_There is an evil which I have seen under the sun_ The picture is substantially the same as that of ch. Ecclesiastes 4:7-8. The repetition is characteristic, consciously or unconsciously, of the pessimism from which the writer has not yet emancipated himself. He broods over the same thought, chews,... [ Continue Reading ]
_If a man beget an hundred children_ A case is put, the very opposite of that described in the preceding verse. Instead of being childless the rich man may have children, and children's children; may live out all his days. What then? Unless his "soul be filled with good," unless there is the capacit... [ Continue Reading ]
_he cometh in with vanity_ The pronoun in the English Version refers the clause to the man who has heaped up riches, and had a long life with no real enjoyment. Probably, however, the words describe, in harmony with the thought of the preceding verse, the portion of the still-born child. IT comes an... [ Continue Reading ]
_Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told_ The weariness of life carries the thinker yet further. Carry it to the furthest point conceivable, and still the result is the same. The longer it is, the fuller of misery and woe. The thought finds, as before, a parallel in the speech of Solon to Cr... [ Continue Reading ]
_All the labour of man is for his mouth i.e._for self-preservation and enjoyment. That is assumed to be the universal aim, and yet even that is not satisfied. The "appetite," literally _soul_(not the higher, but the sensuous, element in man's nature), still craves for more. Desire is progressive, an... [ Continue Reading ]
_For what hath wise more than the fool?_ The question so far is easy. In this matter, the gifts of intellect make no difference. The wise, no less than the fool, is subject to the pressure of bodily necessities, and has to labour for them. The second clause is somewhat less clear. Of the many interp... [ Continue Reading ]
_Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire_ Literally, THAN THE WANDERING OF THE SOUL. The truth is substantially that embodied in the fable of "the dog and his shadow" and in proverbs like "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." To enjoy what we actually see, _i.e._pre... [ Continue Reading ]
_That which hath been is named already_ The maxim is enigmatic. As viewed by many commentators, it asserts that man is the creature of a destiny, which he cannot resist. Long ago, in the far eternity, his name has been written, and what he will be. He cannot plead against the Power that is mightier... [ Continue Reading ]
_there be many things that increase vanity_ The Hebrew noun, as so often throughout the book, may stand either for _things_or _words_. In the former case, the maxim points to the pressure of affairs, what we call "business," the cares about many things, which make men feel the hollowness of life. In... [ Continue Reading ]
_who knoweth what is good for man_ We have once more the distinctive formula of Pyrrhonism. "Who knows?" was the sceptic's question, then as at all times. See note on ch. Ecclesiastes 3:21. After all discussions on the supreme good, some pointing to pleasure, and some to virtue, and some to apathy,... [ Continue Reading ]