Interpretation of the book of the ecclesiastes, or preacher. Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), the biblical book of Ecclesiastes can be written from one card

Ecclesiastes (Ecclesiastes) - one of the canon books Old Testament... In the Hebrew Bible, it is placed between the Lamentations of Jeremiah and the book of Esther. The name Ecclesiastes (Εκκλησιαστής) is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Qoheleth (from qahal - to convene). This is the literal meaning of this word, but its figurative (true) translation is "Preacher."

The main theme of the book is expressed at the beginning with the words: "vanity of vanities, all vanity and vexation of the spirit." Heine(followed by Delitzsch) calls Ecclesiastes "a song of skepticism." However, the skepticism of Ecclesiastes is not hopeless: starting from pessimism, he ends up with a calm and clear view of life, pointing out the joys of life in the correct use of the blessings of the world, as a gift from God. Ecclesiastes has always been the favorite reading of all those who have experienced and experienced a lot.

Ecclesiastes. Audiobook

Of all the Hebrew books, Ecclesiastes represents the most similarity to what we call philosophy. The author of this book sets himself the task of clarifying the question of man's relationship to the eternal laws of the world order. Everything in the universe changes; therefore, there is nothing lasting in the affairs of human life. Everything about it depends on chance; therefore, a person should use the joys that are given to him by the course of accidents, wisely enjoy the fleeting pleasures that appear to him, and because of the impossibility of understanding the course of accidents, not give up faith in God. Any excess is harmful. While enjoying life, one must remain pious, God-fearing. Everything in life is fleeting; therefore it should not be overly attached to anything in it. And everything is doubtful, except for one thing: there is a God. The book ends with an admonition to keep the commandments of God: “Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is everything for man. For God will bring every deed to judgment, and secret, whether it is good or bad. " According to the insistence with which Ecclesiastes speaks of the need to obey the king, albeit a bad one, and according to his remark that woman is the greatest evil, some scholars believe that this book was written when Judea was under the rule of the Syrian kings, under which they ruled all schemers.

In its direction, Ecclesiastes adjoins the school of Jewish sages of the post-Solomon period, known as "chokmah" (wisdom). She preached a special philosophical morality, the main features of which were its universality (as opposed to the national character of ancient Jewish literature) and its religious foundation (as opposed to the materialistic school of "lecims").

In form, Ecclesiastes is a poetic work. It is usually divided into 12 chapters. The strophic form of the book was discovered by Koester (1831) and then by Weiging, who divided the book into 4 parts, and each of them, in turn, into 3 sections, of which almost all have 3 stanzas.

The head of King Solomon. From the fresco "Prophets and Sibylls" by Pietro Perugino, 1497-1500

The author of the book was previously considered (and some still believe) Solomon, on the grounds that the speech in it is conducted on behalf of some "king in Jerusalem", "son David". According to Jewish legends, Solomon wrote the Song of Songs in his youth, and Ecclesiastes in his old age. But already many church fathers doubted that the author of Ecclesiastes was this Jewish king. According to the content, the origin of the book had to be attributed to the end of Solomon's life, and yet the fact of his conversion after the fall is not attested in history (Augustine, Gregory the Great, Tertullian, Origen, Cyril of Jerusalem, etc.). The content of the book, clearly indicating the sad times of Jewish history, not corresponding to the main era of Solomon, and the language abounding in Aramaic vocabulary, force the book to be attributed to a later time. Based on the special closeness of Ecclesiastes, both in content and language, to the book of the prophet Malachi, the time of the origin of the book is most often determined between 450 - 400 BC, although some Protestant theologians (Weiging, Ewald, Elster, Bergst, etc. ) believe that it was written much later (perhaps even in the reign Herod the Great).

Ecclesiastes (Ecclesiastes) is the name of one of the books of the Old Testament. The ecclesiast enters the cycle of teaching books following the Proverbs of Solomon. The name of the book comes from the Hebrew "koelet" - a preacher in the congregation. A meeting at that time was called a meeting of all full-fledged citizens.

Read Ecclesiastes.

The book of Ecclesiastes is divided into 12 chapters.

• Line " I ... was a king ... in Jerusalem "... As you know, Solomon remained king until death, therefore, he could not formulate a thought in this way.
• Line "I am exalted and gained wisdom more than all that were before me over Jerusalem."... It is known that a hundred before Solomon in Jerusalem there was only one king, therefore, the plural in relation to the word king does not speak in favor of Solomon's authorship.
• The ecclesiastes warn against excessive reading enthusiasm several times. It would be strange to hear from Solomon, who esteemed wisdom above all blessings.
• The mood of sadness and disappointment that permeated the book was uncharacteristic for the period of the reign of Solomon, it is rather a sign of the post-captivity era.

The authorship of Solomon is questioned also in view of the fact that many researchers believe that the spelling of the ecclesiastes does not coincide in time with the years of Solomon's life. There are several versions of the time the book was created:

• Nachtigall's version - 975-588 BC e.,
• Schmidt and Jan's version - 699-588 BC e.,
• Vesia Delic - 464-332 BC e.,
• Gitzig's version - 204 BC e.,
• Graetz's version is the time of the reign of Herod the Great.

Thus, the time difference reaches 800 years.

Interpretation of the Book of Ecclesiastes

The Book of Ecclesiastes is unique to the Old Testament. It is a deep philosophical treatise. Ecclesiastes describes the cycle in the fate of man and the entire universe. Based on the text, the whole being of a person is a senseless vanity. All this has already been and will be more than once in the universe.

The Ecclesiastes text is rife with conflicting thoughts.

It is very likely that Ecclesiastes was written in the post-captivity era with the aim of supporting the people, consoling, showing all the vanity and frailty of life. Ecclesiastes urged to perceive life as a gift from God and not to reflect on hardships and injustice, but, on the contrary, to try to take all the best from life.

The author calls all the deeds of a person vanity, as well as such concepts as righteousness, fun, wisdom, youth, wealth, strength, and even life itself. Labor is vain, since the results of any work are not eternal. Wealth is vain, since it comes and goes, you cannot take it to another world. Wisdom is vain, since it cannot guarantee a person success and prosperity. However, the author is still convinced that wisdom is better than stupidity, and also preferable to physical strength and wealth. But the wise and the stupid and the rich will die and be forgotten. Righteousness is in vain, since the author does not believe in the law of righteousness -> reward, sinfulness -> punishment. The author explains his point of view by the fact that he witnessed a lot of injustice. The author does not deny the idea that everything happens according to the will of God and that God acts correctly, but he says that it is impossible for mortals to understand the powers of Providence, and therefore it is not worth trying.

An interesting fact is that the author does not want to talk about life after death, after the judgment of God. However, he does not deny that God will bring everyone to judgment at the end of his days. The ecclesiastes' reluctance to think about life after death is explained by the manner of the book as a whole - the author speaks only of what he felt and learned from experience. And experience convinced him of the futility of man's efforts.

The frivolity and vanity of the reality surrounding him, the author of the Ecclesiastes explains

• By the fall of men
• The incomprehensibility of the ways of the Lord,
• The inevitability of death
• The ambiguity of what life after death is.

The Ecclesiastes should not be misinterpreted as a hymn to human selfhood and independence from God. The author of the book trusts in God.

Chapter 1. Reflections on the futility of human efforts, on the cycle of things in nature.

Chapter 2. Reflections on the futility of pleasure, wisdom and labor.

Chapter 3... Human labor does not affect the course of events in the world ruled by God.

Chapter 4. Work for evil, the futility of the fruits of labor.

Chapter 5. Reasoning about empty promises. The futility of labor. The joy of riches given by God.

Chapter 6. The reasoning that everything is predetermined. The limitations of human wisdom.

Chapter 7... The meaning of being and the meaning of righteousness are unknown to man.

Chapter 8. God's retribution may be incomprehensible to humans

Chapter 9. A person does not know what awaits him, but death awaits everyone equally. Wisdom is not a guarantee of success.

Chapter 10. Wisdom is better than stupidity.

Chapter 11... The call works, to live joyfully, honoring His God. This life will be followed by dark days.

Chapter 12... A call to responsibility when young. Return to the thought of the vanity of being.

The book ends with a tip:

Fear God and keep His commandments.

The book of Ecclesiastes is one of the books whose understanding does not come immediately. It requires a certain maturity of spirit. The thoughts and ideas of Ecclesiastes are grandiose in their significance and influence on the entire subsequent history and culture of man.

Old Greek - a clergyman) - one of the most complex works of the Old Testament; tradition attributes the authorship of E. to King Solomon, however scientific. Bible criticism established that E. was written in the 3rd century. BC e. under the influence of the Greek. philosophy. The creator E. chose the form of a monologue, the edge allows him through the lips of the hero to reveal his internal. peace. For int. Vladyka's monologue, exposing his false kindness and false sympathy for the oppressed, reveals the writer's crafty pretense. E. is a book without a plot. It lacks modern paintings. her society. Its author is neither a chronicler nor a prose writer. He is a thinker. E. is a multi-layered work. The laughter of denial and the smile of affirmation, search and disappointment, subtle observation and wise generalization are intertwined here. Rebelling against the chimeras of Judaism, the author E. frankly expresses his negative attitude to the theory of the "next world" and heavenly judgment: man has no advantage over the cattle ”(3:19). He does not believe in the otherworldly kingdom of God.

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ECCLESIASTES

Ecclesiastes (Old Hebrew qohelet - "Preaching in the Congregation") is a monument of Hebrew aphoristic literature dating back to the 4th or 3rd centuries. BC e. (attempts to date it to a later time do not hold water). He arose among professional scribes (a later postscript gives the image of the author of the book: “in addition to the fact that Ecclesiastes was wise, he also taught the people knowledge, and weighed, and tested, and composed many sayings”). The origin of the book calls the author “son of David, king in Jerusalem”; for the reader this could mean one thing - King Solomon, and if there is a misunderstanding, then planned and provoked. From time to time, the author, as it were, playfully tries on a literary mask, describing his attempts to find satisfaction in the royal luxury and his disappointment. Generally speaking, the custom of attributing collections of aphorisms to the "wise" kings of the past existed from time immemorial in ancient Egyptian literature and from it passed into Hebrew: for example, the "Book of Proverbs of Solomon" was attributed to Solomon. But here we have something else: the author not only inscribes the name of Solomon over his book, but really “enters the image” of the most magnificent of the kings of Judea, introducing an ambiguous conjunction of two plans - the confessional and the legendary historical. The traditional image of Solomon is taken as a generalizing paradigm for inner life experience. This conscientiousness of the reception, this taste for the inspired, meaningful, meaningful “acting out” of the reader is a trait as rare against the general background of ancient Eastern literature as it is characteristic of E.

E.'s main motive is the futility of attempts to comprehensively embrace life, to subjugate it in practice, or to exhaust it with thought. All these attempts - hebel - "whiff" (as we would say, "fuk" - blew, and no!), That is, "futility", or "vanity".

Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes, vanity of vanities, and all is vanity!

What is the benefit to man from all the labors, on which he labors under the sun? A generation leaves, a generation comes, and the earth abides forever. The sun rises, the sun sets, hurries to its place and rises again ...

What was, what will be,

and what has been done is done,

and there is nothing new under the sun.

(Translated by S. Averintsev).

It is characteristic that the author complains about nothing more than that very stability of the cosmos returning to itself, which was a source of consolation, even delight for the Greek poets and philosophers; natural cycles do not please him with their regularity, but they bore him with their inertia. "Eternal return", which seemed to the Pythagoreans a sublime secret of being, is here evaluated as unbearable and inescapable nonsense. This is the specificity of E.'s skepticism: the author painfully doubts (and, therefore, desperately needs) not world harmony, but in the world sense, he has lost not the divine cosmos, but the sacred history. "Nonsense", which hopes to rule life, and traditional "wisdom", which hopes to explain life, E. contrasts wisely distrustful participation in life with its fragile, but genuine joys (compare the ancient Egyptian "Song of the Harper" and the advice of the inn of the gods in the epic of Gilgamesh ). For E., the idea of ​​the inexplicable, incomprehensible, and transcendental nature of God retains its significance. He does not doubt God, but he doubts religion as one of the varieties of human activity (and therefore - human "vanity"). There is God, but one can hardly talk to Him and know anything about Him; God's action in the world is understood as the complete opposite of human action, the limit to “vain” attempts to correct something, to know or express something in words. This synthesis of mysticism and fatalism with bold and sober sanity anticipates the spiritual makeup that will be characteristic of the philosophical poetry of the East for centuries.

Attempts to find in Egypt any significant traces of Hellenistic influence were unsuccessful. The influence of the ancient traditions of the aphoristic literature of Egypt and especially Mesopotamia is much more certain. Freethinking tendencies did not prevent E. from entering the canon of the Bible (after the controversy that was imprinted in the "Mishnah" part of the Talmud).

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On Wikisource

Ecclesiastes, also Ecclesiastes , Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes or Preacher(Hebrew קֹ הֶ לֶ ת - " cochelet"; Old Greek Ἑκκλησιαστής ) - the 33rd part of the Tanakh, the 7th book of Ktuvim, the name of the Old Testament book, which in the Christian Bible is placed among the Solomon books.

Meaning

The book of Ecclesiastes is in many ways a unique phenomenon in the composition of the Bible, markedly different from all its other books in the way of thinking of the author. One can hardly name a book in the Old Testament that would have had a greater influence on the minds of readers over the centuries that have passed since its writing. Even thinkers far from faith have turned to it as one of the most profound philosophical treatises. The objections of the Jewish theologians of the Talmud against the inclusion of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible have survived (Shabbat, 30 b). It was directly stated that it contains heretical views (Vayikra Rabba, 28 a).

Ecclesiastes, describing the picture of the eternal cycle of the universe and man, says that the accumulation of wealth, honor, ranks, pleasure, and even righteous labor and the birth of children - all this was already under the sun and all this - bustle(pointless, aimless). He says that a person always rules over a person, that there have always been corrupt courts, violence and lawlessness:

“... Foolishness has been placed on high posts, And the worthy ones are below ... ... I saw slaves on horses And princes marching on foot like slaves ... ... I also saw under the sun: Place of judgment, and there is lawlessness; The place of truth, but there is untruth ... ... The righteous are comprehended what the deeds of the wicked deserve, and with the wicked there is what the deeds of the righteous deserve ... "

He also became disaffected in the sense of wisdom:

“And I gave my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and stupidity; I learned that this too is a vexation of the spirit. For there is much sorrow in much wisdom; And whoever multiplies knowledge multiplies sorrow. "

He says that "man has no advantage over cattle," because "as they die, so do these."

The author of the Book of Ecclesiastes is a convinced fatalist: “And I turned, and saw that it was not the nimble who got a successful run, not the brave - victory, not the wise - bread, and not the wise - wealth, and not the skillful - goodwill, but time and opportunity for all of them. For a person does not know his time. As fish are caught in a pernicious net, and as birds are entangled in snares, so the sons of men are caught in times of trouble, when it unexpectedly finds them. "

The only worthy position in life, in his opinion, is not to try to improve the world and society, but to enjoy the very process of life: “So go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with joy of heart, when God delights in your deeds. May your garments be bright at all times, and may the oil on your head not be depleted. Enjoy life with the wife you love, all the days of your vain life, and which God gave you under the sun for all your vain days; because this is your share in your life and in your labors as you work under the sun. "

The text ends with a prosaic postscript by the ancient editor of the book - perhaps a student of the author - with a poetic insert (chapter 12, verses 9-14). The last lines of the text in the Synodal Translation are as follows:

“Let us hear the essence of everything: fear God and keep His commandments, because this is everything for man; for God will bring every deed to judgment, and everything secret, whether it is good or bad. "

Influence of ancient oriental texts

The influence of the ancient Egyptian religious literature on the book is noted:

Evaluations

Ecclesiastes is a book without a plot. It lacks pictures of contemporary society. Its author is neither a chronicler nor a prose writer. He is a thinker. Ecclesiastes is a multi-layered work. The laughter of denial and the smile of affirmation, search and disappointment, subtle observation and wise generalization are intertwined here. Rebelling against the chimeras of Judaism, the author of Ecclesiastes frankly expresses his negative attitude to the theory of “the next world” and the heavenly judgment: man has an advantage over livestock ”(3:19). He does not believe in the kingdom of God beyond.

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Notes (edit)

1. , With. 148.
3. Cm. Modern Hebrew Verb Conjugation
6. In the original, the word הָבֶל (havel) is used, which in Hebrew literally means "steam", "breath". In several places in the Book of Ecclesiastes, two more words are added to “hevel”, which in the synodal translation are rendered as “vexation of the spirit”: “vanity of vanities and vexation of the spirit” (1:14, 2:11, 2:17, 2:26, ​​4 : 4, 6: 9). But the correct translation of these two words is "chasing the wind" or "catching the wind."
9. V.V. Akimov. The biblical book of Ecclesiastes and the literary monuments of ancient Egypt. Minsk, 2012.
10. “Harper's Song” from “Harris Papyrus 500”: “… bodies disappear and pass away, others follow them, from the time of their ancestors. The gods (that is, the kings) who were before us rest in their pyramids, as well as the mummies, and the spirits are buried in their tombs. There was not even room left of the builders of the houses. I heard the words of Imhotep and Hardidif, whose sayings are on everyone's lips, and as for their places - their walls are destroyed, these places - as they are not, they never happened. None of them comes to tell about them, to tell about their stay, to strengthen our heart, until you come nearer to the place where they went. Be healthy in heart to make your heart forget about it, may it be best for you to follow your heart while you are alive. Put myrrh on your head, let your garment be of fine linen, anoint yourself with the wondrous, true ointments of the gods. Be cheerful, do not let your heart sink, follow its attraction and your good; arrange your affairs on earth, according to the command of your heart, and do not be distressed until the day of lamentation comes (for you). The one whose heart does not beat (Osiris) does not listen to complaints, and tears do not save anyone from the grave. So, celebrate, do not be discouraged, for you cannot take your property with you, and none of those who left have returned yet ”(Turaev. BA History of the Other East. P. 239). (p. 145-8) "Song of the Harper" from the tomb of Neferhotep: "Since the time of God, bodies have passed, and generations have come to their place. Ra rises in the morning, Atum enters Manu, men fertilize, women conceive, all their noses breathe in air, but in the morning their children go to their places (die)! spend a happy day, priest! May there always be incense and fragrances for your nose, garlands and lotuses for the shoulders and chest of your beloved sister, who is sitting next to you! Let there be song and music in front of you, cast aside all grief, think only of joy, until the day comes when you have to land on the land of Silence loving ... Spend a happy day, wise priest with clean hands! I've heard about everything. what happened to the ancestors: their (walls) are destroyed, their places do not exist, they are like those who have never been since the time of God. (But your walls are strong, you planted trees) on the shore of your pond, your soul rests on them and drinks water. Follow boldly your heart! .. Give bread to the poor, so that your name remains beautiful forever! Have a happy day! ... Think about the day when you are taken to the country where people are taken. There is no person there who would take his riches with him. And there is no return from there "(translated by M. A. Mathieu. // Monte P. ... Egypt Ramses. // P. Monte. Smolensk. 2000.S. 117-118)

Literature

• // Atheistic Dictionary / A. I. Abdusamedov, R. M. Aleinik, B. A. Alieva and others; Under total. ed. M.P. Novikova. - 2nd ed., Rev. and add. - M .: Politizdat, 1985 .-- S. 148 .-- 512 p. - 200,000 copies
• Fast G. prot. Interpretation of the Book of Ecclesiastes. - Krasnoyarsk: Yeniseisky Blagovest, 2009 .-- 346 p.

Links

Passage Characterizing the Book of Ecclesiastes

- Well, dear? No, brother, my pink darling, and their name is Dunyasha ... - But, looking at Rostov's face, Ilyin fell silent. He saw that his hero and commander was in a completely different order of thought.
Rostov glanced angrily at Ilyin and, without answering him, walked with quick steps towards the village.
- I'll show them, I'll ask them, robbers! He said to himself.
Alpatych, with a swimming step, so as not to run, barely caught up with Rostov at a trot.
- What decision did you take? He said, catching up with him.
Rostov stopped and, clenching his fists, suddenly advanced menacingly towards Alpatych.
- Solution? What's the solution? Old bastard! He shouted at him. - What are you looking at? A? The guys are rebelling, but you can't cope? You yourself are a traitor. I know you, I will skin everyone ... - And, as if afraid to waste the stock of his fervor, he left Alpatych and quickly walked forward. Alpatych, suppressing the feeling of insult, kept up with Rostov with a swimming step and continued to communicate his thoughts to him. He said that the men were rigid, that at the present moment it was unwise to oppose them without a military command, that it would not have been better to send for the command first.
“I will give them a military command ... I will fight them,” Nikolai said senselessly, gasping for breath from an unreasonable animal anger and the need to pour out this anger. Not realizing what he would do, unconsciously, with a quick, decisive step, he moved towards the crowd. And the closer he moved to her, the more Alpatych felt that his unreasonable act could produce good results. The peasants of the crowd felt the same, looking at his quick and firm gait and decisive, frowning face.
After the hussars entered the village and Rostov went to the princess, confusion and discord occurred in the crowd. Some men began to say that these newcomers were Russians and no matter how offended they were that they would not let the young lady go. The drone was of the same opinion; but as soon as he expressed it, Karp and other men attacked the former headman.
- How many years have you eaten the world? - Karp shouted at him. - You are all one! You will dig a jug, take it away, what, ruin our houses, or not?
- It has been said that there should be order, no one should go from the houses, so as not to take out the blue of gunpowder - that's all there is! Shouted another.
- There was a queue for your son, and you probably took pity on your irony, - the little old man suddenly spoke quickly, attacking Dron, - and shaved my Vanka. Eh, we will die!
- Then we will die!
“I’m not a refusal to the world,” said Dron.
- That is not a refusal, he has grown a belly! ..
Two long men said their own thing. As soon as Rostov, accompanied by Ilyin, Lavrushka and Alpatych, approached the crowd, Karp, putting his fingers behind his sash, slightly smiling, stepped forward. The drone, on the other hand, entered the back rows, and the crowd moved closer together.
- Hey! who is your headman here? - Rostov shouted, going up to the crowd with a brisk step.
- Headman then? What do you need? .. - asked Karp. But before he had time to finish, the cap flew off him and his head shook to the side from the strong blow.
- Hats down, traitors! - shouted the full-blooded voice of Rostov. - Where is the headman? He shouted in a frantic voice.
- The headman, the headman calls ... Dron Zakharych, you, - hurriedly obedient voices were heard here and there, and the caps began to be removed from their heads.
`` We can't rebel, we keep order, '' Karp said, and several voices from behind suddenly spoke up at the same instant:
- As the old men grumbled, there are a lot of you bosses ...
- Talk? .. Riot! .. Robbers! Traitors! - meaninglessly, Rostov yelled not in his own voice, grabbing Karp by the yurt. - Knit it, knit it! - he shouted, although there was no one to knit him, except for Lavrushka and Alpatych.
Lavrushka, however, ran up to Karp and grabbed his arms from behind.
- Will you order our people from under the mountain to click? He shouted.
Alpatych turned to the men, calling two by name to knit Karp. The men obediently left the crowd and began to unbelieve themselves.
- Where is the headman? - shouted Rostov.
The drone, with a frown and pale face, walked out of the crowd.
- Are you the headman? Knit, Lavrushka! - shouted Rostov, as if this order could not meet obstacles. And indeed, two more men began to knit Drona, who, as if helping them, took off his kushan and served it to them.
“And all of you listen to me,” Rostov turned to the peasants: “Now we’re marching home, and so that I don’t hear your voice.
- Well, we didn’t do any offense. We are only, then, out of stupidity. Only nonsense was done ... I told you that there was disorder, - voices were heard reproaching each other.
- I told you so, - said Alpatych, entering into his own rights. - Not good guys!
- Our stupidity, Yakov Alpatych, - answered the voices, and the crowd immediately began to disperse and scatter across the village.
The tied two men were taken to the master's yard. Two drunken men followed them.
- Eh, I'll look at you! - said one of them, referring to Karp.
- How can you talk to gentlemen like that? You thought what?
- Fool, - confirmed another, - really, fool!
Two hours later, the carts stood in the courtyard of the Bogucharovsky house. The peasants briskly carried and put the master's things on the carts, and Dron, at the request of Princess Marya, was released from the locker, where he was locked, standing in the courtyard, was in charge of the peasants.
“Don't put it so badly,” said one of the peasants, a tall man with a round smiling face, taking the box from the maid’s hands. - She's also worth money. Why do you just throw it or the floor of the rope - and it will rub. I don't like that. And so that everything is fair, according to the law. Just like that, under the matting, but cover it up with a senz, that's important. Lubo!
“Look for books, books,” said another man, who was carrying out Prince Andrey's library cabinets. - Don't cling! And it's overweight, guys, the books are healthy!
- Yes, they did, they didn’t walk! - With a significant wink, said a tall chubby man, pointing to the thick vocabulary lying on top.

Rostov, not wishing to impose his acquaintance on the princess, did not go to her, but remained in the village, awaiting her departure. After waiting for the departure of Princess Mary's carriages from the house, Rostov sat on horseback and up to the path occupied by our troops, twelve miles from Bogucharov, he accompanied her on horseback. In Yankov, at the inn, he said goodbye to her respectfully, for the first time allowing himself to kiss her hand.
“Don’t you be ashamed,” he replied, blushing, to Princess Marya in response to the expression of gratitude for her salvation (as she called his act), “everyone would have done the same. If we only had to fight with the peasants, we would not have allowed the enemy so far, ”he said, ashamed of something and trying to change the conversation. - I am only happy that I had the opportunity to meet you. Farewell, princess, I wish you happiness and consolation and wish to meet you under happier conditions. If you don't want to make me blush, please don't thank.
But the princess, if she did not thank him more with words, thanked him with all the expression of her face beaming with gratitude and tenderness. She couldn't believe him that she had nothing to thank him for. On the contrary, it was undoubtedly for her that if he were not there, then she probably should have perished both from the rebels and from the French; that, in order to save her, he exposed himself to the most obvious and terrible dangers; and it was even more certain that he was a man with a high and noble soul, who knew how to understand her position and grief. His kind and honest eyes, with tears coming out on them, while she herself, crying, spoke to him about her loss, did not leave her imagination.
When she said goodbye to him and was left alone, Princess Marya suddenly felt tears in her eyes, and this was not the first time she had a strange question: does she love him?
On the way further to Moscow, despite the fact that the princess's position was not happy, Dunyasha, who was riding with her in the carriage, more than once noticed that the princess, leaning out the carriage window, was smiling happily and sadly at something.
“Well, what if I fell in love with him? - thought Princess Marya.
No matter how ashamed she was to admit to herself that she was the first to fall in love with a person who, perhaps, would never love her, she consoled herself with the thought that no one would ever know this and that she would not be to blame, if she had to the end of her life, no one talking about loving the one she loved for the first and last time.
Sometimes she recalled his views, his participation, his words, and it seemed to her that happiness was not impossible. And then Dunyasha noticed that she, smiling, was looking out the carriage window.
“And he had to come to Bogucharovo, and at this very minute! - thought Princess Marya. - And it was necessary to refuse his sister to Prince Andrey! - And in all this Princess Marya saw the will of Providence.
The impression made on Rostov by Princess Marya was very pleasant. When he remembered about her, he felt cheerful, and when his comrades, upon learning about the adventure with him in Bogucharov, joked to him that he, having gone for hay, picked up one of the richest brides in Russia, Rostov got angry. He was angry precisely because the idea of ​​marrying a pleasant for him, gentle Princess Marya with a huge fortune more than once crossed his mind against his will. For himself personally, Nikolai could not wish for a wife better than Princess Marya: marrying her would make the countess - his mother - happiness, and would improve the affairs of his father; and even - Nikolai felt this - would have made Princess Marya happy. But Sonya? And the given word? And this made Rostov angry when they joked about Princess Bolkonskaya.

Taking command over the armies, Kutuzov remembered about Prince Andrei and sent him orders to come to the main apartment.
Prince Andrew arrived in Tsarevo Zaymishche on the very day and at the very time of the day when Kutuzov was making the first review of the troops. Prince Andrey stopped in the village at the house of the priest, who had the commander-in-chief's carriage, and sat down on a bench at the gate, waiting for the Most Serene Highness, as everyone now called Kutuzov. On the field outside the village, one could hear the sounds of the regimental music, or the roar of a huge number of voices shouting “Hurray!” To the new commander-in-chief. Right there at the gate, about ten paces from Prince Andrew, taking advantage of the prince's absence and the fine weather, stood two orderlies, a courier and a butler. Blackish, overgrown with mustaches and sideburns, the little hussar lieutenant colonel rode up to the gate and, glancing at Prince Andrey, asked: is the Most Serene One standing here and will he be soon?

The creation of poetic transcriptions of biblical books is an old tradition in both Russian and world literature. This is due, firstly, to the fact that a significant part of the Bible consists of poetry sections and whole books of poetry, and secondly, to the fact that the Bible raises eternal questions about man and life, which have always worried and will worry people. Just as art - icon painting, plastic art, painting - has given its own interpretations of biblical themes for centuries, so literature could not ignore these themes. Finally, the Bible was a widely circulated, popular book, which provided the paraphrases to a wide range of readers.

The poetics of the Bible, which developed in the context of ancient Eastern culture, differed in many respects from the ancient, classical, and in order to bring it closer to the Western audience, many Latin and Greek poets created biblical paraphrases using the hexameter and other types of classical versification. Subsequently, new experiences arose, responding to new forms of poetry and new ideological demands. In Russia, biblical paraphrases have been known since the time of Simeon of Polotsk and then of Lomonosov.

A few words about the book itself. Ecclesiastes is one of the later parts of the Old Testament. The book's pseudonymity is beyond doubt. Already in the 17th century, Hugo Grotius pointed out the peculiarities of the Ecclesiastes language that distinguished it from the language of the time of the ancient king Solomon (10th century BC). Currently, most scholars place the book around 300 BC. e. In the original it is called Kochelet, which can be translated as “a person speaking in the congregation,” a preacher. This is exactly how the Greek translator conveyed the meaning of the title, who called the book Ecclesiastes (from the Greek. Ecclesia - collection).

Ecclesiastes has long attracted the attention of writers and historians, philosophers and poets. Its first paraphrase was created in the III century by Gregory of Neocaesarea. The book was surprising not only for its poetic power, but also for the fact that it reigns deep pessimism, in sharp contrast to the content of other books of the Bible. Attempts to find in Ecclesiastes the influence of Hellenistic thought were unsuccessful. The author focuses on a picture of the Universe common to almost the entire Ancient world. It is static, hopeless, the law of eternal return reigns in everything. The hope for the transformation of being, which is imbued with

The Bible is missing in Ecclesiastes.

More than once the question was raised, why did the compilers of the Bible include in it this melancholic poem, which speaks of “vanity,” that is, the futility and ephemerality of all human affairs? Many interpreters believe that Ecclesiastes was accepted into the collection of scriptures as a kind of counterpoint, as a warning, as a dialectical moment in the development of the entire biblical worldview. Initially, this worldview saw in earthly well-being as a sign of heavenly blessing. Thus, the value of wealth, success, procreation in children, etc. was almost absolutized. But at some point it was discovered that these values ​​are by no means absolute. It was necessary to look for a different spiritual meaning of human existence. And in the context of the entire Bible, Ecclesiastes marks the border milestone from which this quest began. It captures the wisdom of life, and the fruits of meditation, and the experience of a person who has seen and tested a lot; but all this is dominated by a single attitude and a single thought: "all is vanity." To soften the impression of such a pessimistic book, an unknown ancient writer provided it with an epilogue, which is already permeated with a different spirit.

Archpriest Alexander Men

1 Words of Ecclesiastes son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2 Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes, vanity of vanities - all is vanity!

3 What profit is a man from all his labors, which he toils under the sun?

4 A generation passes away and a generation comes, but the earth abides forever.

5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hastens to its place where it rises.

6 The wind blows southward, and passes to the north, whirls, whirls on its way, and the wind returns to its circles.

7 All rivers flow into the sea, but the sea does not overflow: to the place from which the rivers flow, they return to flow again.

8 All things are in work: a person cannot retell everything; the eye will not be filled with sight, the ear will not be filled with hearing.

9 What was, will be; and what has been done will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.

10 There is something that they say: "Look, this is new"; but that was already in the centuries before us.

11 There is no memory of the past; and those who will be after will have no memory of what will happen.

12 I, Ecclesiastes, was king over Israel in Jerusalem;

13 And I gave my heart to investigate and test with wisdom all that is done under heaven: God gave this hard work to the sons of men, so that they might exercise in it.

14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and vexation of the spirit!

15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is not, that cannot be counted.

16 I spoke with my heart thus: behold, I have become exalted and gained wisdom more than all that were before me over Jerusalem, and my heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.

17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom and to know folly and folly: I knew that this too is a vexation of the spirit;

18 because in much wisdom there is much sorrow; and he who multiplies knowledge multiplies sorrow.

1 I said in my heart: "Let me test you with joy, and enjoy the good"; but this is vanity too!

2 About laughter I said: "stupidity!", And about fun: "What does it do?"

3 I thought in my heart to delight my body with wine, and while my heart was guided by wisdom, adhere to foolishness, until I see what is good for the sons of men, what they should have done under heaven in the few days of their life.

4 I did great things: I built myself houses, I planted vineyards for myself,

5 I made myself gardens and groves, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees.

6 I made for myself cisterns for watering the groves of trees;

7 I got servants and maids for myself, and my household was with me. also I had more cattle and sheep than all who were before me in Jerusalem.

8 I gathered for myself silver and gold and jewels from kings and provinces; he got himself singers and singers and the delights of the sons of men - various musical instruments.

9 And I became great and richer than all who were before me in Jerusalem; and my wisdom was with me.

10 Whatever my eyes desired, I did not refuse them, I did not forsake any joy in my heart, because my heart rejoiced in all my labors, and this was my share of all my labors.