Ecclesiastes — Chapter 12

Memento creatoris tui in diebus iuventutis tuae, antequam veniat tempus afflictionis.

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, I have no pleasure in them. Lapide devotes extensive commentary to this verse as the practical conclusion of the entire book: the young must turn to God before old age makes virtue difficult. He explains that creatoris (Creator) rather than merely Dei (God) is used to remind man of his total dependence on God. The evil days are the miseries of old age, described at length in the following verses. He cites numerous patristic authorities urging early conversion.

Antequam tenebrescat sol, et lumen, et luna, et stellae, et revertantur nubes post pluviam.

Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain. Lapide interprets these celestial images as figures of old age: the sun is the rational mind or the face's brightness, the moon is the body, the stars are the senses and faculties, all of which grow dim in senescence. The clouds returning after rain signify afflictions piling upon afflictions without respite in old age. He provides both literal-physiological and mystical-tropological readings.

Quando commovebuntur custodes domus, et nutabunt viri fortissimi, et otiosae erunt molentes in minuto numero, et tenebrescent videntes per foramina.

When the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed. Lapide identifies the keepers of the house as the arms, hands, and ribs that guard the body; the strong men as the legs, thighs, and knees that support it; the grinders as the teeth that diminish and fail in old age; and those looking through windows as the eyes that grow dim. He provides detailed anatomical explanations from Aristotle and Galen alongside the allegorical readings.

Et claudent ostia in platea, in humilitate vocis molentis, et consurgent ad vocem volucris, et obsurdescent omnes filiae carminis.

They shut the doors in the street when the sound of the grinding is low; one rises at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low. Lapide provides eight interpretations of the closed doors: the lips that compress in old age, the nostrils clogged with phlegm, the vocal arteries weakened, the digestive tract that fails. The rising at a bird's voice signifies the light, restless sleep of the elderly who wake at the slightest sound. The daughters of song are the ears that grow deaf, or the vocal powers that fail, so that the old can neither sing nor enjoy music. He provides extensive tropological applications about spiritual deafness to God's call.

Excelsa quoque timebunt et formidabunt in via; florebit amygdalus, impinguabitur locusta, et dissipabitur capparis.

They are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the locust becomes a burden, and the caper berry fails. Lapide explains the fear of heights as the timidity and feebleness of old age that makes even walking on flat ground terrifying. The blossoming almond represents white hair (canities), since almond flowers are white and appear first among trees. The fattened locust represents the swollen, phlegmatic body of the aged. The failing caper berry represents the loss of appetite and desire, both for food and for all pleasures, since the caper was known to stimulate appetite. He provides seven interpretations of each image, citing medical and natural-historical authorities.

Antequam rumpatur funiculus argenteus, et recurrat vitta aurea, et conteratur hydria super fontem, et confringatur rota super cisternam.

Before the silver cord is snapped, the golden bowl is broken, the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, the wheel broken at the cistern. Lapide provides the most extensive commentary of the chapter on these four enigmas of death. The silver cord is the spinal medulla (medulla spinalis), white and precious like silver, which connects the brain to the body through the vertebrae. The golden bowl (vitta aurea) is the meninx or cerebral membrane, golden-hued and precious, which contains the brain. The pitcher at the fountain is the gallbladder at the liver, or the bladder receiving humors from the hepatic fountain. The wheel at the cistern is the head (round like a wheel) drawing vital spirits from the heart (the cistern). He provides six or seven interpretations of each image, citing medical authorities Galen, Hippocrates, and Vallesiuus, alongside patristic readings from SS. Jerome, Bonaventure, and others. He also applies all four images specifically to those who have ruined their bodies through youthful lust and excess.

Et revertatur pulvis in terram suam unde erat, et spiritus redeat ad Deum, qui dedit illum.

And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Lapide treats this verse as the resolution of all the preceding enigmas: the body, formed from dust, returns to dust; the immortal soul returns to God its creator and judge. He firmly establishes the immortality of the soul against Pythagorean transmigration and materialist denials, citing SS. Jerome, Augustine, and Cassian. The verse proves that the soul is not propagated by parents but individually created by God for each person. He emphasizes that the spirit returns to God as judge, to render account of all actions.

Vanitas vanitatum, dixit Ecclesiastes, et omnia vanitas.

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, all is vanity. Lapide explains this as the epilogue and recapitulation of the entire book: having shown that the body returns to dust and the soul to its Judge, Solomon repeats his opening thesis as now fully demonstrated. Since all human labor ends in death and judgment, all worldly pursuits are indeed vanity. This is the conclusio of the great inductio that has comprised the whole work.

Cumque esset sapientissimus Ecclesiastes, docuit populum, et enarravit quae fecerat; et investigans composuit parabolas multas. Quaesivit verba utilia, et conscripsit sermones rectissimos ac veritate plenos.

Because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs. He sought to find words of delight and uprightly wrote words of truth. Lapide explains that Solomon not only composed this book but taught the people extensively both by voice and in writing. He investigated, collected, corrected, and arranged the sayings of earlier sages as well as his own, producing parabolas (proverbs and wisdom sayings) that are both useful and truthful, conforming to divine will and right reason.

Verba sapientium sicut stimuli, et quasi clavi in altum defixi, quae per magistrorum consilium data sunt a pastore uno.

The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings given by one Shepherd. Lapide explains that wisdom's words are compared to goads because they prick the conscience of the lazy and sinful, spurring them to action, and to deeply driven nails because they fix themselves permanently in the mind. The one Shepherd is God, from whom all true wisdom ultimately derives, communicated through prophets, apostles, and the magisterium of the Church. He uses this verse to defend the authority of the Roman Pontiff as the vicar of the one divine Shepherd.

His amplius fili mi ne requiras. Faciendi plures libros nullus est finis, frequensque meditatio carnis afflictio est.

Beyond these, my son, be warned: of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Lapide interprets this as Solomon's counsel to be content with the wisdom already delivered by the one Shepherd through the tradition of teachers, rather than seeking endless novelty. He does not condemn writing per se but warns against the vanity of excessive literary production, especially when it departs from received truth. Frequent study without spiritual fruit is merely carnal affliction. He cites SS. Jerome and Augustine, classical authors, and anecdotes about reading discipline.

Finem loquendi pariter omnes audiamus: Deum time, et mandata eius observa; hoc est enim omnis homo.

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. Lapide treats this as the supreme anacephalaeosis (summary recapitulation) of the entire book, condensing all of Solomon's teaching into a single maxim. He provides three main interpretations of hoc est omnis homo: (1) this is every man's duty and destiny; (2) this is what defines a true human being, since one who does not fear God lives as a beast; (3) this is the whole and perfect man, since all other goods without the fear of God are vanity and nothingness. He cites SS. Bernard, Jerome, Chrysostom, Augustine, Epictetus, Plato, and Seneca at great length.

Et cuncta quae fiunt, adducet Deus in iudicium pro omni errato, sive bonum, sive malum illud sit.

For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. Lapide explains this final verse as the ultimate motivation for fearing God: the universal judgment in which all human actions, including the most secret thoughts and negligences (errata), will be examined before the tribunal of Christ. He emphasizes that God will judge not only overt sins but also hidden negligences, half-hearted good works, and errors of inattention. He recounts the story of the Parisian doctor whose secret sins were publicly revealed at his funeral, prompting St. Bruno to found the Carthusian Order. He concludes with a prayer that readers may pass from vanity to truth, from earth to heaven, from time to eternity.