On Ecclesiastes · §1 · Eustathius of Antioch

Spirit as soul, and the vanity of pleasure's end

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Eustathius opens his commentary on Ecclesiastes by explaining that the biblical term 'spirit' means the soul, then argues that all such human activities end in vanity.

He calls the soul 'spirit,' because a deliberate choice is a certain movement of the mind. David says, 'Into your hands I entrust my spirit' (Psalm 30:6 LXX). And: 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit' (Acts 7:59). And in the Books of Kingdoms (1-4 Kingdoms in the LXX, corresponding to 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings) it says that David did not grieve the spirit of his son Amnon (2 Kingdoms 13:39 LXX; 2 Samuel 13:39).

All such things have one end: vanity. Which is not found to abound for what comes next. Once the activity has ceased, the enjoyment is erased as well, and nothing is stored up for the future. No trace or remnant of gladness is left behind for those who took pleasure, once the activity according to pleasure has passed.

Greek

In Ecclesiasten (fragmenta e catenis) 79 Πνεῦμα τὴν ψυχὴν ὀνομάζει· προαίρεσις γάρ ἐστι ποία νοῦ κίνησις· καὶ ὁ ∆αυῒδ· εἰς χεῖράς σου παρατίθημι τὸ πνεῦμά μου· Κύριε Ἰησοῦ, δέξαι τὸ πνεῦμά μου· καὶ ἐν ταῖς Βασιλείαις· οὐκ ἐλύπησε, φησὶ, ∆αυῒδ τὸ πνεῦμα Ἀμνὼν τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ. 80 Ὅτι ἓν τέλος τῶν τοιούτων πάντων ἡ ματαιότης ἐστίν· ἧς περισσεύειν εἰς τὸ ἐφεξῆς οὐχ εὑρίσκεται· παυσαμένης γὰρ τῆς ἐνεργείας, ἐξηλείφθη καὶ ἡ ἀπόλαυσις, καὶ οὐδὲν εἰς τὸ ἐφεξῆς ταμιεύεται. Οὐδὲ ὑπολείπεταί τι τοῖς ἡδομένοις ἴχνος εὐφροσύνης ἢ λείψανον παρελθούσης τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἡδονὴν ἐνεργείας.

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About this text

A few lines on Ecclesiastes credited to Eustathius of Antioch: here spirit means the soul, and pleasure leaves nothing behind once it has passed.

Eustathius of Antioch (fl. c. 320–337) wrote this commentary on Ecclesiastes. He was bishop of Beroea and then Patriarch of Antioch, and a leading opponent of Arianism at the Council of Nicaea. The work survives only in fragments quoted by later compilers.

The fragments come from catena quotations on Ecclesiastes, where later editors collected passages from earlier commentators alongside the biblical text. Eustathius explains the biblical text's use of key terms and draws out its teaching on the transience of pleasure.

A reader will meet David, quoted from the Psalms entrusting his spirit to God, and the Lord Jesus, addressed in the words 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' Eustathius interprets 'spirit' as the soul, understood as a deliberate choice of the mind, and argues that all such human activities end in vanity. Once the activity ceases, the enjoyment is erased, and nothing is stored up for the future. The Books of Kingdoms are the ancient Greek Bible's name for 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings.

Printed text used

Translated from PG 18 (Greek)

This work has passed our source check. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Greek on any section to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.

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