Old Testament IX: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
Overview
Of extant commentaries on Ecclesiastes none is so profound as the eight homilies of Gregory of Nyssa, even though they cover only the first three chapters of the book. Joining Gregory among those most frequently excerpted in this volume are Augustine, Ambrose, Gregory the Great, Origen, John Cassian, John Chrysostom, Athanasius, Bede the Venerable and Jerome. Gregory of Nazianzus, Basil the Great and Cyril of Jerusalem lead a cast of other less frequently cited fathers, and then there remains a large cast of supporting players, some of whose work is translated here into English for the first time.
Top Highlights
“They, like most other ancient commentators, were unified in their conviction that Solomon was the author of all three books,1 an opinion that is held by very few scholars today.” (Page xvii)
“Here, we should understand the difficulty, not impossibility, of finding her. That valiant woman is the church” (Page 186)
“instruction is the disciplining of the passions of that passionate or unreasonable part of the soul” (Page 2)
“a gift of God, and that a good marriage is arranged by the Lord” (Page 186)
“We can call these moral, natural, and contemplative” (Page 287)