says, and commanded them to tell it to no one: “for the Son of man,” he said, “is about to suffer many things, and be rejected, and killed, and the third day he shall rise again.” And yet how was it not rather the duty of disciples to proclaim him everywhere? For this was the very business of those appointed by him to the apostleship. But as the sacred Scripture says, “There is a time for everything.” There were things yet unfulfilled which must also be included in their preaching of him, such as were the cross, the passion, the death in the flesh, the resurrection from the dead, that great and truly glorious sign by which testimony is borne of him that Emmanuel is truly God and by nature the Son of God the Father. For that he utterly abolished death, and effaced destruction, and spoiled hell, and overthrew the tyranny of the enemy, and took away the sin of the world, and opened the gates above to the dwellers upon earth, and united earth to heaven; these things proved him to be, as I said, in truth God. He commanded them, therefore, to guard the mystery by a seasonable silence until the whole plan of the dispensation should arrive at a suitable fulfillment.

Source: COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 49
[AD 373] Athanasius of Alexandria on Ecclesiastes 3:2
This is written in the Scriptures and is manifest to all. For although it be hidden and unknown to all, what period of time is allotted to each, and how it is allotted; yet every one knows this, that as there is a time for spring and for summer, and for autumn and for winter, so, as it is written, there is a time to die, and a time to live.

Source: DEFENSE OF HIS FLIGHT 14
[AD 386] Cyril of Jerusalem on Ecclesiastes 3:2
For as our Savior passed three days and three nights in the bowels of the earth, so you by your first rising out of the water represented Christ’s first day in the earth, and by your descent the night. For as in the night one no longer sees, while by day one is in the light, so you during your immersion, as in a night, saw nothing, but on coming up found yourselves in the day. In the same moment you were dying and being born, and that saving water was at once your grave and your mother. What Solomon said in another context is applicable to you: “A time for giving birth, a time for dying,” although for you, contrariwise, it is a case of “a time for dying and a time for being born.” One time brought both, and your death coincided with your birth.

Source: MYSTAGOGICAL LECTURES 2:4
[AD 392] Gregory of Elvira on Ecclesiastes 3:2
“A time to live and a time to die”: you can see, therefore, beloved brothers, that this was said concerning the time of the Lord’s birth and death. Thus you must accept his virgin birth if we are to believe not only that the Word in the beginning who was called “is” was born, but, as I said, also that the humanity which he adopted and put on was born, both Lord and man. For it says, “what is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the spirit is spirit.” Yet, what suffered, died, was buried, and resurrected was not God but man, since he raised man to God, not God to man.

Source: EXPOSITION OF ECCLESIASTES, FRAGMENT 1
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:2
It is right that at the start he makes this tight bond linking death to birth; for death inevitably follows birth, and everything born dissolves in decay. He intends, through the demonstration that death and birth are connected, by using the reference to death as a goad, to wake from sleep those who are sunk deep in fleshly existence and love this present life, and to rouse them in awareness of the future. This insight Moses, the friend of God, used secretly in the first books of Scripture, writing Exodus immediately after Genesis, so that those who read what has been written may learn what affects them even through the very arrangement of the books; for it is impossible to hear of a birth (“genesis”) without also envisaging a departure (“exodus”). Here also the great Ecclesiast, having noticed this, points it out, classing death with birth.
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:2
He does well to mention right away the binding union between birth and death; death necessarily follows birth, and each generation passes away. To show the connection between death and birth, the former is like a spur to arouse persons immersed in the flesh who love this present existence that they may pay attention to the future. Moses, the friend of God, quietly philosophizes over these matters as we see in the first titles of his books; he immediately writes Exodus right after Genesis. Thus these titles teach us about the order of our lives, for there is no birth [genesis] without death [exodos]. The great Ecclesiastes shows that death holds the same rank as birth: “There is a time to be born and a time to die.”

Source: HOMILIES ON ECCLESIASTES 6
[AD 420] Jerome on Ecclesiastes 3:2
"A time
to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to uproot that which
has been planted." No one doubts that men are born and die, and
God knows that what he has planted will grow full and well; for to pull out
what has been planted is to die. But
since we read in Isaiah [Is. 26, 18.]
"we have conceived, laboured with and given birth out of a fear for
You", this must be said, because when a man is ready, that man in
particular, who was born from fear, will die as soon as he has begun to love
God. Since indeed "perfect love
sends fear outside" [I. John. 4, 18.]. The Hebrews understand all that he has
written about the contradiction of times, (until it says " a time for war
and a time for peace") as concerning Israel. Because it is not necessary to go through
each verse in turn here, commenting on how they are to be interpreted and what
they mean, I will list them briefly, leaving a more detailed study to the
reader's discretion. There was a time for growing and planting in Israel, a
time for dying and leading it into bondage. A time for killing them in Egypt,
and a time for freeing them from Egypt. A time for destroying the Temple under
Nebuchadnezer, and a time for rebuilding under Darius. A time for bewailing the plundering of the
city and a time for laughing and dancing under Zorobabel, Esdra, and
Nehemiah. A time for dissemination from
Israel and a time for gathering them together again. A time like a belt or harness put around the
Jews by God, and a time for leading them into bondage in Babylon and there for
them to rot across the Euphrates. Read "perizoma" of Jeremiah [Cfr Ier.. 13, I-II.]. A time for seeking them out and rescuing, a
time for losing and a time for forsaking.
A time for schism in Israel and a time for reunification. A time for hushing the prophets, now when in
Roman bondage and a time for proclaiming them aloud, when even in enemy lands
they weren't lacking in God's presence or comfort. A time for loving, in which He loved those
men before our fathers, a time for hating, since they threw their hands up
against Christ. A time for war, only not
for those who are doing repentance for themselves and a time for peace in the
future, when all the tribes return, and all Israel will be safe.

Source: Commentary on Ecclesiastes
[AD 420] Jerome on Ecclesiastes 3:3
"A time
for killing and a time for healing." It is both the time for killing and the time
for healing, he says: "I will kill, and I will revive" [Deut. 32, 39.]. He cures, provoking one to repentance. 'I killed' has the same meaning as "in
the morning I murdered all the sinners of the Earth." [Ps. 100.8.] "A time for destroying and a time for
building. "We are not able to
build anything good unless we have first destroyed what is bad. Just as the word of Jeremiah came from God so
that he first rooted out, undermined and killed; then he built and planted. [Ier.. I, 10.]

Source: Commentary on Ecclesiastes
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:4
Passionate and profound lamentation is called “mourning” in Scripture. Similarly, dancing also indicates the strength of joy, as we learn in the gospel, where it says, “We played to you, and you did not dance; we lamented, and you did not mourn.” In the same way history relates that the Israelites mourned at Moses’ death and that David danced as he went at the front of the procession of the ark, when he carried it away from the foreigners, not appearing in his usual clothes. It says that he sang, playing an accompaniment on his musical instrument, and moved to the rhythm with his feet, and by the rhythmic movement of the body made public his devotion. Since, then, a human being is twofold, I mean made of soul and of body, and correspondingly twofold also the life operating in each of them within us, it would be a good thing to mourn in our bodily life—and there are many occasions for lamentation in this life—and prepare for our soul the harmonious dance. For the more life is made miserable with sadness, the more occasions for joy accumulate in the soul. Selfcontrol is gloomy, humility is dreary, being punished is a grief, not being equal with the powerful is a reason for sorrow, but “the one who humbles himself will be lifted up,” and the one who struggles in poverty will be crowned, and the one covered with sores, who exhibits his life as thoroughly lamentable, will rest in the bosom of the patriarch. May we too rest in it, through the mercy of our Savior Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever.
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:4
Now, therefore, is the moment for weeping, but the moment for laughing is in store for us through hope; for the present sorrow will become mother of the joy that is hoped for. Who would not spend all his life in lamentation and sadness, if he actually becomes acquainted with himself and knows his condition, what he once had and what he has lost, and the state his nature was in at the beginning and the state it is in at present? Then there was no death, disease was absent; “mine” and “yours,” those wicked words, were far away from the life of the first humans. As the sun was shared, and the air was shared, and above all the grace and praise of God were shared, so too participation in everything good was freely available on equal terms, and the disease of acquisitiveness was unknown, and there was no resentment over inferiority against superiors (for there was no such thing as superiority), and there were thousands of other things besides these, which no one could describe in words, since they utterly exceed in magnificence those mentioned—I mean equality in honor with the angels, freedom to speak before God, the contemplation of the good things in the realms above, our own adornment with the unspeakable beauty of the blessed nature, when we show in ourselves the divine image, glistening with beauty of soul.
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:4
Now is the time to weep while the time to laugh consists in hope because our present sadness is a mother who begets joy which is stored up for the future. Who does not squander his life in lamentation and sullenness? He returns to his senses and realizes what he had and then lost, that is, his original condition and that which is present. Both you and I were subject neither to death nor sickness because these pernicious elements had been banished from our lives. The sun, air and God’s grace belong to everyone and share his common blessing. While God freely offered us a share in every good, he did not acknowledge the sickness of avarice; neither does the person with less have reason to hate the one who has more (for such was not the case). There are other examples too innumerable to list which require lengthy explanation. I mean the honor bestowed upon the angels, our confidence in God’s presence, contemplation of transcendent blessings and the incorruptible beauty of [God’s] blessed nature which adorns us and is manifested by the soul’s beauty in its resplendent divine image.

Source: HOMILIES ON ECCLESIASTES 6
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:4
Scripture refers the term “mourning” to any person subject to passion and who is grieved inwardly. Similarly, dancing signifies intense joy as we learn from the Gospel: “We piped to you, and you did not dance.” History says that the Israelites mourned Moses’ death34 while David preceded the ark in dance when the Philistines returned it from captivity. David expressed himself in harmonious songs by striking his harp while his feet and body moved to the rhythm which revealed his disposition. Since man’s nature is two-fold, body and soul, mourning is beneficial for our corporeal existence (there are many occasions for affliction in this existence) because it enables us to prepare our souls for this harmonious dancing [of David]. Although we abhor dejection, the occasions for gladness are certainly more numerous. Continence is confining, humility is sad, suffering is burdensome and sorrow cannot equal these. However, “He who humbles himself shall be exalted,” and he who afflicts himself by poverty will be crowned. The person who subjects himself to violence and proves himself worthy through affliction in everything will rest in the patriarch’s [Abraham] bosom. This is our rightful place through the mercy of him who saved us, Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Source: HOMILIES ON ECCLESIASTES 6
[AD 398] Didymus the Blind on Ecclesiastes 3:4
Since weeping has different meanings, laughing needs to be understood accordingly; for weeping does not have only one meaning, nor does laughing. And since laughing is split in two meanings—sometimes praiseworthy, sometimes reprehensible—even weeping must be seen in this way, so that praiseworthy laughing corresponds to praiseworthy weeping and the same with reprehensible laughing and weeping.Often, thus, a life which is prone more to lust than to the love of God is laughing in such a way that the laughter itself is made into a god. And as some consider their stomachs divine and others consider them mammon, so a third person who loves entertainment and wants to be witty and so on, builds altars for laughter by making it divine so that he sacrifices to it. One sacrifices to it if one teaches what is suitable for laughing or what excites laughter.
That kind of laughter is reprehensible. It is blissful to abandon this kind of laughter and to devote one’s self to the weeping opposed to it. This is what the virtuous one was striving for when he said, “Every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.”
There is, however, also a praiseworthy laughter. It is said that God “will yet fill your mouth with laughter”—with (of course) praiseworthy laughter. This corresponds to the fruit of the Spirit, which is joy, for “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace.” Laughter, therefore, that corresponds with joy is praiseworthy.
Any weeping that is opposed to this kind of laughter and to the condition that opposes the joy of the Holy Spirit is reprehensible. That kind of weeping did not help Jerusalem. … And why was that so? It is because it did not repent at the time when it should have repented, but after it was too late.…
Now, we want to look for the spiritual meaning: The ascetical life, which is appropriate for pious people, is called weeping; the uninhibited life, however, which is prone more to lust than to the love of God, is laughter. Those who weep in this life will laugh later on, so that they are even blessed: “Blessed are you who weep now.” … But those who have laughed here, because they lived prone more to lust than to the love of God, will weep, after the punishment that will follow, so that the following is said to them: “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Those, however, who here greatly weep out of repentance pray to God with the words: “You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES 71:4
[AD 420] Jerome on Ecclesiastes 3:4
"A time
for weeping and a time for laughter." Now is the time for weeping and in the
future it will be the time for laughter: for "the blessed weep, since they
themselves will laugh." [Luc. 6, 21.] "A time for bewailing and a time for
dancing. "For this reason they
are seized in the Gospel, those to whom God says " I have lamented for you
and you have not moaned; I sang and you did not dance." [Luc. 7, 32.] We must moan at present so that afterwards we
can dance that dance, which David danced before the arc of the covenant [Cfr II Reg. 6, 14.],
and displeasing to the daughter of Saul he was more pleasing to God.

Source: Commentary on Ecclesiastes
[AD 542] Caesarius of Arles on Ecclesiastes 3:4
Let no one believe that he possesses any happiness or true joy in this world. Happiness can be prepared for, but it cannot be possessed here. Two times succeed each other in their own order, “a time to weep, and a time to laugh.” Let no one deceive himself, brethren; there is no time to laugh in this world. I know, indeed, that everyone wants to rejoice, but people do not all look for joy in the place where it should be sought. True joy never did exist in this world, it does not do so now, and it never will. For thus the Lord himself warned his disciples in the Gospel when he said: “You will suffer in the world,” and again, “While the world rejoices, you will grieve for a time, but your grief will be turned into joy.” For this reason, with the Lord’s help let us do good in this life through labor and sorrow, so that in the future life we may be able to gather the fruits of our good deeds with joy and exultation according to that sentence: “Those that sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.”

Source: SERMON 215:2
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:5
“A moment for embracing and a moment for avoiding an embrace.” These ideas cannot possibly become clear to us unless the passage has first been interpreted through the Scripture, so that it has become clear to us in what connection the divinely inspired word consciously uses the word embrace. Great David exhorts us in the words of the psalm, “Circle Zion and embrace her,” and even Solomon himself, when he was describing poetically the spiritual marriage of the one in love with Wisdom, mentions a number of ways in which union with virtue becomes ours and adds this: “Honor her, so that she may embrace you.” If, then, David tells us to embrace Zion, and Solomon says that those who honor Wisdom are embraced by her, perhaps we have not missed the correct interpretation if we have identified the object which it is timely to embrace. For Mount Zion rises above the upper city of Jerusalem. Thus the one who urges you to embrace her is bidding you to attach yourself to high principles, so that you hasten to reach the very citadel of the virtues, which he indicates allegorically by the name Zion. And the one who makes you live with wisdom announces the good news of the embrace she will give you in the future. Therefore there is a moment for embracing Zion and for being embraced by Wisdom, since the name Zion denotes the pinnacle of conduct and Wisdom in herself means every instance of virtue. If we have learned through these words the right moment for embracing, we have been taught through the same words in what cases separation is more beneficial than union. For he says, “A moment for avoiding an embrace.” The one who has become familiar with virtue is a stranger to the state of evil.… So when the loving disposition clings to the good—that is the “right moment”—the result is surely estrangement from its opposite. If you really love selfcontrol, then of course you hate its opposite. If you look with love at purity, you obviously loathe the stink of filth. If you have become attached to the good, you surely avoid attachment to evil.
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:5
Those who look only to the literal meaning and support the superficial interpretation of the words perhaps fit the law of Moses to the text before us. In cases where the law enjoins the pelting with stones of persons convicted of a felony, we have learned examples from the scriptural account itself in the case of sabbath breakers, and the one who had stolen sacred things, and other offenses, for which the law imposed a penalty of stoning. For my part, if the Ecclesiast had not claimed that collecting stones was also something timely, about which no law directs and no event in biblical history suggests a comparable precept, I might agree with those who interpret the passage through the law, that the moment for throwing stones is when someone has broken the sabbath or stolen something dedicated. But as it is, the addition of the requirement to collect stones again, which is prescribed by no law, leads us to a different interpretation, so that we may learn what kind of stones it is which after being thrown must again become the property of the thrower.… We certainly ought to consider that thoughts destructive of evil are the very stones accurately aimed by the Ecclesiast, which must be continually cast and collected. [They are] cast to put an end to the one who rises in pride against our life and collected to keep the soul’s lap always full of such missiles, ready to be thrown at the enemy, whenever he may plan some fresh assault on us. Where, then, are we to collect stones, with which we shall stone the enemy to death? I have heard the prophecy that said, “holy stones roll about on the ground.” These might be the words which come down to us from the divinely inspired writings, which we should collect in our soul’s lap, to use at the right moment against those who vex us, and which when they are thrown destroy the enemy and yet do not leave the hand of the thrower. The one who pelts with the stone of selfcontrol the unbridled thought which gathers fuel for the fire through the pleasures defeats it with his attack and always keeps his weapons in his hand. Thus justice both becomes the stone against injustice and defeats it and is kept in the lap of the one who throws it. In the same way all thoughts directed to better things are destructive of worse things and do not leave the one who lives rightly in virtue. This, in my opinion, is “throwing stones at the right moment” and “collecting them at the right moment,” so that we always cast good volleys of stones for the destruction of what is bad, and the supply of such weapons never runs out.
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:5
Persons who look only at the letter and the superficial sense also accommodate Ecclesiastes’ words to the Law of Moses which bids us to cast stones at law breakers. History has taught us about persons who break the Sabbath40 and who have stolen sacred objects in addition to other transgressions which the Law has commanded to be punished by stoning. If Ecclesiastes does not provide an opportunity to gather stones of which neither the Law nor any historical record speaks, I would concur with those who interpret the Law as an occasion to cast stones at any violator of the Sabbath or at anyone who removed sacred objects. Another occasion to gather stones which is not legislated offers us another interpretation, that is, it teaches us about this stone after it is cast; the person who threw the stone can possess it again.… We would be correct in understanding wood as any thought inclined to evil, so we must perceive these stones which Ecclesiastes rightly casts at the destructive thoughts of evil. We should always cast them and then gather them. An enemy comes to lay waste our noble life; however, the bosom of our souls must always be prepared to cast [stones] against the foe if we perceive that he is ready to assault us in another manner. Where do we gather stones to hurl against our foe? I have heard the prophet saying “for holy stones are rolled upon the land.” We must gather into our soul’s bosom these divinely inspired words which come down for use against our foes. Our casting of stones destroys the enemy, a deed closely associated [with the stone itself] because whoever casts the stone of temperance at an unchaste thought which feeds the fire through pleasure is victor and always bears a weapon in his hand. Once righteousness becomes a stone against injustice, it destroys this evil and is kept in our bosom. In this way everything we understand about the good which destroys evil is associated with a person who conducts himself virtuously. Thus our interpretation [of Ecclesiastes’ words] requires a time to cast stones and a time to gather them that we may always cast goodness to destroy evil and never lack such weapons.

Source: HOMILIES ON ECCLESIASTES 7
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:5
The text reads “There is a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,” words which will become clear only if we first look at them in the context of scripture and enable us to clearly know how the divinely inspired text is used for obtaining insight. The great David cries out in the Psalter “Walk around Zion, go round about her.” Solomon himself made a spiritual connection by yoking our capacity for love to wisdom and utters other words to unite us to virtue, “Honor her in order that she will embrace you.” If David bids us to walk around Zion and if Solomon says that wisdom will embrace those who honor her, we will not be mistaken about the meaning [of the text] before us which instructs us about an opportune time. Mount Zion is Jerusalem predominantly situated upon a mountaintop; therefore he who urges you to embrace her bids you to be united to that lofty manner of life in order to attain the peak of virtues as symbolized by Zion. He who wishes wisdom to dwell with you announces her embrace. And so, it is time to walk [perilambanein] around Zion and be embraced [perilambanesthai] by wisdom for the word “Zion” represents an exalted manner of life. However, wisdom in itself signifies every virtue. If we had known the opportune time for embracing as expressed by [Ecclesiastes], separation is perceived as superior to union. Ecclesiastes says “There is a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing.” Anyone joined to virtue is hostile to evil.… When we lovingly cling to the beautiful (that is, what is opportune) we alienate ourselves from any previous hostility. If you truly loved temperance, you hate its opposite. If you lovingly contemplate purity, you despise the foul stench of filth. If you cling to the good, you would indeed distant yourself from clinging to evil.

Source: HOMILIES ON ECCLESIASTES 7
[AD 398] Didymus the Blind on Ecclesiastes 3:5
In the literal sense the following is said: The law prescribes that Israel’s judges have to investigate the behavior of the people; and if someone was found to have done prohibited things, he was to be convicted to be stoned.…Now, we relate the verse to rebuke instead of stoning. The wise teacher knows whom he has to rebuke and whom not, and in a certain way he throws the rebuke like stones in order to dissuade the rebuked from a bad way of life. If the person improves through the rebuke, the rebuke is gathered in and no more stones are thrown against him. Paul indicates this when he says, “Convince, rebuke and encourage!” By rebuking and convincing he was throwing stones. After seeing the one who was rebuked improve, he encourages and gathers the stones together. The following is meant: There is a time to punish and a time not to punish.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES 73:22
[AD 398] Didymus the Blind on Ecclesiastes 3:5
“A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.” In the literal sense this means men who live together with their wives have a time when they get together with them and a time when they do not.… When it is time for prayer, when it is a day on which one has to remain clean and send up prayers, one has to avoid embraces. When the days of prayer are over, they come together and embrace.…According to a superficial explanation, but perhaps also against it, the following remark is valid. “The appointed time has grown short,” Paul writes; “from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none.” He says, Since time has grown short and humankind has increased to a large number, it is not necessary any more to increase it; one has to cease.… When it was necessary that humankind increase, it was a time to embrace. But after the population had become numerous and the begetting of the faithful spread, one needed to avoid embracing.…
In the spiritual sense this is the meaning: Some have acquired God’s wisdom as a wife, like the one who says, “I became enamored of her beauty” and took her home as a spouse. About her it is said: “She will honor you if you embrace her.” Then wisdom embraces the wise by communicating to him her character, and the wise man embraces her.
When therefore this wife is with a person from whom she can beget insight and thoughts and works of insight—for “wisdom begets insight for a man”—then it is the time to embrace. This time, however, is not interrupted by breaks. One can always embrace wisdom. This time is eternal.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES 75:4
[AD 420] Jerome on Ecclesiastes 3:5
"A time
for dispersing stones and a time for collecting stones." I marvel how an learned man could have said this
ridiculous note about this passage: "this passage speaks about the
destruction and killing of Solomon's houses, because men first destroy, then
build". Some amass stones to
construct buildings, others destroy those buildings which have been erected,
according to Horace's lines "he demolished, he builds, exchanges squares with
wheels, he fluctuates and disagrees with the whole order of life itself." [Horat. Epist. I. I. 100, 99.] Whether he is correct in saying this or not I
leave up to the reader to decide.
Nonetheless we should follow the sequence of the prior explanation-they
say it is a time for scattering and collecting stones, similar to what is
written in the Gospel: "God is powerful enough to raise up the sons of
Abraham from these stones". [Matth. 3, 9.] For there was a time for dispersing the
nation and a time for gathering them again into the Church. I have read in a certain book, (like the
Septuagint however, which says "there was a time for throwing stones and a
time for collecting them") that the harshness of the ancient law of the
Gospel was tempered by grace. In fact
the stern law, unkind and unforgiving, murders the sinner, he pities with the
grace of the Gospel and provokes men to repentance. And there is a time for throwing stones, or
collecting them, because stones are thrown in law and are collected in the
Gospel. Whether this is true fact or not
is credited to the author. "A time for embracing and a time for being far from
embrace. "The meaning of this is seemingly the
simplest understanding- the apostle agrees with the same words: "do not
cheat each other, unless by chance it is agreed for a time that you give
yourselves to fasting and to prayer." [I Cor. 7, 5.] Attention must be given to children, and
again to self-control. Or perhaps it was
the time for embrace when the opinion was flourishing that we ought to
"grow and multiply, and fill up the Earth" [Gen. 1, 28.]. And the time became far from one of embracing
when it passed away: "the times are hard; it remains that both they that
have wives be as though they had none". [I Cor. 7, 29.] But if we wanted to climb to the higher
parts, we would see wisdom embracing its lovers: for he says "honour it
and it will embrace you" [Prov. 4, 8.],
and hold them in its arms and lap in a tighter embrace. More precisely, it is not always possible to
stretch the human mind to heaven and think about the divine and higher things,
or continually consider celestial matters, but meanwhile to indulge in the necessities
of the flesh. On account of this there
is a time for embracing wisdom, and holding it more tightly, and a time for
relaxing the mind from the study and embrace of wisdom, just as of the care of
the body, and we have those things that our life needs in the absence of
sin.

Source: Commentary on Ecclesiastes
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ecclesiastes 3:5
Now this propagation of children which among the ancient saints was a most bounden duty for the purpose of begetting and preserving a people for God, among whom the prophecy of Christ’s coming must have had precedence over everything, now has no longer the same necessity. For from among all nations the way is open for an abundant offspring to receive spiritual regeneration, from whatever quarter they derive their natural birth. So that we may acknowledge that the Scripture which says there is “a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing,” is to be distributed in its clauses to the periods before Christ and since. The former was the time to embrace, the latter to refrain from embracing.

Source: ON MARRIAGE AND CONCUPISCENCE 14
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ecclesiastes 3:5
As for you, you both have children and live in that end of the world when the time has already come not “to scatter stones but to gather; not to embrace but to refrain embraces.” [This is a time] when the apostle cries out, “But this I say, brethren, the time is short; it remains that those who have wives be as if they had none.” Surely, if you had sought a second marriage, it would not have been in obedience to a prophecy or a law, or even the desire of the flesh for offspring, but merely a sign of incontinence. You would have followed the advice of the apostle, when, after having said, “It is good for them if they so remain, even as I,” he immediately added, “But if they do not have self-control, let them marry, for I prefer them to marry rather than to burn.”

Source: THE EXCELLENCE OF WIDOWHOOD 8:11
[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on Ecclesiastes 3:5
According to Solomon’s words, there is “a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them.” Because the end of the world presses upon us, it is necessary to gather living stones for the heavenly building, in order to make our Jerusalem grow to its full stature.

Source: DIALOGUE 3:37
[AD 392] Gregory of Elvira on Ecclesiastes 3:6
Jerusalem, therefore, was abandoned “like a booth in a vineyard” because the guardian angels left it along with the Lord when Christ had suffered. A crop in the field is guarded by the Lord not for its own sake but only for the grain it yields, such that the stalk is permitted to be destroyed once its fruit is harvested. So also it was not principally for its own sake that Jerusalem was guarded temporarily, but on account of Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born according to the flesh within its borders. But when its fruit had been harvested, that is, the body of Christ, whence came the heavenly bread of life, then Jerusalem was abandoned like a field after the harvest, like a booth in a vineyard after its grapes had been gathered. This, then, is why it was said here in the divine Scriptures, “There is a time for guarding and a time for casting aside,” for there was a time when Jerusalem was guarded and a time when it was being cast aside.

Source: EXPOSITION OF ECCLESIASTES, FRAGMENT 2
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:6
Do you want to learn, too, the right moment to seek the Lord? To put it briefly—all your life. In this case alone the one moment to pursue it is the whole state of life. For it is not at a fixed moment and an appointed time that it is good to seek the Lord, but never to cease from continual search—that is the real timeliness.
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:6
Do you wish to learn the opportune time for seeking the Lord? Let me briefly state that your entire life is the only time to carry this out. Seeking the Lord is not defined by limit or time; rather, the truly opportune time for this consists in never putting an end to our search.

Source: HOMILIES ON ECCLESIASTES 7
[AD 398] Didymus the Blind on Ecclesiastes 3:6
Before the good things were found (for example, the knowledge of truth), people were in ignorance. For them it was the time of losing. But this time was preceded by the time of seeking; for when some one seeks the good, the time has come to lose what in his case had been before the good. Likewise people lived according to the law before Christ’s life on earth, and they looked for the letter. But when the “Sun of righteousness” rose and truth finally had come, the time also had come to lose the letter and to supersede it.This is how one can sometimes lose in a good way. The Savior in the Gospel says: “Those who want to save their soul will lose it, and those who lose their soul will find it.” One [can also] understand this as referring to martyrdom and to the time of persecution: Those who want to save their soul on the day of judgment and at the time of reward must lose it by offering themselves up to death; to lose the soul here means death, the dying for truth in martyrdom.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES 77:18
[AD 420] Jerome on Ecclesiastes 3:6-7
"A time
to acquire and a time to lose. A time to
keep and a time to throw away. "As is in many verses before the meaning is
the same here too, which is apparent before and following this verse, in that
he says: "A time to destroy and a time to build.
" And then "A
time to rend and a time to mend. "Just
as the Synagogue is destroyed so that the Church can be built and schism is
only brought about by the law so that the Gospels are unified, because each
preacher has carried it out one by one, unifying from the law and the prophets
the testimonies of the arrival of the Lord.
And thus there was a time for seeking and guarding Israel, a time for
losing and discarding it. Or perhaps in
fact a time for seeking a nation in the tribes and a time for losing the people
of the Jews. A time for guarding the
believers of the nations and a time for dismissing the faithless from
Israel. "A time for silence and a time for
speaking. "I think that the
Pythagoreans, whose discipline is to remain silent for five years and
afterwards to speak to learned men, took the origin of their decree from
this. Let us learn therefore and so
remain silent first, so that afterwards we open our mouths only to speak. Let us be silent for a set period and depend
on the utterances of our teacher.
Nothing seems right to us unless we learn that after much silence we are
made into teachers by our pupils. Now
though instead of the world slipping day by day into a far worse situation, we
teach in churches what we do not know.
And if by composing words or at the bidding of the devil, who is the
patron of madness, we have aroused the applause of the common people, then we
think we understand, (contrary to our conscience), what it is we were able to
dissuade others from. We do not learn all the arts without a teacher, only
those which are so common and easy that they don't require a tutor.

Source: Commentary on Ecclesiastes
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:7
In words about things concerning God, when the discussion is about his being, that is the “moment for keeping silent.” But when it is about some good activity [of God], of which the knowledge reaches down even to us, then is the moment for speaking of the powers, to proclaim the wonders, to recount the works, to use language thus far. In matters that lie beyond, it is the moment not to allow the creation to overstep its boundaries but to be content to know itself.
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:7
When it to comes to words about God and searching his essence there is a time for silence, but when it concerns some good operation of which we have knowledge, it is time to speak of God’s power, miracles and works which necessitate words. A creature should not overstep its bounds with regard to transcendent matters but remain content with knowledge of himself.

Source: HOMILIES ON ECCLESIASTES 7
[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Ecclesiastes 3:7
Ought we to be dumb? Certainly not. For “there is a time to keep silence and a time to speak.” If, then, we are to give account for an idle word, let us take care that we do not have to give it also for an idle silence. For there is also an active silence, such as Susanna’s was, who did more by keeping silence than if she had spoken. For in keeping silence before others she spoke to God and found no greater proof of her chastity than silence. Her conscience spoke where no word was heard, and she sought no judgment for herself at the hands of men, for she had the witness of the Lord. She therefore desired to be acquitted by the One who she knew could not be deceived in any way. The Lord himself in the gospel worked out in silence the salvation of humankind. David rightly therefore enjoined on himself not constant silence but watchfulness.

Source: On the Duties of the Clergy 1.3.9
[AD 420] Jerome on Ecclesiastes 3:7
I believe that the Pythagoreans, whose discipline it was to remain silent for five years and to speak with erudition afterwards, drew their practice from this principle. We too should learn to be silent before opening our mouths to speak. Let us remain still for an established time, meditating on the words of the Teacher, for nothing should seem right to us except what we have learned. In this way, only after much silence will we be made teachers from the disciples. As it is currently, for the sake of those who are falling into the worst wickedness of the world, we daily teach in the churches what we do not know. And if we provoke the people’s applause by our choice of words or by the instigation of the devil, who is the patron of errors, we bear witness against our own conscience that we are doing the very thing against which we are able to warn others.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES 3:7
[AD 500] Desert Fathers on Ecclesiastes 3:7
A brother asked a hermit, ‘If I live with other monks, and see something wrong, do you want me to say something about it?’ The hermit replied, ‘If some are older than you, or your contemporaries, you will have more peace of mind in keeping silent for you will find peace in putting yourself below the others.’ The brother said to him, ‘How can I do that, abba? For my thoughts would trouble me.’ The hermit said to him, ‘If you are worrying about the matter, offer a piece of advice, once, with humility. If they do not listen to you, leave what you have done in God’s sight, and He will help you. In this way the worshipper of God lays himself before God, and does not follow his self-will. But take care that your anxiety be of God. In any case, as far as I can see, it is good to be silent, for silence is humility.’

Source: The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks
[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on Ecclesiastes 3:7
The tongue, therefore, should be discreetly curbed, not tied up fast. For it is written, “A wise man will hold his tongue until the time,” in order, assuredly, that when he considers it opportune, he may relinquish the censorship of silence and apply himself to the service of utility by speaking such things as are fit. And again it is written, “A time to keep silence and a time to speak.” For, indeed, the times for changes should be discreetly weighed, lest either, when the tongue ought to be restrained, it run loose to no profit in words, or, when it might speak with profit, it slothfully restrain itself. Considering which thing well, the psalmist says, “Set a watch, O Lord, on my mouth, and a door round about my lips.”

Source: PASTORAL CARE 3:14
[AD 735] Bede on Ecclesiastes 3:7
Let anyone who loves wisdom, therefore, first beg this from God, then let the humble hearer seek out a teacher of truth, and all the while let him not only most carefully restrain his tongue from idle conversations but also hold back from preaching the very truth which he has recently learned. Hence Solomon, writing about differences of times, says, “There is a time for keeping silence and a time for speaking.” Hence the Pythagoreans, who were endowed with the capacity to teach natural knowledge, order their listeners to keep silence for five years and thus at last they allow them to preach. The truth is more safely heard than preached, for when it is heard humility is safeguarded, but when it is preached it is difficult for the preacher to escape some minimal boasting.

Source: Commentary on the Catholic Epistles, James 1:19
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:8
If we have learned, then, whom we should go to war with and how to carry on the fight, we must also learn the other part of the lesson, with whom the Scripture solemnly warns us to make a peaceful alliance. What is the good army, with which I am to join forces through peace? Who is the king of such an army? It is clear, from what we are taught by the inspired Scriptures, that it is the array of the angels of the host of heaven.
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:8
If you make a distinction in your mind between things thought of as virtue and vice, you will recognize the moment for the right attitude to each of them. Restraint and pleasure, selfcontrol and indulgence, humility and pride, goodwill and crookedness, and all that are regarded as opposites of one another, are plainly set out for you by the Ecclesiast, so that by adopting attitudes about them in your soul you may make profitable decisions. Thus there is a moment for loving restraint and for hating pleasure, so that you do not become pleasureloving rather than Godloving, and likewise in all the other cases, quarrelloving, gainloving, gloryloving, and all the rest, which through the use of affection for improper ends separate us from the disposition to good.
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:8
What truly exists is the one and only intrinsically Lovable, of whom also the rule of the Ten Commandments says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” And again the only thing to be hated in truth is the inventor of evil, the enemy of our life, about whom the law says, “You shall hate your enemy.” The love of God becomes a strength for the one who loves, but the disposition to evil brings destruction on the one who loves [what is] evil.
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:8
We must love one thing alone, that which the law of the Decalogue speaks, “You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul and mind.” There is one object deserving of our hated, the inventer of evil, the enemy our lives of whom the Law says, “You shall hate your enemy.” The love of God strengthens the person who loves, whereas a disposition towards evil brings destruction upon anyone who loves it.

Source: HOMILIES ON ECCLESIASTES 8
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:8
Therefore the distinction between virtue and vice enables us to understand the opportunity which present. Ecclesiastes explains continence and pleasure, temperance and intemperance, modesty and arrogance, benevolence and maliciousness and anything else of this sort for imparting profitable advice. Thus we have a time to love continence and to hate pleasure that we may refrain from licentious behavior and be devout. Strife, gain, love of glory and so forth do not benefit love but prevent us from maintaining a pleasant disposition.

Source: HOMILIES ON ECCLESIASTES 8
[AD 395] Gregory of Nyssa on Ecclesiastes 3:8
If we have gained knowledge about the enemy against whom we must fight and take up arms, we ought to learn about another part of the text, that is, when to make a treaty of peace. Who is the good commander? He enables me to win favor by peaceful means. Who is the leader of this army? The divinely inspired scriptures clearly depict the battle array of angels belonging to the heavenly army.

Source: HOMILIES ON ECCLESIASTES 8
[AD 398] Didymus the Blind on Ecclesiastes 3:8
Every soul has a reprehensible companion and a praiseworthy one: the bridegroom, which is the Logos, and the adulterer, which is the devil. If the devil is present, one should not give him room; one should not let him in, as Judas did. This kind of companion needs to be hated. But a “time to love” has come when the true bridegroom is present. He is worthy of love, so much so that one of the saints has said, “My love has been crucified.” But love is intensified desire. Further, we have a commandment to love our enemies and to approach those who hate us in such a way that we even send a prayer to heaven for them. Insofar as we desire that they be helped and do not want ourselves to be troubled by hostility, we love our enemies; but insofar as we do not imitate them and do not accept the same things or want to be enemies as they want to be, we hate them.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES 81:4
[AD 398] Didymus the Blind on Ecclesiastes 3:8
If powers, forces, rulers of the world of darkness and evil spirits tempt us, we are not supposed to take issue with them or make peace with them, but we must fight them. But when we have subdued them and are given power “to tread on snakes and scorpions,” then it is a time for peace. Thus, first the devil has to be crushed under the feet of the saints. When it is time for war, one has to tread on “all the power of the enemy.” But when we have broken them down, we can live in enduring peace, our thinking is free from confusion, and we have a time for peace.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES 81:21
[AD 420] Jerome on Ecclesiastes 3:8
"A time
for loving and a time for hating." The time for loving God, children, wife, and
relatives is afterwards, and the time for hating those in martyrdom since
hostile piety attacks those steadfast men for the sake of the confession of
Christ. Or maybe there is a time for
loving the law, and those things that the law decrees- that is circumcision,
sacrifices, the Sabbath, Neumania [The Jewish feast of the New Moon.],
and a time for hating them when the grace of the Gospel has been lost. But we cannot say this, since now we look
through the mirror in mystery, the time for loving is the present, and in the
future there will come a time when we will see face to face and then, more
accomplished, we will begin to hate and despise what we love. [Cfr I Cor. 13, 12.] "A time for war and a time for peace. "Although we are in the present world,
it is the time for war: when we have left this world the time for peace will
come. For the place of God is in peace
and so too is our city of Jerusalem, for it is called 'chosen in peace'. Therefore no one now thinks he is safe: you
must prepare yourselves in the time of war and put on the apostles arms, so
that we may rest in peace at last victorious.

Source: Commentary on Ecclesiastes
[AD 420] Jerome on Ecclesiastes 3:9-11
"What
gain, then, has the worker in exchange for all his toil? I have observed the task which God has given
the sons of man to be concerned with: He made everything beautiful in its time;
He has also put an enigma into their minds so that man cannot comprehend what
God has done from the beginning to end." The
opinion of many other scholars on this passage does not escape me, because in
this world God conceded to the teachers of perverse doctrines their true
occupation, lest man's idle mind should become slow and while thinking that
God's creations are good, yet nonetheless not be able to see them as the
natural knowledge of the world. But the
Hebrew who taught me the Scriptures explained it in this way: when all things
are placed in their own time and there is a time for destroying or building,
weeping and laughing, silence and speaking, and others things which are said
about time, why do we try to survive in vain and believe the labours of this
short life to be perpetual? And
according to the Gospel we are not even happy, and it is called wickedness
since we think nothing of tomorrow. [Cfr Matth. 6, 34.] For what more are we able to have in this
world than continual striving in that toil, which God has given to man, so that
one man may gain more by following others, in a situation where he is able to
learn and exercise himself? For all that
God does is good, but good in his world.
It is good to wake and to sleep, but it is not good to be always awake
or asleep, since in turn each and every thing can be considered good, when
there is need, according to God's plan.
Moreover God also created the world to be inhabited by men, so that they
should enjoy the variation of time, and not seek the causes nature, how all
things are made, why He made this or that grow or change from the beginning of
the world until now.

Source: Commentary on Ecclesiastes
[AD 264] Dionysius of Alexandria on Ecclesiastes 3:11
Of all these things there is not one either idle or useless. Not even the meanest of them—the hair, or the nails, or such like—is so; but all have their service to do, and all their contribution to make, some of them to the soundness of bodily constitution and others of them to beauty of appearance. For Providence cares not only for the useful but also for the seasonable and beautiful.

Source: FRAGMENT 1:4
[AD 270] Gregory of Neocaesarea on Ecclesiastes 3:11
Indeed, an evil observer of the times has this age in his jaws and strives with a great effort to wipe out the image of God, having chosen to fight against him from the beginning until the end.

Source: PARAPHRASE OF ECCLESIASTES 3:11
[AD 399] Evagrius Ponticus on Ecclesiastes 3:11
I have seen, he says, the material world that preoccupies human minds, that which God gave to the human race prior to its cleansing so that they would occupy themselves. He means here that the beauty of the material world is temporal, not eternal. For, after cleansing, the one who is pure no longer needs to view material things only as a diversion of the mind. Rather, he can also use them in spiritual contemplation.

Source: SCHOLIA ON ECCLESIASTES 15:3.10-13
[AD 420] Jerome on Ecclesiastes 3:12-13
"Thus I
perceived that there is nothing good for each of them than to rejoice and do
what is good in his life. Indeed every
man who eats and drinks and finds satisfaction in all his labour- it is a gift
from God." Therefore the settler and the foreigner of the
world has been charged that he should enjoy the time of his short life, and
when the hope of a longer life has been removed, he sees everything that he has
as if he is about leave this life, and he sees also what he can do well in his
life. And his thoughts are not in vain
thus twisted, on account of his amassed wealth.
And he doesn't think that he is able to acquire more from his toil than
his food and drink and if he expends anything from his wealth into good work,
then only this is a gift of God. We are
not provoked, as some scholars think, by such words into luxury, pleasures, and
desperation as are animals, according to that phrase of Isaiah: "let us
gorge ourselves and drink, for tomorrow we will die." [Is. 22, 31.] But according to the apostle: "having
sustenance and clothing, we are content with these." [I Tim. 6, 8.] And whatever we have that is more than this,
we use in feeding the poor and our need for charity. More to the point, since the true food is the
flesh of the Lord, and his blood is the true drink, according to "anagoge [See footnote 60.]",
we only regard this as good in the present world, if we actually do feed from
his flesh and drink from his blood, not only in secret but even in reading the
Scriptures. For true food and drink,
which is taken from the word of God, is knowledge of the Scriptures. But no one believes the word of Balaam of the
prophets, who says "there will be no toil against Jacob, no suffering in Israel" [Num. 23, 23.]. It is in fact contrary to this, because it is
said to be a gift of God: "If anyone eats and drinks and shows he is good
in all of his work" [Cfr Eccl. 3, 13.]. In fact these are the many troubles of the
righteous. And the apostle complains
about these, saying he has sweated in toil and suffering. But the Lord freed us for our future in toil
and suffering also: "there will be
no toil against Jacob, no suffering in Israel". And we read how " the blessed weep,
since they will laugh" [Luc. 6, 21.],
and our laughter follows the words of Job the prophet: for the "mouth will
be filled with the joy of truths" [Cfr Iob. 8, 21.]. Thus now we enjoy our toil in good work, by
which we restrict and restrain ourselves so that afterwards we may cease from
working.

Source: Commentary on Ecclesiastes
[AD 398] Didymus the Blind on Ecclesiastes 3:13
Whoever eats in a way that he takes his stomach to be God does not find anything good in eating and drinking, but rather ungodliness: “Such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own stomach.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES 86:2
[AD 398] Didymus the Blind on Ecclesiastes 3:14
In the spiritual and higher sense one can also say the following: The invisible things are God’s creations in the real sense. They are eternal. The timely and visible things are secondary and accidental and created for the sake of the eternal ones. These visible things have come into being for the sake of humankind, which by nature is invisible regarding the soul and the inner being. The visible things cannot primarily be called God’s creations. God certainly has created them, but for the purpose of other things.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES 87:6
[AD 398] Didymus the Blind on Ecclesiastes 3:14
God has made creation so that human beings, through an outward picture of the greatness and beauty of created things, might [understand] that God exists. He himself manages the cosmos and looks after it so that we—while the whole cosmos is orderly guided by one commander and provider and ruler and charioteer and king—get the outward picture that there is someone who rules the cosmos. When you see a ship which is piloted and holds its course, you perceive the idea of a helmsman even if he is not visible. And if you see a chariot which travels orderly, you get the idea of a charioteer. Likewise the Creator is known by his works and the order of his providence.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES 88:29
[AD 420] Jerome on Ecclesiastes 3:14
"I
realised that whatever God does will endure forever: nothing can be added to it
and nothing taken away, and God has acted so that man should fear Him. "There is nothing in the world that is
new. The course of the sun and moon in
turn and the dryness and verdure of the earth and trees are born and take shape
with the world itself. And therefore God
governed all things by a defined plan and commanded the elements to be at the
disposal of man, for his use, so that when men see these things they know that
there is providence and fear the appearance of God; while from the equality of
the world, the natural season, order, and constancy they understand their
creator. "For his invisible work in
the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things
which are made, even his eternal virtue and power" [Rom. 1, 20.]. If we want we can read this as if from the
beginning, with the meaning of the first part already understood: "and God
has acted so that man should fear Him" then this is the meaning: God made
all these things, so that men fear him, and reject for another what God once
created for man. But he governed
perfectly, saying: "so that they should fear his appearance". [Ps. 33, 17.] The image of the Lord, indeed, is powerful
over those who are wicked.

Source: Commentary on Ecclesiastes
[AD 399] Evagrius Ponticus on Ecclesiastes 3:15
If those are “blessed who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” and at the same time the kingdom of heaven is the totality of the ideas14 of the things that have been and will come into being, then it follows that the persecuted are blessed because they have insight into the knowledge of created things.

Source: SCHOLIA ON ECCLESIASTES 19:3.15
[AD 420] Jerome on Ecclesiastes 3:15
"What
has been, already exists, and what is still to be, has already been, and God
seeks him that suffers persecution." All things we perceive in the past, present
or future, they themselves have been, are, and will be. That same sun which now rises, existed before
we were in this world, and after we die, it will rise again. But we have mentioned the sun, so that we
understand other things to be the same as they have been before. Because if they are seen to die by what we
call death, they do not really die, but grow again given a second life, and
nothing dies forever but is reborn and relives as if with a certain new
seed. For this is what he says:
"and God seeks him that suffers persecution", which is said better in
Greek "kai ho theos zetesei to diokomenon "that
is what dies, what has perished, and has ceased to be. But if that speaks about all that are in the
world there is no doubt about man, that having died he will be reborn. But if anyone likes to choose a beginning as
if his own, "and God seeks him that suffers persecution", he uses
this evidence in the persecution of certain people: to comfort him, who had
persevered in martyrdom. And since all
in this world, who want to live religiously, follow the apostle, they suffer
persecution and take consolation in the fact that God seeks him that suffers
persecution, just as he seeks out the blood of a man who has been murdered, and
comes to seek what has perished, and carry the wandering sheep back to the
flock on his shoulders. [Cfr Luc. 19, 10 ; 15, 4-7.]

Source: Commentary on Ecclesiastes
[AD 450] Peter Chrysologus on Ecclesiastes 3:15
“Our Father.” No one should be astonished that one not yet born calls God Father. With God, beings who will be born are already born; with God future beings have been made. “The things that shall be,” Scripture says, “have already been.” [Thus] it is that while John was still in the womb10 he perceived his creator, and he who was unaware of his own life served as a messenger to his mother. [Thus] too we read that Jacob waged war before he was born and triumphed before he lived. [Thus] too, those who do not yet exist themselves are existent for God, that is, those who were chosen before the foundation of the world.

Source: SERMON 70
[AD 270] Gregory of Neocaesarea on Ecclesiastes 3:16
I saw in the lower regions a pit of punishment awaiting the ungodly but a different place set apart for the godly.

Source: PARAPHRASE OF ECCLESIASTES 3:16
[AD 420] Jerome on Ecclesiastes 3:16-17
"Furthermore,
I have observed beneath the sun: in the place of justice there is wickedness,
and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness. I mused: God will judge the righteous and the
wicked, for there is a time for everything and for every deed, there." The
meaning of this is clear but is cloaked by the cloud of interpretation. He says: I sought truth and righteousness
under the sun and I saw that even among the benches of judges truth is not
valued, but gifts. Or differently: I
thought some kind of justice present in this world and either took the pious
man on his own merit, or punished the impious for his crimes; and I found the
opposite to that which I had been thinking.
For I saw a righteous man here suffer much injustice and an impious man
made to rule instead of being punished for his crime. But thinking to myself afterwards and
considering it carefully I understood that they judge not in respect of God and
treating each case one by one, but rather reserve judgement for the future, so
that all are judged equally and receive there according to their will and
effort. For this is what he says:
"and there is a time for everything and for every deed, there", that
is, in judgement when God will have begun to judge, then there will be truth,
now injustice prevails in the world.
Such as when we read in Wisdom, Sirach wrote: "lest you say, what
is this or what is that? For all things are sought in their own time" [Eccli. ?].

Source: Commentary on Ecclesiastes
[AD 735] Bede on Ecclesiastes 3:16
“The shape of this world passes away,” not its substance; just as with our bodies too, the shape will be changed. The substance does not perish when “what is sowed as a physical body rises as a spiritual body.” But we read nothing of this sort about the fire and the water. Rather we have in the book of Revelation, “And the sea is now no longer,” and in the prophets, “And the light of the lamp shall shine for you no more.” “We wait for his promises,” he says, “in which righteousness dwells.” Righteousness dwells in the future age, because then the crown of righteousness will be given to each of the faithful in accord with the measure of their struggle. This is a thing that cannot at all happen in this life, according to the saying of Solomon, “I have seen beneath the sun wickedness in place of judgment and iniquity in place of righteousness and I said in my heart, ‘God will judge the righteous and the wicked, and there will be a time for everything.’ ” And again he says, “I saw the deceit that goes on beneath the sun and the tears of the innocent and that there was no comforter, nor were those deprived of the help of all able to resist their power, and I praised the dead rather than the living.”

Source: Commentary on the Catholic Epistles, 2 Peter 3:13
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ecclesiastes 3:17
I ask you, then, are we to suppose that the only decree of God that will not come to pass, the only decree of God, will be the one which we read in those same writings as being about to judge between believers and unbelievers, when everything else that we read has happened as it was foretold? On the contrary, it will come to pass as all those other prophecies came to pass. Then there will be no person of our times who will be able at that judgment to find an excuse for unbelief when everyone shall call on Christ: the upright for justice, the perjurer for deceit, the king for power and the soldier for battle, the husband to maintain his authority and the wife to show her submission, the father for command and the son for obedience, the master for his right to rule and the servant for his subjection, the humble for piety and the proud for ambition, the rich man to distribute and the poor to receive, the drunkard at his wine cups and the beggar at the gate, the good person that he may excel in virtue and the bad one that he may cheat, the Christian worshiper and the pagan sycophant. All have the name of Christ upon their lips, and, with whatever intention and formula they invoke him, without doubt they shall render an account of it to him whom they invoke.

Source: LETTER 232
[AD 435] John Cassian on Ecclesiastes 3:17
In Ecclesiastes the divine wisdom has indicated that there is an appropriate time for everything—that is, for all things, whether they be fortunate or be considered unfortunate and sad. As it says, “There is a time for all things, and a time for everything under heaven.” … And a little later it says that “there is a time for everything and for every deed.” It has therefore been determined that none of these things is a permanent good, except when it is carried out at the right time and in correct fashion. Thus the very things that turn out well now, since they were done at the right time, are found to be disadvantageous and harmful if they are tried at an inopportune or inappropriate moment. The only exception to this is those things that are essentially and of themselves either good or bad and that can never be turned to their contraries, such as justice, prudence, fortitude, temperance, and the other virtues, and, on the other hand, the vices, which can never be understood differently. But if they can sometimes have different effects, so that they are found to be good or bad in accordance with the character of those who are exercising them, they are perceived not in absolute terms relative to their nature but as sometimes advantageous and sometimes harmful in keeping with the disposition of the one exercising them and with the opportuneness of the moment. -.
[AD 435] John Cassian on Ecclesiastes 3:17
The Divine Wisdom has pointed out in Ecclesiastes that for everything, that is for all things happy or those which are considered unfortunate and unhappy, there is a right time. As it says, “For all things there is a time, and a time for everything under the heaven.” … And later it says, “For there is a time for everything and for every deed.”None of these things is laid down as always good, but only when they are fittingly done and at the right time. So these very things that turn out well, when done at the right moment, if they are ventured on at a wrong or unsuitable time are found to be useless or harmful. The only exceptions are those things that are in their own nature good or bad and that cannot ever be made the opposite—for example, justice, prudence, fortitude, temperance and the rest of the virtues; or on the other hand, those faults that cannot possibly be altered or classed as virtues. But those things that can sometimes turn out with either result—so that, in accordance with the character of those who use them, they are found to be either good or bad—these we consider to be not absolutely in their own natures useful or injurious, but only so in accordance with the disposition of the doer and the suitableness of the time.

Source: CONFERENCE 21:12
[AD 420] Jerome on Ecclesiastes 3:18-21
"Then I
said to myself concerning men: God has chosen them out, but only to see that
they themselves are as beasts. For the
fate of men and the fate of beast - they have one and the same fate: as one
dies so the other dies, and they all have the same spirit. Man has no superiority over beast, for all is
futile. All go to the same place; all
originate from dust and return to dust.
Who perceives that the spirit of man is the one that ascends on high
while the spirit of the beast is the one that descends down into the
earth?" It is not surprising that there is no distinction in
this life between righteous and wicked, nor that none values virtues, but all
things occur with uncertain outcome, where nothing seems to differ according to
the worthlessness of the body between sheep and men: there is the same birth,
common end in death; we proceed similarly towards the light and are equally
dissolved into the dust. But there seems
to be this difference, that the spirit of man ascends to the heavens, and the
spirit of animals goes down into the earth, but from where do we know this for
certain? Who can know whether what is
hoped is true or false? But he says
this, not because he thinks the spirit dies with the body, or that there's one
place set aside for beasts and for man, but because before the arrival of
Christ all were led equally to the nether regions. Jacob said that he was about to go down to
those regions. [cfr Gen. 37, 35 ; 42, 38 ; 44, 31.] And Job complains that the pious and impious
are held back in the lower world. [cfr Iob. 7, 9 ; 17, 13.16.] And the Gospel says that with an abyss
blocking the way even Abraham and Lazarus were rich in prayers in the underworld. [cfr Luc. 16, 26.] And in fact before Christ accompanied by a
robber opened the wheel of flames, and the fiery rumpias [A long missile weapon of barbarian nations.]
and the gates of paradise, the heavens were closed and the equal unworthiness
of the spirits of sheep and of men was abridged. One also seems to be dispersed and the other
saved; but there is not much of a difference between dying with the body or
being held in the darkness of the underworld.
Let us look over these things one by one in paragraphs, and discuss them
briefly. I considered the eloquence of
the sons of man, whom God chose. Only
this eloquence, he says, God wanted to be between men and beasts, since we
speak, they are mute; we possess the will for conversation, they are stupefied
with silence. And though we only differ
from beasts in language, though it is shown to us, how we are like the beasts -
weak in body. Just as a beast dies, thus
man dies, and one breath is for all, and that is the air that we breathe. For he says this: "and one spirit is for
both, and there is nothing more for man than for beast." Since lest we think the text refers to the
soul he adds: "all are made from earth and return to the earth." But nothing else except the body is made from
earth, and quite relevant, regarding the body he continues: "you are earth
and to the earth you will return." [Gen. 3.19.] But this seems to be blasphemy: for who knows
if the spirit of the sons of man ascends upwards, or if the spirit of beasts
goes downwards into the earth? He does
not contend that there is no difference between animals and men in reference to
the dignity of the soul, but in adding "who?" he wants to show the
difficulty of the matter. For the
pronoun "who" is used in the Holy Scriptures not on account of impossibility,
but a difficulty. So here it is said in
that passage, "who will describe that man's generation?" [Is. 53, 8.],
and in the psalm: "Lord, who ascends in your tabernacle, and onto your
sacred mountain?" [Ps. 14, 1.],
and other examples that follow this pattern.
And in Jeremiah it can be said differently in Hebrew: "And he is a
man, and who knows him?" [Ier. 17, 9.]. This then, is the only difference between
beast and men, that the spirit of man ascends to the heaven, and the spirit of
the beast descends into the earth and is dispersed with the flesh; but let any
man, who is of the Church and learned in the religious disciplines, be the real
champion of the matter, which is rather doubtful. Then he adds just how much it refers to a
spiritual understanding: "since the Lord will keep both men and beasts
safe" [Ps. 35, 17.],
and in another place he says, "beasts, I am among you" [Ps. 72, 23.],
and all the prophets say that both men and beasts will be saved in Jerusalem,
and that the promised land will be filled with sheep and cattle. Who knows whether the saintly man, who is
worthy of the name of man, will ascend to heaven, and whether the sinner, who
is called beast, will go down into the earth?
For it is possible in light of the uncertain and dangerous condition of
his life, that the righteous man falls and the sinner rises, and it sometimes
happens that man, having more reason and learned in the Scriptures, does not
look about himself, and although worthy of his knowledge lives out his life and
is led down to the nether world; and the simpler and unlearned man, who is said
to be compared to the beasts of men, lives better and is crowned in martyrdom,
and he is then to live in paradise.

Source: Commentary on Ecclesiastes
[AD 398] Didymus the Blind on Ecclesiastes 3:19
Animals are mortal beings without reason, angels are immortal beings with reason, human beings are mortal beings with reason. Regarding mortality the human being is grouped together with beings without reason. Regarding reason [the human being] is grouped together with the immortal beings, since angels also have reason. Regarding its senses … the human being is of the same kind as the beings without reason. But the human being is receptive to something to which no other mortal being is receptive: its soul can become perfect, as far as this can be achieved, and become like God, as far as it is possible.…Thus, when he says that “the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same,” he does not mean what happens to reason but what happens to the outward body.… The general judgment which enacts promises and punishments does not judge what human beings have in common with animals but what humans have in common with angels. As humans can be led into the kingdom of heaven and remain in heaven, so it is with angels; and as humans can be judged, so can angels be judged.…
If one investigates the nature of death, then the death of animals is not like the death of humans. Human death divides the soul from the body, and after the division the soul remains. But the death of animals destroys soul and body, since they have been created simultaneously.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES 99:1
[AD 399] Evagrius Ponticus on Ecclesiastes 3:19
By “fate” he means everything that is part of the life of anyone in this world, whether that person is righteous or unrighteous—things such as life, death, sickness, health, affluence, poverty, loss of limbs, of wives, children or possessions. In all these it is impossible to discern between the righteous and unrighteous before the last judgment. He also says that both have in common the fact that they are taken from dust and will return to dust. They also have one soul, not by number but by nature. For the Spirit, he says, “is one [and the same] in all.” Here he calls a man, who was born in honor, a beast instead of labeling him as someone of understanding. It is because of his foolish desires that he is compared with the senseless beasts and that he ends up becoming like them. And not even through their acts can the righteous and unrighteous be clearly distinguished before the day of judgment, because a good number of the unrighteous become righteous and are elevated, while a good number of the righteous abandon virtue and are debased. “What is the advantage of the righteous over the ungodly?” In this present time, he says, there is no advantage. Everything is vanity except for the spiritual joy that naturally occurs to each according to his deeds and virtues.

Source: SCHOLIA ON ECCLESIASTES 21:3.19-22
[AD 465] Shenoute the Archimandrite on Ecclesiastes 3:19
Why did he write, “What advantage does man have over beast?” Perceive now what had happened. Understand now the scorn toward us when he saw that humanity had recognized gods other than the Lord God alone and had not obeyed this utterance, “No foreign god shall be in your midst, nor shall you worship a strange god.” Then, when he saw humanity had acted wickedly by [doing] what is contrary to nature, with abominable deeds, with pernicious deeds that no one should be able to mention [and] to which no one should be able to listen, he said this. For if a person does not recognize his value, not only is he reckoned with the beast but the beast is more esteemed than he, when it is said, “An ox knows its owner, and the ass its master’s crib.”

Source: FRAGMENT ON ECCLESIASTES
[AD 600] Olympiodorus of Alexandria on Ecclesiastes 3:19
Ecclesiastes teaches us from this not to attend to our physical needs but to our spiritual existence.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES 3:19
[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on Ecclesiastes 3:19
In describing the pleasures of the flesh, he puts all cares out of his mind and states that it is good to eat and drink. Later, he finds fault with this view from the standpoint of reason and says it is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting. Likewise, from purely carnal considerations he advises a young man to find his pleasure in his youth, and later, modifying this statement, he blames youth and its pleasures as fleeting. So, too, when he speaks from the minds of the infirm, our Preacher voices an opinion based on suspicion. “For the lot of man and of beast,” he says, “is one lot; the one dies as well as the other. Both have the same life breath, and man has no advantage over the beast.” Later, however, he presents conclusions drawn from reason and says, “What has the wise man more than the fool? and what the poor man, but to go where there is life?” So, after he says, “Man has no advantage over the beast,” he again specifies that the wise person has an advantage not only over the beast but also over the foolish person, namely, his ability to go “where there is life.”

Source: DIALOGUE 4:4
[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Ecclesiastes 3:19
Man hath nothing more: Viz., as to the life of the body.
[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Ecclesiastes 3:20
The resurrection as a fact is not to be rejected because of an exceptional situation. Yet, since all things earthly return and crumble into the earth, I wonder how there can be any doubt even concerning the instances noted. For the most part, the sea itself also casts up on neighboring shores whatever human bodies it has swallowed. And if this were not so, it surely would not be difficult for God to join what has been scattered and to unite again what has been dispersed. Could it be maintained for a moment that God, whom the universe and the silent elements obey and nature serves, did not perform a greater miracle in giving life to clay than in joining it together?

Source: On the Death of Satyrus 2.58
[AD 420] Jerome on Ecclesiastes 3:20
[Daniel 7:17-18] "These four great beasts are the four kingdoms which shall arise from the earth. But the saints of the Most High God shall take the kingdom." The four kingdoms of which we have spoken above were earthly in character. "For everything which is of the earth shall return to earth" (Ecclesiastes 3:20). But the saints shall never possess an earthly kingdom, but only a heavenly. Away, then, with the fable about a millennium! (Revelation 20:4-6)

"...And they shall possess the kingdom unto eternity, even forever and ever..." If this be taken to refer to the Maccabees, the advocate of this position should explain how the kingdom of the Maccabees is of a perpetual character.

Source: St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER SEVEN
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Ecclesiastes 3:20
In order, indeed, that you may have the fullest and clearest assurance that what is the soul is in the usage of the Holy Scriptures also called spirit, the soul of a brute animal has the designation of spirit. And of course cattle have not that spirit which you, my beloved brother, have defined as being distinct from the soul. It is therefore quite evident that the soul of a brute animal could be rightly called “spirit” in a general sense of the term; as we read in the book of Ecclesiastes, “Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, whether it goes upward; and the spirit of the beast, whether it goes downward into the earth?” In like manner, touching the devastation of the deluge, the Scripture testifies, “All flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth, and every man: and all things which have the spirit of life.” Here, if we remove all the windings of doubtful disputation, we understand the term spirit to be synonymous with soul in its general sense. Of so wide a signification is this term, that even God is called “a spirit”; and a stormy blast of the air, although it has material substance, is called by the psalmist the “spirit” of a tempest. For all these reasons, therefore, you will no longer deny that what is the soul is called also spirit. I have, I think, adduced enough from the pages of Holy Scripture to secure your assent in passages where the soul of the very brute beast, which has no understanding, is designated spirit.

Source: ON THE SOUL AND ITS ORIGIN 4:37
[AD 600] Olympiodorus of Alexandria on Ecclesiastes 3:21
Ecclesiastes, instructing us through enigmas, guides us to the other life.

Source: COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES 3:21
[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Ecclesiastes 3:21
Who knoweth: Viz., experimentally: since no one in this life can see a spirit. But as to the spirit of the beasts, which is merely animal, and become extinct by the death of the beast, who can tell the manner it acts so as to give life and motion, and by death to descend downward, that is, to be no more?
[AD 420] Jerome on Ecclesiastes 3:22
"I
therefore observed that there is nothing better for man than to be happy in
what he is doing, for that is his lot.
For who can enable him to see what will be after him? " Instead of that
which we have as "to see what will be after him", Symmachus
interprets it more clearly saying, "so that he sees those things which
will be after these ones".
Therefore nothing is good in life, unless a man is happy in his work,
doing acts of sympathy<u>, and obtaining his future reward in the realm of
heaven. We have this one lot, which nor
neither thief nor robber values, nor any tyrant has the power to take away, and
which follows us after our death. And we
will not be able to enjoy our toil again when this life will be over, or know
what things will be afterwards in the world.
Another explanation of this is: I am disturbed by the wickedness of what
I have said above, that I think there is no difference between men and beasts,
and I have been led into this opinion by wrong conclusions, so that I said
nothing else was good, except grasping ones present desire. Nor when death has destroyed us is it
possible to enjoy these things, which we, ungrateful, leave behind. Some have referred to that understanding
because it says, "for who leads him, so that he sees those things, which
will be after him", so that they say, "it is better for a man to
enjoy his work" because it is only this that he is able to take away with
him from his possessions. For when death
comes he will not know what kind of heir he will die with, whether worthy or
unworthy, who will enjoy his wealth.


<h2>CHAPTER 4</h2>

Source: Commentary on Ecclesiastes