← §3 Read continuously On Ecclesiastes · §4 · Eustathius of Antioch
No trace of gladness remains after pleasure passes
Click or tap any sentence to jump there. The side buttons skip a paragraph.
Eustathius is closing his argument that all such human activities end in vanity, now stating that nothing is stored up and no trace of gladness remains once the pleasurable activity has passed.
Nothing is stored up for what comes next. Once the activity of pleasure has passed, no trace or remnant of gladness is left behind for those who took pleasure.
Greek καὶ οὐδὲν εἰς τὸ ἐφεξῆς ταμιεύεται. Οὐδὲ ὑπολείπεταί τι τοῖς ἡδομένοις ἴχνος εὐφροσύνης ἢ λείψανον παρελθούσης τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἡδονὴν ἐνεργείας.
Report a mistake in this passage
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.
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.
Report a mistake
← §3 Read continuously