Evagrius Ponticus, on Eccl 7:2

“A good name is better than precious ointments: and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.”

“The final end of human beings is a state of blessedness. If the Lord in the Gospel calls those who mourn "blessed"—"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted"—then Solomon quite rightly calls mourning the end of every human being, because those who live in that state of mourning are filled with an abundance of spiritual blessings.”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.