Everything has a time [ chronos ] and season [ kairos ] [J.373] under the sun [3.1], words which form a type of prologue for what we are now considering. Even though our examination involves much effort, the gain is certainly well worth it. Perhaps the end of what we pondered in the first book may also be evident in this section which continues its theme. The preceding chapters condemn man's fruitless pursuit of vanity, and we are now shown the good which we must examine. However, the nourishment of wisdom is opposed to the pursuit of corporal pleasure, and it results in knowing [M.697] how to live according to virtue which is why the prologue has made a promise by saying that there is a place and time for everything under the sun. If you look at the profound sense of the text, you will find a comprehensive philosophy which is both contemplative and practical in nature. And so we will now begin the task of considering the text's meaning of the text. Beings are either material [J.374] and endowed with sensation or they are intelligent and incorporeal. Immaterial beings transcend sense perception, and we have knowledge of them when we strip ourselves of the senses; however, our senses apprehend matter which cannot transcend the heavenly [spiritual] body and go any further than appearances. For this reason Ecclesiastes addresses us with regard to both earthly and heavenly realities that we may live free from error. Material life means bodily existence but contemplation of the good is hidden from persons who live according to their senses. Thus we need experience concerning judgment of the beautiful in the same way we use a rod for measuring a building in order to make sure it is constructed well. With this in mind, Ecclesiastes first shows us how to conduct our lives.
Ecclesiastes claims that there are two ways for judging the good in this life, moderation and opportunity. He now instructs us in these two ways by saying that everything has a time and a season [3.1]. We regard time as measurement coextensive with creation. Such are the two criteria for the good. If these criteria on the whole are judged [J.375] as expedient for procuring each virtue, I am not at all confident until the preceding text shows the reason. However, we can easily recognize a person who governs most of his life by these criteria. Who does not know that virtue is the measure dealt out to what we have been considering? There would be no virtue or lack of the proper measure or excess as in fortitude whose deficiency is fear and whose excess is audacity. Therefore worldly wisdom with which we are perhaps familiar clarifies the meaning of this text and does not lack terse sayings cautioning about excess. Ecclesiastes now speaks about the best measure and makes a pronouncement about a lack of excess showing that both do not determine the measure of virtue, and that we must reject anything pertaining to measure. Nevertheless, he offers us the measure of opportunity because we can neither judge as good the opportunity we have already received nor the one to follow. What does the farmer gain by cutting corn [M.700] before it is ripe [J.376] or to be unduly anxious over the seed which has not yet appeared in the stalk? Neither situation is advantageous because time is lost by a premature cutting. What pertains to the part may apply the whole, and the same applies to the art of sailing. What about medicine? Excess in harmful activity and deficiency in time and measure also apply to healing, but we must put aside these examples since Ecclesiastes offers us a better one.
What is the reason for the points we have considered? The good has no bounds nor is it untimely; rather, the qualities of beauty and its uniqueness make it perfect. If we focus our attention only on one quality and neglect the other, our other work is of no value even though it is performed well. Similarly, we have two feet for walking; if anything happens to one of our feet it becomes useless and incapable for walking by reason of the weakness present within it. If measure [ metron ] or opportunity in not present within time, the present is quite useless; however, due proportion [ summetria ] befits time, and opportunity is useful for measure. In this way we understand time instead of measure since [J.377] we define it as the measure of both due proportion and opportunity. Indeed, whatever belongs to time, extension or the interval concurrent with it is determined by something little in what is small and something large in that which is great. Time is the measure of conception, the growth of corn, fruit, the measure of sailing, walking, the periods of life which are infancy, childhood, adolescence, youth, early manhood, the prime of life, middle age, fullness of maturity, middle age, old age and senility. Time is not restricted by one measure (for each stage of growth is not the same because persons differ from one another), while everything subject to measure has the same, all-encompassing time. For this reason Ecclesiastes does not say that measure belongs to all things because there is equality in that which is both great and small with regard to measure. However, time is a general measure and standard. Just as we advance towards old age in the various stages of growth--the period [of youth] is not yet stable and is undisciplined, while the optimum stage between youth and old age does not partake of their unpleasant aspects since a person has outgrown youth's undiscipline yet does not lack prudence, a characteristic of old age--we must equally avoid [J.378] the senility of old age and the undiscipline of youth in order to unite strength with prudence. In this way Ecclesiastes defines time [3.1], and in each stage of life he removes the evil in both which results from a lack of measure, [M.701] thereby holding in dishonor anything which exceeds its time and dismissing any deficiency.
It would be opportune to present Ecclesiastes' divinely inspired words for our consideration. "There is a time to be born and a time to die" [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 [NB: Exodus means "exit"] right after Genesis [NB: Genesis means "generation"]. 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." I have a time to be born, and [J.379] a time will come for me to die. When taking into account all creation, we do not associate with the ungodly once we have left behind the short path of this life; these ungodly persons have freely strayed by circuitously wandering about in power, appearances and wealth. Such deviations make us lose our way, and we can no longer exit the labyrinth of this life which seem to urge us on and confound the signs of our journey. On the other hand, how blessed are those who have forsaken the vain deceptions of this life and pursue the short road of virtue! Nothing can divert them since they struggle for their expectations through faith.
Let us once more examine the text, "There is a time to be born and a time to die." Would that my birth be timely and my death opportune! No one can say that the pangs of birth are voluntary, and Ecclesiastes now spontaneously speaks about death as a means to direct himself by virtue. Neither does pain come by a woman's volition nor does death come voluntarily. That which does not lie in our power does not define virtue or vice, so we must understand the timeliness of birth and death. For me, birth seems timely and does not suffer abortion when, [J.380] as Isaiah says [26.17], a person conceives by the fear of God and begets salvation through the pangs of his soul. Similarly, we become fathers when by choosing the good we form ourselves, come to birth and [M.704] enter the light. We do this in order to manifest God in ourselves after having become sons of God [Jn 1.12], children of virtue [Jud 18.2] and children of the most High [Lk 6.35]. But we cause a miscarriage, suffer immaturity and are carried about by the wind when, as the Apostle says [Gal 4.19], we do not bear Christ's form within us. We must, he says, become a perfect man of God when human nature becomes fully complete.
If anyone makes himself a son of God by virtue, he receives power to beget it. He knows the time for a good birth and rejoices in the Gospel's words which say that there is rejoicing at the birth of a person into the world [Jn 16.21]. But the person who is a son of wrath [Eph 2.3], a son of perdition [Jn 17.12], a child of darkness [1Ths 5.5], an offspring of a viper [Mt 3.7], an evil descendent [Prov 30.11] and anything else causing an evil birth, does not know the time to bestow life because there is one time for giving birth, not many. Thus any person testifying to an untimely birth begets his own ruin and has death for a midwife. [J.381] If it is now clear how we are born in time, it should also be clear how we die in time like blessed Paul who was ripe for a good death. He cried out in his own words which resembled an oath that "Each day I die for your glorification" [1Cor 15.31], and "For your sake we are put to death all the day long" [Rom 8.36]. Again, "We have the sentence of death in ourselves" [2Cor 1.9]. We do not accurately know how Paul dies daily, the same Paul who never allows sin to abide in himself [Rom 6.6]. He always mortifies his bodily members [Col 3.5], bears the death of the body of Christ in himself [2Cor 4.10], is always crucified with Christ and never lives for himself but has Christ living within him [Gal 2.19-20]. In my judgment this opportune death truly procured a holy passing. "I kill and bring to life" [Dt 32.39] in order to truly believe that death to sin and life in the spirit [1Pt 3.18] is a gift of God; indeed, God's voice puts to death and brings to life.
The following words parallel what we just said above: "There is a time to plant and a time to pluck up what has been planted" [3.2]. We know [J.382] our husbandman and that we are the ones whom he cultivates. We have learned what Christ had done and what the servant of Christ, Paul, had done. The Lord says, "My father is the husbandman" [Jn 15.1], and the Apostle says to us that "you are God's cultivation" [1Cor 3.9]. Thus the great husbandman alone knows how to plant good things ("God planted a garden in Eden, to the east," Gen 2.8) and how to uproot anything hostile to them. "Every plant which my heavenly father has not planted will be uprooted" [Mt 26.13]. Thus these uprooted plants, the malicious, unbelieving Pharisees, were hostile [M.705] to our Lord's miracles. The preaching of salvation must be strengthened: "The Gospel must be preached throughout the entire world" [Mt 26.13], and "Every tongue must confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father" [Phil 2.11]. Although these facts are true, the unbelief of some persons which does not belong to the Father's plant is strengthened; rather, such unbelief belongs to him [the devil] who sowed darnel or planted the shoot of the Sodomites along with the vine of the Lord. We now symbolically learn through Ecclesiastes the lesson our Lord imparts to us in the Gospel, namely, that it is [J.383] time to accept the salvation of faith and to reject the darnel of unbelief. However, what is said in part is that which is rightly done in faith, and you should apply it to every virtue. There is a time to plant temperance and a time to uproot intemperance. And so, the unjust shoot is uprooted and righteousness is planted; the plant of humility turns away arrogance; charity, which has sprung up, cuts down the evil tree of hatred. Similarly, the increase of injustice makes love grow cold. Let us not delay in speaking of other matters individually so we will not fail to understand them in the same way.
Yet again the text which we had just considered concurs with what now follows: "There is a time to kill and a time to heal" [3.3]. The prophet correctly explains this verse and says in God's presence, "I kill and I make to live" [Dt 32.39]. Unless we kill the enemy in ourselves, love, which hatred has made ill, will not cure us. Thus every other evil--I mean the civil war within us resulting from pleasure which leads us captive to the [J.384] law of sin--has a time to be killed, for its death becomes healing for the person sick with sin. Physicians say that bad humors propagate worms and other parasites within our intestines and cause death; if medicine kills them, health is restored. These examples pertaining to the body may apply analogously to the sickness of the soul. Whenever anger exhausts you or injuries cut the soul's tautness and thoughts, or if you feel that your soul is nourishing a beast within, the time is right to apply a cure for their destruction. The Gospel teaches the same thing, namely, that killing brings life.
"There is a time to pull down and a time to build up" [3.3]. Jeremiah the prophet [M.708] teaches us about God through these words. God first bestowed upon him power to purify, root up, destroy and then to rebuild, construct anew and to plant [Jer 1.10]. We must [J.385] first pull down within us the buildings of evil and then find a space to construct a temple for God in our souls whose material is virtue. Anyone building upon this foundation with gold, silver and precious stones [1Cor 3.12], may call such materials virtues. On the other hand, wood, grass and straw are interpreted as evil which are of no profit and provide fuel for the fire. Therefore when buildings are constructed from grass and straw, that is, from unrighteousness, arrogance and the other evils of life, Ecclesiastes first bids us to destroy them and make the gold of virtue material for constructing the spiritual house. Silver cannot be fused with straw, gold with grass nor pearls with wood; rather, in order to build anything, the other building must be torn down. What partnership does light have with darkness [2Cor 6.14]? We must first tear down the works of darkness and then construct buildings of light.
"There is a time to weep and a time to laugh" [3.4]. Our Lord declares in the Gospel [J.386], "Blessed are those who mourn because they will be comforted" [Mt 5.4]. 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 [J.387] resplendent divine image. Since we have the evil swam of passion and the pernicious wasps of distress, how can we begin to speak about such evils? Each one holds equal honor with respect to the other, has a preeminence with regard to evil and is an occasion for lament. Why, then, does a person grieve over his suffering? What is the source of so much lamentation? Life ends quickly [M.709]; its labor begins and ends with tears, has a miserable childhood, the senility of old age, the inconstancy of youth, the travail of constant labors during the prime of one's life, the burdens of matrimony, the loneliness of an unwed person, the annoyance of many children, the rootlessness experienced by having no children, the burden of wealth and the sufferings of poverty.
I remain silent about various illnesses, afflictions, mutilations, decay, the incapacitation of our senses, demonic afflictions, everything in human nature and the passions which each person has. I must also include the insanity of love and foul smelling filth into which it is transformed; I omit the unpleasant aspect of food's rejection [through our intestines] so as not to attribute them to life, thereby demonstrating that our nature constitutes [J.388] in such filth. I omit all these things and make special mention of what deserves our tears with respect to persons who feel they know everything. Once this shadowy existence of ours has passed, the fearful expectation of judgment and the consuming fire which devours adversaries awaits us. Who does not live in constant affliction when considering these matters? We should now subject such things to examination. These dreadful expectations can no longer afflict our present existence since [God] promises joy for a good person which is kept in store through hope; as the Apostle says [Rom 5.5], such hope cannot be put to shame.
The words which now follow resume what we had considered earlier, for Ecclesiastes adds to the time for tears and laughter: "A time to mourn and a time to dance" [3.4]. This no more than an elaboration of what he had already said. Scripture refers the term "mourning" [Mt 11.17] 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" [Lk 7.32]. History says that [J.389] the Israelites mourned Moses' death [Dt.34.8] while David preceded the ark in dance when the Philistines returned it from captivity [1Sam 6.1-16]. 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, [M.712] 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" [Lk 14.11], 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 [Lk 16.20]. This is our rightful place through the mercy of him who saved us, Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen.