,libraries7 ,transcriber's note3 ,text enclosed by underscores is in italics 7italics74 ,small capital text has been replaced with all capitals4 ,,edited ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d41 ,editor of ,the ,expositor4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,ecclesiastes1 ,,by ,,samuel ,,cox1 ,d4,d4 ,,toronto3 ,,willard ,,tract ,,depository ,,and ,,bible ,,depot1 ,,corner ,,of ,,yonge ,,and ,,temperance ,,streets4 #ahij4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,ecclesiastes4 ,,with ,a ,,new ,,translation4 ,,by ,,samuel ,,cox1 ,d4,d41 ,,author ,,of ,,commentaries ,,on ,,job1 ,,ruth1 ,,etc4 ,omnia vanitas1 praeter amare ,deum1 et illi soli servire4 --,,st4 ,,augustine4 ,,toronto3 ,,willard ,,tract ,,depository ,,and ,,bible ,,depot1 ,,corner ,,of ,,yonge ,,and ,,temperance ,,streets4 #ahij4 ,,preface4 ,the ,lectures on which this book is founded were delivered five-and-twenty years ago1 and were published in ,a4,d4 #ahfg4a ,for more than twenty years the book has been out of print1 a large first edition having been speedily sold out4 ,no other edition was issued owing to the fact that my publisher soon passed into another profession4 ,i have often been asked to reprint it1 but have always felt that1 before reprinting1 ,i must rewrite it4 ,till of late1 however1 ,i could not command leisure for the task4 ,but when1 at the commencement of this year1 the ,editor of ,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible did me the honour to ask permission to reprint it1 that he might include it in this excellent series1 ,i had leisure at command1 and cheerfully devoted it to the revision of my work4 ,among the more recent commentaries ,i have read with this purpose in view1 those which ,i have found most helpful and suggestive were that of ,delitzsch1 that by ,dr4 ,wright1 that of ,dean ,plumptre1 and the fine fragment contributed to ,,the ,,expositor by ,dr4 ,perowne1 the ,dean of ,peterborough4 ,in the preface to the former edition ,i dwelt on my indebtedness to the commentary of ,dr4 ,ginsburg1 published in ,a4,d4 #ahfa4 ,in my judgment it still remains by far the best1 the most thorough and the most sound4 ,it has but one serious defect2 it is addressed to scholars1 and so abounds in learning and erudition that it can never come into popular use4 ,indeed even now1 although during the last twenty years there has been an immense advance in the study and exposition of ,holy ,writ1 and many able and learned men have devoted themselves to the service of the general public1 ,i know of no commentary on this ,scripture which really meets the wants of the unlettered4 ,i cannot but hope1 therefore1 that the ,quest of the ,chief ,good may still serve a useful purpose1 and that1 in its revised form1 it may be found helpful to those who most need help4 #a ,the ,quest of the ,chief ,good4 ,a ,popular ,commentary on the book ,,ecclesiastes1 with a ,new ,translation4 ,by ,samuel ,cox4 ,london3 ,arthur ,miall4 ,in rewriting the book ,i have retained as much as ,i could of its earlier form1 lest the vivacity of a first exposition of the ,scripture should be lost4 ,and1 indeed1 the alterations ,i have had to make are but slight for the most part1 though ,i have in many places altered1 and1 ,i hope1 amended both the translation and the commentary3 but there are one or two additions--they will be found on pages #bj-bf1 and1 again1 in certain modifications of the exposition of ,chapter ,,xii41 verses #i-ab1 on pages #bgi-cje2 dealing mainly with the structure of ,ecclesiastes--which may1 ,i trust1 be found useful not to the general reader alone4 ,since the original edition appeared ,i have had to study the ,book of ,job1 most of the ,psalms1 many of the ,prophetical writings1 and some of the ,proverbs2 and it was inevitable that in the course of these pleasant studies ,i should arrive at clearer and more definite conceptions on the structure of ,hebrew poetry4 ,these ,i now place at the service of my readers1 and submit to the judgment of scholars and critics4 ,another and much more important result of these subsequent studies has been that ,i can now speak with a more assured confidence of the theme of this ,scripture1 and of its handling by the ,author4 ,none of the scholars who have recently commented on the ,book doubt that it is the quest of the chief good which it sets forth2 and though some of them arrange and divide it differently1 yet1 on the whole and in the main1 they are agreed that this quest is urged in ,wisdom1 in ,pleasure1 in ,devotion to ,public ,affairs1 in ,wealth and in the ,golden ,mean2 and that it ends and rests in the large noble conclusion1 that only as men reverence ,god1 and keep his commandments1 and trust in his love1 do they touch their true ideal1 and find a good that will satisfy and sustain them under all changes1 even to the last4 ,the assent to this view of the ,book was by no means general a quarter of a century ago2 but it is so wide now1 and is sanctioned by the authority of so many schools of learning1 that ,i think no reader of the following pages need be disturbed by misgivings as to the accuracy of the main lines of thought here set forth4 ,few ,scriptures of the ,old ,testament are so familiar to the general reader as ,ecclesiastes2 and that mainly1 ,i think1 because it addresses itself to a problem which is yours1 mine1 every man's4 ,many more quotations from it have entered into our current speech than have been taken from ,job1 for example1 although ,job is both a much larger and a much finer poem than this--the finest poem1 as a great living poet has said1 whether of the modern or of the antique world4 ,it is a ,book which can never lose its interest for men until the last conflict in the long strife of doubt has led in the final victory of faith2 and seems1 in especial1 to adapt itself to the conditions and wants of the present age4 ,it deals with the very questions which are in all our minds1 and offers a solution of them1 and1 so far as ,i know1 the only solution1 in which those who have eternity in their hearts can rest4 ,may all who study it1 with such help as the following pages afford1 find rest to their souls1 and be drawn from the heat and strife of thought into the calm and hallowed sanctuary which it throws open to our erring feet4 ,,the ,,holme1 ,,hastings1 ,october #ahij4 ,,contents4 ,,pages ,i4 ,,the ,,introduction #a-ff ,sec4 #a4 ,on the ,authorship1 ,form1 ,design1 and ,contents of the ,book #c-cb ,sec4 #b4 ,on the ,history of the ,captivity #cb-ff 7#a7 ,the ,babylonian ,period #ch-dc 7#b7 ,the ,persian ,period #dc-ff ,,ii4 ,,the ,,translation #fg-aaj ,sec4 #a4 ,the ,prologue #fi-gj ,sec4 #b4 ,the ,first ,section3 or1 ,the ,quest of the ,chief ,good in ,wisdom and in ,pleasure #ga-gf ,sec4 #c4 ,the ,second ,section3 or1 ,the ,quest in ,devotion to the ,affairs of ,business #gg-hf ,sec4 #d4 ,the ,third ,section3 or1 ,the ,quest in ,wealth and in the ,golden ,mean #hg-if ,sec4 #e4 ,the ,fourth ,section3 or1 ,the ,quest ,achieved #ig-ajh ,sec4 #f4 ,the ,epilogue #aji1 #aaj ,,iii4 ,,the ,,exposition #aaa-cce ,sec4 #a4 ,,the ,,prologue #aac-abf ,sec4 #b4 ,,the ,,first ,,section3 or1 ,the ,quest in ,wisdom and in ,pleasure #abg-ada 7a7 ,the ,quest in ,wisdom #abg-acc 7b7 ,the ,quest in ,pleasure #acc-acg 7c7 ,wisdom and ,pleasure ,compared #ach-adj 7d7 ,the ,conclusion #adj1 #ada ,sec4 #c4 ,,the ,,second ,,section3 or1 ,the ,quest in ,devotion to the ,affairs of ,business #adb-ahf 7a7 ,the ,quest obstructed by ,divine ,ordinances #adc-ade 7b7 ,and by ,human ,injustice and ,perversity #ade-aea 7c7 ,it is rendered hopeless by the base ,origin of ,human ,industries #aea1 #aeb 7d7 ,yet these are capable of a nobler ,motive and ,mode #aec-aeh 7e7 ,so also a happier and more effective ,method of ,worship is open to ,man2 #aeh-afj 7f7 ,and a more helpful and consolatory ,trust in the ,divine ,providence #afa-afd 7g7 ,the ,conclusion #afd1 #afe ,,application #afe-ahf 7a7 ,devotion to ,business springs from ,jealous ,competition3 #afh1 #afi 7b7 ,it tends to form a ,covetous ,temper2 #afi-aga 7c7 ,to produce a ,materialistic ,scepticism2 #aga-agc 7d7 ,to make ,worship ,formal and ,insincere2 #agc1 #agd 7e7 ,and to take from ,life its ,quiet and ,innocent ,enjoyments #age-agi 7f7 ,the ,correctives of this ,devotion are1 7#a7 ,a ,sense of its ,perils2 #agi1 #ahj 7#b7 ,and the ,conviction that it is opposed to the ,will of ,god as expressed-- 7a7 ,in the ,ordinances of his ,providence1 #ahj 7b7 ,in the ,wrongs which ,he permits ,men to inflict upon us2 #aha 7c7 ,but above all in the immortal ,cravings which ,he has quickened in the ,soul #ahb1 #ahc 7g7 ,practical ,maxims deduced from this ,view of the ,business-,life #ahd-ahf 7#a7 ,a ,maxim on ,co-operation #ahd 7#b7 ,a ,maxim on ,worship #ahd1 #ahe 7#c7 ,a ,maxim on ,trust in ,god #ahe1 #ahf ,sec4 #d4 ,,the ,,third ,,section3 or1 ,the ,quest in ,wealth and in the ,golden ,mean #ahg-bbh 7,a7 ,the ,quest in ,wealth #ahh-aic 7a7 ,the ,man who makes ,riches his ,chief ,good is haunted by ,fears and ,perplexities3 #ahh-aij 7b7 ,for ,god has put ,eternity into his heart2 #aij1 #aia 7c7 ,and much that he gains only feeds ,vanity2 #aia1 #aib 7d7 ,neither can he tell what it will be ,good for him to have1 #aib 7e7 ,nor foresee what will become of his ,gains #aib1 #aic 7,b7 ,the ,quest in the ,golden ,mean #aic-bji 7a7 ,the ,method of the ,man who seeks a ,competence #aie-aii 7b7 ,the ,perils to which it exposes him #aii-bjg 7#a7 ,he is likely to compromise ,conscience3 #bjj1 #bja 7#b7 ,to be indifferent to ,censure3 #bja-bjc 7#c7 ,to despise ,women3 #bjc-bje 7#d7 ,and to be indifferent to ,public ,wrongs #bje-bjg 7c7 ,the ,preacher condemns this ,theory of ,human ,life #bjg-bji ,,application #bji-bbh 7,a7 ,the ,quest in ,wealth #bab-bah 7a7 ,the ,man who makes ,riches his ,chief ,good is haunted by ,fears and ,perplexities #bac1 #bad 7b7 ,much that he gains only feeds ,vanity #bad1 #bae 7c7 ,he cannot tell what it will be ,good for him to have2 #bae 7d7 ,nor foresee what will become of his ,gains3 #bae1 #baf 7e7 ,and because ,god has put ,eternity into his heart1 he cannot be content with ,temporal ,gains #baf-bah 7,b7 ,the ,quest in the ,golden ,mean #bah-bbh 7a7 ,the ,method of the ,man who seeks a ,competence #bbj-bbb 7b7 ,the ,perils to which it exposes him #bbb-bbf 7#a7 ,he is likely to compromise ,conscience3 #bbb-bbd 7#b7 ,to be indifferent to ,censure3 #bbd 7#c7 ,to despise ,women3 #bbe 7#d7 ,and to be indifferent to ,public ,wrongs #bbf 7c7 ,the ,preacher condemns this ,theory of ,human ,life #bbg1 #bbh ,sec4 #e4 ,,the ,,fourth ,,section3 or1 ,the ,quest ,achieved #bbi-bge 7a7 ,the ,chief ,good not to be found in ,wisdom3 #bcj-bcd 7b7 ,nor in ,pleasure3 #bcd-bcg 7c7 ,nor in ,devotion to ,affairs and its ,rewards3 #bcg-bdf 7d7 ,but in a wise ,use and a wise ,enjoyment of the ,present ,life1 #bdg-bef 7c7 ,combined with a stedfast ,faith in the ,life to come #bef-bge ,sec4 #f4 ,,the ,,epilogue3 ,in which the ,problem of the ,book is conclusively ,solved #bgf-cce ,,introduction4 ,sec4 #a4 ,,on ,,the ,,authorship1 ,,form1 ,,design1 ,,and ,,contents ,,of ,,the ,,book4 ,those who raise the question1 ,is life worth living8 answer it by--living on2 for no man lives simply to proclaim what a worthless and wretched creature he is4 ,but for the most part the question is mooted in a merely academical and not very sincere spirit4 ,and to the dainty and fastidious pessimist who goes about to imply his own superiority by declaring that the world which contents his fellows is not good enough for him1 there still seems no better reply than the rough but rousing and wholesome rebuke which ,epictetus gave to such as he some nineteen centuries ago1 reminding them that there were many exits from the theatre of life1 and advising them1 if they disliked the show1 to retire from it by the nearest door of escape1 and to make room for spectators of a more modest and grateful spirit4 ,of the pessimists of his time he demands1 ,was it not ,god who brought you here8 ,and as what did ,he bring you8 ,was it not as a mortal8 ,was it not as one who was to live with a little portion of flesh upon the earth1 and to witness his administration--to behold the great spectacle around you for a little while8 ,after you have beheld the solemn and august spectacle as long as is permitted you1 will you not depart when ,he leads you out1 adoring and thankful for what you have heard and seen8 ,for you the solemnity is over4 ,go away1 then1 like a modest and grateful person4 ,make room for others4 ,but why1 urges the pessimist1 did ,he bring me into the world on these hard terms8 ,oh6 replies ,epictetus1 if you don't like the terms1 it is always in your power to leave them4 ,he has no need of a discontented spectator4 ,he will not miss you much1 nor we either4 ,but if any man lift the question into a more sincere and noble form by asking1 ,how may life be made worth living1 or best worth living8--in other words1 ,what is the true ideal1 and what the chief good1 of man8--he will find no nobler answer to it1 and none more convincingly and persuasively put1 than that contained in this ,scripture1 which modern pessimists are apt to quote whenever they want to approve their melancholy hypothesis with a text4 ,from ,schopenhauer downward1 this ,book is constantly cited by them as if it confirmed the conclusion for which they contend1 ,taubert even going so far as to find a catechism of pessimism in it4 ,their assumption1 however1 is based on a total misapprehension of the design and drift of ,ecclesiastes of which no scholar should have been guilty1 and of which it is hard to see how any scholar could have been guilty had he studied it as a whole1 instead of carrying away from it only what he wanted4 ,so far from lending any countenance to their conclusion of despair1 it frankly traverses it--as ,i hope to show1 and as many have shown before me--and lands us in its very opposite2 the conclusion of the whole matter with the ,hebrew ,preacher being1 that whoso cultivates the virtues of charity1 diligence1 and cheerfulness1 because ,god is in heaven and rules over all1 he will not only find life well worth living1 but will pursue its loftiest ideal and touch its true blessedness4 ,when scholars and philosophers have fallen into a mistake so radical and profound1 it is not surprising that the unlettered should have followed their leaders into the ditch1 and taken this ,scripture to be the most melancholy in the ,sacred ,canon1 instead of one of the most consolatory and inspiriting1 for want of apprehending its true aim4 ,beyond all doubt1 there is a prevailing ground-tone of sadness in the ,book2 for through by far the larger part of its course it has to deal with some of the saddest facts of human life--with the errors which divert men from their true aim1 and plunge them into a various and growing misery4 ,but the voice which sinks so often into this tone of sadness is the voice of a most brave and cheerful spirit1 a spirit whose counsels can only depress us if we are seeking our chief good where it cannot be found4 ,for the ,preacher1 as we shall see1 does not condemn the wisdom or the mirth1 the devotion to business or the acquisition of wealth1 in which most men find the chief good and market of their time1 as in themselves vanities4 ,he approves of them2 he shows us how we may so pursue and so use them as to find them very pleasant and wholesome2 how we may so dispense with them1 if they prove beyond our reach1 as none the less to enjoy a very true and abiding content4 ,his constant and recurring moral is that we are to enjoy our brief day on earth2 that ,god meant us to enjoy it2 that we are to be up and doing1 with a heart for any strife1 or toil1 or pleasure2 not to sit still and weep over broken illusions and defeated hopes4 ,our lower aims and possessions become vanities to us only when we seek in them that supreme satisfaction which ,he who has put eternity into our hearts designed us to find only in ,him and in serving ,him4 ,if we love and serve ,him1 if we gratefully acknowledge ,him to be the ,author of every good gift and every perfect boon1 if we seek first his kingdom and righteousness2 in fine1 if we are ,christian in more than name1 the study of this ,book should not make us sad4 ,we should find in it a confirmation of our most intimate convictions1 and incentives to act upon them4 ,but if we do not hold our wisdom1 our mirth1 our labour1 our wealth as the gifts and ordinances of ,god for our good1 if we permit them to usurp his seat and become as gods to us1 then indeed this ,book will be sad enough for us1 but no whit sadder than our lives4 ,it will be sad1 and will make us sad1 yet only that it may lead us to repentance1 and through repentance to a true and lasting joy4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is to be feared that the popular misconception of this singular and most instructive ,scripture goes much farther than this1 and extends to questions much more superficial than that of the temper or spirit it breathes4 ,if1 for example1 the average reader of the ,bible were asked1 ,who wrote this ,scripture8 when was it written8 to whom was it addressed8 what is its general scope and design8 his answer1 ,i suppose1 would be3 ,solomon wrote this ,book2 of course1 therefore1 it was written in his lifetime1 and addressed to the men over whom he ruled2 and his design in writing it was to reveal his own experience of life for their instruction4 ,and yet in all probability no one of these answers is true1 or anywhere near the truth4 ,according to the most competent judges1 the ,book ,ecclesiastes was not written by ,solomon1 nor for centuries after his death2 it was addressed to a generation of feeble and oppressed captives1 who had been carried away into exile1 or had lately returned from it1 and not to the free prosperous nation which rose to its highest pitch in the reign of the ,wise ,king4 ,it is a dramatic representation of the experience of a ,jewish sage1 who deliberately set himself to discover and pursue the chief good of man in all the provinces and along all the avenues in which it is commonly sought1 eked out by what he supposed or tradition reported ,solomon's experience to have been2 and its design was to comfort men who were groaning under the heaviest wrongs of ,time with the bright hope of ,immortality4 ,to scholars versed in the niceties of the ,oriental languages1 the most convincing proof of the comparatively modern date and authorship of the ,book is to be found in its words1 and idioms1 and style4 ,the base forms of ,hebrew and the large intermixture of foreign terms1 phrases1 and turns of speech which characterize it--these1 with the absence of the nobler rhythmic forms of ,hebrew poetry1 are held to be a conclusive demonstration that it was written during the ,rabbinical period1 at a time long subsequent to the ,augustan age in which ,solomon lived and wrote4 ,the critics and commentators whose names stand highest#b tell us that it would be just as easy for them to believe that ,hooker wrote ,blair's ,sermons1 or that ,shakespeare wrote the plays of ,sheridan ,knowles1 as to believe that ,solomon wrote ,ecclesiastes4 ,and of course on such questions as these we can only defer to the verdict of men who have made them the study of their lives4 #b ,rosenmueller1 ,ewald1 ,knobel1 ,de ,wette1 ,delitzsch1 ,ginsburg1 with many other competent judges1 are agreed on this point2 and even those who in part differ from them differ only in assigning the ,book to a date still farther removed from the time of ,solomon4 ,there are but few scholars who now contend for the ,solomonic authorship1 and hardly any of these are1 ,i think1 in the first rank4 ,but with all our deference for learning1 we have so often seen the conclusions of the ripest scholars modified or reversed by their successors1 and we all know questions of words to be capable of so many different interpretations1 that probably we should still hold our judgment in suspense1 were there no arguments against the traditional hypothesis such as plain men use and can understand4 ,there are many such arguments1 however1 and arguments that seem to be of a conclusive force4 ,as1 for instance1 this3 ,the whole social state described in this ,book is utterly unlike what we know to have been the condition of the ,hebrews during the reign of ,solomon1 but exactly accords with the condition of the captive ,israelites1 who1 at the disruption of the ,hebrew monarchies1 were carried away into ,babylonia4 ,under ,solomon the ,hebrew ,state touched its highest point4 ,his throne was surrounded by statesmen of tried sagacity2 his judges were incorrupt4 ,commerce grew and prospered1 till gold became as common as silver had been1 and silver as common as brass4 ,literature flourished1 and produced its most perfect fruits4 ,and the people1 though heavily taxed during the later years of his reign1 enjoyed a security1 a freedom1 an abundance unknown whether to their fathers or to their children4 ,judah and ,israel were many in number as the sands by the sea1 eating1 drinking1 and making merry4444 ,and ,judah and ,israel dwelt safely1 every man under his vine and under his fig-tree1 from ,dan even to ,beersheba1 all the days of ,solomon 7#a ,kings iv4 #bj1 #be74 ,but as we read this ,book we gather from it the picture of a social state in which kings were childish1 and princes addicted to revelry and drunkenness 7x4 #af72 great fools were lifted to high places and rode on stately horses1 while nobles were degraded and had to tramp through the mire 7x4 #f1 #g72 the race was not to the swift1 nor the battle to the strong1 nor riches to the intelligent1 nor favour to the learned 7ix4 #aa74 ,the most eminent public services were suffered to pass unrewarded1 and were forgotten the moment the need for them was passed 7ix4 #ad1 #ae74 ,property was so insecure that to amass wealth was only to multiply extortions1 and to fall a prey to the cupidity of princes and judges1 insomuch that the sluggard who folded his hands1 so long as he had bread to eat1 was esteemed wiser than the diligent merchant who applied himself to the labours and anxieties of traffic 7iv4 #e1 #f74 ,life was as insecure as property1 and stood at the caprice of men who were slaves to their own lusts2 a hasty word spoken in the divan of any one of the satraps1 or even a resentful gesture1 might provoke the most terrible outrages 7viii4 #c1 #d2 x4 #d74 ,the true relation between the sexes was violated2 the ruling classes crowded their harems with concubines1 and even the wiser sort of men took to themselves any woman they desired2 while1 with cynical injustice1 they first degraded women1 and then condemned them as alike and altogether bad1 their hands chains1 their love a snare 7vii4 #bf1 #bh2 ix4 #i74 ,the oppressions of the time were so constant1 so cruel1 and life grew so dark beneath them1 that those who died long ago were counted happier than those who were still alive2 while happier than either were those who had not been born to see the intolerable evils on which the sun looked calmly down day by day 7iv4 #a-c74 ,in fine1 the whole fabric of the ,state was fast falling into ruin and decay1 through the greed and sloth of rulers who taxed the people to the uttermost in order to supply their wasteful luxury 7x4 #ah1 #ai72 while yet1 so dreadful was their tyranny and their spies so ubiquitous1 that no man dared to breathe a word against them even to the wife of his bosom and in the secrecy of the bed-chamber 7x4 #bj73 the only consolation of the oppressed was the grim hope that a time of retribution would overtake their tyrants1 from which neither their power nor their craft should be able to save them 7viii4 #e-h74 ,nothing would be more difficult than to accept this as a picture of the social and political features of the ,hebrew commonwealth during the reign of ,solomon1 or even during those later years of his reign in which his rule grew hard and despotic4 ,nothing can well be more incredible than that this should be intended as a picture of his reign1 save that it should be a picture drawn by his own hand6 ,to suppose ,solomon the author of this ,scripture is to suppose that the wisest of kings and of men was base enough to pen a deliberate and malignant libel on himself1 his time1 and his realm6 ,on the other hand1 the description1 dark and lurid as it is1 exactly accords with all we know of the terrible condition of the ,jews who wept in captivity by the waters of ,babylon under the later ,persian rule1 or were ground under the heels of the ,persian satraps after their return to the land of their fathers4 ,in all probability1 therefore1 as our most competent authorities are agreed1 the ,book is a poem rather than a chronicle1 written by an unknown ,hebrew author1 during the ,captivity or shortly after the ,return1 certainly not before ,b4,c4 #ejj1 and probably somewhat later4#c #c ,the fourth century ,b4,c4 is1 ,i think1 its most probable date4 ,in his recent exposition of ,ecclesiastes1 the ,dean of ,wells attempts to bring the date down to about ,b4,c4 #bdj4 ,but his arguments are so curious and fanciful1 and his conclusion is based so largely on conjecture1 and on dubious similarities of phrase in the language of the ,hebrew ,preacher1 and of some of the later philosophers of ,greece1 that ,i suspect very little weight will be attached to his gallant attempt to breathe new life into the moribund hypothesis of the ingenious ,mr4 ,tyler4 ,delitzsch1 for example1 a high and recognized authority1 declares that there is not a trace of ,greek influence in this ,scripture1 though ,dr4 ,plumptre finds so many4 ,but though neither his hypothesis nor his confessedly conjectural biography of the unknown author carries the force of sober criticism1 there is much in his ,commentary which will be found very helpful4 ,nor is this inference1 drawn from the style and general contents of the ,book1 unsupported by verses in it which at first sight seem altogether opposed to such an inference4 ,all the special and direct indications of authorship are to be found either in the first or in the last chapter4 ,the very first verse runs1 ,the words of the ,preacher1 son of ,david1 ,king in ,jerusalem4 ,now1 ,david had only one son who was ,king in ,jerusalem1 viz4 ,solomon2 the verse1 therefore1 seems to fix the authorship on ,solomon beyond dispute4 ,nevertheless1 the conclusion is untenable4 ,for 7#a7 in his known and admitted works the ,wise ,king distinctly claims to be their author4 ,the ,book of ,proverbs commences with ,the ,proverbs of ,solomon1 and the ,canticles with ,the ,song of ,songs1 which is ,solomon's4 ,but the book ,ecclesiastes does not once mention his name1 though it speaks of a son of ,david1 i4e4 one of ,david's descendants4 ,instead of calling this son of ,david ,solomon1 it calls him ,coheleth1 or1 as we translate the word1 ,the ,preacher4 ,now1 the word ,coheleth#d is not a masculine noun1 as the name of a man should be1 but the feminine participle of an unused conjugation of a ,hebrew verb which means to collect1 or to call together4 ,it denotes1 not an actual man1 but an abstraction1 a personification1 and is probably intended to denote one who calls a congregation round him1 i4e4 a preacher1 any preacher1 preacher in the abstract4 7#b7 ,this son of ,david1 we are told1 was ,king in ,jerusalem2 and the phrase implies that the ,book was written at a time when there either were or had been kings out of ,jerusalem1 when ,jerusalem was not the only site of a ,hebrew throne1 and therefore after the disruption of ,solomon's realm into the rival kingdoms of ,israel and ,judah4 7#c7 ,again1 we find ,coheleth affirming 7i4 #ab71 ,i was ,king over ,israel in ,jerusalem1 and 7i4 #af71 ,i acquired greater wisdom than all 7all kings1 i4e41 say the critics7 who were before me in ,jerusalem4 ,but to say nothing of the questionable modesty of the latter sentence if it fell from the pen of ,solomon1 he was only the second occupant of the throne in ,jerusalem2 for ,jebus1 or ,jerusalem1 was only conquered from a ,philistine clan by his father ,david4 ,and if there had been only one1 how could he speak of all who preceded him8 7#d7 ,and still further1 the tense of the verb in ,i was ,king over ,israel can only carry the sense ,i was ,king1 but am ,king no more4 ,yet we know that ,solomon reigned over ,israel to the day of his death1 that there never was a day on which he could have strictly used such a tense as this4 ,so clear and undisputed is the force of this tense that the rabbis1 who held ,solomon to be the author of ,ecclesiastes1 were obliged to invent a fable or tradition to account for it4 ,they said1 ,when ,king ,solomon was sitting on the throne of his kingdom1 his heart was greatly lifted up within him by his prosperity1 and he transgressed the commandments of ,god1 gathering to him many horses1 and chariots1 and riders1 amassing much gold and silver1 and marrying many wives of foreign extraction4 ,wherefore the anger of the ,lord was kindled against him1 and ,he sent against him ,ashmodai1 the ruler of the demons2 and he drave him from the throne of his kingdom1 and took away the ring from his hand 7,solomon's ring is famous for its marvellous powers in all ,oriental fable71 and sent him forth to wander about the world4 ,and he went through the villages and cities1 with a staff in his hand1 weeping and lamenting1 and saying1 ',i am ,coheleth2 ,i was beforetime ,solomon1 and reigned over ,israel in ,jerusalem2 but now ,i rule over only this staff4' ,it is a pretty and pathetic fable1 but it is a fable2 and though it proves nothing else1 we may fairly infer from it that1 even in the judgment of the rabbis1 the book ,ecclesiastes must1 on its own showing1 have been written after ,solomon had ceased to be ,king1 i4e4 after he had ceased to live4 #d ,plumptre writes the word ,koheleth1 and ,perowne ,quoheleth4 ,which of the three initial letters should be used is of little consequence1 and hence ,i retain the form in most common use4 ,ecclesiastes is simply its ,greek equivalent4 ,in the ,epilogue 7xii4 #i-ab7 the ,author of the ,book lifts the dramatic mask from his face1 and permits us to see who he really is2 a mask1 let me add1 somewhat carelessly worn1 since we see nothing of it in the last ten chapters of the ,book4 ,although he has written in a feigned name1 and1 without asserting it1 has so moulded his phrases1 at least in the earlier chapters of his work1 as to suggest to his readers that he is1 if not ,solomon himself1 at least ,solomon's mouthpiece1 attributing the garnered results of his experience to one greater than himself1 that they may carry the more weight--just as ,browning speaks in the name of ,rabbi ,ben ,ezra1 for instance1 or ,fra ,lippo ,lippi1 or ,abt ,vogler1 borrowing what he can of outward circumstance from the age and class to which they belong1 and yet really uttering his own thought and emotion through their lips--he now confesses that he is no king of an age long past1 but a rabbi1 a sage1 a teacher1 a master1 who has both made some proverbs of his own and collected the wise sayings of others who had gone before him1 in order that he might carry some little light and comfort to the sorely bested men of his own generation and blood4#e ,in short1 he has exercised his right as a poet1 or maker1 to embody the results of his wide and varied experience of life in a dramatic form1 but is careful to let us know1 before he takes leave of us1 that it is a fictitious or dramatic ,solomon1 and not ,solomon himself1 to whom we have been listening throughout4 #e ,see the commentary on these verses for a fuller exposition of his real claims and position4 ,so that all the phrases in the ,book which are indicative of its authorship confirm the inference drawn from its style and its historical contents2 viz4 that it was not written by ,solomon1 nor in his reign1 but by an unknown sage of a long-subsequent period1 who1 by a dramatic impersonation of the characteristic experiences of the son of ,david1 or rather of his own experiences blended with the ,solomonic traditions and poured into their moulds1 sought to console and instruct his oppressed fellow-countrymen4 ,but perhaps the most convincing argument in favour of this conclusion is that1 when once we think of it1 we cannot possibly accept the ,solomon set before us in ,ecclesiastes as the ,solomon depicted in the historical books of ,scripture4 ,solomon the son of ,david1 with all his wisdom1 played the fool4 ,the foremost man and ,hebrew of his time1 he gave his heart to strange women1 and to gods whose ritual was not only idolatrous1 but cruel1 dark1 impure4 ,in his pursuit of science1 unless the whole ,east belie him1 he ran into secret magical arts1 incantations1 divinations1 an occult intercourse with the powers of ill4 ,in all ways he departed from the ,god who had enriched him with the choicest gifts1 and sank1 through luxury1 extravagance1 and excess1 first into a premature old age1#f and then into a death so unrelieved by any sign of penitence1 or any promise of amendment1 that from that day to this rabbis and divines have discussed his final doom1 many of them leaning to the darker alternative4 ,this uxorious king1 whose heart1 though large1 ,beguiled by fair idolatresses1 fell ,to idols foul1 is the ,solomon of history4 ,but the ,solomon of ,ecclesiastes is a sage who represents himself as conducting a series of moral experiments for the good of mankind1 in order that1 with all the weight of manifold experience1 he may teach men what is that good and right way which alone leads to peace4 ,however hardly we may think of the ,wise ,king who was guilty of so many follies1 we can scarcely think of him as such a fool that he did not know his sins to be sins1 or as such a knave that he deliberately endeavoured to palm them off on other ages1 not as transgressions of the ,divine ,law1 but as a series of delicate philosophic experiments which he was good enough to conduct for the benefit of the race4 #f ,solomon could not have been more than sixty years of age when he died1 yet it was not till he was old that his wives turned away his heart from the ,lord his ,god 7#a ,kings xi4 #d74 ,on the whole1 then1 we conclude that in this ,book ,solomon is taken as the ,hebrew type of wisdom1 the wisdom which is based on large and varied experience2 and that this experience is here dramatized1 in so far as the writer could conceive it1 for the instruction of a race which from first to last1 from the fable of ,jotham to the parables of our ,lord1 were accustomed to receive instruction in fictitious and dramatic forms4 ,its author was not ,solomon1 but one of the wise whose name can no longer be recovered2 it was written1 not in the time of ,solomon1 i4e4 about #ajjj ,b4,c41 but some five or six centuries later3 and it was addressed not to the wealthy and peaceful citizens whose king held his court in ,jerusalem1 but to their degenerate and enfeebled descendants during the period of the ,persian supremacy4#g #g ,it may be regarded as beyond doubt that it was written under the ,persian domination 7,delitzsch74 99 99 99 99 99 ,doubtless many of the prevailing misapprehensions of the meaning1 authorship1 and animating spirit of the ,book are due1 in some measure1 to the singular form into which it is thrown4 ,it belongs to what is known as the ,chokma1 i4e4 the ,gnomic school1 as opposed to the ,lyrical school of ,hebrew poetry4 ,the ,jewish1 like ,oriental literature in general1 early assumed this form1 which seems to have a natural affinity with the ,eastern mind4 ,grave men1 who made a study of life or who devoted themselves to a life of study1 were likely to be sententious1 to compress much thought into few words1 especially in the ages in which writing was a somewhat rare accomplishment1 or in which1 as in the ,hebrew schools1 instruction was given by a living voice4 ,no doubt they began with coining sage or witty aphorisms1 generally lit up with a happy metaphor1 each of which was complete in itself4 ,such sayings1 as memorable and portable1 no less than as striking for beauty and matterful for meditation1 would commend themselves to an age in which books were few and scarce4 ,they are to be found in abundance in the proverbs of all ancient races1 and in the ,book of ,proverbs which bears the name of ,solomon1 and many of the more didactic and elaborate ,psalms2 while the ,book of ,job preserves many of the sayings current among the ,arabs and the ,egyptians4 ,but with the ,hebrews this literary mode took what is1 so far as ,i am aware1 a singular and unparalleled development1 from the time of ,solomon onwards1 rising to its highest pitch in the ,book of ,job1 and sinking to its lowest--within the limits of the ,canon at least--in the cramping over-ingenuities of the acrostic ,psalms1 and in such proverbs as those attributed to ,agur the son of ,jakeh4 ,this development has not as yet1 ,i think1 attracted the attention it deserves2 at least ,i have nowhere met with any formal recognition of it4 ,yet1 undoubtedly1 while at first the ,hebrew sages were content to compress much wit or wisdom into the small compass of a gnome1 which they polished like a gem1 leaving each to shine by its own lustre and to make its own unaided impression1 there rose in process of time men who saw new and great capacities in this ancient literary form1 and set themselves to string their gems together1 to arrange their own or other men's proverbs so aptly and artistically that they enhanced each other's beauty1 while at the same time they compelled them to carry a logical and continuous stream of thought1 to paint an elaborate picture1 to build up a lofty yet breathing personification 7that of ,wisdom1 for example1 in ,proverbs viii471 to describe a lengthened and varied ethical experience 7as in ,ecclesiastes71 and even to weave them into a large and sublime poem1 like that of ,job1 which has never been excelled4 ,the reluctance with which this form lends itself to the nobler functions of literature1 the immense difficulty of the instrument which many of the ,hebrew poets wielded1 will become apparent to any one who should try the experiment4 ,we have a goodly collection of proverbs1 drawn from many sources1 foreign as well as native1 in the ,english tongue4 ,let any man endeavour so to set or arrange them1 or a selection from them1 as to produce a fine poem on a lofty theme1 and he at least will not underrate the difficulty of the task1 even though we should concede to him the right to make proverbs where he could not find them to his mind4 ,yet to many of the finest ,hebrew poets the very restrictions of this form seem to have possessed a charm such as the far less rigid and encumbering laws of the sonnet1 or even of the triolet and other fanciful poetic wares of modern times1 have exerted on the minds of many of our own poets4#h ,a careful student of the ,chokma school might even1 ,i believe1 trace the growth of this art1 from its small beginnings in the earlier gnomic sayings of the ,wise1 to its culmination in the ,book of ,job2 and1 in so doing1 would confer a boon on all students of ,holy ,writ4#i #h ,the nearest analogy in ,english literature to this triumphant use of the proverb of which ,i can think is ,pope's use of the couplet--in every way a much lesser feat1 however2 while its burlesque or caricature may be found in ,tupper's ,proverbial ,philosophy4 #i ,in the ,book of ,proverbs1 for instance1 he would find1 in addition to the incomparable personification of ,wisdom to which ,i have already referred1 many examples of the proverb proper1 many detached sayings whose underlying thought is illustrated by a stroke of imagination2 such as that 7chap4 xxv4 #aa7 in which the enhanced beauty of an appropriate word when spoken at the opportune moment is compared with the golden fruit of the orange when set in its frame of silver blooms 7,expositions1 vol4 iv474 ,he would also find some of those small picturesque descriptions produced by an artistic sequence of proverbs--the same theme being sometimes worked over by different artists1 in different ages1 one and the same moral being enforced by wholly different designs2 as1 for instance1 where ,solomon 7chap4 vi4 #f-aa7 enforces the duty of a forethoughtful industry by a picture of the ant and her prudent ways2 while an unknown sage of a later date 7chap4 xxiv4 #cj-cd7 appends precisely the same moral1 expressed in the same words1 to his graphic picture of the ,sluggard's garden 7,,the ,,expositor1 ,second ,series1 vol4 vi474 ,moreover1 if he turn to chapter xxx4 he will see how this form of art1 which once soared so high1 was capable of sinking into a kind of puerile conundrum--with its three too wonderful things1 and its four little things which yet are wise--while its moral tone remained pure and high4 ,and1 finally1 in the exposition of the ,epilogue to ,ecclesiastes he will find how1 after sinking so low1 it rose once more1 in the hands of the later rabbis1 into many beautiful forms of fable1 and exhortation1 and parable4 ,it is to this school that the ,preacher belongs1 as he himself informs us in the ,epilogue to his fine ,poem4 ,he set himself1 he says1 to compose1 to collect1 and to arrange many proverbs 7xii4 #i71 rejecting any that were not words of truth1 preferring1 as was natural in a time so dark1 such as were words of comfort 7xii4 #aj71 and seeking his sayings both from the sages who stood by the old ways and those who looked for the new 7xii4 #aa74 ,and1 of course1 the arranging of his awkward and inelastic material was far more difficult than collecting it--arranging it so as to compel it to tell his story1 and carry his argument to its lofty close4 ,it is ,story1 the sculptor and poet1 ,i believe1 who says that the best part of every work of art is unseen1 unexpressed1 inexpressible in tones1 or verse1 or colours3 it is that invisible something which lends it dignity1 spirit1 life1 that style which1 in this case1 is in very deed the man4 ,and the best part of ,coheleth's noble work is this art of arranging his gnomic sayings in the best order1 the order in which they illuminate each other most brightly and contribute most effectively to the total impression4 ,hence1 both in translating and in endeavouring to interpret him1 whenever ,i have had to choose between rival renderings or meanings1 ,i have made it a rule to prefer that which most conduced to the logical sequence of his work or carried the finer sense1 deeming that at least so much as this was due to so great a master1 and entertaining no fear that ,i could invent any meaning which would outrun his intention4 ,in fine1 if ,i were to gather up into a few sentences the impression which much study of this ,scripture has left on my mind as to the manner in which the author worked upon it1 ,i should say3 that ,coheleth1 a man of much of ,solomon's original largeness of heart and a great lover of wisdom1 set himself to collect the scattered sayings of the sages who were before him4 ,he took the traditional story of ,solomon as the ground and framework of his poem1 at least at the outset1 though he seems to have soon laid it aside1 and endeavoured so to assort and arrange the proverbs he had collected that each would lead up to the next2 while each group of them would describe some of the ways in which men commonly pursued the chief good1 ways in most of which ,solomon was at least reputed to have travelled far4 ,finding gaps which could not be well filled up from his large and various collection1 he bridged them over with proverbs of his own composing1 till he had got a sufficient account of each of the main adventures of that ,quest4 ,and1 then1 he put adventure after adventure together in the order in which they best led up to his great conclusion4 ,in all this ,i have said nothing1 it is true1 of that inspiration of the ,almighty which alone gives man understanding of spiritual things4 ,but why should not ,he who worketh all1 and has deigned to use every form of literary art by which men teach their fellows1 move and inspire a lover of wisdom to collect and arrange the sayings of the ,wise1 if by these he could carry truth and comfort to those who were in sore need of both8 ,and where1 save from heaven and from ,him who rules in heaven1 could ,coheleth have learned the great secret--the secret of a retributive life beyond the grave8 ,even the best and wisest of the ,hebrews saw that life only as through a glass1 darkly2 and even their fitful and imperfect conception of it seems always to have been--as in the case of ,david1 ,job1 ,isaiah--an immediate gift from ,god1 and a gift so large that even their hands of faith could hardly grasp it4 ,no one need doubt the inspiration of a ,scripture which affirms1 not only that ,god is always with us1 passing a present and effective judgment on all we do1 but also that1 when this life is over1 ,he will bring every deed and every secret thing into judgment1 whether it be good or whether it be bad4 ,that was not an everyday thought with the ,jewish mind4 ,we find it only in men who were moved by the ,holy ,ghost to accept the teaching of his providence or the revelation of his grace4 99 99 99 99 99 ,as for the design of the ,book1 no one now doubts that it sets before us the search for the summum bonum1 the quest of the ,chief ,good4 ,its main immediate intention was to deliver the exiled ,jews from the misleading ethical theories and habits into which they had fallen1 from the sensualism and the scepticism occasioned by their imperfect conception of the ,divine ways1 by showing them that the true good of life is not to be secured by philosophy1 by the pursuit of pleasure1 by devotion to traffic or public affairs1 by amassing wealth2 but that it results from a temperate and thankful enjoyment of the gifts of the ,divine bounty1 and a cheerful endurance of toil and calamity1 combined with a sincere service of ,god and a steadfast faith in that future life in which all wrongs will be righted and all the problems which now task and afflict us will receive a triumphant solution4 ,availing himself of the historical and traditional records of ,solomon's life1 he depicts1 under that disguise1 the moral experiments which he has conducted2 depicts himself as having put the claims of wisdom1 mirth1 business1 wealth1 to a searching test1 and found them incompetent to satisfy the cravings of the soul2 as attaining no rest nor peace until he had learned a simple enjoyment of simple pleasures1 a patient constancy under heavy trials1 heartfelt devotion to the service of ,god1 and an unwavering faith in the life to come4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the contents of the ,poem are1 or may be1 distributed into a ,prologue1 ,four ,acts or ,sections1 and an ,epilogue4 ,in the ,prologue 7chap4 i41 vv4 #a-aa71 ,coheleth states the ,problem to be solved4 ,in the ,first ,section 7chap4 i41 ver4 #ab--;chap4 ii41 ver4 #bf71 he depicts the endeavour to solve it by seeking the ,chief ,good in ,wisdom and in ,pleasure4 ,in the ,second ,section 7chap4 iii41 ver4 #a--;chap4 v41 ver4 #bj71 the ,quest is pursued in ,traffic and ,political ,life4 ,in the ,third ,section 7chap4 vi41 ver4 #a--;chap4 viii41 ver4 #ae71 the ,quest is carried into ,wealth and the ,golden ,mean4 ,in the ,fourth ,section 7chap4 viii41 ver4 #af--;chap4 xii41 ver4 #g71 the ,quest is achieved1 and the ,chief ,good found to consist in a tranquil and cheerful enjoyment of the present1 combined with a cordial faith in the future1 life4 ,and in the ,epilogue 7chap4 xii41 vv4 #h-ad7 he summarises and emphatically repeats this solution of the ,problem4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it was very natural that the ,problem here discussed should fill a large space in ,hebrew thought and literature2 that it should be the theme of many of the ,psalms and of many of the prophetic burdens1 as well as of the ,books ,ecclesiastes and ,job4 ,for the ,mosaic revelation did teach that virtue and vice would meet suitable rewards now1 in this present time4 ,at the giving of the ,law ,jehovah announced that ,he would show mercy to the thousands of those who kept his commandments1 and that ,he would visit the iniquities of the disobedient upon them4 ,the ,law that came by ,moses is crowded with promises of temporal good to the righteous1 and with threatenings of temporal evil to the unrighteous4 ,the fulfilment of these threatenings and promises is carefully marked in the ,hebrew chronicles2 it is the supplication which breathes through the recorded prayers of the ,hebrew race1 and the theme of their noblest songs2 it is their hope and consolation under the heaviest calamities4 ,what1 then1 could be more bewildering to a godly and reflective ,jew than to discover that this fundamental article of his faith was questionable1 nay1 that it was contradicted by the commonest facts of human life as life grew more complex and involved8 ,when he saw the righteous driven before the blasts of adversity like a withered leaf1 while the wicked lived out all their days in mirth and affluence2 when he saw the only nation that attempted obedience to the ,law groaning under the miseries of a captivity embittered by the cruel caprices of rulers who could not even rule themselves1 and unrelieved by any hope of deliverance1 while heathen races revelled in the lusts of sense and power unrebuked3 when this seemed to be the rule of providence1 the law of the ,divine administration1 and not that better rule revealed in his ,scriptures1 is it any wonder that1 forgetting all corrective and balancing facts1 he was racked with torments of perplexity2 that1 while some of his fellows plunged into the base relief of sensualism1 he should be plagued with doubts and fears1 and search eagerly through all avenues of thought for some solution of the mystery8 ,nor1 indeed1 is this problem without interest for us2 for we as persistently misinterpret the ,new ,testament as the ,hebrews did the ,old4 ,we read that whatsoever a man soweth1 that shall he also reap2 we read that the meek shall inherit the earth2 we read that for every act of service done to ,christ we shall receive a hundredfold now1 in this present time2 and we are very prompt with the gross1 careless interpretation which makes such passages mean that if we are good we shall have the good things of this life1 while its evil things shall be reserved for the evil4 ,indeed1 we are trained--or1 perhaps ,i should say1 until recently we were trained--in this interpretation from our earliest years4 ,our very spelling-books are full of it1 and are framed on the model of ,johnny was a good boy1 and he got plum-cake2 but ,tommy was a bad boy1 and he got the stick4 ,nearly all our story-books have a similar moral3 it is always1 or almost always1 the good young man who gets the beautiful wife and large estate1 while the bad young man comes to a bad end4 ,our proverbs are full of it1 and axioms such as ,honesty is the best policy1 a pernicious half-truth1 are for ever on our lips4 ,our art1 in so far as it is ours1 is in the same conspiracy4 ,in ,hogarth1 for instance1 as ,thackeray has pointed out1 it is always ,francis ,goodchild who comes to be ,lord ,mayor and poor ,jem ,scapegrace who comes to the gallows4 ,and when1 as life passes on1 we discover that it is the bad boy who often gets the plum-cake1 and the good boy who goes to the rod2 that bad men often have beautiful wives and large estates1 while good men fail of both2 when we find the knave rising to place and authority1 and honest ,goodchild in the workhouse or the ,gazette1 then there rise up in our hearts the very doubts and perplexities and eager painful questions which of old time troubled the ,psalmist and the ,prophet4 ,we cry out with ,job-- ,it is all one--therefore will ,i say it1 ,the guilty and the guiltless ,he treateth alike2 ,the deceiver and the deceived both are his2 or we say with the ,preacher1-- ,this is the greatest evil of all that is done under the sun ,that there is one fate for all2 ,the same fate befalleth to the righteous and to the wicked1 ,to the good and pure and to the impure1 ,to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not3 ,as is the good so is the sinner1 ,and he that sweareth as he that feareth an oath4 ,and it is well for us if1 like the ,hebrew poet1 we can resist this cruel temptation1 and hold fast the integrity of our faith2 if we can rest in the assurance that1 after all and when all is done1 the little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked2 that ,god has something better than wealth and lucky haps for the good1 and merciful correctives of a more sovereign potency than penury and mishaps for the wicked4 ,if we have this faith1 our study of ,ecclesiastes can hardly fail to deepen and confirm it2 if we are not so happy as to have it1 ,coheleth will give us sound reasons for embracing it4 ,sec4 #b4 ,,on ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,the ,,captivity4 ,if we may now assume the ,book ,ecclesiastes to have been written1 not in the time of ,solomon1 but during1 or soon after1 the ,babylonian ,captivity1 our next duty is to learn what we can of the social1 political1 and religious conditions of the two races among whom the ,jews were thrown when they were carried away from the land of their fathers4 ,that they learned much1 as well as suffered much1 while they sat by the waters of ,babylon2 that they emerged from their long exile with a profound attachment to the ,word of ,god1 such as their fathers had never known1 and with many precious additions to that ,word1 is beyond a doubt4 ,as plants grow fastest by night1 so men make their most rapid growth in knowledge and in faith when times are dark and troubled4 ,and all students of this period are at one in affirming that during the ,captivity a radical and most happy change passed upon the ,hebrew mind4 ,they came out of it with a hatred of idolatry1 a faith in the life beyond the grave1 a pride in their national ,law1 a hope in the advent of the great ,deliverer and ,redeemer1 with which the elder ,psalmists and ,prophets had failed to inspire them1 but which henceforth they never wholly relinquished4 ,with the religious there was blended an intellectual advance4 ,books and teachers were sought and honoured as never heretofore4 ,schools and synagogues grew up in every town and village in which they dwelt4 ,of making of many books there was no end4 ,education was compulsory4 ,study was regarded as more meritorious than sacrifice1 a scholar as greater than a prophet1 a teacher as greater than a king1 if at least we may trust proverbs which were current among them4 ,before the ,captivity one of the least literate of nations--noble as their national literature was1 at its close the ,jews were distinguished by their zeal for culture and education4 ,to trace the progress of this marvellous revival of letters and religion--a renaissance and a reformation in one--would be a most welcome task1 had we the materials for it and the skill to use them4 ,but even the scanty materials that exist lie scattered through the historical and literary remains of many different races--in the cylinders1 sculptures1 paintings1 inscriptions1 tombs1 shrines of ,nineveh1 ,babylon1 ,behistun1 and ,persepolis1 in the ,zendavesta1 in the pages of ,herodotus and the earlier ,greek historians1 in ,josephus1 in the ,apocrypha1 in the ,talmud1 and in at least a dozen of the ,old ,testament books2 and some of these sources are very far as yet from having been explored and mastered4 ,hence the history of this period still remains to be written1 and will probably be largely conjectural whenever1 if ever1 it is written4 ,yet what period is of graver interest to the student of the ,bible8 ,if we could recover its history1 it would throw a new and most welcome light on well-nigh one-half of the ,old ,testament ,scriptures1 if not on all4 ,happily1 a brief sketch of it1 such as is well within any man's reach1 will suffice to show how1 from their contact with the ,babylonian and ,persian races1 the ,jews received literary and religious impulses which go far to account for the marvellous changes which swept over them1 and enable us to read the ,preacher intelligently1 and see how his social and political allusions exactly correspond with what we know of the time4#aj #aj ,for this sketch ,i am largely indebted to ,rawlinson's ,five ,great ,monarchies of the ,ancient ,eastern ,world1 and his commentary on ,herodotus4 99 99 99 99 99 ,about a hundred and twenty years after the destruction of the kingdom of ,israel by ,shalmaneser1 ,king of ,assyria 7,b4,c4 #gai71 the kingdom of ,judah fell before ,nebuchadnezzar1 ,king of ,babylon 7,b4,c4 #eih-eif74 ,the city1 palace1 and temple of ,jerusalem were levelled in a common ruin2 the nobles1 priests1 merchants1 and skilled artisans1 all the pith and manhood of ,judah1 were carried away captive2 only a few of the most abject of the people were left to mourn and starve amid the ravaged fields4 ,nothing could present a more striking contrast to their native land than the region to which the ,jews were deported4 ,instead of a small picturesque mountain-country1 with its little cities set on hills or on the brink of precipitous ravines1 they entered on a vast plain1 fertile beyond all precedent indeed1 and abounding in streams1 but with nothing to break the monotony of level flats save the high walls and lofty towers of one enormous city4 ,for ,babylonia proper was simply an immense plain1 lying between the ,arabian ,desert and the ,tigris1 and of an extent somewhat under that of ,ireland4 ,but though of a limited area as compared with the vast empire of which it was the centre1 by its amazing fertility it was capable of sustaining a crowded population4 ,it was watered not only by the great rivers ,tigris and ,euphrates1 but by their numerous affluents1 many of which were themselves considerable streams2 it was a land of brooks and fountains4 ,on this rich alluvial plain1 amply supplied with water1 and under the fierce heat of the sun1 wheat and barley1 with all kinds of grain1 yielded a return far beyond all modern parallel4 ,the capital city of this fertile province was the largest and the most magnificent of the ancient world1 standing on both sides of the ,euphrates1 as ,london stands on both sides of the ,thames1 and covering at least a hundred square miles4 ,in this country and city 7for ,babylon stands for both in the ,bible71 so unlike the sunny cliffs and scattered villages of their native home1 the ,jews1 who1 like all hill-races1 cherished a passionate affection for the land of their fathers1 spent many bitter years4 ,on the broad featureless plain they pined for the mountains of ,judea 7,ezekiel xxxvi42 ,psalm cxxxvii472 they sat down by the waters and wept as they remembered the hill of the ,lord4 ,they do not seem1 however1 to have been handled with exceptional harshness by their captors4 ,they were treated as colonists rather than as slaves4 ,they were allowed to live together in considerable numbers1 and to observe their own religious rites4 ,they took the advice of the prophet ,jeremiah 7xxix4 #d-g71 who had warned them that their exile would extend over many years1 and built houses1 planted gardens1 married wives1 and brought up children2 they sought the peace of the city in which they were captives1 and prayed for it1 knowing that in its peace they would have peace4 ,if many of them had to labour gratuitously on the great public works--and this labour was exacted of most of the conquered races--many rose1 by fidelity1 thrift1 diligence1 to places of trust1 and amassed considerable wealth4 ,among those who filled high posts in the household or administration of the successive monarchs of ,babylon were ,daniel1 ,hananiah1 ,mishael1 and ,azariah2 ,zerubbabel1 ,ezra1 ,nehemiah1 and ,mordecai2 ,tobit--if indeed ,tobit be a real and not a fictitious person--and his nephew ,achiacharus4 ,but who were the people1 and what were the social and political conditions of the people1 among whom the ,hebrew captives lived8 ,the two leading races with whom they were brought in contact were the ,babylonians--an offshoot from the ancient ,chaldean stock--and the ,persians4 ,the history of the ,captivity divides itself into two main periods1 therefore1 the ,persian and the ,babylonian1 at each of which we must glance4 #a4 ,the ,babylonian ,period4--,for more than fifty years after they were carried away captive1 the ,jews served a ,chaldean race1 and were governed by ,assyrian despots1 of whom ,nebuchadnezzar#aa was by far the greatest whether in peace or war4 ,it is hardly too much to say that but for him the ,babylonians would have had no place in history4 ,a great soldier1 a great statesman1 a great builder and engineer1 he knew how to consolidate and adorn his vast empire1 an empire which is said to have extended from the ,atlantic to the ,caspian1 and from ,caucasus to the ,great ,sahara4 ,we owe our best conception of the personal character and public life of this great despot to the ,book of ,daniel4 ,daniel1 although a ,jew and a captive1 was the vizier of the ,babylonian monarch1 and retained his post until the ,persian conquest1 when he became the first of the three presidents of the new empire4 ,he therefore paints ,nebuchadnezzar from the life4 ,and in his ,book we see the great ,king at the head of a magnificent court1 surrounded by princes1 governors1 and captains1 judges1 treasurers1 councillors1 and sheriffs1 waited on by well-favoured eunuchs1 attended by a crowd of astrologers and wise men who interpret to him the will of ,heaven4 ,he wields an absolute power1 and disposes with a word of the lives and fortunes of his subjects1 even the highest and most princely4 ,all offices are in his gift4 ,he can raise a slave to the second place in his kingdom 7,daniel1 to wit71 and impose a foreigner 7again1 ,daniel7 on the priestly college as its head4 ,of so enormous a wealth that he makes an image of pure gold ninety feet high and nine feet broad1 he lavishes it on public works--on temples1 gardens1 canals1 fortifications--rather than on personal indulgence4 ,religious after a fashion1 he wavers between the ,god of the ,jews and the deity after whom he was named and whom he calls his god4 ,in temper he is hasty and violent1 but not obstinate2 he suddenly repents of his sudden resolves2 he is capable of bursts of gratitude and devotion no less than of fierce accesses of fury1 and displays at times a piety and self-abasement astonishing in an ,oriental despot4 ,his successors--,evil-,merodach1 ,neriglissar1 ,laborosoarchod1 ,nabonadius1 and ,belshazzar--need not detain us4 ,little is known of them1 and1 with one exception1 their reigns were very short2 and their main task seems to have been the erection of vast and sumptuous structures such as ,nebuchadnezzar had been wont to rear4 ,probably none of the ,babylonian monarchs save ,nebuchadnezzar made any deep impression on the ,hebrew mind4 #aa ,instead of ,nebuchadnezzar ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel use the form ,nebuchadrezzar1 which is nearer to the original ,nabu-,kuduri-utzur1 i4e4 ,nebo is the protector against misfortune4 ,and1 indeed1 the people of ,babylon were much more likely than their despots to influence the ,hebrew captives2 for with them they would be brought into daily contact4 ,now the ,babylonians were marked by a singular intellectual ability4 ,keen to know1 patient to observe1 exact and laborious in their researches1 they could hardly fail to teach much to subject races1 and to inspire them with some desire for knowledge4 ,they had carried the sciences of mathematics and astronomy to a high pitch of perfection4 ,they are said to have determined1 within two seconds1 the exact length of the solar year1 and not to have been far wrong in the distances at which they computed the sun1 moon and planets from the earth2 and they compiled a serviceable catalogue of the fixed stars4 ,the ,hebrew prophets often refer to their wisdom and learning4 ,they excelled in architecture4 ,two of their vast works1 the walls of ,babylon1 and the hanging gardens1 were reckoned among the seven wonders of the ancient world4 ,their skill in manufacturing and arranging enamelled bricks has never yet been equalled4#ab ,in all mechanical arts1 indeed1 such as cutting stones and gems1 casting gold and silver1 blowing glass1 modelling vases and ware1 weaving carpets and muslins and linen1 they take a very high place among the nations of antiquity4 ,with manufacturing and artistic skill they combined the spirit of enterprise and adventure which leads to commerce4 ,they were addicted to maritime pursuits2 the cry1 or joy1 of the ,chaldeans is in their ships1 says ,isaiah 7xliii4 #ad72 and ,ezekiel 7xvii4 #d7 calls ,babylonia a land of traffic1 and its chief city a city of merchants4 #ab ,there is a curious allusion to these enamelled bricks1 and the admiration the ,jews conceived for them1 in ,ezekiel xxiii4 #ad-af4 ,but a larger1 and probably the largest1 class of the people must have busied themselves with the toils of agriculture2 the broad ,chaldean plain being famous1 from the time of the ,patriarchs to the present day1 for an amazing and almost incredible fertility4 ,wheat1 barley1 millet1 and sesame1 all flourished with astonishing luxuriance1 the ground commonly yielding a hundredfold1 two hundredfold1 and even ampler rewards for the toil of the husbandman4 ,with these abundant sources of wealth at their command1 the people naturally grew luxurious and dissolute4 ,the daughter of the ,chaldeans1 says ,isaiah 7xlvii4 #a-h71 is tender and delicate1 given to pleasures1 apt to live carelessly2 her young men1 says ,ezekiel 7xxiii4 #ae71 are dandies1 exceeding in dyed attire1 painting their faces1 and wearing earrings4 ,chastity1 in our modern sense of the term1 was unknown4#ac ,the pleasures of the table and of the couch were carried to excess4 ,yet1 like many other ,eastern races1 the ,babylonians hid under their soft luxurious exterior a fierceness very formidable to their foes4 ,the ,hebrew ,prophets 7,hab4 i4 #f-h2 ,isaiah xiv4 #af7 describe them as a bitter and hasty1 a terrible and dreadful people1 fiercer than the evening wolves1 a people whose tramp made the earth tremble1 and did shake kingdoms2 and all the historians of the time charge them with a thirst for blood which often took the most savage and inhuman forms4 #ac ,see ,herodotus1 book i41 chap4 #aii2 ,strabo1 xvi41 p4 #ajeh2 and the ,book of ,baruch1 vi4 #dc4 ,of the horrible licence and cruelty of the worship of ,bel1 ,merodach1 and ,nebo1 which did much to foster the fierce and cruel temper of the people1 it is not necessary1 it is hardly possible1 to speak4 ,roughly taken1 it was the service of the great forces of ,nature by a wanton indulgence of the worst passions of man4 ,it is enough to know that in ,babylon idolatry took forms which made all forms of idolatry henceforth intolerable to the ,jews2 that now1 once for all1 they renounced that worship of strange gods to which they and their fathers had always hitherto been prone4 ,this of itself was an immense advance1 a great gain4 ,nor was it their only gain2 for if by contact with the idolatrous ,babylonians the ,jews were driven back on their own ,law and ,scripture1 their intercourse with a people of so active an intellect and a learning so deep and wide led them to study the ,word of ,jehovah in a new and more intelligent spirit4 ,nor is it less obvious that in the social and political conditions of the ,babylonians we have a key to many of the allusions to public life contained in ,ecclesiastes4 ,the great empire1 indeed1 presents precisely those elements which1 in degenerate times and under feebler despots1 must inevitably develop into the disorder1 and misery1 and crime which ,coheleth depicts4 99 99 99 99 99 #b4 ,the ,persian ,period4--,the conquest of ,babylon by the ,persians1 led by the heroic ,cyrus1 is1 thanks to ,daniel1 one of the most familiar incidents of ancient history1 so familiar that ,i need not recount it4 ,by this conquest ,cyrus--the ,shepherd1 the ,messiah1 of the ,lord1 as ,isaiah 7xliv4 #bh2 xlv4 #a7 terms him--became the undisputed master of well-nigh the whole known world of the time4 ,nor does he seem to have been unworthy of his extraordinary position4 ,of all ancient ,oriental monarchs1 out of the ,hebrew pale1 he bears the highest repute4 ,even the ,greek authors1 for the most part1 represent him as energetic and patient1 magnanimous and modest1 and of a religious mind4 ,a,eschylus calls him kindly or generous4 ,xenophon selected him as a model prince for all races4 ,plutarch says that in wisdom1 and virtue1 and greatness of soul he appears to have been in advance of all kings4 ,diodorus makes one of his speakers say that ,cyrus gained his ascendency by his self-command and good-feeling and gentleness4 ,simple in his habits1 brave1 and of a most just1 humane1 and clement spirit1 he hated the cruel and lascivious idols of the ,east1 and worshipped one only ,god1 the ,god of heaven4 ,there is none like him in the antique world1 none at least among the kings and princes of that world4 ,and when1 at the conquest of ,babylon1 he discovered in the captive ,jews a race that also hated idols1 and served one ,lord1 and knew a law of life as pure as his own1 or even purer1 we need feel no surprise either that he broke their bands in sunder and set them free to return to their native land1 or that they saw in this pure and noble nature1 this virtuous and religious prince1 a servant of ,jehovah1 and even a partial and shadowy resemblance to that ,divine ,deliverer and ,redeemer for whose advent they had been taught to look4 ,cyrus was sixty years of age when he took ,babylon 7,b4,c4 #eci71 and died ten years after his conquest4 ,he was succeeded by men utterly unlike himself1 so unlike that the ,persian nobles revolted from them1 and placed ,darius ,hystaspes1 the heir of an ancient dynasty1 on the throne4 ,as ,cyrus was the soldier of the ,persians1 so ,darius was their statesman4 ,he it was who founded the satrapial form of administration2 i4e4 instead of governing the various provinces of his empire through native princes1 he placed ,persian satraps over them1 these satraps being charged with the collection of the public revenue1 the maintenance of order1 and the administration of justice2 in fact1 he governed the whole ,eastern world very much as we govern ,india4 ,the internal organization of his vast unwieldy empire was the great work of ,darius through his long reign of six-and-thirty years2 but the event by which he is best remembered1 and which proved to be fruitful in the most disastrous results to the ,state1 was the opening of that fatal war with ,greece1 which at last1 and under his feeble and degenerate successors1 ,xerxes1 ,artaxerxes1 and the rest1 reached its close in the downfall of the ,persian empire4 ,we need not linger over the details of the story4 ,it will be enough1 for our purpose1 to say that from the accession of ,xerxes down to the conquest of the ,persian empire by ,alexander the ,great--a stretch of a hundred and fifty years--that empire was declining to its fall4 ,its history towards the end was a mere succession of intrigues and insurrections1 conspiracies and revolts4 ,battle1 murder1 and sudden death are its staple4 ,the restraints of law and order grew ever weaker4 ,the satraps were practically supreme in their several provinces1 and used their power to extort enormous wealth from their miserable subjects4 ,eunuchs and concubines ruled in the palace4 ,manliness died out2 the ,persians were no longer taught to ride1 to draw the bow1 and to speak the truth2 cunning and treachery took its place4 ,the scene grows more and more pitiful1 till at last the welcome darkness rushes down1 and hides the ignoble agony of perhaps the vastest and wealthiest empire the world has seen4 99 99 99 99 99 ,but we must turn from the despots and their adventures to form some slight acquaintance with the people1 the ,persian people who1 by the conquest of ,cyrus1 became the ruling class in the empire1 always remembering1 however1 that the ,babylonians must have remained by myriads both in the capital and in the provinces1 and would continue to exert their influence on ,hebrew thought and activity4 ,in all moral and religious qualities the ,persians were far in advance of the ,chaldeans1 though they were probably behind them in many civilized arts and crafts4 ,they were famous for their truthfulness and valour4 ,the ,greeks#ad confessed the ,persians to be their equals in boldness and warlike spirit--,a,eschylus#ae calls them a valiant-minded people--while they are lavish in praise of the ,persian veracity1 a virtue in which they themselves were notably deficient4 ,to the ,persians ,god was the ,father of all truth2 to lie was shameful and irreligious4 ,they disliked traffic because of its haggling1 equivocation1 and dishonest shifts4 ,their chief faults1 and even these were not developed till they became masters of the world1 were an addiction to self-indulgence and luxury1 a passionate abandon to the feeling of the hour whatever it might be1 and a tameness and subservience in all their relations toward their princes which seem to moderns incompatible with self-respect and manliness4 ,patriotism came to mean mere loyalty to the monarch2 the habit of unquestioning submission to his will1 and even to his caprice1 became a second nature to them4 ,the despotic humour natural in a ruling person was thus nourished till it ran to the wildest excess4 ,he was their lord and master1 absolute disposer of their lives1 liberties1 and property1 the sole fountain of law and right1 incapable himself of doing wrong1 irresponsible1 irresistible--a sort of ,god upon earth2 one whose favour was happiness1 at whose frown men trembled1 before whom all bowed themselves down with the lowest and humblest obeisance4 ,no subject could enter his presence save by special permission1 or without a prostration like that of worship4 ,to come unbidden was to be cut down by the royal guards1 unless1 as a sign of grace1 he extended his golden sceptre to the culprit4 ,to tread on the king's carpet was a grave offence2 to sit1 even unwittingly1 on his seat a capital crime4 ,so slavish was the submission both of nobles and of people that we are required on good authority to accredit such stories as these3 wretches bastinadoed by the king's order declared themselves delighted that his majesty had condescended to remember them2 a father1 whose innocent son was shot by the despot in pure wantonness1 had to crush down his natural indignation and grief1 and to compliment the royal archer on the accuracy of his aim4 #ad ,herodotus1 ix4 #fb4 #ae ,a,eschyl41 ,pers41 #id4 ,despising trade and commerce as menial and degrading1 the ruling caste of a vast empire1 with a monopoly of office and boundless means of wealth at their command1 accustomed to lord it over subject races1 of a high spirit and a faith comparatively pure1 their very prosperity was their ruin1 as it has been that of many a great nation4 ,in their earlier times1 they were noted for their sobriety and temperance4 ,content with simple diet1 their only drink was water from the pure mountain streams2 their garb was plain1 their habits homely and hardy4 ,but their temperance soon gave place to an immoderate luxury4#af ,they acquired the ,babylonian vices1 and adopted at least the licence of the ,babylonian rites4 ,they filled their harems with wives and concubines4 ,from the time of ,xerxes onwards they grew nice and curious of appetite1 eager for pleasure1 effeminate1 dissolute4 #af ,there is no nation which so readily adopts foreign customs as the ,persians4444 ,as soon as they hear of any luxury they instantly make it their own4444 ,each of them has several wives1 and a still larger number of concubines4--7,herodotus book i41 chap4 #ace74 ,with the growth of luxury on the part of the nobles and the people1 the fear of the despot1 at whose mercy all their acquisitions stood1 grew more intense1 more harassing1 more degrading4 ,xerxes and his successors were utterly reckless in their exercise of the absolute power conceded to them1 and delegated it to favourites as reckless as themselves4 ,no noble however eminent1 no servant of the ,state however faithful or distinguished1 could be sure that he might not at any moment incur a displeasure which would strip him of all he possessed1 even if it did not also condemn him to a cruel and lingering death4 ,out of mere sport and wantonness1 to relieve the tedium of a weary hour1 the despot might slay him with his own hand4 ,for the crime1 or assumed crime1 of one person a whole family1 or class1 or race might be cut off unheard4 ,of the lengths to which this cruelty and caprice might go we have a sufficient example in the ,book of ,esther4 ,the ,ahasuerus of that singular narrative was1 there can hardly be any doubt1 the ,xerxes of secular history--the very names1 unlike as they sound1 are the same name differently pronounced by two different races4#ag ,and all that the ,book of ,esther relates of the despot who repudiates a wife because she will not expose herself to the drunken admiration of a crowd of revellers1 who raises a servant to the highest honours one day and hangs him the next1 who commands the massacre of an entire race and then bids them inflict a horrible carnage on those who execute his decree1 exactly accords with the ,greek narratives which depict him as scourging the sea for having broken down his bridge over the ,hellespont1 beheading the engineers whose work was swept away by a storm1 wantonly putting to death the sons of ,pythias1 his oldest friend1 before their father's eyes2 as first giving to his mistress the splendid robe presented to him by his queen1 and then giving up to the queen's barbarous vengeance the mother of his mistress2 as shamefully misusing the body of the heroic ,leonidas1 and1 after his defeat by the ,greeks1 giving himself up to a criminal voluptuousness and offering a reward to the inventor of any new pleasure4 #ag ,their common root is the ,sanscrit ,kshatra1 a king2 in the ,persepolitan inscriptions this word appears as ,ksershe1 and from this both the ,hebrew ,achashuerash 7,ahasuerus7 and the ,greek ,xerxes would easily be formed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,book ,ecclesiastes was written certainly not before the reign of ,xerxes 7,b4,c4 #dhf-dfe71 and probably many years after it1 a period in which1 bad as were the conditions of his time1 the times grew ever more lawless1 the despotism more intolerable1 the violence and licentiousness of the subordinate officials more unblushing4 ,but at whatever period within these limits we may place it1 all we have learned of the ,babylonians and the ,persians during the later years of the ,captivity and the earlier years of the ,exile 7during which the ,jews were still under the ,persian rule7 is in entire correspondence with the social and political state depicted by the ,preacher4 ,the abler and more kindly despots--as ,cyrus1 ,darius1 ,artaxerxes--showed a singular favour to the ,jews4 ,cyrus published a decree authorizing them to return to ,jerusalem and rebuild their temple1 and enjoining the officials of the empire to further them in their enterprise2 ,darius confirmed that decree1 despite the malignant misrepresentations of the ,samaritan colonists2 ,artaxerxes held ,ezra and ,nehemiah in high esteem1 and sent them to restore order and prosperity to the city of their fathers and its inhabitants4 ,but a large number1 apparently even a large majority1 of the ,jews1 unable or disinclined to return1 remained in the various provinces of the great empire1 and were of course subject to the violence and injustice from which the ,persians themselves were not exempt4 ,vanity of vanities1 vanity of vanities1 all is vanity6 cries the ,preacher till we grow weary of the mournful refrain4 ,might he not well take that tone in a time so out of joint1 so lowering1 so dark8 ,the ,book is full of allusions to the ,persian luxury1 to the ,persian forms of administration1 above all1 to the corruptions of the later years of the ,persian empire1 and the miseries they bred4 ,coheleth's elaborate description 7ii4 #d-h7 of the infinite variety of means by which he sought to allure his heart unto mirth--his palaces1 vineyards1 paradises1 with their reservoirs and fountains1 crowds of attendants1 treasures of gold and silver1 the harem full of beauties of all races--seems taken direct from the ample state of some luxurious ,persian grandee4 ,his picture of the public administration 7v4 #h1 #i71 in which superior watcheth over superior1 and superiors again watch over them1 is a graphic sketch of the satrapial system1 with its official hierarchy rising grade above grade1 which was the work of ,darius4#ah ,when the animating and controlling spirit of that system was taken away1 when weak foolish despots sat on the throne1 and despots just as foolish and weak ruled in every provincial divan1 there ensued precisely that political state to which ,coheleth perpetually refers4#ai ,iniquity sat in the place of judgment1 and in the place of equity there was iniquity 7iii4 #af72 kings grew childish1 and princes spent their days in revelry 7x4 #af72 fools were lifted to high place1 while nobles were degraded2 and slaves rode on horses1 while their quondam masters tramped through the mire 7x4 #f1 #g74 ,there was no fair reward for faithful service 7ix4 #aa74 ,death brooded in the air1 and might fall suddenly and unforeseen on any head1 however high 7ix4 #ab74 ,to correct a public abuse was like pulling down a wall3 some of the stones were sure to fall on the reformer's feet1 from some cranny a serpent was sure to start out and bite him 7x4 #h1 #i74 ,to breathe a word against a ruler1 even in the strictest privacy1 was to run the hazard of destruction 7x4 #bj74 ,a resentful gesture1 much more a rebellious word1 in the divan was enough to ensure outrage4 ,in short1 the whole political fabric was fast falling into disrepair and decay1 the rain leaking through the rotting roof1 while the miserable people were ground down with ruinous exactions1 in order that their rulers might revel on undisturbed 7x4 #ah1 #ai74 ,it is under such a pernicious and ominous maladministration of public affairs1 and the appalling miseries it breeds1 that there springs up in the hearts of men that fatalistic and hopeless temper to which ,coheleth gives frequent expression4 ,better never to have been born than to live a life so cramped and thwarted1 so full of perils and fears6 ,better to snatch at every pleasure1 however poor and brief1 than seek1 by self-denial1 by virtue1 by integrity1 to accumulate a store which the first petty tyrant who gets wind of it will sweep off1 or a reputation for wisdom and goodness which will be no protection from1 which will be only too likely to provoke1 the despotic humours of men dressed in a little brief authority4 #ah ,the political condition of the people which this ,book presupposes is that in which they are placed under satraps 7,delitzsch74 #ai ,it would be possible to collect from the ,psalms of this date materials for a description of the wrongs and miseries inflicted on the ,jews1 and of their keen sense of them1 quite as graphic and intense as that of the ,preacher4 ,here are a few phrases hastily culled from them4 ,the oppressors of ,israel are described as being clothed with cruelty as with a garment1 as returning evil for good1 and hatred for good-will4 ,lift up thyself1 thou ,judge of the earth2 ,render to the proud their desert4 ,they prate1 they speak arrogantly2 ,all the workers of iniquity boast themselves4 ,they break in pieces ,thy people1 ,o ,lord1 ,and afflict ,thine heritage4 ,they slay the widow and the stranger1 ,and murder the fatherless4 ,and they say1 ,the ,lord shall not see1 ,neither shall the ,god of ,jacob consider 7xciv474 ,i am bowed down and brought very low2 ,i go mourning all the day long3 ,truly ,i am nigh unto falling1 ,and my heaviness is ever before me 7xxxviii474 ,my days consume away like smoke1 ,and my bones are burned up like as a firebrand2 ,my heart is smitten down and withered like grass1 ,so that ,i forget to eat my bread 7cii474 ,i am helpless and poor1 ,and my heart is wounded within me 7cix474 ,most of the imprecatory ,psalms belong to this period2 and the terrible wrongs of the ,captivity1 though they may not justify1 in large measure explain and excuse1 that desire for vengeance which has given so much offence to some of our modern critics4 ,if even ,shakespeare1#bj in an unrestful and despairing mood strangely foreign to his serene temperament1 beheld desert a beggar born1 ,and needy nothing trimmed in jollity1 ,and purest faith unhappy forsworn1 ,and gilded honour shamefully misplaced1 ,and maiden virtue rudely strumpeted1 ,and right perfection wrongfully disgraced1 ,and strength by limping sway disabled1 ,and art made tongue-tied by authority1 ,and folly1 doctor-like1 controlling skill1 ,and simple truth miscall'd simplicity1 ,and captive good attending captain ill2 if1 tired with all these1 he cried for restful death1 we can hardly wonder that the ,preacher1 who had fallen on times so evil that1 compared with his1 ,shakespeare's were good1 should prefer death to life4 #bj ,sonnets1 ,,lxvi4 99 99 99 99 99 ,but there is another side to this sad story of the ,captivity1 another and a nobler side4 ,if the ,jews suffered much from ,persian misrule1 they learned much and gained much from the ,persian faith4 ,in its earlier form the religious creed whose documents ,zoroaster afterwards collected and enlarged in the ,zendavesta was probably the purest of the ancient heathen world2 and even when it was corrupted by the baser additions of later times1 its purer form was still preserved in songs 7,gathas7 and traditions4 ,there can be no reasonable doubt that it largely affected the subsequent faith of the ,hebrews1 not indeed teaching them any truth they had not been taught before1 but constraining them to recognize truths in their ,scriptures which hitherto they had passed over or neglected4 ,in its inception the ,persian creed and practice were a revolt against the sensuous and sensual worship of the great forces of ,nature into which most ,eastern religions1 often pure enough1 in their primitive forms1 had degenerated1 and1 in especial1 from the base forms into which the ,hindus had degraded that primitive faith which is still to be recovered from the ,rig-,veda4 ,it acknowledged persons1 real spiritual intelligences1 in place of mere natural powers2 and it drew moral distinctions between them1 dividing these ruling intelligences into good and bad1 pure and impure1 benignant and malevolent1--an immense advance on the mere admiration of whatever was strong4 ,nay1 in some sense1 the ,persian faith affirmed monotheism against polytheism2 for it asserted that one ,great ,intelligence ruled over all other intelligences1 and through them over the universe4 ,this ,supreme ,intelligence1 which the ,persians called ,ahura-mazda 7,ormazd71 is the true ,creator1 ,preserver1 ,governor1 of all spirits1 all men1 all worlds4 ,he is good1 holy1 pure1 true1 the ,father of all truth1 the best ,being of all1 the ,master of ,purity1 the ,source and ,fountain of all good4 ,on the righteous ,he bestows the good mind and everlasting happiness2 while ,he punishes and afflicts the evil4 ,his worshippers were to the last degree intolerant of idolatry4 ,they suffered no image to profane their temples2 their earliest symbol of ,deity is almost as pure and abstract as a mathematical sign1 a circle with wings2 the circle to denote the eternity of ,god1 and the wings his omnipresence4 ,under this ,supreme ,lord1 the ,god of heaven1 they admitted inferior beings1 angels and archangels1 whose names mark them out as personified ,divine attributes1 or as faithful servants who administer some province of the ,divine empire4 ,to win the favour of the ,god of heaven it was requisite to cultivate the virtues of purity1 truthfulness1 industry1 and a pious sense of the ,divine presence2 and these virtues must spring from the heart1 and cover thought as well as word and deed4 ,his worship consisted in the frequent offering of prayer1 praise1 and thanksgiving2 in the reiteration of certain sacred hymns2 in the occasional sacrifice of animals which1 after being presented before ,ormazd1 furnished forth a feast for priest and worshipper2 and in the performance of a mystic ceremony 7the ,soma71 the gist of which seems to have lain in a grateful acknowledgment that the fruits of the earth1 typified by the intoxicating juice of the ,homa plant1 were to be received as the gift of ,heaven4 ,a sentence or two from one of the hymns#ba of which there are many in the ,zendavesta1 will show better than many words to how high a pitch ,divine worship was carried by the ,persians3 ,we worship ,thee1 ,ahura-mazda1 the pure1 the master of purity4 ,we praise all good thoughts1 all good words1 all good deeds which are or shall be2 and we likewise keep clean and pure all that is good4 ,o ,ahura-mazda1 thou true happy ,being6 ,we strive to think1 to speak1 and to do only such things as may be best fitted to promote the two lives 7i4e4 the life of the body and the life of the soul74 #ba ,haug's ,essays1 pp4 #afb-c1 quoted by ,rawlinson4 ,in this course of well-doing the faithful were animated and confirmed by a devout belief in the immortality of the soul and a conscious future existence4 ,they were taught that at death the souls of men1 both good and bad1 travelled along an appointed path to a narrow bridge which led to ,paradise2 over this bridge only pious souls could pass1 the wicked falling from it into an awful gulf in which they received the due reward of their deeds4 ,the happy souls of the good were helped across the long narrow arch by an angel1#bb and as they entered ,paradise a great archangel rose from his throne to greet each of them with the words1 ,how happy art thou1 who hast come to us from mortality to immortality6 #bb ,this helpful angel is by no means peculiar to the ,persian faith4 ,all the imaginative races of antiquity conceived of a being more divine than man1 though originally not equal to the gods1 who guided the departed soul on its lonely journey through the dark interspaces of death4 ,theut conducted the released spirit of the ,egyptian to the judgment-seat4 ,hermes performed the same kind office for the ,greeks1 ,mercury for the ,romans4 ,yama was the nekropompos of the ,hindus1 and the ,persians retained the legend4 ,the ,rig-,veda represents him as the first man who passed through death to immortality1 and as therefore the best guide of other men4 ,nor is it doubted that the ,persians derived their belief in a future life from the primitive ,hindu creed4 ,if their faith was1 as ,i have said1 a revolt from the degenerate forms of ,hindu worship1 it was also a return to its more ancient forms1 as religious reformations are apt to be4 ,the fathers of the ,aryan stock had an unwavering assurance of a future life4 ,in his ,essay on the ,funeral ,rites of the ,brahmans1 ,max ,mueller cites a sort of liturgy with which the ancient ,hindu used to bid farewell to his deceased friend while the body lay on the funeral pyre1 which is1 surely1 very noble and pathetic3 ,depart thou1 depart thou by the ancient paths1 to the place whither our fathers have departed4 ,meet with the ancient ones 7the ,pitrs72 meet with the ,lord of ,death2 obtain thy desires in heaven4 ,throw off thine imperfections2 go to thy home4 ,become united with a body2 clothe thyself in a shining form4 ,go ye2 depart ye2 hasten ye from hence 7,rig-,veda x4 #ad74 ,to which1 as choral responses1 might be added1 ,let him depart to those for whom flow the rivers of nectar4 ,let him depart to those who through meditation have obtained the victory1 who by fixing their thoughts on the unseen have gone to heaven4444 ,let him depart to the mighty in battle1 to the heroes who have laid down their lives for others1 to those who have bestowed their goods on the poor 7,rig-,veda x4 #aed74 ,as the body was consumed on the pyre the friends of the dead chanted a hymn in which1 after having bidden his body return to the various elements from which it sprang1 they prayed1 ,as for his unborn part1 do ,thou1 ,lord 7,agni71 quicken it with ,thy heat2 let ,thy flame and ,thy brightness kindle it3 convey it to the world of the righteous4 ,it was from this pure and lofty source that the ,persians drew their faith in the better life to be4 ,max ,mueller also quotes as the prayer of a dying ,hindu woman1 ,place me1 ,o ,pure ,one1 in that everlasting and unchanging world where light and glory are found4 ,make me immortal in the world in which joys1 delights1 and happiness abide1 where the desires are obtained 7,atharda ,veda xii4 #c1 #ag74 ,cremation itself bore witness to the ,hindu faith in immortality1 since they held that the fire which set free the spiritual element from the superincumbent clay1 completed the third or heavenly birth1 the second birth having been achieved when men set themselves to a faithful discharge of their religious duties4 ,this wonderfully pure creed was1 however1 in process of time1 corrupted in many ways4 ,first of all1 the sad antithesis of human life1 the conflict between light and darkness1 good and evil--the standing puzzle of the world--led the votaries of ,ormazd to dualism4 ,ormazd loved and created only the good4 ,the evil in man1 and in the world1 must be the work of an enemy4 ,this enemy1 ,ahriman 7,augro-maniyus71 has been seeking from eternity to undo1 to mar and blast1 the fair work of the ,god of heaven4 ,he is the baleful author of all evil1 and under him are spirits as malignant as himself4 ,between these good and evil powers there is incessant conflict1 which extends to every soul and every world4 ,it will never cease until the great ,deliverer arise--for even of ,him the ,persians had some dim prevision--who shall conquer and destroy evil at its source1 all things then rounding to their final goal of good4 ,another corrupting influence had its origin in a too literal interpretation of the names given to the ,divine ,being1 or the qualities ascribed to ,him1 by the founders of the faith4 ,ormazd1 for example1 had been described as true1 lucid1 shining1 the originator of all the best things1 of the spirit in nature and of the growth in nature1 of the luminaries and of the self-shining brightness which is in the luminaries4 ,from these epithets and ascriptions there sprang in later days the worship of the sun1 then of fire1 as a type of ,god--a worship still maintained by the disciples of ,zoroaster1 the ,ghebers and the ,parsees4 ,and from this point onward the old sad story repeats itself2 once more we have to trace a pure and lofty primitive faith along the grades through which it declines to the low1 base level of a sensuous idolatry4 ,the ,magians1 always the bitter enemies of ,zoroastrianism1 held that the four elements--fire1 air1 earth1 and water--were the only proper objects of human reverence4 ,it was not difficult for them to persuade those who already worshipped fire1 and were beginning to forget of ,whom fire was the symbol1 to include in their homage air1 water1 and earth4 ,divination1 incantations1 the interpretation of dreams and omens soon followed1 with all the dark shadows which science and religion cast behind them4 ,and then came the lowest deep of all1 that worship of the gods by sensual indulgence to which idolatry gravitates1 as by a law4 ,nevertheless1 we must remember that1 even at their worst1 the ,persians preserved the sacred records of their earlier faith1 and that their best men steadily refused to accept the base additions to it which the ,magians proposed4 ,corrupt as in many respects many of them became1 the conquest of ,babylon was the death-blow to the sensual idol-worship which had reigned for twenty centuries on the ,chaldean plain2 it never wholly recovered from it1 though it survived it for a time4 ,from that date it declined to its fall3 ,bel bowed down2 ,nebo stooped2 ,merodach was broken in pieces 7,isa4 xlvi4 #a2 ,jer4 l4 #b74 ,the nobler monarchs of ,persia were true disciples of the primitive creed of their race4 ,it was similarity of creed which won their favour for the ,hebrew captives4 ,in the decree which enfranchised them 7,ezra i4 #b1 #c7 ,cyrus expressly identifies ,ormazd1 the ,god of heaven1 with ,jehovah1 the ,god of ,israel2 he says1 ,the ,lord ,god of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth1 and ,he hath charged me to build ,him a house at ,jerusalem4 ,nor was this belief in one ,god1 whose temple was to be defiled by no image even of ,himself1 the only point in common between the better ,persians1 such as ,cyrus and ,darius1 and the better ,jews4 ,there were many such points4 ,both believed in an evil spirit tempting and accusing men2 in myriads of angels1 all the host of heaven1 who formed the armies of ,god and did his pleasure2 in a tree of life and a tree of knowledge1 and a serpent the enemy of man2 both shared the hope of a coming ,deliverer from evil1 the belief in an immortal and retributive life beyond the grave1 and a happy ,paradise in which all righteous souls would find a home and see their ,father's face4 ,these common faiths and hopes would all be points of sympathy and attachment between the two races2 and it is to this agreement in religious doctrine and practice that we must ascribe the striking facts that the ,persians1 ordinarily the most intolerant of men1 never persecuted the ,jews2 and that the ,jews1 ordinarily so impatient of foreign domination1 never made a single attempt to cast off the ,persian yoke1 but stood by the declining empire even when the ,greeks were thundering at its gates4 ,on one question all competent historians and commentators are agreed2 viz4 that the ,jews gained immensely in the clearness and compass of their religious faith during the ,captivity4 ,that1 which was the punishment1 was also the term1 of their idolatry2 into that sin they never afterwards fell4 ,now first1 too1 they began to understand that the bond of their unity was not local1 not national even1 but spiritual and religious2 they were spread over every province of a foreign empire1 yet they were one people1 and a sacred people1 in virtue of their common service of ,jehovah and their common hope of ,messiah's advent4 ,this hope had been vaguely felt before1 and just previous to the ,captivity ,isaiah had arrayed it in an unrivalled splendour of imagery2 now it sank into the popular mind1 which needed it so sorely1 and became a deep and ardent longing of the national heart4 ,from this period1 moreover1 the immortality of the soul and the life beyond death entered distinctly and prominently into the ,hebrew creed4 ,always latent in their ,scriptures1 these truths disclosed themselves to the ,jews as they came into contact with the ,persian doctrines of judgment and future rewards4 ,hitherto they had thought mainly1 if not exclusively1 of the temporal rewards and punishments by which the ,mosaic law enforced its precepts4 ,henceforth they saw that1 in time and on earth1 human actions are not carried to their final and due results2 they looked forward to a judgment in which all wrongs should be righted1 all unpunished sins receive their recompense1 and all the sufferings of the good be transmuted into joy and peace4 ,now this1 as we shall see1 is the very moral of the ,book ,ecclesiastes1 the triumphant climax to which it mounts4 ,the endeavour of ,coheleth is to show how evil and good were blended in the human lot1 evil so largely preponderating in the lot of many of the good as to make life a curse unless it were sustained by hope2 to give hope by assuring the ,hebrew captives that ,god takes cognizance of all things1 and will bring every work to judgment1 good or bad2 and to urge on them1 as the conclusion of his ,quest1 and as the whole duty of man1 to prepare for that supreme audit by fearing ,god and keeping his commandments4 ,this was the light he was commissioned to carry into their great darkness2 and if the lamp and the oil were of ,god1 it is hardly too much to say that the spark which kindled the lamp was taken from the ,persian fire1 since that too was of ,god4 ,or1 to vary the figure1 and make it more accurate1 we may say that the truths of the future life lay hidden in the ,hebrew ,scriptures1 and that it was by the light of the ,persian doctrine of the future that the ,jews1 stimulated by the mental culture and activity acquired in ,babylon1 discovered them in the ,word4 ,it is thus1 indeed1 that ,god has taught men in all ages4 ,the ,word remains ever the same1 but our conditions change1 our mental posture varies1 and with our posture the angle at which the light of ,heaven falls on the sacred page4 ,we are brought into contact with new races1 new ideas1 new forms of culture1 new discoveries of science1 and the familiar ,word forthwith teems with new meanings1 with new adaptations to our needs2 truths unseen before1 though they were always there1 come to view1 deep truths rise to the surface1 mysterious truths grow simple and plain1 truths that jangled on the ear melt into harmony2 our new needs stretch out lame hands of faith1 and find an unexpected but ample supply2 and we are rapt in wonder and admiration as we afresh discover the ,bible to be the ,book for all races and for all ages1 an inexhaustible fountain of truth and comfort and grace4 ,,translation4 ,,the ,,prologue4 ,,in ,,which ,,the ,,problem ,,of ,,the ,,book ,,is ,,indirectly ,,stated4 ,,chap4 ,i41 vv4 #a-aa4 #a ,the words of the ,preacher1 son of ,david1 king in ,jerusalem4 #b ,vanity of vanities1 saith the ,preacher2 ,vanity of vanities1 all is vanity1 #c ,since man hath no profit from all his labour ,which he laboureth under the sun6#bc #bc ,just as we speak of this sublunary world1 so under the sun is the characteristic designation of the earth throughout this ,book4 #d ,one generation passeth1 and another generation cometh2 ,while the earth abideth for ever4 #e ,the sun also riseth1 and the sun goeth down2 ,and panteth toward the place at which it will rise again4 #f ,the wind goeth toward the south1 and veereth to the north2 ,it whirleth round and round2 ,and the wind returneth on its course4 #g ,all the streams run into the sea1 yet the sea is not full2 ,to the place whence the streams came1 thither they return again4 #h ,all things are weary with toil4 ,man cannot utter it4 ,the eye can never be satisfied with seeing1 ,nor the ear with hearing4 #i ,what hath been will be1 ,and that which is done is that which will be done2 ,and there is no new thing under the sun4 #aj ,if there be anything of which it is said1 ,behold1 this is new6 ,it hath been long ago1 in the ages that were before us4 #aa ,there is no remembrance of those who have been2 ,nor will there be any remembrance of men who are to come ,among those that will live after them4 ,,first ,,section4 ,,the ,,quest ,,of ,,the ,,chief ,,good ,,in ,,wisdom ,,and ,,in ,,pleasure4 ,,chap4 ,i41 v4 #ab1 to ,,chap4 ,,ii41 v4 #bf4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,quest in ,wisdom4 ,ch4 i41 vv4 #ab-ah4 #ab ,i1 the ,preacher1 was ,king over ,israel1 in ,jerusalem3 #ac ,and ,i applied my heart to survey and search by wisdom ,into all that is done under heaven3 ,this sore task hath ,god given to the children of men1 ,to exercise themselves therewith4 ,,ver4 #ac4 ,to survey and search into1 etc4 ,the verbs indicate the broad extent which his researches covered1 and the depth to which they penetrated4 #ad ,i have considered all the works that are done under the sun1 ,and1 behold1 they are all vanity and vexation of spirit4 ,,ver4 #ad4 ,vexation of spirit4 ,literally1 striving after the wind4 ,but the time-honoured phrase1 vexation of spirit1 sufficiently expresses the writer's meaning2 and it seems better to retain it than1 with the ,revised ,version1 to introduce the ,hebrew metaphor1 which has a somewhat novel and foreign sound4 #ae ,that which is crooked cannot be set straight1 ,and that which is lacking cannot be made up4 #af ,therefore ,i spake to my heart1 saying1 ,lo1 ,i have acquired greater wisdom ,than all who were before me in ,jerusalem1 ,my heart having seen much wisdom and knowledge2 #ag ,for ,i had given my heart to find knowledge and wisdom4 ,i perceive that even this is vexation of spirit2 ,,ver4 #ag4 ,to find knowledge and wisdom4 ,both the ,authorized and ,revised ,versions render to know wisdom1 and to know madness and folly4 ,the latter clause1 however1 violates both the sense and the grammatical construction4 ,the word translated to know is not an infinitive1 but a noun1 and should be rendered knowledge2 the word translated folly means prudence1 and the word translated madness hardly means more than folly4 ,the text1 too1 seems corrupt4 ,the sense of the passage is against it1 ,i think1 as it now stands2 for the design of the ,preacher is simply to show the insufficiency of wisdom and knowledge1 not to prove folly foolish4 ,on the whole1 therefore1 it seems better to follow the high authority which arranges the text as it is here rendered4 ,the ,hebraist will find the question fully discussed in ,ginsburg4 #ah ,for in much wisdom is much sadness1 ,and to multiply knowledge is to multiply sorrow4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,quest in ,pleasure4 ,ch ii41 vv4 #a-aa4 #a ,then ,i said to my heart1 ,go to1 now let me prove thee with mirth1 ,and thou shalt see pleasure3 ,and1 lo1 this too is vanity6 #b ,to mirth ,i said1 ,thou art mad6 ,and to pleasure1 ,what canst thou do8 #c ,i thought in my heart to cheer my body with pleasure1 ,while my spirit guided it wisely1 ,and to lay hold on folly1 ,till ,i should see what it is good for the sons of men to do under heaven1 ,through the brief day of their life4 #d ,i gave myself to great works2 ,i builded me houses2 ,i planted me vineyards2 #e ,i made me gardens and parks1 ,and ,i planted in them all manner of fruit-trees2 #f ,i made me tanks of water1 ,from which to water the groves3 #g ,i bought me men-servants and maid-servants1 ,and had servants born in my house4 ,i had also many herds of oxen and sheep1 ,more than all who were before me in ,jerusalem3 #h ,i heaped up silver and gold1 ,and the treasures of kings and of kingdoms3 ,i got me men-singers and women-singers2 ,and took delight in many fair concubines3 #i ,so that ,i surpassed all who were before me in ,jerusalem1 ,my wisdom abiding with me2 #aj ,and nothing that my eyes desired did ,i withhold from them1 ,i did not keep back my heart from any pleasure2 ,for my heart took joy in all my toil1 ,and this was my portion therefrom4 #aa ,but when ,i turned to look on all the works which my hands had wrought1 ,and at the labour which it cost me to accomplish them1 ,behold1 all was vanity and vexation of spirit1 ,and there was no profit under the sun4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,wisdom and ,pleasure compared4 ,ch4 ii41 vv4 #ab-bc4 #ab ,then ,i turned to compare wisdom with madness and folly-- ,and what can he do that cometh after the king ,whom they made king long ago8-- #ac ,and ,i saw that wisdom excelleth folly ,as far as light excelleth darkness3 #ad ,the wise man's eyes are in his head1 ,while the fool walketh blindly4 ,nevertheless ,i knew that the same fate will befall both4 #ae ,therefore ,i spake with my heart3 ,a fate like that of the fool will befall me1 even me2 ,to what end1 then1 am ,i wiser8 ,and ,i said to my heart3 ,this too is vanity1 #af ,for there is no more remembrance of the wise man than of the fool2 ,for both will be forgotten1 ,as in time past so also in days to come3 ,and1 alas1 the wise man dieth even as the fool6 #ag ,so life became hateful to me1 for a sore burden was upon me1 ,even the labour which ,i wrought under the sun2 ,since all is vanity and vexation of spirit3 #ah ,yea1 ,i hated all the gain which ,i had gained under the sun1 ,because ,i must leave it to the man who shall come after me1 #ai ,and who can tell whether he will be a wise man or a fool8 ,yet shall he have power over all my gain ,which ,i have wisely gained under the sun3 ,this too is vanity4 #bj ,then ,i turned and gave my heart up to despair ,concerning all the gain which ,i had gained under the sun2 #ba ,for here is a man who hath laboured wisely1 and prudently1 and dexterously1 ,and he must leave it as a portion to one who hath not laboured therein3 ,this also is vanity and a great evil2 #bb ,for man hath nothing of all his heavy labour1 ,and the vexation of his heart under the sun1 #bc ,since his task grieveth and vexeth him all his days1 ,and even at night his heart hath no rest3 ,this too is vanity4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,the ,conclusion4 ,ch4 ii41 vv4 #bd-bf4 #bd ,there is nothing better for a man than to eat and to drink1 ,and to let his soul take pleasure in his labour4 ,but even this1 ,i saw1 cometh from ,god2 #be ,for who can eat1 ,and who enjoy himself1 apart from ,him8 #bf ,for to the man who is good before ,him1 ,he giveth wisdom and knowledge and joy2 ,but to the sinner ,he giveth the task to gather and to heap up1 ,that he may leave it to him who is good before ,god3 ,this also is vanity and vexation of spirit4 ,,second ,,section4 ,,the ,,quest ,,of ,,the ,,chief ,,good ,,in ,,devotion ,,to ,,the ,,affairs ,,of ,,business4 ,,chap4 ,,iii41 v4 #a1 to ,,chap4 ,v41 v4 #bj4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,quest obstructed by ,divine ,ordinances2 ,ch4 iii41 vv4 #a-ae4 #a ,there is a time for all things1 ,and a season for every undertaking under heaven3 #b ,a time to be born1 and a time to die2 ,a time to plant1 and a time to pluck up plants2 #c ,a time to kill1 and a time to heal2 ,a time to break down1 and a time to build up2 #d ,a time to weep1 and a time to laugh2 ,a time to mourn1 and a time to dance2 #e ,a time to cast stones1 and a time to gather up stones2 ,a time to embrace1 and a time to refrain from embracing2 #f ,a time to get1 and a time to lose2 ,a time to keep1 and a time to throw away2 #g ,a time to rend1 and a time to sew2 ,a time to be silent1 and a time to speak2 #h ,a time to love1 and a time to hate2 ,a time for war1 and a time for peace3 #i ,he who laboureth hath therefore no profit from his labours4 #aj ,i have considered the task which ,god hath given to the sons of men1 ,to exercise themselves withal3 #aa ,he hath made everything beautiful in its season2 ,he hath also put eternity into their heart2 ,only they understand not the work of ,god from beginning to end4 #ab ,i found that there was no good for them but to rejoice1 ,and to do themselves good all their life2 #ac ,but also that1 if a man eat and drink1 ,and take pleasure in all his labour1 ,it is a gift of ,god4 #ad ,i found too that whatever ,god hath ordained continueth for ever2 ,nothing can be added to it1 ,and nothing taken from it3 ,and ,god hath so ordered it that men may fear before ,him4 #ae ,that which is hath been1 ,and that which is to be was long ago2 ,for ,god recalleth the past4 ,sidenote3 ,and by ,human ,injustice and ,perversity4 ,ch4 iii41 v4 #af4 ,ch4 iv41 v4 #c4 #af ,moreover1 ,i saw under the sun ,that there was iniquity in the place of justice1 ,and in the place of equity there was iniquity4 #ag ,i said to mine heart3 ,god will judge the righteous and the wicked1 ,for there is a time for everything and for every deed with ,him4 #ah ,yet ,i said to my heart of the children of men3 ,god hath sifted them1 ,to show that they1 even they1 are but as beasts4 #ai ,for a mere chance is man1 and the beast a mere chance1 ,and they are both subject to the same chance2 ,as is the death of the one1 so is the death of the other2 ,and both have the same spirit3 ,and the man hath no advantage over the beast1 ,for both are vanity3 #bj ,both go to the same place2 ,both sprang from dust1 and both turn into dust3 #ba ,and who knoweth whether the spirit of man goeth upward1 ,or the spirit of the beast goeth downward to the earth8 ,,ver4 #ba4 ,the question is here1 as so often in ,hebrew1 the strongest form of negative4 ,as in ver4 #ai the ,preacher affirms of man and beast that both have the same spirit1 and1 in ver4 #bj1 that both go to the same place1 so1 in this verse1 he emphatically denies that there is any difference in their destination at death4 #bb ,wherefore ,i saw that there is nothing better for man ,than to rejoice in his labours2 ,for this is his portion3 ,and who shall give him to see what will be after him8 ,sidenote3 iv4 #a ,then ,i turned to consider once more ,all the oppressions that are done under the sun3 ,i beheld the tears of the oppressed1 ,and they had no comforter2 ,and their oppressors were violent1 ,yet had they no comforter3 #b ,and ,i accounted the dead who died long ago ,happier than the living who are still alive2 #c ,while happier than either is he who hath not been born1 ,who hath not seen the evil which is done under the sun4 ,sidenote3 ,it is rendered hopeless by the base ,origin of ,human ,industries4 ,ch4 iv41 vv4 #d-h4 #d ,then too ,i saw that all this toil1 ,and all this dexterity in toil1 ,spring from man's rivalry with his neighbour3 ,this also is vanity and vexation of spirit4 #e ,the sluggard foldeth his hands1 ,yet he eateth his meat3 #f ,better a handful of quiet ,than two handsful of labour with vexation of spirit4 #g ,and again ,i turned1 and saw a vanity under the sun3 #h ,here is a man who hath no one with him1 ,not even a son or a brother2 ,and yet there is no end of all his labour1 ,neither are his eyes satisfied with riches3 ,for whom1 then1 doth he labour and deny his soul any of his wealth8 ,this too is vanity and an evil work4 ,sidenote3 ,yet these are capable of a nobler ,motive and ,mode4 ,ch4 iv41 vv4 #i-af4 #i ,two are better than one1 ,because they have a good reward for their labour3 #aj ,for if one fall1 the other will lift up his fellow2 ,but woe to the lonely one who falleth ,and hath no fellow to lift him up6 #aa ,moreover1 if two sleep together1 they are warm2 ,but he that is alone1 how can he be warm8 #ab ,and if an enemy assail the one1 two will withstand him4 ,and a threefold cord is not easily broken4 #ac ,happier is a poor and wise youth ,than an old and foolish king ,who even yet has not learned to take warning2 #ad ,for he goeth forth from the prison to the throne1 ,although he was born a poor man in the kingdom4 #ae ,i see all the living who walk under the sun ,flocking to the youth who stood up in his stead2 #af ,there is no end to the multitude of the people over whom he ruleth3 ,nevertheless those who live after him will not rejoice in him2 ,for even this is vanity and vexation of spirit4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,so also a nobler and happier ,mode of ,worship is open to men3 ,ch4 v41 vv4 #a-g4 #a ,keep thy foot when thou goest to the ,house of ,god2 ,for it is better to obey than to offer the sacrifice of fools1 ,who know not when they do evil4 #b ,do not hurry on thy mouth1 ,and do not force thy heart to utter words before ,god2 ,for ,god is in heaven1 and thou upon earth3 ,therefore let thy words be few4 #c ,for as a dream cometh through much occupation1 ,so foolish talk through many words4 #d ,when thou vowest a vow unto ,god1 ,defer not to pay it2 ,for he is a fool whose will is not steadfast4 ,pay that which thou hast vowed4 #e ,better that thou shouldest not vow ,than that thou shouldest vow and not pay4 #f ,suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin1 ,and say not before the ,angel1 ,it was an error3 ,for why should ,god be angry at thine idle talk ,and destroy the work of thy hands8 ,,ver4 #f4 ,before the ,angel4 ,that is1 before the ,angel who1 as the ,hebrews thought1 presided over the altar of worship1 and who was present even when only two or three met for the study of the ,law3 to study the ,law being in itself an act of worship4 #g ,for in many words1 as in many dreams1 there is vanity3 ,but fear thou ,god4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,and a more helpful and consolatory ,trust in the ,divine ,providence4 ,ch4 v41 vv4 #h-ag4 #h ,if thou seest the oppression of the poor1 ,and the perversion of justice in the ,state1 ,be not dismayed thereat2 ,for superior watcheth superior1 ,and superiors again watch over them3 #i ,and the advantage for the people is1 that it extendeth to all1 ,for even the king is servant to the field4 ,,ver4 #i4 ,some commentators prefer another possible reading of this difficult verse3 ,but the profit of a land is every way a king devoted to the field1 i4e4 a lover and promoter of good husbandry4 ,this reading1 however1 does not1 ,i think1 harmonise so well with the context as that given above4 #aj ,he that loveth silver is never satisfied with silver1 ,nor he that clingeth to riches with what they yield3 ,this too is vanity2 #aa ,for when riches increase they increase that consume them3 ,what advantage then hath the owner thereof1 ,save the looking thereupon with his eyes8 #ab ,sweet is the sleep of the husbandman1 ,whether he eat little or much2 ,while abundance suffereth not the rich to sleep4 #ac ,there is a great evil which ,i have seen under the sun-- ,riches hoarded up by the rich ,to the hurt of the owner thereof3 #ad ,for the riches perish in some unlucky adventure1 ,and he begetteth a son when he hath nothing in his hand3 #ae ,as he cometh forth from the womb of his mother1 ,even as he cometh naked1 ,so also he returneth again1 ,and taketh nothing from his labour ,which he may carry away in his hand4 #af ,this also is a great evil1 ,that just as he came so he must go4 ,for what profit hath he who laboureth for the wind8 #ag ,yet all his days he eateth in darkness1 ,and is much perturbed1 and hath vexation and grief4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,the ,conclusion4 ,ch4 v41 vv4 #ah-bj4 #ah ,behold1 that which ,i have said holds good1-- ,that it is well for man to eat and to drink ,and to enjoy the good of all his labour wherein he laboureth under the sun1 ,through the brief day of his life which ,god hath given him3 ,for this is his portion4 #ai ,and ,i have also said1 ,that a man to whom ,god hath given riches and wealth1 ,if ,he hath also enabled him to eat thereof1 ,and to take his portion and to rejoice in his labour2-- ,this is a gift of ,god3 #bj ,he doth not fret because the days of his life are not many1 ,for ,god hath sanctioned the joy of his heart4 ,,third ,,section4 ,,the ,,quest ,,in ,,wealth ,,and ,,in ,,the ,,golden ,,mean4 ,,chaps4 ,,vi41 ,,ver4 #a1 ,,to ,,viii41 ,,ver4 #ae4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,quest in ,wealth4 ,he who makes ,riches his ,chief ,good is haunted by ,fears and ,perplexities3 ,ch4 vi41 vv4 #a-f4 #a ,there is another evil which ,i have seen under the sun1 ,and it weigheth heavily upon men3 #b ,here is a man to whom ,god hath given riches and wealth and abundance1 ,so that his soul lacketh nothing of all that it desireth2 ,and ,god hath not given him the power to enjoy it1 ,but a stranger enjoyeth it3 ,this is vanity and a great evil4 #c ,though one beget a hundred children1 ,and live many years1 ,yea1 however many the days of his years1 ,yet if his soul be not satisfied with good1 ,even though the grave did not wait for him1 ,better is an abortion than he3 #d ,for this cometh in nothingness and goeth in darkness1 ,and its memory is shrouded in darkness2 #e ,it doth not even see and know the sun3 ,it hath more rest than he4 #f ,and if he live twice a thousand years and see no good3-- ,do not both go to the same place8 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,for ,god has put ,eternity into his ,heart2 ,ch4 vi41 vv4 #g-aj4 #g ,all the labour of this man is for his mouth2 ,therefore his soul cannot be satisfied3 #h ,for what advantage hath the wise man over the fool1 ,or what the poor man over the stately magnate8 ,,ver4 #h4 ,the magnate4 ,literally1 he who knoweth to walk before the living2 some great person1 some man of eminent station1 who is much in the eye of the public4 #i ,it is better1 indeed1 to enjoy the good we have ,than to crave a good beyond our reach3 ,yet even this is vanity and vexation of spirit4 ,,ver4 #i4 ,to enjoy the good we have1 etc4 ,literally1 ,better is that which is seen by the eyes 7the present good7 than that which is pursued by the soul 7the distant and uncertain good74 #aj ,that which hath been was long since ordained2 ,and it is very certain that even the greatest is but a man1 ,and cannot contend with ,him who is mightier than he4 ,sidenote3 ,and much that he gains only feeds ,vanity2 #aa ,moreover there are many things which increase vanity3 ,what advantage then hath man8 ,sidenote3 ,nor can he tell what will become of his ,gains4 #ab ,and who knoweth what is good for man in life1 ,the brief day of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow8 ,and who can tell what shall be after him under the sun8 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,the ,quest in the ,golden ,mean4 ,the ,method of the ,man who pursues it4 ,ch4 vii41 vv4 #a-ad4 #a ,a good name is better than good nard1 ,and the day of death better than the day of one's birth3 #b ,it is better to go to the house of mourning ,than to the house of feasting1 ,because this is the end of every man1 ,and the living should lay it to heart3 ,,ver4 #b4 ,because this is the end2 i4e4 the death bewailed in the house of mourning4 #c ,better is serious thought than wanton mirth1 ,for by a sad countenance the heart is bettered3 #d ,the heart of the wise therefore is in the house of mourning1 ,but in the house of mirth is the heart of fools4 #e ,it is better for a man to listen to the reproof of the wise ,than to listen to the song of fools2 #f ,for the laughter of fools is like the crackling of thorns under a pot3 ,this also is vanity4 ,,ver4 #f4 ,the laughter of fools1 etc4 ,there is a play on words in the original which cannot be reproduced in ,english4 ,dean ,plumptre1 following the lead of ,delitzsch1 proposes as the nearest equivalents1 ,as crackling nettles under kettles1 or ,as crackling stubble makes the pot bubble4 #g ,wrong-doing maketh the wise man mad1 ,as a bribe corrupteth the heart4 #h ,the end of a reproof is better than its beginning1 ,and patience is better than pride2 #i ,therefore hurry not on thy spirit to be angry3 ,for anger is nursed in the bosom of fools4 #aj ,say not1 ,how is it that former days were better than these8 ,for that is not the part of wisdom4 #aa ,wisdom is as good as wealth1 ,and hath an advantage over it for those who lead an active life3 ,,ver4 #aa4 ,those who lead an active life4 ,literally1 those who see the sun1 i4e4 those who are much in the sun1 who lead a busy active life1 are much occupied with traffic or public affairs4 #ab ,for wisdom is a shelter1 ,and wealth is a shelter2 ,but the advantage of wisdom is ,that it fortifieth the heart of them that have it4 ,,ver4 #ab4 ,fortifieth the heart2 i4e4 quickens life1 a new life1 a life which keeps the heart tranquil and serene under all chances and changes4 #ac ,consider moreover the work of ,god1 ,since no man can straighten that which ,he hath made crooked4 #ad ,in the day of prosperity be thou content2 ,and in the day of adversity ,consider that ,god hath made this as well as that1 ,in order that man should not be able to foresee that which is to come4 ,,ver4 #ad43 ,in the day of prosperity1 etc4 ,literally1 in the day of good be in good4 ,it may be rendered in the good day be of good cheer4 ,this as well as that2 i4e4 adversity as well as prosperity4 ,god sends both in order that1 not foreseeing what will come to pass1 we may live in a constant and humble dependence on ,him4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,the ,perils to which it exposes him4 7#a7 ,he is likely to compromise ,conscience3 ,ch4 vii41 vv4 #ae-bj4 #ae ,in my fleeting days ,i have seen ,both the righteous die in his righteousness1 ,and the wicked live long in his wickedness3 #af ,be not too righteous therefore1 ,nor make thyself too wise lest thou be abandoned2 #ag ,be not very wicked1 nor yet very foolish1 ,lest thou die before thy time3 #ah ,it is better that thou shouldest lay hold of this ,and also not let go of that2 ,for whoso feareth ,god will take hold on both4 ,,ver4 #ah4 ,this 444 and that4 ,this refers to the folly and wickedness of ver4 #ag1 and that to the wisdom and righteousness of ver4 #af4 ,take hold on both4 ,literally1 go along with both4 #ai ,this wisdom alone is greater strength to the wise ,than an army to a beleaguered city2 ,,ver4 #ai4 ,this wisdom3 viz4 the moderate common-sense view of life which has just been described4 ,than an army1 etc4 ,literally1 ,than ten 7i4e4 many7 mighty men in a city4 #bj ,for there is not a righteous man on earth ,who doeth good and sinneth not4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 7#b7 ,to be indifferent to ,censure3 ,ch4 vii41 vv4 #ba1 #bb4 #ba ,moreover seek not to know all that is said of thee1 ,lest thou hear thy servant speak evil of thee2 ,,ver4 #ba4 ,seek not to know1 etc4 ,literally1 ,give not thy heart 7even if thy ears7 to all words that are uttered4 #bb ,for thou knowest in thine heart ,that thou also hast many times spoken evil of others4 #bc ,all this wisdom have ,i tried2 ,i desired a higher wisdom1 but it was far from me2 #bd ,that which was far off remaineth far off1 ,and deep remaineth deep3 ,who can find it out8 ,sidenote3 7#c7 ,to despise ,women2 ,ch4 vii41 vv4 #be-bi4 #be ,then ,i and my heart turned to know this wisdom ,and diligently examine it-- ,to discover the cause of wickedness1 vice1 ,and that folly which is madness3 #bf ,and ,i found woman more bitter than death2 ,she is a net2 ,her heart is a snare1 and her hands are chains3 ,whoso is good before ,god shall escape her1 ,but the sinner shall be taken by her4 #bg ,behold1 what ,i have found1 saith the ,preacher-- ,taking things one by one to reach the result-- #bh ,i have found one man among a thousand1 ,but in all that number a woman have ,i not found3 #bi ,lo1 this only have ,i found1 ,that ,god made man upright1 ,but that they seek out many devices4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 7#d7 ,and to be indifferent to ,public ,wrongs4 ,ch4 viii41 vv4 #a-ac4 #a ,who is like the wise man8 ,and who like him that understandeth the interpretation of this saying8 ,the wisdom of this man maketh his face bright1 ,and his rude features are refined4 ,,ver4 #a4 ,this saying3 i4e4 that which follows4 ,and his rude features1 etc4 ,culture lends an air of refinement to the face1 carriage1 manners4 #b ,i say then1 ,obey the king's commandment1 ,and the rather because of the oath of fealty3 #h8 ,,ver4 #b4 ,the oath of fealty4 ,literally1 the oath by ,god4 ,the ,babylonian and ,persian despots exacted an oath of loyalty from conquered races4 ,each had to swear by the god he worshipped4 #c ,do not throw off thine allegiance1 ,nor resent an evil word1 ,for he can do whatsoever he please2 ,,ver4 #c4 ,do not throw off1 etc4 ,literally1 ,do not hurry from his presence1 or even stand up because of an evil word4 ,to stand up in the divan of an ,eastern despot is a sign of resentment2 to rush from it a sign of disloyalty and rebellion4 #d ,for the word of a king is mighty2 ,and who shall say to him1 ,what doest thou8 #e ,whoso keepeth his commandment will know no evil4 ,moreover the heart of the wise man foreseeth a time of retribution-- #f ,for there is a time of retribution for all things-- ,when the tyranny of man is heavy upon him3 #g ,because he knoweth not what will be1 ,and because no one can tell him when it will be4 ,,ver4 #g4 ,because he knoweth not2 i4e4 the tyrant does not know4 ,the sense seems to be3 ,retribution is all the more certain because1 in his infatuation1 the despot does not foresee the disastrous results of his tyranny1 and because no one can tell him when or how they will disclose themselves4 #h ,no man is ruler over his own spirit1 ,to retain the spirit1 ,nor has he any power over the day of his death2 ,and there is no furlough in this war1 ,and no craft will save the wicked4 #i ,all this have ,i seen1 ,having applied my heart to all that is done under the sun4 ,,ver4 #i43 ,all this have ,i seen2 i4e4 all this retribution on tyrants and the consequent deliverance of the oppressed4 #aj ,but there is a time when a man ruleth over men to their hurt4 ,thus ,i have seen wicked men buried1 ,and come again2 ,and those who did right depart from the place of the holy1 ,and be forgotten in the city3 ,this also is vanity4 ,,ver4 #aj43 ,but the ,preacher has also seen times when retributive justice did not overtake the oppressors1 when they came again in the persons of children as wicked and tyrannical as themselves4 #aa ,because sentence against an evil deed is not executed forthwith1 ,the heart of the sons of men is set in them to do evil4 ,,ver4 #aa43 ,because sentence1 etc4 ,god does not always pay on ,saturdays1 says an old ,italian proverb4 #ab ,though a sinner do evil a hundred years1 ,and groweth old therein1 ,yet ,i know that it shall be well with those who fear ,god1 ,who truly fear before ,him2 #ac ,and it shall not be well with the wicked1 ,but1 like a shadow1 he shall not prolong his days1 ,because he doth not fear before ,god4 ,sidenote3 ,therefore the ,preacher condemns this ,view of ,human ,life4 #ad ,nevertheless1 this vanity doth happen on the earth1 ,that there are righteous men who have a wage like that of the wicked1 ,and there are wicked men who have a wage like that of the righteous3 ,this too1 ,i said1 is vanity4 #ae ,and ,i commended mirth1 ,because there is nothing better for man under the sun ,than to eat1 and to drink1 and to be merry2 ,for this will go with him to his work ,through the days of his life1 ,which ,god giveth him under the sun4 ,,ver4 #ae43 ,and this will go with him3 viz4 this clear enjoying temper1 than which1 as yet1 the ,preacher has found nothing better4 ,,fourth ,,section4 ,,the ,,quest ,,of ,,the ,,chief ,,good ,,achieved4 ,,chap4 ,,viii41 ,,ver4 #af1 ,,to ,,chap4 ,,xii41 ,,ver4 #g4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,chief ,good not to be found in ,wisdom3 ,ch4 viii41 v4 #af4-;,ch4 ix41 v4 #f4 #af ,as then ,i applied my heart to acquire wisdom1 ,and to see the work which is done under the sun-- ,and such a one seeth no sleep with his eyes by day or by night3 #ag ,i saw that man cannot find out all the work of ,god ,which is done under the sun2 ,though man labour to discover it1 ,he cannot find it out2 ,and though the wise may say he understandeth it ,nevertheless he hath not found it out4 ,,ver4 #ag43 ,to illustrate this verse ,dean ,plumptre happily quotes ,hooker's noble and familiar words3 ,dangerous it were for the feeble brain of man to wade far into the doings of the ,most ,high2 whom although to know be life1 and joy to make mention of ,his name1 yet our soundest knowledge is to know that we know ,him not as indeed ,he is1 neither can know ,him1 and our safest eloquence concerning ,him is our silence1 when we confess without confession that ,his glory is inexplicable1 his greatness above our capacity and reach4 ,sidenote3 ix4 #a ,for all this have ,i taken to heart and explored1 ,that the righteous1 and the wise1 and their labours are in the hand of ,god3 ,they know not whether they shall meet love or hatred2 ,all lies before them4 ,all are treated alike2 ,,ver4 #a43 ,they know not whether they shall meet love or hatred may mean that even the wisest cannot tell whether they shall meet 7#a7 the love or the enmity of ,god1 as shown in adverse or favourable providences2 or 7#b7 the things which they love or hate2 or 7#c7 the love or the hatred of their fellows4 ,the last of the three seems the most likely4 ,all lies before them2 i4e4 all possible chances1 changes1 events4 ,only ,god can determine or foresee what is coming to meet them4 #b ,the same fate befalleth to the righteous and to the wicked1 ,to the good and pure and to the impure1 ,to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not2 ,as with the good so is it with the sinner1 ,with him that sweareth as with him who feareth an oath4 #c ,this is the greatest evil of all that is done under the sun1 ,that there is one fate for all3 ,and that1 although the heart of the sons of men is full of evil1 ,and madness is in their hearts through life1 ,yet1 after it1 they go to the dead2 ,,ver4 #c43 ,the words of this verse do not1 as they stand1 seem to carry on the logical sequence of thought4 ,the ,preacher's complaint is that even the wise and the good are not exempted from the common fate1 not that the foolish and reckless are exposed to it4 ,the text may be corrupt2 but ,ginsburg is content with it4 ,a good reading of it1 however1 is still wanting4 #d ,for who is exempted8 ,to all the living there is hope1 ,for a living dog is better than a dead lion2 #e ,for the living know that they shall die1 ,but the dead know not anything2 ,and there is no more any compensation to them1 ,for the very memory of them is gone3 #f ,their love1 too1 no less than their hatred and rivalry1 hath perished2 ,and there is no part for them in ought that is done under the sun4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,nor in ,pleasure3 ,ch4 ix41 vv4 #g-ab4 #g ,go1 then1 eat thy bread with gladness1 ,and drink thy wine with a merry heart1 ,since ,god hath accepted thy works3 #h ,let thy garments be always white2 ,let no perfume be lacking to thy head3 #i ,and enjoy thyself with any woman whom thou lovest ,all the days of thy life ,which ,he giveth thee under the sun1 ,all thy fleeting days3 ,for this is thy portion in life1 ,and in the labour which thou labourest under the sun4 ,,ver4 #i43 ,enjoy thyself with any woman4 ,the word here rendered woman does not mean wife4 ,and as the ,hebrew ,preacher is here speaking under the mask of the lover of pleasure1 this immoral maxim is at least consistent with the part he plays4 ,more than one good critic1 however1 read a wife for any woman4 #aj ,whatsoever thine hand findeth to do1 ,do it whilst thou art able2 ,for there is no work1 nor device1 nor knowledge1 nor wisdom in ,hades1 ,whither thou goest4 #aa ,then ,i turned and saw under the sun1 ,that the race is not to the swift1 ,nor the battle to the strong2 ,nor yet bread to the wise1 ,nor riches to the intelligent1 ,nor favour to the learned2 #ab ,but time and chance happen to all1 ,and that man doth not even know his time3 ,like fish taken in a fatal net1 ,and like birds caught in a snare1 ,so are the sons of men entrapped in the time of their calamity1 ,when it falleth suddenly upon them4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,nor in ,devotion to ,public ,affairs and its ,rewards3 ,ch4 ix41 v4 #ac-;,ch4 x4 v4 #bj4 #ac ,this wisdom also have ,i seen under the sun1 ,and it seemed great to me-- #ad ,there was a little city1 ,and few men in it1 ,and a great king came against it and besieged it1 ,and threw up a military causeway against it3 #ae ,now there was found in it a poor wise man1 ,and he saved that city by his wisdom2 ,yet no one remembered this same poor man4 #af ,therefore say ,i1 ,though wisdom is better than strength1 ,yet the wisdom of the poor is despised1 ,and his words are not listened to3 #ag ,though the quiet words of the wise have much advantage ,over the vociferations of a fool of fools1 ,and wisdom is better than weapons of war1 ,yet one fool destroyeth much good3 ,sidenote3 x4 #a ,as a dead fly maketh sweet ointment to stink1 ,so a little folly overpowereth 7much7 wisdom and honour4 #b ,nevertheless the mind of the wise man turns toward his right hand1 ,but the mind of the fool to his left2 #c ,for so soon as the fool setteth his foot in the street ,he betrayeth his lack of understanding2 ,yet he saith of every one 7he meeteth71 ,he is a fool6 ,,ver4 #c43 ,setteth his foot in the street4 ,literally1 walketh in the road4 ,the sentence seems to be a proverb used to denote the extreme stupidity of the fool who1 the very moment he leaves his house1 is bewildered1 cannot even find his way from one familiar spot to another1 and sees his own folly in every face he meets4 #d ,if the anger of thy ruler be kindled against thee1 ,resent it not3 ,patience will avert a graver wrong4 ,,ver4 #d43 ,resent it not4 ,literally1 ,quit not thy place4--,see note on chapter viii41 ver4 #c4 #e ,there is an evil which ,i have seen under the sun1 ,an outrage which only a ruler can commit3 #f ,a great fool is lifted to high place1 ,while the noble sit degraded3 #g ,i have seen servants upon horses1 ,and masters walking like servants on the ground4 ,,ver4 #g43 ,to ride upon a horse is still a mark of distinction in many ,eastern ,states4 ,in ,turkish cities1 till of late1 no ,christian was permitted to ride any nobler beast than an ass or a mule3 so neither were the ,jews1 in the ,middle ,ages1 in any ,christian city4 #h ,yet he that diggeth a pit shall fall into it2 ,and whoso breaketh down a wall a serpent shall bite him2 #i ,he who pulleth down stones shall be hurt therewith2 ,and whoso cleaveth logs shall be cut4 #aj ,if the axe be blunt1 and he do not whet the edge1 ,he must put on more strength2 ,but wisdom should teach him to sharpen it4 ,,ver4 #aj43 ,ginsburg renders this difficult and much-disputed passage thus3 ,if the axe be blunt1 and he do not sharpen it beforehand1 he shall only increase the army2 the advantage of repairing hath wisdom1 and explains it as meaning3 ,if any insulted subject lift a blunt axe against the trunk of despotism1 he will only make the tyrant increase his army1 and thereby augment his own sufferings2 but it is the prerogative of wisdom to repair the mischief which such precipitate folly occasions4 ,i have offered what seems a simpler explanation in the comment on this passage1 and have tried to give a simpler1 yet not less accurate1 rendering in the text4 ,but there are almost as many readings of this difficult verse as there are critics2 and it is impossible to do more than make a hesitating choice among them4 #aa ,if the serpent bite because it is not charmed1 ,there is no advantage to the charmer4 ,,ver4 #aa43 ,the charmer4 ,literally1 the master of the tongue4 ,the allusion of the phrase is of course to the subtle cantillations by which the charmer drew1 or was thought to draw1 serpents from their lurk1 and to render them harmless4 #ab ,the words of the wise man's mouth win him grace2 ,but the lips of a fool swallow him up1 #ac ,for the words of his mouth are folly at the beginning1 ,and end in malignant madness4 #ad ,the fool is full of words1 ,though no man knoweth what shall be1 ,either here or hereafter3 ,and who can tell him8 #ae ,the work of a fool wearieth him1 ,for he cannot even find his way to the city4 ,,ver4 #ae43 ,he cannot even find his way to the city2 a proverbial saying4 ,it denotes the fool who has not wit enough even to keep a high road1 to walk in the beaten path which leads to a capital city4 ,the thought was evidently familiar to ,jewish literature2 for ,isaiah 7xxxv4 #h7 speaks of the way of holiness as a highway in which wayfaring men1 though fools1 shall not err4 #af ,woe to thee1 ,o land1 when thy king is a child1 ,and thy princes feast in the morning6 #ag ,happy art thou1 ,o land1 when thy king is noble1 ,and thy princes eat at due hours1 ,for strength and not for revelry6 #ah ,through slothful hands the roof falleth in1 ,and through lazy hands the house lets in the rain4 ,,vers4 #ah1 #ai43 ,and money pays for all2 i4e4 the money of the people4 ,the slothful prodigal rulers1 under whose mal-administration the whole fabric of the ,state was fast falling into decay1 extorted the means for their profligate revelry from their toil-worn and oppressed subjects4 ,it is significant of the caution induced by the extreme tyranny of the time1 that the whole description of its political condition is conveyed in proverbs more enigmatical than usual1 and capable of being interpreted in more senses than one4 #ai ,they turn bread1 and wine1 which cheereth life1 into revelry2 ,and money has to pay for all4 #bj ,nevertheless revile not the king even in thy thoughts1 ,nor a prince even in thy bed-chamber1 ,lest the bird of the air carry the report1 ,and the winged tribes tell the story4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,but in a wise ,use and a wise ,enjoyment of the ,present ,life2 ,ch4 xi41 vv4 #a-h4 #a ,cast thy bread upon the waters1 ,for in time thou mayest find the good of it2 #b ,give a portion to seven1 and even to eight1 ,for thou knowest not what calamity may come upon the earth4 #c ,when the clouds are full of rain1 ,they empty it upon the earth2 ,and when the tree falleth1 toward south or north1 ,in the place where the tree falleth there will it lie4 #d ,whoso watcheth the wind shall not sow1 ,and he who observeth the clouds shall not reap2 #e ,as thou knowest the course of the wind ,as little as that of the embryo in the womb of the pregnant1 ,so thou knowest not the work of ,god1 ,who worketh all things4 #f ,sow1 then1 thy seed in the morning1 ,and slack not thy hand in the evening1 ,since thou knowest not which shall prosper1 this or that1 ,or whether both shall prove good3 #g ,and the light shall be sweet to thee1 ,and it shall be pleasant to thine eyes to behold the sun3 #h ,for even if a man should live many years1 ,he ought to rejoice in them all1 ,and to remember that there will be many dark days2 ,yea1 that all that cometh is vanity4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,combined with a stedfast ,faith in the ,life to come4 ,ch4 xi41 v4 #i-;,ch4 xii41 v4 #g4 #i ,rejoice1 ,o young man1 in thy youth1 ,and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth2 ,and pursue the ways of thine heart1 ,and that which thine eyes desire2 ,and know that for all these ,god will bring thee into judgment3 #aj ,banish1 therefore1 care from thy mind1 ,and put away sadness from thy flesh1 ,for youth and manhood are vanity4 ,sidenote3 xii4 ,and remember thy ,creator in the days of thy youth1 ,before the evil days come1 ,and the years approach of which thou shalt say1 ,i have no pleasure in them2 #b ,before the sun groweth dark1 ,and the light1 and the moon1 and the stars2 ,and the clouds return after the rain3 #c ,when the keepers of the house shall quake1 ,and the men of power crouch down2 ,when the grinding-maids shall stop because so few are left1 ,and the women who look out of the lattices shall be shrouded in darkness1 ,and the door shall be closed on the street3 ,,ver4 #c43 ,the women who look out of the lattices2 i4e4 the luxurious ladies of the harem looking through their windows to see what is going on outside4 ,compare ,judges v4 #bh2 #b ,samuel vi4 #af2 and #b ,kings ix4 #cj4 #d ,when the sound of the mills shall cease1 ,and the swallow fly shrieking to and fro1 ,and all the song-birds drop silently into their nests4 ,,ver4 #d43 ,the swallow1 etc4 ,literally1 the bird shall arise for a noise1 i4e4 the bird which flies abroad and makes a noise at the approach of a tempest3 viz4 the swallow4 ,all the songbirds4 ,literally1 all the daughters of song1 a ,hebraism for birds4 #e ,there shall be terror at that which cometh from the height1 ,and fear shall beset the highway3 ,the almond also shall be rejected1 ,and the locust be loathed1 ,and the caper-berry provoke no appetite2 ,because man goeth to his long home1 ,and the mourners pace up and down the street2-- ,,ver4 #e43 ,from the height1 i4e4 from heaven4 ,the locust be loathed4 ,it is commonly assumed that the locust was only eaten by the poor2 but ,aristotle 7,hist4 ,anim41 v4 #cj7 names them as a delicacy1 and ,ginsburg affirms that they are still considered so by the cultivated and well-to-do ,arabs4 ,his long home4 ,literally1 his eternal home1 the domus aeterna of the early ,christian tombs4 #f ,before the silver cord snappeth asunder1 ,and the golden bowl escapeth2 ,before the pitcher be shattered at the fountain1 ,and the wheel is broken at the well2 #g ,and the body is cast into the earth from which it came1 ,and the spirit returneth to ,god who gave it4 ,,the ,,epilogue4 ,,in ,,which ,,the ,,problem ,,of ,,the ,,book ,,is ,,conclusively ,,solved4 ,,chap4 ,,xii41 ,,vv4 #h-ad4 #h ,vanity of vanities1 saith the ,preacher1 ,all is vanity6 #i ,and not only was the ,preacher a wise man2 ,he also taught the people wisdom1 ,and compared1 collected1 and arranged many proverbs4 #aj ,the ,preacher sought out words of comfort1 ,and wrote down in uprightness words of truth4 #aa ,the words of the ,wise are like goads1 ,and those of the ,masters of the ,assemblies like spikes driven home1 ,given out by the same ,shepherd4 #ab ,and of what is more than these1 my son1 beware2 ,for of making of many books there is no end1 ,and much study is a weariness to the flesh4 #ac ,the conclusion of the matter is this2-- ,that ,god taketh cognisance of all things3 ,fear ,him1 therefore1 and keep his commandments1 ,for this it behoveth every man to do1 ,,ver4 #ac43 ,god taketh cognisance of all things4 ,literally1 ,everything is noted or heard1 i4e4 by ,god the ,judge4 ,ginsburg conjectures1 not without reason1 as ,i think1 that the ,sacred ,name was omitted from this clause of the verse simply because the ,author wished to reserve it for the more emphatic clause which follows it4 ,many good scholars1 however1 read the clause as meaning simply1 ,the conclusion of the matter1 when all has been heard1 i4e4 which even the ,sages can adduce4 #ad ,since ,god will bring every deed to the judgment ,appointed for every secret thing1 ,whether it be good or whether it be bad4 ,,exposition4 ,,the ,,prologue4 ,,in ,,which ,,the ,,problem ,,of ,,the ,,book ,,is ,,indirectly ,,stated4 ,,chap4 ,i41 ,,vv4 #a-aa4 ,the search for the summum bonum1 the quest of the ,chief ,good1 is the theme of the ,book ,ecclesiastes4 ,naturally we look to find this theme1 problem1 this riddle of the painful earth1 distinctly stated in the opening verses of the ,book4 ,it is stated1 but not distinctly4 ,for the ,book is an autobiographical poem1 the journal of the ,preacher's inward life set forth in a dramatic form4 ,a man of ripe wisdom and mature experience1 he takes us into his confidence4 ,he unclasps the secret volume1 and invites us to read it with him4 ,he lays before us what he has been1 what he has thought and done1 what he has seen and felt and suffered2 and then he asks us to listen to the judgment which he has deliberately formed on a review of the whole4#bd ,but that he may the more reservedly lay bare his heart to us1 he uses the ,poet's privilege1 and presents himself to us under a mask and wrapped in ,solomon's ample mantle4 ,and a dramatic poet conveys his conceptions of human character and circumstance and action1 not by direct picturesque descriptions1 but1 placing men before us in their habit as they lived1 he makes them speak to us1 and leaves us to infer their character and condition from their words4 #bd ,dean ,perowne1 in ,the ,expositor1 ,first ,series1 vol4 ix4 ,in accordance with the rules of his art1 the dramatic ,preacher brings himself on the stage of his poem1 permits us to hear his most penetrating and characteristic utterances1 confesses his own most secret and inward experiences1 and thus enables us to conceive and to judge him4 ,he is true to his artistic canons from the outset4 ,his prologue1 unlike that of the ,book of ,job1 is cast in the dramatic form4 ,instead of giving us a clear statement of the moral problem he is about to discuss1 he opens with the characteristic utterances of the man who1 wearied with many futile endeavours1 gathers up his remaining strength to recount the experiments he has tried and the conclusion he has reached4 ,like ,browning1 one of the most dramatic of modern poets1 he plunges abruptly into his theme1 and speaks to us from the first through feigned lips4 ,just as in reading the ,soliloquy of the ,spanish ,cloister1 or the ,epistle of ,karshish1 the ,arab ,physician1 or a score other of ,browning's ,poems1 we have first to glance through it in order to collect the scattered hints which indicate the speaker and the time1 and then laboriously to think ourselves back1 by their help1 into the time and conditions of the speaker1 so also with this ,hebrew poem4 ,it opens abruptly with words of the ,preacher1 who is at once the author and the hero of the drama4 ,who is he1 we ask1 and what8 ,when did he live1 and what place did he fill8 ,and at present we can only reply1 ,he is the voice of one crying in the wilderness of ,oriental antiquity1 and saying1 ,vanity of vanities6 all is vanity6#be ,for what intent1 then1 does his voice break the long silence8 ,of what ethical mood is this pathetic note the expression8 ,what prompts his despairing cry8 #be ,compare ,horace 7,od4 iv4 #g1 #i73 ,pulvis et umbra sumus4 ,it is the old contrast--old as literature1 old as man--between the ordered steadfastness of nature and the disorder and brevity of human life4 ,the ,preacher gazes on the universe above and around him4 ,the ancient earth is firm and strong beneath his feet4 ,the sun runs his race with joy1 sinks exhausted into its ocean bed1 but rises on the morrow1 like a giant refreshed with old wine1 to renew its course4 ,the variable and inconstant wind1 which bloweth where it listeth1 blows from the same quarters1 runs through the very circuit which was its haunt in the time of the world's grey fathers4 ,the streams which ebb and flow1 which go and come1 run along time-worn beds and are fed from their ancient source4 ,but man1 to one point constant never1 shifts from change to change4 ,as compared with the calm uniformity of nature1 his life is a mere phantasy1 passing for ever through a tedious and limited range of forms1 each of which is as unsubstantial as the fabric of a vision1 many of which are as base and sordid as they are unreal1 and all of which1 for ever in a flux1 elude the grasp of those who pursue them1 or disappoint those who hold them in their hands4 ,all is vanity2 for man has no profit1 no adequate and enduring reward1 for all his labour2 literally1 no balance1 no surplus1 on the balance-sheet of life3 less happy1 because less stable1 than the earth on which he dwells1 he comes and goes1 while the earth goes on for ever 7vv4 #b-d74 ,this painful contrast between the ordered stability of nature and the changeful and profitless disorder of human life is emphasized by a detailed reference to the large natural forces which rule the world1 and which abide unchanged1 although to us they seem the very types of change4 ,the figure of ver4 #e is1 of course1 that of the racer4 ,the sun rises every morning to run its course1 pursues it through the day1 pants1 as one well-nigh breathless1 toward its goal1 and sinks at night into its subterraneous bed in the sea2 but1 though exhausted and breathless at night1 it rises on the morrow refreshed1 and eager1 like a strong1 swift man1 to renew its daily race4 ,in ver4 #f the wind is represented as having a regular law and circuit1 though it now blows ,south1 and now veers round to the ,north4 ,the ,east and ,west are not mentioned1 probably because they are tacitly referred to in the rising and setting sun of the previous verse3 all the four quarters are included between the two4 ,in ver4 #g the streams are described as returning on their sources2 but there is no allusion here1 as we might suppose1 to the tides1--and indeed tidal rivers are comparatively rare1--or to the rain which brings back the water evaporated from the surface of the streams and of the sea4 ,the reference is1 rather1 to an ancient conception of the physical order of nature held by the ,hebrew as by other races1 according to which the ocean1 fed by the streams1 sent back a constant supply through subterraneous passages and channels1 in which the salt was filtered out of it2 through these they supposed the rivers to return to the place whence they came4 ,the ruling sentiment of these verses is that1 while all the natural elements and forces1 even the most variable and inconstant1 renew their strength and return upon their course1 for frail man there is no return2 permanence and uniformity characterise them1 while transitoriness and instability mark him for their own4 ,they seem to vanish and disappear2 the sun sinks1 the winds lull1 the streams run dry2 but they all come back again3 for him there is no coming back2 once gone1 he is gone for ever4 ,but it is vain to talk of these or other instances of the weary yet restless activity of the universe2 man cannot utter it4 ,for1 besides these elemental illustrations1 the world is crowded with illustrations of incessant change1 which yet move within narrow bounds and do nothing to relieve its sameliness4 ,so numerous are they1 so innumerable1 that the curious eye and inquisitive ear of man would be worn out before they had completed the tale of them3 and if eye and ear could never be satisfied with hearing and seeing1 how much less the slower tongue with speaking 7ver4 #h78 ,all through the universe what hath been still is and will be2 what was done is done still and always will be done2 the sun still running the same race1 the winds still blowing from the same points1 the streams still flowing between the same banks and returning by the same channels4 ,if any man suppose that he has discovered new phenomena1 any natural fact which has not been repeating itself from the beginning1 it is only because he is ignorant of that which has been from of old 7vv4 #i1 #aj74bf ,yet1 while in nature all things return on their course and abide for ever1 man's day is soon spent1 his force soon exhausted4 ,he does not return2 nay1 he is not so much as remembered by those who come after him4 ,just as we have forgotten those who were before us1 so those who live after us will forget us 7ver4 #aa74 ,the burden of all this unintelligible world lies heavily on the ,preacher's soul4 ,he is weary of the world's everlasting sameness4 ,the miseries and confusions of the human lot baffle and oppress his thoughts4 ,above all1 the contrast between ,nature and ,man1 between its massive and stately permanence and the frailty and brevity of our existence1 breeds in him the despairing mood of which we have the keynote in his cry1 ,vanity of vanities1 vanity of vanities1 all is vanity6 #bf ,so ,marcus ,aurelius 7,meditt41 xi4 #a73 ,they that come after us will see nothing new2 and they who went before saw nothing more than we have seen4 ,yet this is not the only1 not the inevitable1 mood of the mind as it ponders that great contrast4 ,we have learned to look upon it with other1 perhaps with wider1 eyes4 ,we say1 ,how grand1 how soothing1 how hopeful is the spectacle of nature's uniformity6 ,how it lifts us above the fluctuations of inward thought1 and gladdens us with a sense of stability and repose6 ,as we see the ancient inviolable laws working out into the same gracious and beautiful results day after day and year by year1 and reflect that what has been will be1 we are redeemed from our bondage to vanity and corruption2 we look up with composed and reverent trust to ,him who is our ,god and ,father1 and onward to the stable and glorious immortality we are to spend with ,him2 we argue with ,habakkuk 7chap4 i4 ver4 #ab71 ,art not ,thou from everlasting1 ,o ,lord our ,god1 our ,holy ,one8 ,we shall not die1 but live4 ,but if we did not know the ,ruler of the universe to be our ,god and ,father2 if our thoughts had still to jump the life to come or to leap at it with a mere guess2 if we had to cross the gulf of death on no more solid bridge than a ,peradventure2 if1 in short1 our life were infinitely more troubled and uncertain than it is1 and the true good of life and its bright sustaining hope were still to seek1 how would it be with us then8 ,then1 like the ,preacher1 we might feel the steadfastness and uniformity of nature as an affront to our vanity and weakness4 ,in place of drinking in hope and composure from the fair visage and unbroken order of the universe1 we might deem its face to be darkened with a frown or its eye to be glancing on us with bitter irony4 ,instead of finding in its inevitable order and permanence a hopeful prophecy of our recovery into an unbroken order and an enduring peace1 we might passionately demand why1 on an abiding earth and under an unchanging heaven1 we should die and be forgotten2 why1 more inconstant than the variable wind1 more evanescent than the parching stream1 one generation should go never to return1 and another generation come to enjoy the gains of those who were before them1 and to blot their memory from the earth4 ,this1 indeed1 has been the impassioned protest and outcry of every age4 ,literature is full of it4 ,the contrast between the tranquil unchanging sky1 with its myriads of pure lustrous stars1 which are always there and always in a happy concert1 and the frailty of man rushing blindly through his brief and perturbed course has lent its ground-tones to the poetry of every race4 ,we meet it everywhere4 ,it is the oldest of old songs4 ,in all the many languages of the divided earth we hear how the generations of men pass swifty and stormfully across its bosom1 searching the serene heavens with the inquest of their beseeching looks1 but winning no response2 asking always1 and always in vain1 ,why are we thus8 why are we thus8 frail as the moth1 and of few days like the flower8 ,it is this contrast between the serenity and the stability of nature and the frailty and turbulence of man which afflicts ,coheleth and drives him to conclusions of despair4 ,here is man1 so noble in reason1 so infinite in faculty1 in apprehension so like a god1 longing with an ardent intensity for the peace which results from the equipoise and happy occupation of his various powers2 and yet his whole life is wasted in labours and tumults1 in perplexity and strife2 he goes to his grave with his cravings unsatisfied1 his powers untrained1 unharmonised1 knowing no rest till he lies in the narrow bed from which is no uprising6 ,what wonder if to such an one as he this goodly frame1 the earth1 seems but a sterile promontory stretching out a little space into the dark1 infinite void2 this most excellent canopy1 the air 444 this brave o'erhanging firmament1 this majestical roof fretted with golden fire1 nothing but a foul1 pestilential congregation of vapours8 ,what wonder if1 for him1 the very beauty of nature should turn into a repulsive hideousness1 and its steadfast1 unchanging order be held a satire on the disorder and vanity of his life8 ,solomon1 moreover1--and ,solomon in his premature old age1 sated and weary1 is the mask under which the ,preacher conceals his natural face1--had had a large experience of life1 had tried its ambitions1 its lusts1 its pursuits and pleasures2 he had tested every promise of good which it held forth1 and found them all illusory2 he had drunk of every stream1 and found no pure living water with which he could slake his thirst4 ,and men such as he1 sated but not satisfied1 jaded with voluptuous delights and without the peace of faith1 commonly look out on the world with haggard eyes4 ,they feed their despair on the natural order and purity which they feel to be a rebuke to the impurity of their own restless and perturbed hearts4 ,many of us have1 no doubt1 stood on ,richmond ,hill1 and looked with softening eyes on the rich pastures dotted with cattle1 and broken with clumps of trees through which shoot up village spires1 while the full1 placid ,thames winds in many a curve through pasture and wood4 ,it is not a grand or romantic scene2 but on a quiet evening1 in the long level rays of the setting sun1 it is a scene to inspire content and thankful1 peaceful thoughts4 ,wilberforce tells us that he once stood in the balcony of a villa looking down on this scene4 ,beside him stood the owner of the villa1 a duke notorious for his profligacy in a profligate age2 and as they looked across the stream1 the duke cried out1 ,o that river6 there it runs1 on and on1 and ,i so weary of it6 ,and there you have the very mood of this ,prologue2 the mood for which the fair1 smiling heavens and the gracious1 bountiful earth carry no benediction of peace1 because they are reflected from a heart all tossed into crossing and impure waves4 ,all things depend on the heart we bring to them4 ,this very contrast between ,nature and ,man has no despair in it1 breeds no dispeace or anger in the heart at leisure from itself and at peace with ,god4 ,tennyson1 for instance1 makes a merry musical brook sing to us on this very theme4 ,i come from haunts of coot and hern1 ,i make a sudden sally ,and sparkle out among the fern1 ,to bicker down a valley4 ,i chatter over stony ways ,in little sharps and trebles1 ,i bubble into eddying bays1 ,i babble on the pebbles4 ,i chatter1 chatter as ,i flow ,to join the brimming river2 ,for men may come and men may go1 ,but ,i go on for ever4 ,i steal by lawns and grassy plots1 ,i slide by hazel covers2 ,i move the sweet forget-me-nots ,that grow for happy lovers4 ,i slip1 ,i slide1 ,i gloom1 ,i glance ,among my skimming swallows2 ,i make the netted sunbeams dance ,against my sanded shallows4 ,i murmur under moon and stars ,in brambly wildernesses2 ,i linger by my shingly bars2 ,i loiter round my cresses4 ,and out again ,i curve and flow ,to join the brimming river2 ,for men may come and men may go ,but ,i go on for ever4 ,it is the very plaint of the ,preacher set to sweet music4 ,he murmurs1 ,one generation passeth1 and another generation cometh1 but the earth abideth for ever2 while the refrain of the ,brook is1-- ,for men may come and men may go1 ,but ,i go on for ever4 ,yet we do not feel that the ,song of the ,brook should feed any mood of grief and despair4 ,the tune that it sings to the sleeping woods all night is a cheerful tune4 ,by some subtle process we are made to share us bright1 tender hilarity1 though we too are of the men that come and go4 ,into what a fume would the ,hebrew ,preacher have been thrown had any little babbling brook dared to sing this saucy song to him4 ,he would have felt it as an insult1 and have assumed that the merry1 innocent creature was crowing over the swiftly passing generations of men4 ,but1 for the ,christian ,poet1 the ,brook sings a song whose blithe dulcet strain attunes the heart to the quiet harmonies of peace and good-will4 ,again ,i say all depends on the heart we turn to nature4 ,it was because his heart was heavy with the memory of many sins and many failures1 because too the lofty ,christian hopes were beyond his reach1 that this son of ,david grew mournful and bitter in her presence4 ,this1 then1 is the mood in which the ,preacher commences his quest of the ,chief ,good4 ,he is driven to it by the need of finding that in which he can rest4 ,as a rule1 it is only on the most stringent compulsions that we any of us undertake this high ,quest4 ,of their profound need of a ,chief ,good most men are but seldom and faintly conscious2 but to the favoured few1 who are to lead and mould the public thought1 it comes with a force they cannot resist4 ,it was thus with ,coheleth4 ,he could not endure to think that those who have all things put under their feet should lie at the mercy of accidents from which their realm is exempt2 that they should be the mere fools of change1 while that abides unchanged for ever4 ,and1 therefore1 he set out to discover the conditions on which they might become partakers of the order and stability and peace of nature2 the conditions on which1 raised above all the tides and storms of change1 they might sit calm and serene even though the heavens should be folded as a scroll and the earth be shaken from its foundations4 ,this1 and only this1 will he recognise as the ,chief ,good1 the ,good appropriate to the nature of man1 because capable of satisfying all his cravings and supplying all his wants4 ,,first ,,section4 ,,the ,,quest ,,of ,,the ,,chief ,,good ,,in ,,wisdom ,,and ,,in ,,pleasure4 ,,chap4 ,i41 ,,ver4 #ab1 ,,to ,,chap4 ,,ii41 ,,ver4 #bf4 ,oppressed by his profound sense of the vanity of the life which man lives amid the play of permanent natural forces1 ,coheleth sets out on the search for that true and supreme ,good which it will be well for the sons of men to pursue through their brief day2 the good which will sustain them under all their toils1 and be a portion so large and enduring as to satisfy even their vast desires4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,quest in ,wisdom4 ,ch4 i41 vv4 #ab-ah4 #a4 ,and1 as was natural in so wise a man1 he turns first to ,wisdom4 ,he gives himself diligently to inquire into all the actions and toils of men4 ,he will ascertain whether a larger acquaintance with their conditions1 a deeper insight into the facts1 a more just and complete estimate of their lot1 will remove the depression which weighs upon his heart4 ,he devotes himself earnestly to this ,quest1 and acquires a greater wisdom than all who were before him4 ,this wisdom1 however1 is not a scientific knowledge of facts or of social and political laws1 nor is it the result of philosophical speculations on the first good or the first fair1 or on the nature and constitution of man4 ,it is the wisdom that is born of wide and varied experience1 not of abstract study4 ,he acquaints himself with the facts of human life1 with the circumstances1 thoughts1 feelings1 hopes1 and aims of all sorts and conditions of men4 ,he is fain to know all that men do under the sun1 all that is done under heaven4 ,like the ,arabian ,caliph1 the good ,haroun ,alraschid1 we may suppose that ,coheleth goes forth in disguise to visit all quarters of the city2 to talk with barbers1 druggists1 calenders1 porters1 with merchants and mariners1 husbandmen and tradesmen1 mechanics and artizans2 to try conclusions with travellers and with the blunt wits of home-keeping men4 ,he will look with his own eyes and learn for himself what their lives are like1 how they conceive of the human lot1 and what1 if any1 are the mysteries which sadden and perplex them4 ,he will ascertain whether they have any key that will unlock his perplexities1 any wisdom that will solve his problems or help him to bear his burden with a more cheerful heart4 ,because his depression was fed by every fresh contemplation of the order of the universe1 he turns from nature to the proper study of mankind4 ,but this also he finds a heavy and disappointing task4 ,after a wide and dispassionate scrutiny1 when he has seen much wisdom and knowledge1 he concludes that man has no fair reward for all his labour that he laboureth under the sun1 that no wisdom avails to set straight that which is crooked in human affairs1 or to supply that which is lacking in them4 ,the sense of vanity bred by his contemplation of the stedfast round of nature only grows more profound and more painful as he reflects on the numberless and manifold disorders which afflict humanity4 ,and hence1 before he ventures on a new experiment1 he makes a pathetic appeal to the heart which he had so earnestly applied to the search1 and in which he had stored up so large and various a knowledge1 and confesses that even this is vexation of spirit1 that in much wisdom is much sadness1 and that to multiply knowledge is to multiply sorrow4 ,and whether we consider the nature of the case or the conditions of the time in which this ,book was written1 we shall not be surprised at the mournful conclusion to which he comes4 ,for the time was full of cruel oppressions and wrongs4 ,life was insecure4 ,to acquire property was to court extortion4 ,the ,hebrews1 and even the conquering race which ruled them1 were slaves to the caprice of satraps and magistrates whose days were wasted in revelry and in the unbridled indulgence of their lusts4 ,and to go among the various conditions of men groaning under a despotism like that of the ,turk1 whose foot strikes with barrenness every spot on which it treads2 to see all the fair rewards of honest toil withheld1 the noble degraded and the foolish exalted1 the righteous trodden down by the feet of the wicked2 all this was not likely to quicken cheerful thoughts in a wise man's heart3 instead of solving1 it could but complicate and darken the problems over which he was already brooding in despair4 ,and1 apart from the special wrongs and oppressions of the time1 it is inevitable that the thoughtful student of men and manners should become a sadder as he becomes a wiser man4 ,to multiply knowledge1 at least of this kind1 is to multiply sorrow4 ,we need not be cynics and leave our tub only to reflect on the dishonesty of our neighbours1 we need only go through the world with open and observant eyes in order to learn that in much wisdom is much sadness4 ,recall the wisest of modern times1 those who have had the most intimate acquaintance with man and men1 ,goethe and ,carlyle for example2 are they not all touched with a profound sadness8#bg ,do they not look with some scorn on the common life of the mass of men1 with its base passions and pleasures1 struggles and rewards8 and1 in proportion as they have the spirit of ,christ1 is not their very scorn kindly1 springing from a pity which lies deeper than itself8 ,did not even the ,master ,himself1 though full of ruth and grace1 share their feeling as ,he saw publicans growing rich by extortion1 hypocrites mounting to ,moses' chair1 subtle1 cruel foxes couched on thrones1 scribes hiding the key of knowledge1 and the blind multitude following their blind leaders into the ditch8 #bg ,pere ,lacordaire has a fine passage on this theme4 ,weak and little minds find here below a nourishment which suffices for their intellect and satisfies their love4 ,they do not discover the emptiness of visible things because they are incapable of sounding them to the bottom4 ,but a soul which ,god has drawn nearer to the ,infinite very soon feels the narrow limits within which it is pent2 it experiences moments of inexpressible sadness1 the cause of which for a long time remains a mystery2 it even seems as though some strange concurrence of events must have chanced in order thus to disturb its life2 and all the while the trouble comes from a higher source4 ,in reading the lives of the ,saints1 we find that nearly all of them have felt that sweet melancholy of which the ancients said that there was no genius without it4 ,in fact1 melancholy is inseparable from every mind that looks below the surface and every heart that feels profoundly4 ,not that we should take complacency in it1 for it is a malady that enervates when we do not shake it off2 and it has but two remedies--,death or ,god4 ,elsewhere1 still quite in the spirit of the ,preacher1 he says3 ,every day ,i feel more and more that all is vanity4 ,i cannot leave my heart in this heap of mud4 ,nay1 if we look out on the world of to-day1 can we say that even the majority of men are wise and pure8 ,is it always the swift who win the race1 and the strong who carry off the honours of the battle8 ,do none of our intelligent lack bread1 nor any of the learned favour8 ,are there no fools lifted to high places to show with how little wisdom the world is governed1 and no brave and noble breasts dinted by the blows of hostile circumstances or wounded by the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune8 ,are all our workmen diligent and all our masters fair8 ,are no false measures and balances known in our markets1 and no frauds on our exchanges8 ,are none of our homes dungeons1 with fathers and husbands for jailors8 ,do we never hear1 as we stand without1 the sound of cruel blows and the shrieks of tortured captives8 ,are there no hypocrites in our ,churches that with devotion's visage sugar o'er a corrupt heart8 ,and do the best men always gain the highest place and honour8 ,are there none in our midst who have to bear-- ,the whips and scorns of time1 ,the oppressor's wrong1 the proud man's contumely1 ,the pangs of despised love1 the laws delay4 ,the insolence of office1 and the spurns ,that patient merit of the unworthy takes8 ,alas1 if we think to find the true ,good in a wide and varied knowledge of the conditions of men1 their hopes and fears1 their struggles and successes1 their loves and hates1 their rights and wrongs1 their pleasures and their pains1 we shall but share the defeat of the ,preacher1 and repeat his bitter cry1 ,vanity of vanities1 vanity of vanities1 all is vanity6 ,for1 as he himself implies at the very outset 7ver4 #ac71 this sore task1 this eternal quest of a wisdom which will solve the problems and remove the inequalities of human life1 is ,god's gift to the children of men1--this search for a solution they never reach4 ,age after age1 unwarned by the failure of those who took this road before them1 they renew the hopeless quest4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,quest in ,pleasure4 ,ch4 ii41 vv4 #a-aa4 #b4 ,but if we cannot reach the object of our ,quest in ,wisdom1 we may1 perchance1 find it in ,pleasure4 ,this experiment also the ,preacher has tried1 tried on the largest scale and under the most auspicious conditions4 ,wisdom failing to satisfy the large desires of his soul1 or even to lift it from its depression1 he turns to mirth4#bh ,once more1 as he forthwith announces1 he is disappointed in the result4 ,he pronounces mirth a brief madness2 in itself1 like wisdom1 a good1 it is not the ,chief ,good2 to make it supreme is to rob it of its natural charm4 #bh ,so ,goethe's ,faust1 after having failed to solve the insoluble problems of life by study and research1 plunges deep in pleasure1 that he may thus still the burning thirst of passionate desire4 ,not content with this general verdict1 however1 he recounts the details of his experiment1 that he may deter us from repeating it4 ,speaking in the person of ,solomon and utilising the facts of his experience1 ,coheleth claims to have started in the quest with the greatest advantages2 for what can he do who cometh after the king whom they made king long ago8 ,he surrounded himself with all the luxuries of an ,oriental prince1 not out of any vulgar love of show and ostentation1 nor out of any strong sensual addictions1 but that he might discover wherein the secret and fascination of pleasure lay1 and what it could do for a man who pursued it wisely4 ,he built himself new1 costly palaces1 as the ,sultan of ,turkey used to do almost every year4 ,he laid out paradises1 planted them with vines and fruit-trees of every sort1 and large shady groves to screen off and attemper the heat of the sun4#bi ,he dug great tanks and reservoirs of water1 and cut channels which carried the cool vital stream through the gardens and to the roots of the trees4 ,he bought men and maids1 and surrounded himself with the retinue of servants and slaves requisite to keep his palaces and paradises in order1 to serve his sumptuous tables1 to swell his pomp3 i4e4 he gathered together such a train of ministers1 attendants1 domestics1 indoor and outdoor slaves1 as is still thought necessary to the dignity of an ,oriental lord4 ,his herds of flocks1 a main source of ,oriental wealth1 were of finer strain and larger in number than had been known before4 ,he amassed enormous treasures of silver and gold1 the common ,oriental hoard4 ,he collected the peculiar treasures of kings and of the kingdoms2 whatever special commodity was yielded by any foreign land was caught up for his use by his officers or presented to him by his allies4#cj ,he hired famous musicians and singers1 and gave himself to those delights of harmony which have had a peculiar charm for the ,hebrews of all ages4 ,he crowded his harem with the beauties both of his own and of foreign lands4 ,he withheld nothing from them that his eyes desired1 and kept not his heart from any pleasure4 ,he set himself seriously and intelligently to make happiness his portion2 and1 while cherishing or cheering his body with pleasures1 he did not rush into them with the blind eagerness whose violent property foredoes itself and defeats its own ends4 ,his mind guided him wisely amid his delights2 his wisdom helped him to select1 and combine1 and vary them1 to enhance and prolong their sweetness by a certain art and temperance in me enjoyment of them4 #bi ,one such pleasaunce as this there was at ,etam1 ,solomon's ,belvedere1 as ,josephus informs us 7,antiq41 ,,viii4 #g1 #c74 ,thither it was the custom of the king1 he says1 to resort when he made his morning excursions from the city1 clad in a white garment1 and driving his chariot1 surrounded by his body-guard of young men in the flower of their age1 clad in ,tyrian purple1 and with gold dust strewed upon their hair1 so that their whole head sparkled when the sun shone upon it1 and mounted upon horses from the royal stables1 famed for their beauty and fleetness4--,dr4 ,perowne1 ,the ,expositor1 ,first ,series1 vol4 x4 #cj ,in speaking of the ,persian revenue1 ,rawlinson says that besides a definite money payment1 a payment1 the nature and amount of which were also fixed1 had to be made in kind1 each province being required to furnish that commodity1 or those commodities1 for which it was most celebrated1--as1 for example1 grain1 sheep1 cattle1 mules1 fine breeds of horses1 beautiful slaves4 ,the ,five ,great ,monarchies1 vol4 iv41 chap4 vii41 p4 #dba4 ,he built his soul a lordly pleasure-house1 ,wherein at ease for aye to dwell2 ,he said1 ',oh ,soul1 make merry and carouse1 ,dear ,soul1 for all is well6' ,alas1 all was not well1 though he took much pains to make and think it well4 ,even his choice delights soon palled upon his taste1 and brought on conclusions of disgust4 ,even in his lordly pleasure-house he was haunted by the grim1 menacing spectres which troubled him before it was built4 ,in the harem1 in the paradise he had planted1 under the groves1 beside the fountains1 at the sumptuous banquet1--a bursting bubble1 a falling leaf1 an empty wine cup1 a passing blush1 sufficed to bring back the thought of the brevity and the emptiness of life4 ,when he had run the full career of pleasure1 and turned to contemplate his delights and the labour they had cost him1 he found that these also were vanity and vexation of spirit1 that there was no profit in them1 that they could not satisfy the deep1 incessant craving of the soul for a true and lasting ,good4 ,is not his sad verdict as true as it is sad8 ,we have not his wealth of resources4 ,nevertheless there may have been a time when our hearts were as intent on pleasure as was his4 ,we may have pursued whatever sensuous1 intellectual1 or aesthetic excitements were open to us with a growing eagerness till we have lived in a whirl of craving and stimulating desire and indulgence1 in which the claims of duty have been neglected and the rebukes of conscience unheeded4 ,and if we have passed through this experience1 if we have been carried for a time into this giddying round1 have we not come out of it jaded1 exhausted1 despising ourselves for our folly1 disgusted with what once seemed the very top and crown of delight8 ,do we not mourn1 our after life through1 over energies wasted and opportunities lost8 ,are we not sadder1 if wiser1 men for our brief frenzy8 ,as we return to the sober duties and simple joys of life1 do not we say to ,mirth1 ,thou art mad6 and to ,pleasure1 ,what canst thou do for us8 ,yes1 our verdict is that of the ,preacher1 ,lo1 this too is vanity6 ,non enim hilaritate1 nec lascivia1 nec visu1 aut joco1 comite levitatis1 sed saepe etiam tristes firmitate1 et constantia sunt beati4#ca #ca ,cicero1 ,de ,fin41 ,lib4 ,,ii41 ,cap4 #bj4 ,sidenote3 ,wisdom and ,mirth compared4 ,ch4 ii41 vv4 #ab-bc4 ,it is characteristic of the philosophic temper of our ,author1 ,i think1 that1 after pronouncing ,wisdom and ,mirth vanities in which the true ,good is not to be found1 he does not at once proceed to try a new experiment1 but pauses to compare these two vanities1 and to reason out his preference of one over the other4 ,his vanity is wisdom4 ,for it is only in one respect that he puts mirth and wisdom on an equality1 viz4 that they neither of them are1 or lead up to1 the supreme ,good4 ,in all other respects he affirms wisdom to be as much better than pleasure as light is better than darkness1 as much better as it is to have eyes that see the light than to be blind and walk in a constant gloom 7,,vv4 #ab-ad74 ,it is because wisdom is a light and enables men to see that he accords it his preference4 ,it is by the light of wisdom that he has learned the vanity of mirth1 nay1 the insufficiency of wisdom itself4 ,but for that light he might still be pursuing pleasures which could not satisfy1 or laboriously acquiring a knowledge which would only deepen his sadness4 ,wisdom had opened his eyes to see that he must seek the ,good which gives rest and peace in other regions4 ,he no longer goes on his ,quest in utter blindness1 with all the world before him where to choose1 but with no indication of the course he should1 or should not1 take4 ,he has already learned that two large provinces of human life will not yield him what he seeks1 that he must expend no more of his brief day and failing energies on these4 ,therefore wisdom is better than mirth4 ,nevertheless it is not best1 nor can it remove the dejections of a thoughtful heart4 ,somewhere there is1 there must be1 that which is better still4 ,for wisdom cannot explain to him why the same fate should befall both the sage and the fool 7ver4 #ae71 nor can it abate the anger that burns within him against an injustice so obvious and flagrant4 ,wisdom cannot even explain why1 even if the sage must die no less than the fool1 both must be forgotten wellnigh as soon as they are gone 7vv4 #af1 #ag72 nor can it soften the hatred of life and its labours which this lesser yet patent injustice has kindled in his heart4 ,nay1 wisdom1 for all so brightly as it shines1 throws no light on an injustice which1 if of lower degree1 frets and perplexes his mind1--why a man who has laboured prudently and dexterously and has acquired great gains should1 when he dies1 leave all to one who has not laboured therein1 without even the poor consolation of knowing whether he will be a wise man or an idiot 7vv4 #ai-ba74 ,in short1 the whole skein of life is in a dismal tangle which wisdom itself1 dearly as he loves it1 cannot unravel2 and the tangle is that man has no fair profit from his labours1 since his task grieveth and vexeth him all his days1 and even at night his heart hath no rest2 and when he dies he loses all his gains1 such as they are1 for ever1 and cannot so much as be sure that his heir will be any the better for them4 ,this also is vanity 7vv4 #bb1 #bc74 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,the ,conclusion4 ,ch4 ii4 vv4 #bd-bf4 ,and yet1 good things are surely good1 and there is a wise and gracious enjoyment of earthly delights4 ,it is right that a man should eat and drink1 and take a natural pleasure in his toils and gains4 ,who1 indeed1 has a stronger claim than the labourer himself to eat and enjoy the fruit of his labours8 ,still1 even this natural enjoyment is the gift of ,god2 apart from his blessing the heaviest toils will produce but a scanty harvest1 and the faculty of enjoying that harvest may be lacking4 ,it is lacking to the sinner2 his task is to heap up gains which the good will inherit4 ,but he that is good before ,god will have the gains of the sinner added to his own1 with wisdom to enjoy both4#cb ,this1 whatever appearances may sometimes suggest1 is the law of ,god's giving3 that the good shall have abundance1 while the bad lack2 that more shall be given to him who has wisdom to use what he has aright1 while from him who is destitute of this wisdom1 even that which he hath shall be taken away4 ,nevertheless even this wise use and enjoyment of temporal good does not and cannot satisfy the craving heart of man2 even this1 when it is made the ruling aim and chief good of life1 is vexation of spirit4 #cb ,this affirmation1 so surprising at first sight1 is also made by ,job 7chap4 xxvii41 vv4 #ae1 #af71 ,this is the doom of the wicked man from ,god4444 ,though he heap up silver like dust1 and gather robes as mire1 that which he hath gathered shall the righteous wear1 and the innocent shall divide his silver4 99 99 99 99 99 ,thus the ,first ,act of the ,drama closes with a negative4 ,the moral problem is as far from being solved as at the outset4 ,all we have learned is that one or two avenues along which we urge the ,quest will not lead us to the end we seek4 ,as yet the ,preacher has only the ad interim conclusion to offer us1 that both ,wisdom and ,mirth are good1 though neither1 nor both combined1 is the supreme ,good2 that we are therefore to acquire wisdom and knowledge1 and to blend pleasure with our toils2 that we are to believe pleasure and wisdom to be the gifts of ,god1 to believe also that they are bestowed1 not in caprice1 but according to a law which deals out good to the good and evil to the evil4 ,we shall have other opportunities of weighing and appraising his counsel--it is often repeated--and of seeing how it works into and forms part of ,coheleth's final solution of the painful riddle of the earth1 the baffling mystery of life4 ,,second ,,section4 ,,the ,,quest ,,of ,,the ,,chief ,,good ,,in ,,devotion ,,to ,,the ,,affairs ,,of ,,business4 ,,chap4 ,,iii41 ,,ver4 #a1 ,,to ,,chap4 ,v41 ,,ver4 #bj4 ,i4 ,if the true ,good is not to be found in the ,school where ,wisdom utters her voice1 nor in the ,garden in which ,pleasure spreads her lures3 may it not be found in the ,market1 in devotion to ,business and ,public ,affairs8 ,the ,preacher will try this experiment also4 ,he gives himself to study and consider it4 ,but at the very outset he discovers that he is in the iron grip of immutable ,divine ordinances1 by which seasons are appointed for every undertaking under heaven 7ver4 #a71 ordinances which derange man's best-laid schemes1 and shape his ends1 rough-hew them how he will1 that no one can do anything to purpose apart from ,god1 except by conforming to the ordinances1 or laws1 in which ,he has expressed ,his will 7comp4 chap1 ii41 vv4 #bd-bf74 ,sidenote3 ,the ,quest obstructed by ,divine ,ordinances2 ,ch4 iii41 vv4 #a-ae4 ,the time of birth1 for instance1 and the time of death1 are ordained by a ,power over which men have no control2 they begin to be1 and they cease to be1 at hours whose stroke they can neither hasten nor retard4 ,the season for sowing and the season for reaping are fixed without any reference to their wish2 they must plant and gather in when the unchangeable laws of nature will permit 7ver4 #b74 ,even those violent deaths1 and those narrow escapes from death1 which seem most purely fortuitous1 are predetermined2 as are also the accidents which befall our abodes 7ver4 #c74 ,so1 again1 if only because determined by these accidents1 are the feelings with which we regard them1 our weeping and our laughter1 our mourning and our rejoicing 7ver4 #d74 ,if we only clear a plot of ground from stones in order that we may cultivate it1 or that we may fence it in with a wall2 or if an enemy cast stones over our arable land to unfit it for uses of husbandry--a malignant act frequent in the ,east--and we have painfully to gather them out again3 even this1 which seems so purely within the scope of human free-will1 is also within the scope of the ,divine decrees--as are the very embraces we bestow on those dear to us1 or withhold from them 7ver4 #e74 ,the varying and unstable desires which prompt us to seek this object or that as earnestly as we afterwards carelessly cast it away1 and the passions which impel us to rend our garments over our losses1 and by-and-bye to sew up the rents not without some little wonder that we should ever have been so deeply moved by that which now sits so lightly on us2 these passions and desires1 which at one time strike us dumb with grief and so soon after make us voluble with joy1 with all our fleeting and easily-moved hates and loves1 strifes and reconciliations1 move within the circle of law1 although they wear so lawless a look1 and are obsequious to the fixed canons of ,heaven 7vv4 #f-h74 ,they travel their cycles2 they return in their appointed order4 ,the uniformity of nature is reproduced in the uniform recurrence of the chances and changes of human life2 for in this1 as in that1 ,god repeats ,himself1 recalling the past 7ver4 #ae74 ,the thing that is is that which hath been1 and that which will be4 ,social laws are as constant and as inflexible as natural laws4 ,the social generalisations of modern science--as given1 for instance1 in ,buckle's ,history--are but a methodical elaboration of the conclusion at which the ,preacher here arrives4 ,of what use1 then1 was it for men to kick against the goads1 to attempt to modify immutable ordinances8 ,whatever ,god hath ordained continueth for ever2 nothing can be added to it1 and nothing can be taken from it 7ver4 #ad74 ,nay1 why should we care to alter or modify the social order8 ,everything is beautiful and appropriate in its season1 from birth to death1 from war to peace 7ver4 #aa74 ,if we cannot find the satisfying ,good in the events and affairs of life1 that is not because we could devise a happier order for them1 but because ,god hath put eternity into our hearts as well as time1 and did not intend that we should be satisfied till we attain an eternal good4 ,if only we understood that1 if only we recognised ,gods design for us from beginning to end1 and suffered eternity no less than time to have its due of us1 we should not fret ourselves in vain endeavours to change the unchangeable1 or to find an enduring good in that which is fugitive and perishable4 ,we should rejoice and do ourselves good all our brief life 7,ver4 #ab72 we should eat and drink and take pleasure in our labours 7ver4 #ac72 we should feel that this faculty for innocently enjoying simple pleasures and wholesome toils is a gift of ,god3 we should conclude that ,god had ordained that regular cycle and order of events which so often forestalls the wish and endeavour of the moment1 in order that we should fear ,him in place of relying on ourselves 7ver4 #ad71 and trust our future to ,him who so wisely and graciously recalls the past4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,and by ,human ,injustice and ,perversity4 ,ch4 iii41 v4 #af4-;,ch4 iv41 v4 #c4 ,but not only are our endeavours to find the good of our labours thwarted by the gracious1 inflexible laws of the just ,god2 they are often baffled by the injustice of ungracious men4 ,in the days of ,coheleth1 ,iniquity sat in the seat of justice1 wresting all rules of equity to its base private ends 7ver4 #af74 ,unjust judges and rapacious satraps put the fair rewards of labour and skill and integrity in jeopardy1 insomuch that if a man by industry and thrift1 by a wise observance of ,divine laws and by taking occasions as they rose1 had acquired affluence1 he was too often1 in the expressive ,eastern phrase1 but as a sponge which any petty despot might squeeze4 ,the frightful oppressions of the time were a heavy burden to the ,hebrew ,preacher4 ,he brooded over them1 seeking for aids to faith and comfortable words wherewith to solace the oppressed4 ,for a moment he thought he had lit on the true comfort1 ,well1 well1 he said within himself1 ,god will judge the righteous and the wicked2 for there is a time for everything and for every deed with ,him 7ver4 #ag74 ,could he have rested in this thought1 it would have been a sovereign balm to him1 or indeed to any other ,hebrew2 although to us1 who have learned to desire the redemption rather than the punishment of the wicked1 their redemption through their inevitable punishments1 the true comfort would still have been wanting4 ,but he could not rest in it1 could not hold it fast1 and confesses that he could not4 ,he lays his heart bare before us4 ,we are permitted to trace the fluctuating thoughts and emotions which swept across it4 ,no sooner has he whispered to his heart that ,god1 who is at leisure from ,himself and has endless time at his command1 will visit the oppressors and avenge the oppressed1 than his thoughts take a new turn1 and he adds3 ,and yet ,god may have sifted the children of men only to shew them that they are no better than the beasts 7ver4 #ah73 this may be his aim in all the wrongs by which they are tried4 ,repugnant as the thought is1 it nevertheless fascinates him for the instant1 and he yields to its wasting and degrading magic4 ,he not only fears1 suspects1 thinks that man is no better than a beast2 he is quite sure of it1 and proceeds to argue it out4 ,his argument is very sweeping1 very sombre4 ,a mere chance is man1 and the beast a mere chance4 ,both spring from a mere accident1 no one can tell how1 and have a blind hazard for a creator2 and both are subject to the same chance1 or mischance1 throughout their lives1 all the decisions of their intelligence and will being overruled by the decrees of an inscrutable fate4 ,both perish under the same power of death1 suffer the same pangs of dissolution1 are taken at unawares by the same invisible yet resistless force4 ,the bodies of both spring from the same dust1 and moulder back into dust4 ,nay1 both have the same spirit2 and though vain man sometimes boasts that at death his spirit goeth upward1 while that of the beast goeth downward1 yet who can prove it8 ,for himself1 and in his present mood1 ,coheleth doubts1 and even denies it4 ,he is absolutely convinced that in origin and life and death1 in body and spirit and final fate1 man is as the beast is1 and hath no advantage over the beast 7vv4 #ai-ba74 ,and therefore he falls back on his old conclusion1 though now with a sadder heart than ever1 that man will do wisely1 that1 being so blind and having so dark a prospect1 he cannot do more wisely than to take what pleasure and enjoy what good he can amid his labours4 ,if he is a beast1 as he is a beast1 let him at least learn of the beasts that simple1 tranquil enjoyment of the good of the passing moment1 untroubled by any vexing presage of what is to come1 in which it must be allowed that they are greater proficients than he 7ver4 #bb74 ,thus1 after rising in the first fifteen verses of this ,third ,chapter1 to an almost ,christian height of patience1 and resignation1 and holy trust in the providence of ,god1 ,coheleth is smitten by the injustice and oppressions of man into the depths of a pessimistic materialism4 99 99 99 99 99 ,but now a new question arises4 ,the ,preacher's survey of human life has shaken his faith even in the conclusion which he has announced from the first1 viz41 that there is nothing better for a man than a quiet content1 a busy cheerfulness1 a tranquil enjoyment of the fruit of his toils4 ,this at least he has supposed to be possible3 but is it8 ,all the activities1 industries1 tranquillities of life are jeopardised1 now by the inflexible ordinances of ,heaven1 and again by the capricious tyranny of man4 ,to this tyranny his fellow-countrymen are now exposed4 ,they groan under its heaviest oppressions4 ,as he turns and once more reflects 7chap4 iv41 ver4 #a7 on their unalleviated and unfriended misery1 he doubts whether content1 or even resignation1 can be expected of them4 ,with a tender sympathy that lingers on the details of their unhappy lot1 and deepens into a passionate and despairing melancholy1 he witnesses their sufferings and counts the tears of the oppressed4 ,with the emphasis of a ,hebrew and an ,oriental1 he marks and emphasises the fact that they had no comforter1 that though their oppressors were violent1 yet they had no comforter4 ,for throughout the ,east1 and among the ,jews to this day1 the manifestation of sympathy with those who suffer is far more common and ceremonious than it is with us4 ,neighbours and acquaintances are expected to pay long visits of condolence2 friends and kinsfolk will travel long distances to pay them4 ,their respective places and duties in the house of mourning1 their dress1 words1 bearing1 precedence1 are regulated by an ancient and elaborate etiquette4 ,and1 strange as it may seem to us1 these visits are regarded not only as gratifying tokens of respect to the dead1 but as a singular relief and comfort to the living4 ,to the ,preacher and his fellow-captives1 therefore1 it would be a bitter aggravation of their grief that1 while suffering under the most cruel oppressions of misfortune1 they were compelled to forego the solace of these customary tokens of respect and sympathy4 ,as he pondered their sad and unfriended condition1 ,coheleth--like ,job1 when his comforters failed him--is moved to curse his day4 ,the dead1 he affirms1 are happier than the living1#cc--;even the dead who died so long ago that the fate most dreaded in the ,east had befallen them1 and the very memory of them had perished from the earth3 while happier than either the dead1 who have had to suffer in their time1 or than the living1 whose doom had still to be borne1 were those who had never seen the light1 never been born into a world all disordered and out of course 7vv4 #b1 #c74cd #cc ,xerxes1 in his invasion of ,greece1 conceived the wish to look upon all his host4 ,a throne was erected for him on a hill near ,abydos1 sitting on which he looked down and saw the ,hellespont covered with his ships1 and the vast plain swarming with his troops4 ,as he looked1 he wept2 and when his uncle ,artabanus asked him the cause of his tears1 he replied3 ,there came upon me a sudden pity when ,i thought of the shortness of man's life1 and considered that of all this host1 so numerous as it is1 not one will be alive when a hundred years are gone by4 ,this is one of the most striking and best known incidents in the life of the ,persian despot2 but the rejoinder of ,artabanus1 though in a far higher strain1 is less generally known4 ,i quote it here as an illustration of the ,preacher's mood4 ,said ,artabanus3 ,and yet there are sadder things in life than that4 ,short as our time is1 there is no man1 whether it be here among this multitude or elsewhere1 who is so happy as not to have felt the wish--,i will not say once1 but full many a time--that he were dead rather than alive4 ,calamities fall on us1 sicknesses vex and harass us1 and make life1 short though it be1 to appear long4 ,so death1 through the wretchedness of our life1 is a most sweet refuge to our race4--,herodotus1 ,book ,,vii41 c4 #df4 #cd ,so in ,sophocles 7,oed4 ,col41 #abbe7 we read--,i quote from ,dean ,plumptre's translation3 ,never to be at all ,excels all fame2 ,quickly1 next best1 to pass ,from whence we came4 ,sidenote3 ,it is rendered hopeless by the base origin of ,human ,industries4 ,ch4 iv41 vv4 #d-h4 ,this stinging sense of the miserable estate of his race has1 however1 diverted the ,preacher from the conduct of the main argument he had in hand3 to that he now returns 7ver4 #d74 ,and now he argues3 ,you cannot hope get good fruit from a bad root4 ,but the several industries in which you are tempted to seek the chief good and market of your time have a most base and evil origin2 they spring from man's jealous rivalry with his neighbour4 ,every man tries to outdo and to outsell his neighbours2 to secure a larger business1 to surround himself with a more profuse luxury1 or to amass an ampler hoard of gold4 ,this business life of yours is utterly selfish1 and therefore utterly base4 ,you are not content with a sufficient provision for simple wants4 ,you do not seek your neighbour's good4 ,you have no noble or patriotic aim4 ,your ruling intention is to enrich yourselves at the expense of neighbours who1 in their turn1 are your rivals rather than your neighbours1 and who try to get the better of you just as you try to get the better of them4 ,can you hope to find the true ,good in a life whose aims are so sordid1 whose motives so selfish8 ,the very sluggard who folds his hands in indolence so long as he has bread to eat is a wiser man than you2 for he has at least his handful of quiet1 and knows some little enjoyment of life2 while you1 driven on by jealous competition and the eager cravings of insatiable desire1 have neither leisure nor appetite for enjoyment3 both your hands are full1 indeed1 but there is no quiet in them1 only labour1 labour1 labour1 with vexation of spirit 7vv4 #e1 #f74 ,so intense and selfish was this rivalry1 increase of appetite growing by what it fed upon1 so keen grew the desire to amass1 that the ,preacher paints a portrait1 for which no doubt many a ,hebrew might have sat1 of a man--nay1 rather1 of a miser--who1 though solitary and kinless1 with not even a son or a brother to inherit his wealth1 nevertheless hoards up riches to the close of his life2 there is no end to his labours2 he never can be rich enough to allow himself any enjoyment of his gains 7vv4 #g1 #h74 ,sidenote3 ,yet these are capable of a nobler ,motive and ,mode4 ,ch4 iv41 vv4 #i-af4 ,now a jealous rivalry culminating in mere avarice1--that surely is not the wisest or noblest spirit of which those are capable who devote themselves to affairs4 ,even the idols of the market may have a purer cult4 ,business1 like ,wisdom or ,mirth1 may neither be1 nor contain1 the supreme ,good3 still1 like them1 it is not in itself and of necessity an evil4 ,there must be a better mode of devotion to it than this selfish and greedy one2 and such a mode ,coheleth1 before he pursues his argument to a close1 pauses to point out4 ,as if anticipating a modern theory which grows in favour with the wiser sort of mercantile men1 he suggests that co-operation--of course ,i use the word in its etymological rather than in its technical sense--should be substituted for competition4 ,two are better than one1 he argues2 union is better than isolation2 conjoint labour brings the larger reward 7ver4 #i74 ,to bring his suggestion home to the business bosom of men1 he uses five illustrations1 four of which have a strong ,oriental colouring4 ,the first is that of two pedestrians 7ver4 #aj72 if one should fall--and such an accident1 owing to the bad roads and long cumbrous robes common in the ,east1 was by no means infrequent--the other is ready to set him on his feet2 while1 if he is alone1 the least that can befall him is that his robe will be trampled and bemired before he can gather himself up again4 ,in the second illustration 7ver4 #aa71 our two travellers1 wearied by their journey1 sleep together at its close4 ,now in ,syria the nights are often keen and frosty1 and the heat of the day makes men more susceptible to the cold4 ,the sleeping-chambers1 moreover1 have only unglazed lattices which let in the frosty air as well as the welcome light2 the bed is commonly a simple mat1 the bedclothes only the garments worn through the day4 ,and therefore the natives huddle together for the sake of warmth4 ,to lie alone was to lie shivering in the chill night air4 ,the third illustration 7ver4 #ab7 is also taken from the ,east4 ,our two travellers1 lying snug and warm on their common mat1 buried in slumber1 that dear repose for limbs with travel tired1 were very likely to be disturbed by thieves who had dug a hole through the clay walls of the house1 or crept under the tent1 to carry off what they could4 ,these thieves1 always on the alert for travellers1 are marvellously supple1 rapid1 and silent in their movements2 but as the traveller1 aware of his danger1 commonly puts his bag of needments or valuables under his head1 it does sometimes happen that the deftest thief will rouse him by withdrawing it4 ,if one of our two wayfarers was thus aroused1 he would call on his comrade for help1 and between them the thief would stand a poor chance2 but the solitary traveller1 suddenly roused from sleep1 with no helper at hand1 might very easily stand a worse chance than the thief4 ,the fourth illustration 7ver4 #ab7 is that of the threefold cord--three strands twisted into one1 which1 as we all know1 ,english no less than ,hebrew1 is much more than three times as strong as any one of the separate strands4 ,but in the fifth and most elaborate illustration 7vv4 #ac1 #ad71 we are once more carried back to the ,east4 ,the slightest acquaintance with ,oriental history will teach us how uncertain is the tenure of royal power2 how often it has happened that a prisoner has been led from a dungeon to a throne1 and a prince suddenly deposed and reduced to impotence and penury4 ,coheleth supposes such a case4 ,on the one hand1 we have a king old1 but not venerable1 since1 long as he has lived1 he has not even yet learned to accept admonition2 he has led a solitary1 selfish1 suspicious life1 secluded himself in his harem1 surrounded himself with a troop of flattering courtiers and slaves4 ,on the other hand1 we have the poor but wise young man1 the affable youth1 who has lived with all sorts and conditions of men1 acquainted himself with their habits and wants and desires1 and conciliated their regard4 ,his growing popularity alarms the old despot and his minions4 ,he is cast into prison4 ,his wrongs and sufferings endear him to the wronged and suffering people4 ,by a sudden outbreak of popular wrath1 by a revolution such as often sweeps through ,eastern states1 he is set free1 and led from the prison to the throne1 although he was once so poor that none would do him reverence4 ,this is the picture in the mind's eye of the ,preacher2 and1 as he contemplates it1 he rises into a kind of prophetic rapture1 and cries1 ,i see--,i see all the living who walk under the sun flocking to the youth who stands up in the old king's stead2 there is no end to the multitude of the people over whom he ruleth6 7ver4 #ae74 ,by these graphic illustrations ,coheleth sets forth the superiority of the sociable over the solitary and selfish temper1 of union over isolation1 of the neighbourly goodwill which leads men to combine for common ends over the jealous rivalry which prompts them to take advantage of each other1 and to labour each for himself alone4 ,but even as he urges this better1 happier temper on men occupied with business and public affairs1 even as he contemplates its brightest illustration in the youthful prisoner whose winning and sociable qualities have lifted him to a throne1 the old mood of melancholy comes back on him2 there is the familiar pathetic break in his voice as he concludes 7ver4 #af71 that even this wise youth1 who wins all hearts for a time1 will soon be forgotten2 that even this1 for all so hopeful as it looks1 is vanity and vexation of spirit4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a profound gloom rests on the second act of this ,drama4 ,it has already taught us that we are helpless in the grip of laws which we had no voice in making2 that we often lie at the mercy of men whose mercy is but a caprice2 that in our origin and end1 in body and spirit1 in faculty and prospect1 in our lives and pleasures1 we are no better than the beasts which perish3 that the avocations into which we plunge1 and amid which we seek to forget our sad estate1 spring from our jealousy the one of the other1 and tend to a lonely miserliness without use or charm4 ,the ,preacher's familiar conclusion--,be tranquil1 be content1 enjoy as much as you can--has grown doubtful to him4 ,he has seen the brightest promise come to nought4 ,in a new and profounder sense1 all is vanity and vexation of spirit4 ,but1 though passing through a great darkness1 he sees1 and reflects1 some little light4 ,even when facts seem to contradict it1 he holds fast to the conclusion that wisdom is better than folly1 and kindness better than selfishness1 and to do good even though you lose by it better than to do evil and gain by it4 ,his faith wavers only for a moment2 it never wholly loosens its hold4 ,and1 in the fifth chapter1 the light grows1 though even here the darkness does not altogether disappear4 ,we are sensible that the twilight in which we stand is not that of evening1 which will deepen into night1 but that of morning1 which will shine more and more until the day dawn1 and the daystar arise in the calm heaven of patient tranquil hearts4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,so also a happier and more effective ,method of ,worship is open to ,men2 ,ch4 v41 vv4 #a-g4 ,the men of affairs are led from the vocations of the ,market and the intrigues of the ,divan into the ,house of ,god4 ,our first glance at the worshippers is not hopeful or inspiriting4 ,for here are men who offer sacrifices in lieu of obedience2 and here are men whose prayers are a voluble repetition of phrases which run far in advance of their limping thoughts and desires3 and there are men quick to make vows in moments of peril1 but slow to redeem them when the peril is past4 ,at first the ,house of ,god looks very like a ,house of ,merchandise1 in which brokers and traders drive a traffic as dishonest as any that disgraces the ,exchange4 ,but while the merchants and politicians stand criticising the conduct of the worshippers1 the ,preacher turns upon them and shows them that they are the worshippers whom they criticise2 that he has held up a glass in which they see themselves as others see them2 that it is they who vow and do not pay1 they who hurry on their mouths to utter words which their hearts do not prompt1 they who take the roundabout course of sinning and sacrificing for sin instead of that plain road of obedience which leads straight to ,god4 ,but what comfort for them is there in that8 ,how should it help them1 to be beguiled into condemning themselves8 ,truly there would not be much comfort in it did not the compassionate ,preacher forthwith disclose the secret of this dishonest worship1 and give them counsels of amendment4 ,he discloses the secret in two verses 7vv4 #c and #g71 which have much perplexed the readers of this ,book4 ,he there explains that just as a mind harassed by much occupation and the many cares it breeds cannot rest even at nights1 but busies itself in framing wild disturbing dreams1 so also is it with the foolish worshipper who1 for want of thought and reverence1 pours out before ,god a multitude of unsifted and unconsidered wishes in a multitude of words4 ,in effect he says to them3 ,you men of affairs often get little help or comfort from the worship of ,god because you come to it with preoccupied hearts1 just as a man gets little comfort from his bed because his brain1 jaded and yet excited by many cares1 will not suffer him to rest4 ,hence it is that you promise more than you perform1 and utter prayers more devout than any honest expression of your desires would warrant1 and offer sacrifices to avoid the charge and trouble of obedience to the ,divine laws4 ,and as ,i have shown you a more excellent way of transacting business than the selfish grasping mode to which you are addicted1 so also ,i will show you a more excellent style of worship4 ,go to the ,house of ,god 'with a straight foot1' a foot trained to walk in the path of obedience4 ,keep your heart1 set a watch over it1 lest it should be diverted from the simple and devout homage it should pay4 ,do not urge and press it to a false emotion1 to a strained and insincere mood4 ,let your words be few and reverent when you speak to the ,great ,king4 ,do not vow except under the compulsion of stedfast resolves1 and pay your vows even to your own hurt when once they are made4 ,do not anger ,god1 or the angel of ,god who1 as you believe1 presides over the altar1 with idle unreal talk and idle half-meant resolves1 making vows of which you afterwards repent and do not keep1 pleading that you made them in error or infirmity4 ,but in all the exercises of your worship show a holy fear of the ,almighty2 and then1 under the worst oppressions of fortune and the heaviest calamities of time1 you shall find the ,house of ,god a ,sanctuary1 and his worship a strength1 a consolation1 and a delight4 ,this1 surely1 was very wholesome counsel for men of business in hard times4 ,sidenote3 ,and a more helpful and consolatory ,trust in the ,divine ,providence4 ,ch4 v41 vv4 #h-ag4 ,not content with this1 however1 the ,preacher goes on to show how1 when they returned from the ,house of ,god to the common round of life1 and were once more exposed to its miseries and distractions1 there were certain comfortable and sustaining thoughts on which they might stay their spirits4 ,to the worship of the ,sanctuary he would have them add a strengthening trust in the ,providence of ,god4 ,that ,providence was expressed1 as in other ordinances1 so also in these two3-- ,first2 whatever oppressions and perversions of justice and equity there were in the land 7ver4 #h71 still the judges and satraps who oppressed them were not supreme2 there was an official hierarchy in which superior watched over superior1 and if justice were not to be had of the one1 it might be had of another who was above him2 if it were not to be had of any1 no1 not even of the king himself1 there was this reassuring conviction that1 in the last resort1 even the king was the servant of the field 7ver4 #i71 i4e41 was dependent on the wealth and produce of the land1 and could not1 therefore1 be unjust with impunity1 or push his oppressions too far lest he should decrease his revenue or depopulate his realm4 ,this was the advantage the people had2 and if it were in itself but a slight advantage to this man or that1 clearly it was a great advantage to the body politic2 while as an indication of the ,providence of ,god1 of the care with which ,he had arranged for the general well-being1 it was full of consolation4 ,the second fact1 or class of facts1 in which they might recognise the gracious care of ,god was this1--,that the unjust judges and wealthy rapacious lords who oppressed them had very much less satisfaction in their fraudulent gains than they might suppose4 ,god had so made men that injustice and selfishness defeated their own ends1 and those who lived for wealth1 and would do evil to acquire it1 made but a poor bargain after all4 ,he that loveth silver is never satisfied with silver1 nor he that clings to wealth with what it yields 7ver4 #aj74 ,when riches increase1 they increase that consume them--dependents1 parasites1 slaves1 flock around the man who rises to wealth and place4 ,he cannot eat and drink more1 or enjoy more1 than when he was a man simply well-to-do in the world2 the only advantage he has is that he sees others consume what he has acquired at so great a cost 7ver4 #aa74ce ,he cannot know the sweet refreshing sleep of husbandmen weary with toil 7ver4 #ab71 for his heart is full of care and apprehension4 ,robbers may drive off his flocks1 or lift his cattle2 his investments may fail1 or his secret hoard be plundered2 he must trust much to servants1 and they may be unfaithful to their trust2 his official superiors may ruin him with the bribes they extort1 or the prince himself may want a sponge to squeeze4 ,if none of these evils befall him1 he may apprehend1 and have cause to apprehend1 that his heir longs for his death1 and will prove little better than a fool1 wasting in wanton riot what he has amassed with much painful toil 7vv4 #ac1 #ad74 ,and1 in any event1 he cannot take his wealth with him on his last journey 7vv4 #ae1 #af74 ,so that1 naturally enough1 he is much perturbed1 and hath great vexation and grief 7ver4 #ag71 cannot sleep for his apprehensive care for his abundance2 and at last must go out of the world as bare and unprovided as he came into it4#cf ,he labours for the wind1 and reaps what he has sown4 ,was such a life1 mounting to such a close1 a thing to long for and toil for8 ,was it worth while to hurl oneself against the adamantine laws of ,heaven and risk the oppressions of earth1 to injure one's neighbours1 to sink into an insincere and distracted worship and a weakening distrust of the providence of ,god1 in order to spend anxious toilsome days and sleepless nights1 and at last to go out of the world naked of all but guilt1 and rich in nothing but the memory of frauds and wrongs8 ,might not even a captive or a slave1 whose sleep was sweetened by toil1 and who1 from his trust in ,god and the sacred delights of honest worship1 gathered strength to endure all the oppressions of the time1 and to enjoy whatever alleviations and innocent pleasures were vouchsafed him--might not even he be a wiser1 happier man than the despot at whose caprice he stood8 #ce ,ginsburg quotes a capital illustration of this verse from the dialogue of ,pheraulas and ,sacian 7,xenophon1 ,cyrop41 viii4 #c72 ,do you think1 ,sacian1 that ,i live with more pleasure the more ,i possess8444 ,by having this abundance ,i gain merely this1 that ,i have to guard more1 to distribute to others1 and have the trouble of taking care of more2 for a great many attendants now demand of me their food1 their drink1 and their clothes4 ,whosoever1 therefore1 is greatly pleased with the possession of riches will1 be assured1 feel much annoyed at the expenditure of them4 #cf ,compare ,psalm xlix41 vv4 #af1 #ag3 ,be not afraid though one be made rich1 ,or if the glory of his house be increased2 ,for he shall carry away nothing with him when he dieth ,neither shall his pomp follow him4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,the ,conclusion4 ,ch4 v41 vv4 #ah-bj4 ,for himself ,coheleth has a very decided opinion on this point4 ,he is quite sure that his first conclusion is sound1 though for a moment he had questioned its soundness1 and that a quiet1 cheerful1 and obedient heart is greater riches than the wealthiest estate4 ,with all the emphasis of renewed and now immovable conviction he declares1 ,behold1 that which ,i have said holds good2 it is well for a man to eat and to drink1 and to enjoy the good of all his labours through the brief day of his life4 ,and ,i have also said--and this too is true--that a man to whom ,god hath given riches and wealth--for even a rich man may be a good man and use his wealth wisely--if ,he hath also enabled him to eat thereof1 and to take his portion1 and to rejoice in his labour--this too is a most ,divine gift4 ,he does not fret over the brevity of his life2 it is not much1 or often1 or sadly in his thoughts3 for he knows that the joy his heart takes in the toils and pleasures of life is approved by ,god1 or even1 as the phrase seems to mean1 corresponds in some measure with the joy of ,god ,himself2 that his tranquil enjoyment is a reflection of the ,divine peace4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,ii4#cg ,there are not many ,englishmen who devote themselves solely or mainly to the acquisition of ,wisdom1 and who1 that they may teach the children of men that which is good1 live laborious days1 withdrawing from the general pursuit of wealth and scorning the lures of ease and self-indulgence2 such men1 indeed1 are but a small minority in any age or land4 ,nor do those who give themselves exclusively to the pursuit of ,pleasure constitute more than a small and miserable class1 though most of us have wasted on it days that we could ill spare4 ,but when the ,hebrew ,preacher1 having followed his quest of the supreme ,good in ,pleasure and ,wisdom1 turns to the affairs of ,business--and ,i use that term as including both commerce and politics--he enters a field of action and inquiry with which we are nearly all familiar1 and can hardly fail to speak words which will touch us close home4 ,for1 whatever else we may or may not be1 we are most of us among the worshippers of the great god ,traffic--a god whose wholesome1 benignant face too often lowers and darkens1 or ever we are aware1 into the sordid and malignant features of ,mammon4 #cg ,in commenting on ,sections ,,ii4 and ,,iii4 of this ,book ,i found that both the exposition of the sacred text and the application of its lessons to the details of modern life would gain in force by being handled separately4 ,the second part of each of these chapters consists mainly1 therefore1 of an exhortation based on the previous exposition1 the marginal notes indicating the passages of ,holy ,writ on which these exhortations are based4 ,now in dealing with this broad and momentous province of human life the ,preacher exhibits the candour and the temperance which marked his treatment of ,wisdom and ,mirth4 ,just as he would not suffer us to think of ,wisdom as in itself an evil1 nor of ,pleasure as an evil1 so neither will he allow us to think of ,business as essentially and of necessity an evil4 ,this1 like those1 may be abused to our hurt2 but none the less they may all be used1 and were meant to be used1 for our own and our neighbours' good4 ,pursued in the right method1 from the right motive1 with the due moderation and reserve1 ,business1 as he is careful to point out1 besides bringing other great advantages1 may be a new bond of union and brotherhood3 it develops intercourse among men and races of men1 and should develop sympathy1 goodwill1 and a mutual helpfulness4 ,nevertheless1 thrift may degenerate into miserliness1 and the honest industry of content into a dishonest eagerness for undue gains1 and a wise attention to business into an excessive devotion to it4 ,these degenerate tendencies had struck their roots deep into the ,hebrew mind of his day1 and brought forth many bitter fruits4 ,the ,preacher describes and denounces them2 he lays an axe to the very roots of these evil growths3 but it is only that he may clear a space for the fairer and more wholesome growths which sprang beside them1 and of which they were the wild bastard offshoots4 ,throughout this second section of the ,book1 his subject is excessive devotion to ,business1 and the correctives to it which his experience enables him to suggest4 #a4 ,his handling of the subject is very thorough and complete4 ,men of business might do worse than get the lessons he here teaches by heart4 ,according to him1 their excessive devotion to affairs springs from a jealous rivalry2 it tends to form in them a grasping covetous temper which can never be satisfied1 to produce a materialistic scepticism of all that is noble1 spiritual1 aspiring in thought and action1 to render their worship formal and insincere1 and1 in general1 to incapacitate them for any quiet happy enjoyment of their life4 ,this is his diagnosis of their disease1 or of that diseased tendency which1 if it be for the most part latent in them1 always threatens to become pronounced and to infect all healthy conditions of the soul4 ,sidenote3 ,devotion to ,business springs from ,jealous ,competition3 ,ch4 iv41 v4 #d4ch #ch ,coheleth's description is so true and pertinent1 it hits so many of our modern faults and sins1 that ,i am obliged to cite my authority for every paragraph lest ,i should be suspected of putting a private and personal interpretation on these ancient words4 7a7 ,let us glance once more at the several symptoms we have already heard him discuss1 and consider whether or not they accord with the results of our own observation and experience4 ,is it true1 then--or1 rather1 is it not true--that our devotion to business is becoming excessive and exhausting1 and that this devotion springs mainly from our jealous rivalry and competition with each other8 ,if1 some two or three and twenty centuries ago1 the ,jews were bent every man on outdoing and outselling his neighbour2 if his main ambition was to amass greater wealth or to secure a larger business than his competitors1 or to make a handsomer show before the world2 if in the urgent pursuit of this ambition he held his neighbours not as neighbours1 but as unscrupulous rivals1 keen for gain at his expense and to rise by his fall2 if1 to reach his end1 he was willing to get up early and go late to rest1 to force all his energies into an injurious activity and strain them close to the snapping-point3 if this were what a ,jew of that time was like1 might you not easily take it for a portrait of many an ,english merchant1 manufacturer1 lawyer1 or politician8 ,is it not as accurate a delineation of our life as it could be of any ancient form of life8 ,if it be1 as ,i think it is1 we have grave need to take the ,preacher's warning4 ,we gravely need to remember that the stream cannot rise above its source1 nor the fruit be better than the root from which it grows2 that the business ardour which has its origin in a base and selfish motive can only be a base and selfish ardour4 ,when men gather grapes from thorns and figs from thistles1 then1 but not before1 we may look to find a satisfying good in all the toil and all the dexterity in toil which spring from this jealous rivalry of the one with the other4 ,sidenote3 ,it tends to form a ,covetous ,temper3 ,ch4 iv41 v4 #h4 7b7 ,nor1 in the face of facts patent to the most cursory observer1 can we deny that this eager and excessive devotion to the successful conduct of business tends to produce a grasping1 covetous temper which1 however much it has gained1 is for ever seeking more4 ,it is not only true that the stream cannot rise above its source2 it is also true that the stream will run downward1 and must inevitably contract many pollutions from the lower levels on which it declines4 ,the ardour which impels men to devote themselves with eager intensity to the labours of the ,market may often have an origin as pure as that of the stream which bubbles up on the hills1 amid grass and ferns1 and runs tinkling along its clear rocky channels1 setting its labour to a happy music1 singing its low sweet song to the sweet listening air4 ,but as it runs on1 if it swell in volume and power1 it also sinks and grows foul4 ,bent at first on acquiring the means to support a widowed mother1 or to justify him in taking a wife1 or to provide for his children1 or to win an honourable place in his neighbours' eyes1 or to achieve the chance of self-culture and self-development1 or to serve some public and worthy end1 the man of business and affairs too often suffers himself to become more and more absorbed in his pursuits4 ,he conceives larger schemes1 is drawn into more perilous enterprises1 and advances through these to fresh openings and opportunities1 until at last1 long after his original ends are compassed and forgotten1 he finds himself possessed by the mere craving to extend his labours1 resources1 influence1 if not by the mere craving to amass--a craving which often teareth and tormenteth him1 but which can only be exorcised by an exertion of spiritual force which would leave him half dead4 ,he has no one with him1 not even a son or a brother2 the dear mother or wife is long since dead2 his children1 to use his own detestable phrase1 are off his hands2 the public good has slipped from his memory and aims3 but still there is no end to all his labours1 neither are his eyes satisfied with riches4 ,coheleth speaks of one such man3 alas1 of how many such might we speak6 ,sidenote3 ,to produce a ,materialistic ,scepticism2 ,ch4 iii41 vv4 #ah-ba4 7c7 ,the speculation in the eye of business men is not commonly of a philosophic cast1 and therefore we do not look to find them arguing themselves into the materialism which infected the ,hebrew ,preacher as he contemplated them and their blind devotion to their idol4 ,they are far1 perhaps very far1 from thinking that in body and spirit1 in origin and end1 man is no better than the beast1 a creature of the same accident and subject to the same chance4 ,but though they do not reason out a conclusion so sombre and depressing1 do they not practically acquiesce in it8 ,if it is far from their thoughts1 do they not live in its close neighbourhood8 ,their mind1 like the dyer's hand1 is subdued to that it works in4 ,accustomed to think mainly of material interests1 their character is materialised4 ,they are disposed to weigh all things--truth1 righteousness1 the motives and aims of nobler men--in the scales of the market1 and can very hardly believe that they should attach any grave value to ought which will not lend itself to their coarse handling4 ,in their judgment1 mental culture1 or the graces of moral character1 or single-hearted devotion to lofty ends1 are not worthy to be compared with a full purse or large possessions4 ,they regard as little better than a fool1 of whom it is very kind of them to take a little care1 the man who has thrown away what they call his chances1 in order that he may learn wisdom or do good4 ,giving1 perhaps1 a cheerful and unforced accord to the current moral maxims and popular creed1 they permit neither to rule their conduct4 ,if they do not say1 ,man is no better than a beast1 they carry themselves as if he were no better1 as though he had no instincts or interests above those of the thrifty ant1 or the cunning beaver1 or the military locust1 or insatiable leech--although they are both surprised and affronted when one is at the pains to translate their deeds into words4 ,judged by their deeds1 they are sceptics and materialists1 since they have no vital faith in that which is spiritual and unseen4 ,they have found the life of their hands1 and they are content with it4 ,give them whatever furnishes the senses1 whatever in them holds by sense1 and they will cheerfully let all else go4 ,but such a materialism as this is far more injurious1 far more likely to be fatal1 than that which reflects1 and argues1 and utters itself in words1 and refutes itself by the very powers which it employs4 ,with them the malady has struck inward1 and is beyond the reach of cure save by the most searching and drastic remedies4 ,sidenote3 ,to make ,worship ,formal and ,insincere2 ,ch4 v41 vv4 #a-g4 7d7 ,but now if1 like ,coheleth1 we follow these men to the ,temple1 what is the scene that meets our eye8 ,in the ,english ,temple1 ,i fear1 that which would first strike an unaccustomed observer would be the fact that very few men of business are there4 ,they are conspicuous by their absence1 or1 at best1 noted for an only occasional attendance4 ,the ,hebrew ,temple was crowded with men2 in the ,english ,temple it is the other sex which predominates4 ,but glance at the men who are there8 ,do you detect no signs of weariness and perfunctoriness8 ,do you hear no vows which will never be paid1 and which they do not intend to pay even when they make them8 no prayers which go beyond any honest and candid expression of their desires8 ,do you not feel and know that many of them are making an unwilling sacrifice to the decencies and the proprieties1 instead of worshipping ,god the ,spirit in spirit and nerving themselves for the difficulties of obedience to the ,divine law8 ,listen3 they are saying1 ,almighty ,god1 ,father of all mercies1 we bless ,thee for our creation1 preservation1 and all the blessings of this life2 but above all for ,thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 for the means of grace1 and for the hope of glory4 ,but are these ineffable spiritual benefits above all else to them8 ,do they care for the means of grace as much even as for the state of the market1 or for the hope of glory as much as for success or promotion8 ,which is most in their thoughts1 their lives1 their aspirations1 for which will they take most pains and make most sacrifices--for what they mean by the beautiful phrase all the blessings of this life1 or for that sacred and crowning act of the ,divine ,mercy1 the redemption1 in which ,god has once for all revealed his fatherly forgiving love8 ,what is it that makes their worship formal and insincere8 ,it is the very cause which1 as the ,preacher tells us1 produced the like evil effect upon the ,jews4 ,they come into the ,temple with pre-occupied hearts4 ,their thoughts are distracted by the cares of life even as they bend in worship4 ,and hence even the most sacred words turn to idle talk on their lips1 as remote from the true feeling of the moment as the multitude of dreams which haunt the night2 they utter fervent prayers without any due sense of their meaning1 or any hearty wish to have them granted4 ,sidenote3 ,and to take from ,life its ,quiet and ,innocent ,enjoyments4 ,ch4 v41 vv4 #aj-ag4 7e7 ,now surely a life so thick with perils1 so beset with temptations1 should have a very large and certain reward to offer4 ,but has it8 ,for one1 ,coheleth thinks it has not4 ,in his judgment1 according to his experience1 instead of making a man happier even in this present time1 to which it limits his thoughts and aims1 it robs him of all quiet and happy enjoyment of his life4 ,and1 mark1 it is not the unsuccessful man of business1 who might naturally feel sore and aggrieved1 but the successful man1 the man who has made a fortune and prospered in his schemes1 whom the ,preacher describes as having lost all faculty of enjoying his gains4 ,even the man who has wealth and abundance1 so that his soul lacketh nothing of all that he desireth1 is placed before us as the slave of unsatisfied desire and constant apprehension4 ,both his hands are so full of labour that he cannot lay hold on quiet4 ,though he loves silver so well1 and has so much of it1 he is not satisfied therewith2 his riches yield him no certain and abiding delight4 ,and how can he be in happy plight who is debarred the benefit of rest8 ,when day's oppression is not eased by night1 ,but day by night1 and night by day1 oppress'd8 ,and each1 though enemies to either's reign1 ,do in consent shake hands to torture him4 ,the sound sleep of humble contented labour is denied him4 ,he is haunted by perpetual apprehensions that there is some ill a-brewing to his rest1 that evil in some dreaded shape will befall him4 ,he doubts the filching age will steal his treasure4 ,he knows that when he is called hence he can carry away nothing in his hand2 all his gains must be left to his heir1 who may either turn out a wanton fool or be crushed and degraded by the burden and temptations of a wealth for which he has not laboured4 ,and hence1 amid all his toils and gains1 even the most prosperous and successful man suspects that he has been labouring for the wind and may reap the whirlwind3 he is much perturbed1 and hath vexation and grief4 ,is the picture overdrawn8 ,is not the description as true to modern experience as to that of the antique world8 ,shakespeare1 who is our great ,english authority on the facts of human experience1 thought it quite as true4 ,his ,merchant of ,venice has argosies on every sea2 and two of his friends1 hearing him confess that sadness makes such a want-wit of him that he has much ado to know himself1 tell him that his mind is tossing on the ocean with his ships4 ,they proceed to discuss the natural effects of having so many enterprises on hand4 ,one says-- ,believe me1 ,sir1 had ,i such venture forth1 ,the better part of my affections would ,be with my hopes abroad4 ,i should be still ,plucking the grass1 to know where sits the wind2 ,peering in maps for ports1 and piers1 and roads2 ,and every object that might make me fear ,misfortune to my ventures1 out of doubt ,would make me sad4 ,and the other adds-- ,my wind1 cooling my broth1 ,would blow me to an ague1 when ,i thought ,what harm a wind too great at sea might do4 ,i should not see the sandy hour-glass run1 ,but ,i should think of shallows and of flats1 ,and see my wealthy ,andrew1 dock'd in sand1 ,vailing her high-top lower than her ribs ,to kiss her burial4 ,should ,i go to church ,and see the holy edifice of stone1 ,and not bethink me straight of dangerous rocks1 ,which1 touching but my gentle vessel's side1 ,would scatter all her spices in the stream2 ,enrobe the roaring waters with my silks3 ,and1 in a word1 but even now worth this1 ,and now worth nothing8 ,shall ,i have the thought ,to think on this2 and shall ,i lack the thought ,that such a thing bechanced would make me sad8 ,abundance suffereth not the rich to sleep2 the thought that his riches may perish in some unlucky adventure rings a perpetual alarum in his ears3 all his days he eateth in darkness1 and is much perturbed1 and hath vexation and grief4 ,these are the words of the ,hebrew ,preacher3 are not our own great poet's words an expressive commentary on them1 an absolute confirmation of them1 covering them point by point8 ,and shall we envy the wealthy merchant whose two hands are thus full of labour and vexation of spirit8 ,is not the husbandman whose sleep is sweet1 whether he eat little or much1 better off than he8 ,nay1 has not even the sluggard who1 so long as he hath meat1 foldeth his hands in quiet1 a truer enjoyment of his life8 ,of course ,coheleth does not mean to imply that every man of business degenerates into a miserly sceptic1 whose worship is a formulated hypocrisy and whose life is haunted with saddening apprehensions of misfortune4 ,no doubt there were then1 as there are now1 many men of business who were wise enough to take pleasure in all their labours1 to cast their burden of care on ,him in whose care stand both to-morrow and to-day2 men to whom worship was a calming and strengthening communion with the ,father of their spirits1 and who advanced1 through toil1 to worthy or even noble ends4 ,he means simply that these are the perils to which all men of business are exposed1 and into which they fall so soon as their devotion to its affairs grows excessive4 ,make business1 and success in business1 your chief good1 your ruling aim1 and you will come to think of your neighbours as selfish rivals2 you will begin to look askance on the lofty spiritual qualities which refuse to bow to the yoke of ,mammon2 your worship will sink into an insincere formalism2 your life will be vexed and saddened with fears which will strangle the very faculty of tranquil enjoyment3 this is the warning of the ,preacher2 a warning of which our generation1 in such urgent sinful haste to be rich1 stands in very special need4 #b4 ,but what checks1 what correctives1 what remedies1 would the ,preacher have us apply to the diseased tendencies of the time8 ,how shall men of business save themselves from being absorbed in its interests and affairs8 ,sidenote3 ,the ,correctives of this ,devotion are a ,sense of its ,perils2 ,ch4 v41 vv4 #aj-ag4 7a7 ,well1 the very sense of the danger to which they are exposed--a danger so insidious1 so profound1 so fatal--should surely induce caution and a wary self-control4 ,the symptoms of the disease are described that we may judge whether or not we are infected by it2 its dreadful issues that1 if infected1 we may study a cure4 ,the man who loves riches is placed before us that we may learn what he is really like--that he is not the careless happy being we often assume him to be4 ,we see him decline on the low bare levels of covetousness and materialism1 hypocrisy and fear2 and1 as we look1 the ,preacher turns upon us with1 ,there1 that is the slave of ,mammon in his habit as he lives4 ,do you care to be like that8 ,will you break your heart unless you are allowed to assume his heavy and degrading burden8 ,sidenote3 ,and the ,conviction that it is opposed to the ,will of ,god as expressed in the ,ordinances of his ,providence1 ,ch4 iii41 vv4 #a-h4 ,this is one help to a wise content with our lot2 but he has many more at our service1 and notably this1--that an undue devotion to the toils of business is contrary to the will1 the design1 the providence of ,god4 ,god1 he argues1 has fixed a time for every undertaking under heaven1 and has made each of them beautiful in its season1 but only then4 ,by his wise kindly ordinances ,he has sought to divert us from an injurious excess in toil4 ,our sowing and our reaping1 our time of rest and our time for work1 the time to save and the time to spend1 the time to gain and the time to lose1--all these1 with all the fluctuating feelings they excite in us3 in short1 our whole life1 from the cradle to the grave1 is under1 or should be under1 law to ,him4 ,it is only when we violate his gracious ordinances1--working when we should be at rest1 waking when we should sleep1 saving when we should spend1 weeping over losses which are real gains1 or laughing over gains which will prove to be losses--that we run into excess1 and break up the peaceful order and tranquil flow of the life which ,he designed for us4 ,sidenote3 ,in the ,wrongs which ,he permits ,men to inflict upon us2 ,ch4 iii41 v4 #af-;,ch4 iv41 v4 #c4 ,because we will not be obsequious to the ordinances of his wisdom1 ,he permits us to meet a new check in the caprice and injustice of man--making even these to praise ,him by subserving our good4 ,if we do not suffer the violent oppressions which drew tears from the ,preacher's fellow-captives1 we nevertheless stand very much at the mercy of our neighbours in so far as our outward haps are concerned4 ,unwise human laws or an unjust administration of them1 or the selfish rapacity of individual men--brokers who rig the market2 bankers whose long prayers are a pretence under cloak of which they rob widows and orphans1 and sometimes make them2 bankrupts for whose wounds the ,gazette has a singular power of healing1 since they come out of it sounder men than they went in3 these are only some of the instruments by which the labours of the diligent are shorn of their due reward4 ,and we are to take these checks as correctives1 to find in the losses which men inflict the gifts of a gracious ,god4 ,he permits us to suffer these and the like disasters lest our hearts should be overmuch set on getting gain4 ,he graciously permits us to suffer them that1 seeing how often the wicked thrive 7in a way and for a time7 on the decay of the upright1 we may learn that there is something better than wealth1 more enduring1 more satisfying1 and may seek that higher good4 ,sidenote3 ,but above all1 in the immortal ,cravings which ,he has quickened in the ,soul4 ,ch4 iii41 v4 #aa4 ,nay1 going to the very root of the matter and expounding its whole philosophy1 the ,preacher teaches us that wealth1 however great and greatly used1 cannot satisfy men1 since ,god has put eternity into their hearts as well as time3 and how should all the kingdoms of a world that must soon pass content those who are to live for ever8#ci ,this saying1 ,god has put eternity into their hearts1 is one of the most profound in the whole ,book1 and one of the most beautiful and suggestive4 ,what it means is that1 even if a man would confine his aims and desires within the bounds and coasts of ,time1 he cannot do it4 ,the very structure of his nature forbids it4 ,for time1 with all that it inherits1 sweeps by him like a torrent1 so that1 if he would secure any lasting good1 he must lay hold of that which is eternal4 ,we may well call this world1 for all so solid as it looks1 a perishing world2 for1 like our own bodies1 it is in a perpetual flux1 perishing every moment that it may live a little longer1 and must soon come to an end4 ,but we1 in our true selves1 we who dwell inside the body and use its members as the workman uses his tools1 how can we find a satisfying good whether in the body or in the world which is akin to it8 ,we want a good as lasting as ourselves4 ,nothing short of that can be our chief good1 or inspire us with a true content4 #ci ,m4 de ,lamennais--the founder of the most religious school of thinkers in modern ,france1 from whom such men as ,count ,montalembert1 ,pere ,lacordaire1 and ,maurice ,guerin1 drew their earliest inspiration--asks1 ,do you know what it is that makes man the most suffering of all creatures8 and replies1 ,it is that he has one foot in the finite and the other in the infinite1 and that he is torn asunder1 not by four horses1 as in the horrible old times1 but between two worlds4 ,like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore1 ,so do our minutes hasten to their end2 ,each changing place with that which goes before1 ,in sequent toil all forwards do contend3 and we might as well think to build a stable habitation on the waves which break upon the pebbled shore as to find an enduring good in the sequent minutes which carry us down the stream of time4 ,it is only because we do not understand this work of ,god in putting eternity into our hearts and therefore making it impossible for us to be content with anything less than an eternal good2 it is because1 plunged in the flesh and its cares and delights1 we forget the grandeur of our nature1 and are tempted to sell our immortal birthright for a mess of pottage which1 however much we enjoy it to-day1 will leave us hungry to-morrow3 it is only1 ,i say1 because we fail to understand this work of ,god from beginning to end1 that we ever delude ourselves with the hope of finding in ought the earth yields a good in which we can rest4 ,sidenote3 ,practical ,maxims deduced from this ,view of the ,business-life4 7b7 ,a noble philosophy this1 and pregnant with practical counsels of great value4 ,for if1 as we close our study of this ,section of the ,book1 we ask1 ,what good advice does the ,preacher offer that we can take and act upon8 we shall find that he gives us at least three serviceable maxims4 ,sidenote3 ,a ,maxim on ,co-operation4 ,ch4 iv41 vv4 #i-af4 ,to all men of business conscious of their special dangers and anxious to avoid them1 he says1 first3 ,replace the competition which springs from your jealous and selfish rivalry1 with the co-operation which is born of sympathy and breeds goodwill4 ,two are better than one4 ,union is better than isolation4 ,conjoint labour has the greater reward4 ,instead of seeking to take advantage of your neighbours1 try to help them4 ,instead of standing alone1 associate with your fellows4 ,instead of aiming at purely selfish ends1 pursue your ends in common4 ,indeed the wise ,hebrew ,preacher anticipates the golden rule to a remarkable extent1 and1 in effect1 bids us love our neighbour as ourself1 look on his things as well as our own1 and do to all men as we would that they should do to us4 ,sidenote3 ,a ,maxim on ,worship4 ,ch4 v41 vv4 #a-g4 ,his second maxim is3 ,replace the formality of your worship with a reverent and steadfast sincerity4 ,keep your foot when you go to the ,house of ,god4 ,put obedience before sacrifice4 ,do not hurry on your mouth to the utterance of words which transcend the desires of your heart4 ,be not of those who words for virtue take1 ,as though mere wood a shrine would make4#dj #dj ,horace1 ,ep4 #f1 ,lib4 ,i3 ,virtutem verba putant1 ut ,lucum ligna4 ,do not come into the ,temple with a pre-occupied spirit1 a spirit distracted with thoughts that travel different ways4 ,realise the presence of the ,great ,king1 and speak to ,him with the reverence due to a ,king4 ,keep the vows you have made in his ,house after you have left it4 ,seek and serve ,him with all your hearts1 and ye shall find rest to your souls4 ,sidenote3 ,a ,maxim on ,trust in ,god4 ,ch4 v41 vv4 #h-ag4 ,and his last maxim is3 ,replace your grasping self-sufficiency with a constant trust in the fatherly providence of ,god4 ,if you see oppression or suffer wrong1 if your schemes are thwarted and your enterprises fail1 you need not therefore lose the quiet repose and settled peace which spring from a sense of duty discharged and the undisturbed possession of the main good of life4 ,god is over all1 and rules all the undertakings of man1 giving each its season and place1 and causing all to work together for the good of the loving and trustful heart4 ,trust in ,him1 and you shall feel1 even though you cannot prove1 ,that every cloud that spreads above1 ,and veileth love1 itself is love4 ,trust in ,him1 and you shall find that ,the slow sweet hours that bring us all things good1 ,the slow sad hours that bring us all things ill ,and all good things from evil1 as they strike on the great horologe of ,time1 are set to a growing music by the hand of ,god2 a music which rises and falls as we listen1 but which nevertheless swells through all its saddest cadences and dying falls toward that harmonious close1 that undisturbed concent1 in which all discords will be drowned4 ,,third ,,section4 ,,the ,,quest ,,of ,,the ,,chief ,,good ,,in ,,wealth1 ,,and ,,in ,,the ,,golden ,,mean4 ,,chaps4 ,,vi41 ,,vii41 ,,and ,,viii41 ,,vv4 #a-ae4 ,in the foregoing ,section ,coheleth has shown that the ,chief ,good is not to be found in that ,devotion to the affairs of ,business which was1 and still is1 characteristic of the ,hebrew race4 ,this devotion is commonly inspired either by the desire to amass great wealth1 for the sake of the status1 influence1 and means of lavish enjoyment it is assumed to confer2 or by the more modest desire to secure a competence1 to stand in that golden mean of comfort which is darkened by no harassing fears of future penury or need4 ,by a logical sequence of thought1 therefore1 he advances from his discussion on ,devotion to ,business1 to consider the leading motives by which it is inspired4 ,the questions he now asks and answers are1 in effect1 7#a7 ,will ,wealth confer the good1 the tranquil and enduring satisfaction which men seek8 ,and if not1 7#b7 ,will that moderate provision for the present and for the future to which the more prudent restrict their aim8 ,sidenote3 ,the ,quest in ,wealth4 ,ch4 vi4 ,his discussion of the first of these questions1 although very matterful1 is comparatively brief2 in part1 perhaps1 because in the previous ,section he has already dwelt on many of the drawbacks which accompany wealth2 and still more1 probably1 because1 while there are but few men in any age to whom great wealth is possible1 there would be unusually few in the company of poor men for whose instruction he wrote4 ,brief and simple as the discussion is1 however1 we shall misapprehend it unless we bear in mind that ,coheleth is arguing1 not against wealth1 but against mistaking wealth for the ,chief ,good4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,man who makes ,riches his ,chief ,good is haunted by ,fears and ,perplexities3 ,ch4 vi41 vv4 #a-f4 ,let us observe1 then1 that throughout this sixth ,chapter the ,preacher is dealing with the lover of riches1 not with the rich man2 that he is speaking1 not against wealth1 but against mistaking wealth for the ,chief ,good4 ,the man who trusts in riches is placed before us2 and1 that we may see him at his best1 he has the riches in which he trusts4 ,god has given him his good things1 given him them to the full4 ,he lacks nothing that he desireth--nothing at least that wealth can command4 ,yet1 because he does not accept his abundance as the gift of ,god1 and hold the ,giver better than the gift1 he cannot enjoy it4 ,but how do we know that he has suffered his riches to take an undue place in his regard8 ,we know it by this sure token--that he cannot leave ,god to take care of them1 and of him4 ,he frets about them1 and about what will become of them when he is gone4 ,he has no son1 perchance1 to inherit them1 no child1 only some stranger whom he has adopted 7ver4 #b7--;and almost all childless ,orientals adopt strangers to this day1 as we have found1 to our cost1 in ,india4 ,a profound horror at the thought of being dead to name and fame and use through lack of heirs was1 and is1 very prevalent in the ,east4 ,even faithful ,abraham1 when ,god had promised him the supreme good1 broke out with the remonstrance1 ,what canst ,thou give me when ,i am going off childless1 and have no heir but my body-servant1 ,eliezer of ,damascus8 ,because this feeling lay close to the ,oriental heart1 the ,preacher is at some pains to show what a vanity it is4 ,he argues3 ,even if you should beget a hundred children1 instead of being childless2 even though you should live a thousand years1 and the grave did not wait for you instead of lying close before you3 yet1 so long as you were not content to leave your riches in the hands of ,god1 you would fret and perplex yourself with fears4 ,an abortion would be better off than you1 although it cometh in nothingness and goeth in darkness2 for it would know a rest denied to you1 and sink without apprehension into the 'place' from which all your apprehensions cannot save you 7vv4 #c-f74 ,foolish man6 it is not because you lack an heir that you are perturbed in spirit4 ,if you had one1 you would find some other cause for care2 you would be none the less fretted and perturbed2 for you would still be thinking of your riches rather than of the ,god who gave them1 and still dread the moment in which you must part with them1 in order to return to ,him4 ,sidenote3 ,for ,god has put ,eternity into his ,heart2 ,ch4 vi41 vv4 #g-aj4 ,from this plain practical argument ,coheleth passes to an argument of more philosophic reach4 ,all the labour of this man is for his mouth3 that is to say1 his wealth1 with all that it commands1 appeals only to sense and appetite2 it feeds the lust of the eye1 or the lust of the flesh1 or the pride of life1 and therefore his soul cannot be satisfied therewith 7ver4 #g74 ,that craves a higher nutriment1 a more enduring good4 ,god has put eternity into it3 and how can that which is immortal be contented with the lucky haps and comfortable conditions of time8 ,unless some immortal provision be made for the immortal spirit1 it will pine1 and protest1 and crave1 till all power of happily enjoying outward good be lost4 ,nay1 if the spirit in man be craving and unfed1 whatever his outward conditions1 or his faculty for enjoying them1 he cannot be at rest4 ,the wise man may be able to extract from the gains of time a pleasure denied to the fool2 and the poor man1 his penury preventing him from indulging passion and appetite to satiety1 may have a keener enjoyment of them than the magnate who has tried them to the full and has grown weary of them4 ,in a certain sense1 as compared the one with the other1 the poor man may have an advantage over the rich1 and the wise man over the fool2 for it is better to enjoy the good we have than to crave a good beyond our reach2 and this much the wise man1 or even the poor man1 may achieve4 ,yet1 after all1 what advantage have they8 ,the thirst of the soul is still unslaked2 no sensual or sensuous enjoyment can satisfy that4 ,all human action and enjoyment is under law to ,god4 ,no one is so wise1 or so strong1 as to contend successfully against ,him or his ordinances4 ,and it is ,he who has given men an immortal nature1 with cravings that wander through eternity2 it is ,he who has ordained that they shall know no rest until they rest in ,him 7vv4 #h-aj74 ,sidenote3 ,and much that he gains only feeds ,vanity2 ,ch4 vi41 v4 #aa4 ,look once more at your means and possessions4 ,multiply them as you will4 ,still there are many reasons why if you seek your chief good in them1 they should prove vanity and breed vexation of spirit4 ,one is1 that beyond a certain point you can neither use nor enjoy them4 ,they add to your pomp4 ,they enable you to fill a larger place in the world's eye4 ,they swell and magnify the vain show in which you walk4 ,but1 after all1 they add to your discomfort rather than your comfort4 ,you have so much the more to manage1 and look after1 and take care of3 but you yourself1 instead of being better off than you were1 have only taken a heavier task on your hands4 ,and what advantage is there in that8 ,sidenote3 ,neither can he tell what it will be good for him to have1 ,ch4 vi41 v4 #ab4 ,another reason is1 that it is hard1 so hard as to be impossible1 for you to know what it is good for you to have4 ,that on which you have set your heart may prove to be an evil rather than a good when at last you get it4 ,the fair fruit1 so pleasant and desirable to the eye that1 to posses it1 you were content to labour and deny yourself for years1 may turn to an apple of ,sodom in your mouth1 and yield you1 in place of sweet pulp and juice1 only the bitter ashes of disappointment4 ,sidenote3 ,nor foresee what will become of his ,gains4 ,ch4 vi41 v4 #ab4 ,and a third reason is1 that the more you acquire the more you must dispose of when you are called away from this life3 and who can tell what shall be after him8 ,how are you so to dispose of your gains as to be sure that they will do good and not harm1 and carry comfort to the hearts of those whom you love1 and not breed envy1 alienation1 and strife8 ,these are the ,preacher's arguments against an undue love of riches1 against making them so dear a good that we can neither enjoy them while we have them1 nor trust them to the disposal of ,god when we must leave them behind us4 ,are they not sound arguments8 ,should we be saddened by them1 or comforted8 ,we can only be saddened by them if we love wealth1 or long for it1 with an inordinate desire4 ,if we can trust in ,god to give us all that it will be really good for us to have in return for our honest toil1 the arguments of the ,preacher are full of comfort and hope for us1 whether we be rich or whether we be poor4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,the ,quest in the ,golden ,mean4 ,ch4 vii41 viii41 vv4 #a-ae4 ,there be many that say1 ,who will show us any gold8 mistaking gold for their god or good4 ,for though there can be few in any age to whom great wealth is possible1 there are many who crave it and believe that to have it is to possess the supreme felicity4 ,it is not only the rich who trust in riches4 ,as a rule1 perhaps1 they trust in them less than the poor1 since they have tried them1 and know pretty exactly both how much1 and how little1 they can do4 ,it is those who have not tried them1 and to whom poverty brings many undeniable hardships1 who are most sorely tempted to trust in them as the sovereign remedy for the ills of life4 ,so that the counsels of the sixth chapter may have a wider scope than we sometimes think they have4 ,but1 whether they apply to many or to few1 there can be no doubt that the counsels of the seventh and eighth chapters are applicable to the vast majority of men4 ,for here the ,preacher discusses the ,golden ,mean in which most of us would like to stand4 ,many of us dare not ask for great wealth lest it should prove a burden we could very hardly bear2 but we have no scruple in adopting ,agur's prayer1 ,give me neither poverty nor riches2 ,feed me with food proportioned to my need3 ,let me have a comfortable competence in which ,i shall be at an equal remove from the temptations whether of extreme wealth or of extreme penury4 ,now the endeavour to secure a competence may be1 not lawful only1 but most laudable2 since ,god means us to make the best of the capacities ,he has given us and the opportunities ,he sends us4 ,nevertheless1 we may pursue this right end from a wrong motive1 in a wrong spirit4 ,both spirit and motive are wrong if we pursue our competence as if it were a good so great that we can know no content unless we attain it4 ,for what is it that animates such a pursuit save distrust in the providence of ,god8 ,left in his hands1 we do not feel that we should be safe2 whereas if we had our fortune in our own hands1 and were secured against chances and changes by a few comfortable securities1 we should feel safe enough4 ,this feeling is1 surely1 very general3 we are all of us in danger of slipping into this form of unquiet distrust in the fatherly providence of ,god4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,method of the ,man who seeks a ,competence4 ,ch4 vii41 vv4 #a-ad4 ,because the feeling is both general and strong1 the ,hebrew ,preacher addresses himself to it at some length4 ,his object now is to place before us a man who does not aim at great affluence1 but1 guided by prudence and common sense1 makes it his ruling aim to stand well with his neighbours and to lay by a moderate provision for future wants4 ,the ,preacher opens the discussion by stating the maxims or rules of conduct by which such an one would be apt to guide himself4 ,one of his first aims would be to secure a good name1 since that would prepossess men in his favour1 and open before him many avenues which would otherwise be closed4#da ,just as one entering a crowded ,oriental room with some choice fragrance exhaling from person and apparel would find bright faces turned toward him1 and a ready way opened for his approach1 so the bearer of a good name would find many willing to meet him1 and traffic with him1 and heed him4 ,as the years passed1 his good name1 if he kept it1 would diffuse itself over a wider area with a more pungent effect1 so that the day of his death would be better than the his birth--to leave a good name being so much more honourable than to inherit one 7chap4 vii41 ver4 #a74 #da ,there are three crowns2 of the law1 the priesthood1 and the kingship3 but the crown of a good name is greater than them all4--,,talmud4 ,but how would he go about to acquire his good name8 ,again the answer carries us back to the ,east4 ,nothing is more striking to a ,western traveller than the dignified gravity of the superior ,oriental races4 ,in public they rarely smile1 almost never laugh1 and hardly ever express surprise4 ,cool1 courteous1 self-possessed1 they bear good news or bad1 prosperous or adverse fortune1 with a proud equanimity4 ,this equal mind1 expressing itself in a grave dignified bearing1 is1 with them1 well-nigh indispensable to success in public life4 ,and1 therefore1 our friend in quest of a good name betakes himself to the house of mourning rather than to the house of feasting2 he holds that serious thought on the end of all men is better than the wanton foolish mirth which crackles like thorns under a kettle1 making a great sputter1 but soon going out2 and would rather have his heart bettered by the reproof of the wise than listen to the song of fools over the wine-cup 7vv4 #b-f74 ,knowing that he cannot be much with fools without sharing their folly1 fearing that they may lead him into those excesses in which the wisest mind is infatuated and the kindest heart hardened and corrupted 7ver4 #g71 he elects rather to walk with a sad countenance1 among the wise1 to the house of mourning and meditation1 than to hurry with fools to the banquet in which wine and song and laughter drown serious reflection1 and leave the heart worse than they found it4 ,what though the wise reprove him when he errs8 ,what though1 as he listens to their reproof1 his heart at times grows hot within him8 ,the end of their reproof is better than the beginning 7ver4 #h72 as he reflects upon it1 he learns from it1 profits by it1 and by patient endurance of it wins a good from it which haughty resentment would have cast away4 ,unlike the fools1 therefore1 whose wanton mirth turns into bitter anger at the mere sound of reproof1 he will not suffer his spirit to be hurried into a hot resentment1 but will compel that which injures them to do him good 7ver4 #i74 ,nor will he rail even at the fools who fleet the passing hour1 or account that1 because they are so many and so bold1 the time is out of joint4 ,he will show himself not only wiser than the foolish1 but wiser than many of the wise2 for while they--and here surely the ,preacher hits a very common habit of the studious life--are disposed to look fondly back on some past age as greater or happier than that in which they live1 and ask1 ,how is it that former days were better than these8 he will conclude that the question springs rather from their querulousness than from their wisdom1 and make the best of the time1 and of the conditions of the time1 in which it has pleased ,god to place him 7ver4 #aj74 ,but if any ask1 ,why has he renounced the pursuit of that wealth on which many are bent who are less capable of using it than he8 the answer comes that he has discovered ,wisdom to be as good as ,wealth1 and even better4 ,not only is ,wisdom as secure a defence against the ills of life as ,wealth1 but it has this great advantage--that it fortifies or vivifies the heart1 while wealth often burdens and enfeebles it4 ,wisdom quickens and braces the spirit for any fortune1 gives it new life or new strength1 inspires an inward serenity which does not lie at the mercy of outward accidents 7vv4 #aa1 #ab74 ,it teaches a man to regard all the conditions of life as ordained and shaped by ,god1 and weans him from the vain endeavour1 on which many exhaust their strength1 to straighten that which ,god has made crooked1 that which crosses and thwarts his inclinations 7ver4 #ac72 once let him see that the thing is crooked1 and was meant to be crooked1 and he will accept and adapt himself to it1 instead of wearying himself in futile attempts to make1 or to think1 it straight4 ,and there is one very good reason why ,god should permit many crooks in our lot1 very good reason therefore why a wise man should look on them with an equal mind4 ,for ,god sends the crooked as well as the straight1 adversity as well as prosperity1 in order that we should know that ,he has made this as well as that1 and accept both from his benign hand4 ,he interlaces his providences1 and veils his providences1 in order that1 unable to foresee the future1 we may learn to put our trust in ,him rather than in any earthly good 7ver4 #ad74 ,it therefore behoves a man whose heart has been bettered by much meditation1 and by the reproofs of the wise1 to take both crooked and straight1 both evil and good1 from the hand of ,god1 and to trust in ,him whatever may befall4#db #db ,so in the hymn of ,cleanthes to ,zeus1 as rendered by the ,dean of ,wells3 ,thou alone knowest how to change the odd ,to even1 and to make the crooked straight2 ,and things discordant find accord in ,thee4 ,thus in one whole ,thou blendest ill with good1 ,so that one law works on for evermore4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,perils to which it exposes him4 ,ch4 vii41 v4 #ae-;,ch4 viii41 v4 #ac4 ,so far1 ,i think1 we shall follow and assent to this theory of human life2 our sympathies will go with the man who seeks to acquire a good name1 to grow wise1 to stand in the ,golden ,mean4 ,but when he proceeds to apply his theory1 to deduce practical rules from it1 we can only give him a qualified assent1 nay1 must often altogether withhold our assent4 ,the main conclusion he draws is1 indeed1 quite unobjectionable3 it is1 that in action1 as well as in opinion1 we should avoid excess1 that we should keep the happy mean between intemperance and indifference4 ,sidenote3 ,he is likely to compromise ,conscience3 ,ch4 vii41 vv4 #ae-bj4 ,but the very first moral he infers from this conclusion is open to the most serious objection4 ,he has seen both the righteous die in his righteousness without receiving any reward from it1 and the wicked live long in his wickedness to enjoy his ill-gotten gains4 ,and from these two mysterious facts1 which much exercised many of the ,prophets and ,psalmists of ,israel1 he infers that a prudent man will neither be very righteous1 since he will gain nothing by it1 and may lose the friendship of those who are content with the current morality2 nor very wicked1 since1 though he may lose little by this so long as he lives1 he will very surely hasten his death 7vv4 #af1 #ag74 ,it is the part of prudence to lay hold on both2 to permit a temperate indulgence both in virtue and in vice1 carrying neither to excess 7ver4 #ah7--;a doctrine still very dear to the mere man of the world4 ,in this temperance there lies a strength greater than that of an army in a beleaguered city2 for no righteous man is wholly righteous 7vv4 #ai1 #bj73 to aim at so lofty and ideal will be to attempt to wind ourselves too high for mortal man below the sky2 we shall only fail if we make the attempt2 we shall be grievously disappointed if we expect other men to succeed where we have failed2 we shall lose faith in them1 and in ourselves2 we shall suffer many pangs of shame1 remorse1 and defeated hope3 and1 therefore1 it is well at once to make up our minds that we are1 and need be1 no better than our neighbours1 that we are not to blame ourselves for customary and occasional slips2 that1 if we are but moderate1 we may lay one hand on righteousness and another on wickedness without taking much harm4 ,a most immoral moral1 though it is as popular to-day as it ever was4 ,sidenote3 ,to be indifferent to ,censure3 ,ch4 vii41 vv4 #ba1 #bb4 ,the second rule which this temperate ,monitor infers from his general theory is1 ,that we are not to be overmuch troubled by what people say about us4 ,servants are adduced as an illustration1 partly1 no doubt1 because they are commonly acquainted with their masters' faults1 and partly because they do sometimes speak about them1 and even exaggerate them4 ,let them speak1 is his counsel1 and don't be too curious to know what they say2 you may be sure that they will say pretty much what you often say of your neighbours or superiors2 if they depreciate you1 you depreciate others1 and you can hardly expect a more generous treatment than you accord4 ,now if this moral stood alone1 it would be both shrewd and wholesome4 ,but it does not stand alone2 and in its connection it means1 ,i fear1 that if we take the moderate course prescribed by worldly prudence2 if we are righteous without being too righteous1 and wicked without being too wicked1 and our neighbours should begin to say1 ,he is hardly so good as he seems1 or ,i could tell a tale of him an if ,i would1 we are not to be greatly moved by any such ambiguous givings out2 we are not to be overmuch concerned that our neighbours have discovered our secret slips1 since we have often discovered the like slips in them1 and know very well that there is not on earth a righteous man who doeth good and sinneth not4 ,in short1 as we are not to be too hard on ourselves for an occasional and decorous indulgence in vice1 so neither are we to be very much vexed by the censures which neighbours as guilty as ourselves pass on our conduct4 ,taken in this its connected sense1 the moral is as immoral as that which preceded it4 ,here1 indeed1 our prudent ,monitor drops a hint that he himself is not content with a theory which leads to such results4 ,he has tried this wisdom1 but he is not satisfied with it4 ,he desired a higher wisdom1 suspecting that there must be a nobler theory of life than this2 but it was too far away for him to reach1 too deep for him to fathom4 ,after all his researches that which was far off remained far off1 deep remained deep3 he could not attain the higher wisdom he sought 7vv4 #bc1 #bd74 ,and so he falls back on the wisdom he had tried1 and draws a third moral from it which is somewhat difficult to handle4 ,sidenote3 ,to despise ,women3 ,ch4 vii41 vv4 #be-bi4 ,it is said of an ,english satirist that when any friend confessed himself in trouble and asked his advice1 his first question was1 ,who is she8--taking it for granted that a woman must be at the bottom of the mischief4 ,and the ,hebrew cynic appears to have been of his mind4 ,he cannot but see that the best of men sin sometimes1 that even the most temperate are hurried into excesses which their prudence condemns4 ,and when he turns to discover what it is that bewitches them1 he finds no other solution of the mystery than--,woman4 ,sweet and pleasant as she seems1 she is more bitter than death1 her heart is a snare1 her hands are chains4 ,he whom ,god loves will escape from her net after brief captivity2 only the fool and the sinner are held fast in it 7vv4 #be1 #bf74 ,nor is this a hasty conclusion4 ,our ,hebrew cynic has deliberately gone out1 with the lantern of his wisdom in his hand1 to search for an honest man and an honest woman4 ,he has been scrupulously careful in his search1 taking things1 i4e4 indications of character1 one by one2 but though he has found one honest man in a thousand1 he has never lit on an honest and good woman 7vv4 #bg1 #bh74 ,was not the fault in the eyes of the seeker rather than in the faces into which he peered8 ,perhaps it was4 ,it would be to-day and here2 but was it there and on that far-distant yesterday8 ,the ,orientals would still say ,no4 ,all through the ,east1 from the hour in which ,adam cast the blame of his disobedience on ,eve to the present hour1 men have followed the example of their first father4 ,even ,st4 ,chrysostom1 who should have known better1 affirms that when the devil took from ,job all he had1 he did not take his wife1 because he thought she would greatly help him to conquer that saint of ,god4 ,mohammed sings in the same key with the ,christian ,father3 he affirms that since the creation of the world there have been only four perfect women1 though it a little redeems the cynicism of his speech to learn that1 of these four perfect women1 one was his wife and another his daughter2 for the good man may have meant a compliment to them rather than an insult to the sex4 ,but if there be any truth in this estimate1 if in the ,east the women were1 and are1 worse than the men1 it is the men who have made them what they are4#dc ,robbed of their natural dignity and use as helpmeets1 condemned to be mere toys1 trained only to minister to sense1 what wonder if they have fallen below their due place and honour8 ,of all cowardly cynicisms that surely is the meanest which1 denying women any chance of being good1 condemns them for being bad4 ,our ,hebrew cynic seems to have had some faint sense of his unfairness2 for he concludes his tirade against the sex with the admission that ,god made man upright--the word man here1 as in ,genesis1 standing for the whole race1 male and female--and that if all women1 and nine hundred and ninety-nine men out of every thousand1 have become bad1 it is because they have degraded themselves and one another by the evil devices they have sought out 7ver4 #bi74 #dc ,not1 however1 that the sentiment was confined to the ,east4 ,the ,greek poets have many such sayings as1 ,a woman is a burden full of ills2 and1 ,where women are1 all evils there are found4 ,sidenote3 ,and to be indifferent to ,public ,wrongs4 ,ch4 viii41 vv4 #a-ac4 ,the fourth and last rule inferred from this prudent moderate view of life is1 ,that we are to submit with hopeful resignation to the wrongs which spring from human tyranny and injustice4 ,unclouded by gusts of passion1 the wise temperate ,oriental carries a bright countenance to the king's divan4 ,though the king should rate him with evil words1 he will remember his oath of fealty1 and not rise up in resentment1 still less rush out in open revolt4 ,he knows that the word of a king is potent2 that it will be of no use to show a hot mutinous temper2 that by a meek endurance of wrath he may allay or avert it4 ,he knows1 too1 that obedience and submission are not likely to provoke insult and contumely2 and that if now and then he is exposed to an undeserved insult1 any defence1 and especially an angry defence1 will but damage his cause 7chap4 viii41 vv4 #a-e74 ,moreover1 a man who keeps himself cool and will not permit anger to blind him may1 in the worst event1 foresee that a time of retribution will surely come on the king1 or the satrap1 who is habitually unjust2 that the people will revolt from him and exact heavy penalties for the wrongs they have endured2 that death1 that fell arrest without all bail1 will carry him away4 ,he can see that time of retribution drawing nigh1 although the tyrant1 fooled by impunity1 is not aware of its approach2 he can also see that when it comes it will be as a war in which no furlough is granted1 and whose disastrous close no craft can evade4 ,all this execution of long-delayed justice he has seen again and again2 and therefore he will not suffer his resentment to hurry him into dangerous courses1 but will calmly await the action of those social laws which compel every man to reap the due reward of his deeds 7vv4 #e-i74 ,nevertheless he has also seen times in which retribution did not overtake oppressors2 times even when1 in the person of children as wicked and tyrannical as themselves1 they came again to renew their injustice1 and to blot out the memory of the righteous from the earth 7ver4 #aj74 ,and such times have no more disastrous result than this1 that they undermine faith and subvert morality4 ,men see that no immediate sentence is pronounced against the wicked1 that they live long in their wickedness and beget children to perpetuate it2 and the faith of the good in the overruling providence of ,god is shaken and strained1 while the vast majority of men set themselves to do the evil which flaunts its triumphs before their eyes 7ver4 #aa74 ,none the less the ,preacher is quite sure that it is the part of wisdom to trust in the laws and look for the judgments of ,god3 he is quite sure that the triumph of the wicked will soon pass1 while that of the good will endure 7vv4 #ab1 #ac72 and therefore1 as a man of prudent and forecasting spirit1 he will submit to injustice1 but not inflict it1 or at least not carry it to any dangerous excess4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,preacher condemns this ,theory of ,human ,life1 and declares the ,quest to be still unattained4 ,ch4 viii41 vv4 #ad1 #ae4 ,this is by no means a noble or lofty view of human life2 the line of conduct it prescribes is often as immoral as it is ignoble2 and we may feel some natural surprise at hearing counsels so base from the lips of the inspired ,hebrew ,preacher4 ,but we ought to know him1 and his method of instruction1 well enough by this time to be sure that he is at least as sensible of their baseness as we can be2 that he is here speaking to us1 not in his own person1 but dramatically1 and from the lips of the man who1 that he may secure a good name and an easy position in the world1 is disposed to accommodate himself to the current maxims of his time and company4 ,if we ever had any doubt on this point1 it is set at rest by the closing verses of the ,section before us4 ,for in these verses the ,preacher lowers his mask1 and tells us plainly that we cannot and must not attempt to rest in the theory he has just put before us1 that to follow out its practical corollaries will lead us away from the ,chief ,good1 not toward it4 ,more than once he has already hinted to us that this wisdom is not the highest wisdom2 and now he frankly avows that he is as unsatisfied as ever1 as far as ever from ending his ,quest2 that his last key will not unlock those mysteries of life which have baffled him from the first4 ,he still holds1 indeed1 that it is better to be righteous than to be wicked1 though he now sees that even the prudently righteous often have a wage like that of the wicked1 and that the prudently wicked often have a wage like that of the righteous 7ver4 #ad74 ,this new theory of life1 therefore1 he confesses to be a vanity as great and deceptive as any of those he has hitherto tried4 ,and as even yet it does not suit him to give us his true theory and announce his final conclusion1 he falls back on the conclusion we have so often heard1 that the best thing a man can do is to eat and to drink1 and to carry a clear enjoying temper through all the days1 and all the tasks1 which ,god giveth him under the sun 7ver4 #ae74 ,how this familiar conclusion fits into his final conclusion1 and is part of it1 though not the whole1 we shall see in our study of the next and last section of the ,book4 ,,ii4--,if1 as ,milton sings1 ,to know ,that which before us lies in daily life ,is the prime wisdom1 we are surely much indebted to the ,hebrew ,preacher4 ,he does not sit on a hill apart discussing fate1 freewill1 foreknowledge absolute1 or any lofty abstruse theme4 ,he walks with us1 in the common round1 to the daily task1 and talks to us of that which lies before and around us in our daily life4 ,nor does he speak as one raised high above the folly and weakness by which we are constantly betrayed4 ,he has trodden the very paths we tread4 ,he shares our craving and has pursued our quest after that which is good4 ,he has been misled by the illusions by which we are beguiled4 ,and his aim is to save us from fruitless researches and defeated hopes by placing his experience at our command4 ,he speaks1 therefore1 to our real need1 and speaks with a cordial sympathy which renders his counsel very welcome4 ,we are so made that we can find no rest until we find a supreme ,good1 a ,good which will satisfy all our faculties1 passions1 aspirations4 ,for this we search with ardour2 but our ardour is not always under law to wisdom4 ,we often assume that we have reached our chief ,good while it is still far off1 or that we are at least looking for it in the right direction when in truth we have turned our back upon it4 ,sometimes we seek for it in the pursuit of knowledge1 sometimes in pleasure and self-indulgence1 sometimes in fervent devotion to secular affairs2 sometimes in love1 sometimes in wealth1 and sometimes in a modest yet competent provision for our future wants4 ,and if1 when we have acquired the special good we seek1 we find that our hearts are still craving and restless1 still hungering for a larger good1 we are apt to think that if we had a little more of that which so far has disappointed us2 if we were somewhat wiser1 or if our pleasures were more varied2 if we had a little more love or a larger estate1 all would be well with us1 and we should be at peace4 ,perhaps in time we get our little more1 but still our hearts do not cry1 ,hold1 enough6--enough being always a little more than we have2 till at last1 weary and disappointed in our quest1 we begin to despair of ourselves and to distrust the goodness of ,god4 ,if ,god be good1 we ask1 why has ,he made us thus--always seeking yet never finding1 urged on by imperious appetites which are never satisfied1 impelled by hopes which for ever elude our grasp8 ,and because we cannot answer the question1 we cry out1 ,vanity of vanities6 all is vanity and vexation of spirit6 ,ah1 no1 replies the kindly ,preacher who has himself known this despairing mood and surmounted it2 no1 all is not vanity4 ,there is a chief ,good1 a satisfying ,good1 although you have not found it yet2 and you have not found it because you have not looked for it where alone it can be found4 ,once take the right path1 follow the right clue1 and you will find a ,good which will make all else good to you1 a ,good which will lend a new sweetness to your wisdom and your mirth1 your labour and your gain4 ,but men are very slow to believe that they have wasted their time and strength1 that they have wholly mistaken their path2 they are reluctant to believe that a little more of that of which they have already acquired so much1 and which they have always held to be best1 will not yield them the satisfaction they seek4 ,and therefore the wise ,preacher1 instead of telling us at once where the true ,good is to be found1 takes much pains to convince us that it is not to be found where we have been wont to seek it4 ,he places before us a man of the largest wisdom1 whose pleasures were exquisitely varied and combined1 a man whose devotion to affairs was the most perfect and successful1 a man of imperial nature and wealth1 and whose heart had glowed with all the fervours of love3 and this man--himself under a thin disguise--so rarely gifted and of such ample conditions1 confesses that he could not find the ,chief ,good in any one of the directions in which we commonly seek it1 although he had travelled farther in every direction than we can hope to go4 ,if we are of a rational temper1 if we are open to argument and persuasion1 if we are not resolved to buy our own experience at a heavy1 perhaps a ruinous1 cost1 how can we but accept the wise ,hebrew's counsel1 and cease to look for the satisfying ,good in quarters in which he assures us it is not to be found8 ,we have already considered his argument as it bore on the men of his own time2 we have now to make its application to our own age4 ,as his custom is1 the ,preacher does not develop his argument in open logical sequence2 he does not write a moral essay1 but paints us a dramatic picture4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,the ,quest in ,wealth4 ,ch4 vi4 ,he depicts a man who trusts in riches1 who honestly believes that wealth is the chief ,good1 or1 at lowest1 the way to it4 ,this man has laboured diligently and dexterously to acquire affluence1 and he has acquired it4 ,like the rich man of the ,parable1 he has much goods1 and barns that grow fuller as they grow bigger4 ,god has given him riches and wealth and abundance1 so that his soul--not having learned how to look for anything higher--lacks nothing of all that it desireth4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,man who makes ,riches his ,chief ,good is haunted by ,fears and ,perplexities4 ,ch4 vi41 vv4 #a-f4 ,he has reached his aim1 then1 acquired what he holds to be good4 ,can he not be content with it8 ,no2 for though he bids his soul make merry and be glad1 it obstinately refuses to obey4 ,it is darkened with perplexities1 haunted by vague longings1 fretted and stung with perpetual care4 ,now that he has his riches1 he goes in dread lest he should lose them2 he is unable to decide how he may best employ them1 or how to dispose of them when he must leave them behind him4 ,god has given them to him2 but he is not at all sure that ,god will show an equal wisdom in giving them to some one else when he is gone4 ,and so the poor rich man sits steeped in wealth up to his chin--up to his chin1 but not up to his lips1 for he has no power to enjoy it4 ,burdened with jealous care1 he grudges that others should share what he cannot enjoy1 grudges above all that1 when he is dead1 another should possess what has been of so little comfort to him4 ,if thou art rich1 says ,shakespeare1 thou art poor2 ,for like an ass whose back with ingots bows1 ,thou bearest thy heavy riches but a journey1 ,and ,death unloads thee4 ,but our rich man is not only like an ass2 he is even more stupid3 for the ass would not have his back bent even with golden ingots if he could help it1 and is only too thankful when the burden is lifted from his back2 while the rich man not only will plod on beneath his heavy load1 but1 in his dread of being unladen at his journey's end1 imposes on himself a burden heavier than all his ingots1 and will bear that as well as his gold4 ,he creeps along beneath his double load1 and brays quite pitifully if you so much as put out a hand to ease him4 ,sidenote3 ,much that he gains only feeds ,vanity4 ,chap4 vi41 v4 #aa4 ,sidenote3 ,he cannot tell what it will be good for him to have2 ,chap4 vi41 v4 #ab4 ,sidenote3 ,nor foresee what will become of his ,gains3 ,chap4 vi41 v4 #ab4 ,it is not of much use1 perhaps1 to argue with one so besotted2 but lest we should slip into his degraded estate1 the ,preacher points out for our instruction the source of his disquiet1 and shows why it is impossible in the very nature of things that he should know content4 ,among other sources of disquiet he notes these three4 7#a7 ,that there are many things which increase vanity3 that is to say1 many of the acquisitions of the rich man only augment his outward pomp and state4 ,beyond a certain point he cannot possibly enjoy the good things he possesses2 he cannot1 for instance1 live in all his costly mansions at once1 nor eat and drink all the sumptuous fare set on his table1 nor carry his whole wardrobe on his back4 ,he is hampered with superfluities which breed care1 but yield him no comfort4 ,and1 as he grudges that others should enjoy them1 all this abundance1 all that goes beyond his personal gratification1 so far from being an advantage to him1 is only a burden and a torment4 7#b7 ,another source of disquiet is1 that no man1 not even he1 can tell what is good for man in life1 what will be really helpful and pleasant to him4 ,many things which attract desire pall upon the taste4 ,and as the day of our vain life is brief1 gone like a shadow1 he may flit away before he has had a chance of using much that he has laboriously acquired4 7#c7 ,and a third source of disquiet is1 that the more a man has the more he must leave3 and this is a fact which cuts him two ways1 with a keen double edge4 ,for the more he has the less he likes leaving it2 and the more he has the more is he puzzled how to leave it4 ,he cannot tell what shall be after him1 and so he makes one will to-day and another to-morrow1 and very likely dies intestate after all4 ,is not that a true picture1 a picture true to life8 ,bulwer ,lytton tells us how one of our wealthiest peers once complained to him that he was never so happy and well-served as when he was a bachelor in chambers2 that his splendid mansion was a dreary solitude to him1 and the long train of domestics his masters rather than his servants4 ,and more than once he depicts1 as in ,the ,caxtons1 a man of immense fortune and estate as so occupied in learning and discharging the heavy duties of property1 so tied and hampered by the thought of what was expected of him1 as to fret under a constant weight of care and to lose all the sweet uses of life4 ,and have not we ourselves known men who have grown more penurious as they have grown richer1 men unable to decide what it would be really good or even pleasant for them to do1 more and more anxious as to how they should devise their abundance8 ,i am a poor rich man1 burdened with money2 but ,i have nothing else1 was the saying of a notorious millionaire1 who died while he was signing a cheque for ,l#aj1jjj1 some twenty years ago4 ,sidenote3 ,and because ,god has put ,eternity into his ,heart1 ,he cannot be content with ,temporal ,good4 ,ch4 vi41 vv4 #g-aj4 ,but the ,hebrew ,preacher is not content to paint a picture of the ,rich ,man and his perplexities--a picture as true to the life now as it was then4 ,he also points out how it is that the lover of riches came to be the man he is1 and why he can never lay hold on the supreme ,good4 ,all the labour of this man is for his mouth1 for the senses and whatever gratifies sense2 and therefore1 however prosperous he may be1 yet his soul cannot be satisfied4 ,for the soul is not fed by that which feeds the senses4 ,god has put eternity into it4 ,it craves an eternal sustenance4 ,it cannot rest till it gains access to the living water1 and the meat which endureth1 and the good wine of the kingdom4 ,a beast--if indeed beasts have no souls1 which ,i neither deny nor admit--may be content if only he be placed in comfortable outward conditions2 but a man1 simply because he is a man1 must have a wholesome and happy inward life before he can be content4 ,his hunger and thirst after righteousness must be satisfied4 ,he must know that1 when flesh and heart fail him1 he will be received into an eternal habitation4 ,he must have a treasure which the moth cannot corrupt1 nor the thief filch from him4 ,we cannot escape our nature any more than we can jump off our shadow2 and our very nature cries out for an immortal good4 ,hence it is that the rich man who trusts in his riches1 and not in the ,god who gave them to him1 carries within him a hungry craving soul4 ,hence it is that all who trust in riches1 and hold them to be the ,chief ,good1 are restless and unsatisfied4 ,for1 as the ,preacher reminds us1 it is very true both that the rich man may not be a fool1 and that the poor man may trust in the riches he has not won4 ,by virtue of his wisdom1 the wise rich man may so vary and combine the good things of this life as to win from them a gratification denied to the sot whose sordid heart is set on gold2 and the poor man1 because he has so few of the enjoyments which wealth can buy1 may snatch at the few that come his way with the violent delight which has violent ends4 ,both may enjoy the good they have rather than crave a good beyond their 7present7 reach3 but if they mistake that good for the ,supreme ,good1 neither their poverty nor their wisdom will save them from the misery of a fatal mistake4 ,for they too have souls1 are souls2 and the soul is not to be satisfied with that which goes in at the mouth4 ,wise or foolish1 rich or poor1 whosoever trusts in riches is either like the ass whose back is bent with a weight of gold1 or he is worse than the ass1 and longs to take a burden on his back of which only ,death can unlade him4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,the ,quest in the ,golden ,mean4 ,ch4 vii41 v4 #a-;,ch4 viii41 v4 #ae4 #b4 ,but now1 to come closer home1 to draw nearer to that prime wisdom which consists in knowing that which lies before us in our daily life1 let us glance at the ,man who aims to stand in the ,golden ,mean2 the man who does not aspire to heap up a great fortune1 but is anxious to secure a modest competence4 ,he is more on our own level2 for our trust in riches is1 for the most part1 qualified by other trusts4 ,if we believe in ,gold1 we also believe in ,wisdom and in ,mirth2 if we labour to provide for the future1 we also wish to use and enjoy the present4 ,we think it well that we should know something of the world about us1 and take some pleasure in our life4 ,we think that to put money in our purse should not be our only aim1 though it should be a leading aim4 ,we admit that the love of money is a root of all evil--one of the roots from which all forms and kinds of evil may spring2 and1 to save ourselves from falling into that base lust1 we limit our desires4 ,we shall be content if we can put by a moderate sum1 and we flatter ourselves that we desire even so much as that1 not for its own sake1 but for the means of knowledge1 or of usefulness1 or of innocent enjoyment with which it will furnish us4 ,nothing ,i should like better1 says many a man1 than to retire from business as soon as ,i have enough to live upon1 and to devote myself to this branch of study or that province of art1 or to take my share of public duties1 or to give myself to a cheerful domestic life4 ,it speaks well for our time1 ,i think1 that while in a few large cities there are still many in haste to be rich and very rich1 in the country and in hundreds of provincial towns there are thousands of men who know that wealth is not the ,chief ,good1 and who do not care to don the livery of ,mammon4 ,nevertheless1 though their aim be most sweet and commendable1 it has perils of its own1 imminent and deadly perils1 which few of us altogether escape4 ,and these perils are clearly set before us in the sketch of the ,hebrew ,preacher4 ,as ,i reproduce that sketch1 suffer me1 for the sake of brevity1 while carefully retaining the antique outlines1 to fill in with modern details4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,method of the ,man who seeks a ,competence4 ,ch4 viii41 vv4 #a-ad4 ,suppose a young man to start in life with this theory1 this plan1 this aim1 distinctly before him3--he is to be ruled by prudence and plain common sense3 he will try to stand well with the world1 and to make a moderate provision for future wants4 ,this aim will beget a certain temperance of thought and action4 ,he will permit himself no extravagances--no wandering out of bounds1 and perhaps no enthusiasms1 for he wants to establish a good name1 a good reputation1 which shall go before him like a sweet perfume and dispose men's hearts toward him4 ,and1 therefore1 he carries a sober face1 frequents the company of older1 wiser men1 is grateful for any hints their experience may furnish1 and takes even their reproof with a good grace4 ,he walks in the beaten paths1 knowing the world to be impatient of novelties4 ,the wanton mirth and crackling laughter of fools in the house of feasting are not for him4 ,he is not to be seduced from the plain prudent course which he has marked out for himself whether by inward provocation or outward allurements4 ,if he is a young lawyer1 he will write no poetry1 attorneys holding literary men in suspicion4 ,if he is a young doctor1 homoeopathy1 hydropathy1 and all new-fangled schemes of medicine will disclose their charms to him in vain4 ,if he is a young clergyman1 he will be conspicuous for his orthodoxy1 and for his emphatic assent to all that the leaders of opinion in the ,church think or may think4 ,if he is a young manufacturer or merchant1 he will be no breeder of costly patents and inventions1 but will be among the first to profit by them whenever they are found to pay4 ,whatever he may be1 he will not be of those who try to make crooked things straight and rough places plain4 ,he wants to get on2 and the best way to get on is to keep the beaten path and push forward in that4 ,and he will be patient--not throwing up the game because for a time the chances go against him1 but waiting till the times mend and his chances improve1 so far as he can1 he will keep the middle of the stream that1 when the tide which leads on to fortune sets in1 he may be of the best to take it at the flood and sail easily on to his desired haven4 ,in all this there may be no conscious insincerity1 and not much perhaps that calls for censure4 ,for all young men are not wise with the highest wisdom1 nor original1 nor brave with the courage which follows ,truth in scorn of consequence4 ,and our young man may not be dowered with the love of loves1 the hate of hates1 the scorn of scorns4 ,he may be of a nature essentially prudent and commonplace1 or training and habit may have superinduced a second nature4 ,to him a primrose may be a primrose and nothing more2 his instinctive thought1 as he looks at it1 may be how he can reproduce its colour in some of his textures or extract a saleable perfume from its nectared cup4 ,he may even think that primroses are a mistake1 and that 'tis pity they were not pot-herbs2 or he may assume that he shall have plenty of time to gather primroses by-and-bye1 but that for the present he must be content to pick pot-herbs for the market4 ,in his way1 he may even be a religious man2 he may admit that both prosperity and adversity are of ,god1 that we must take patiently whatever ,he may send2 and he may heartily desire to be on good terms with ,him who alone can order all things as ,he please4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,perils to which it exposes him4 ,ch4 vii41 v4 #ae-;,ch4 viii41 v4 #ac4 ,sidenote3 ,he is likely to compromise ,conscience2 ,ch4 vii41 vv4 #ae-bj4 ,but here we light on his first grave peril2 for he will carry his temperance into his religion1 and he may subordinate even that to his desire to get on4 ,looking on men in their religious aspect1 he sees that they are divided into two classes1 the righteous and the wicked4 ,as he considers them1 he concludes that on the whole the righteous have the best of it1 that godliness is real gain4 ,but he soon discovers that this first rough conclusion needs to be carefully qualified4 ,for1 as he studies men more closely1 he perceives that at times the righteous die in their righteousness without being the better for it1 and the wicked live on in their wickedness without being the worse for it4 ,he perceives that while the very wicked die before their time1 the very righteous1 those who are always reaching forth to that which is before them and rising to new heights of insight and obedience1 are forsaken1 that they are left alone in the thinly-peopled solitude to which they have climbed1 losing the sympathy even of those who once walked with them4 ,now1 these are facts2 and a prudent sensible man tries to accept facts1 and to adjust himself to them1 even when they are adverse to his wishes and conclusions4 ,he does not want to be left alone1 nor to die before his time4 ,and therefore1 taking these new facts into account1 he infers that it will be best to be good without being too good1 and to indulge himself with an occasional lapse into some general and customary wickedness without being too wicked4 ,nay1 he is disposed to believe that whoso feareth ,god1 studying the facts of his providence and drawing logical inferences from them1 will lay hold of both wickedness and righteousness1 and will blend them in that proportion which the facts seem to favour4 ,but here ,conscience protests1 urging that to do evil can never be good4 ,to pacify it1 he adduces the notorious fact that there is not a righteous man on earth who doeth good1 and sinneth not4 ,conscience1 he says1 you are really too strict and straitlaced1 too hard on one who wants to do as well as he can4 ,you go quite too far4 ,how can you expect me to be better than great saints and men after ,god's own heart8 ,and so1 with a wronged and pious air1 he turns to lay one hand on wickedness and another on righteousness1 quite content to be no better than his neighbours and to let ,conscience sulk herself into a sweeter mood4 ,sidenote3 ,to be indifferent to ,censure2 ,ch4 vii41 vv4 #ba1 #bb4 ,conscience being silenced1 ,prudence steps in4 ,and ,prudence says1 ,people will talk4 ,they will take note of your slips1 and tattle about them4 ,unless you are very very careful1 you will damage your reputation2 and if you do that1 how can you hope to get on8 ,now as the man is specially devoted to ,prudence1 and has found her kind mistress and useful monitress in one1 he is at first a little staggered to find her taking part against him4 ,but he soon recovers himself1 and replies3 ,dear ,prudence1 you know as well as ,i do that people don't like a man to be better than themselves4 ,of course they will talk if they catch me tripping2 but ,i don't mean to do more than trip1 and a man who trips gains ground in recovering himself1 and goes all the faster for a while4 ,besides we all trip2 some fall even4 ,and ,i talk of my neighbours just as they talk of me2 and we all like each other the better for being birds of one feather4 ,sidenote3 ,to despise ,women2 ,ch4 vii41 vv4 #be-bi4 ,at this ,prudence smiles and stops her mouth4 ,but being very willing to assist so quick-witted a disciple1 she presently returns and says3 ,are you not rather a long while in securing your little ,competence8 ,is there no short cut to it8 ,why not take a wife with a small fortune of her own1 or with connexions who could help you on8 ,now the man1 not being a bad man1 but one who would fain be good so far as he knows goodness1 is somewhat taken aback by such a suggestion as this4 ,he thinks ,prudence must be growing very worldly and mercenary4 ,he says within himself1 ,surely love should be sacred6 ,a man should not prostitute that in order to get on6 ,if ,i marry a woman simply or mainly for her money1 what worse degradation can ,i inflict on her or on myself8 how shall ,i be better than those old ,hebrews and ,orientals who held women to be only a toy or a convenience8 ,to do that1 would be to make a snare and a net of her indeed1 to degrade her from her true place and function1 and possibly would lead me to think of her as even worse than ,i had made her4 ,nevertheless1 his heart being very much set on securing a ,competence1 and an accident of the sort which he calls providences putting a foolish woman with a pocketful of money in his way1 he takes both the counsel of ,prudence and a wife to match4 ,sidenote3 ,and to be indifferent to ,public ,wrongs4 ,ch4 viii41 vv4 #a-ac4 ,the world1 we may be sure1 thinks none the worse of him for that4 ,once more he has proved himself a man whose eye is stedfastly bent on the main chance1 and who knows how to seize occasions as they rise4 ,but he1 who has thus profaned the inner sanctuary of his own soul1 is not likely to be sensitive to the large claims of public duty4 ,if he sees oppression1 if the tyranny of a man or a class mounts to a height which calls for rebuke and opposition1 he is not likely to sacrifice comfort and risk either property or popularity that he may assail iniquity in her strong places4 ,it is not such men as he who1 when the times are out of joint1 feel that they are born to set them right4 ,prudence is still his guide1 and ,prudence says1 ,let things alone2 they will right themselves in time4 ,the social laws will avenge themselves on the head of the oppressor1 and deliver the oppressed4 ,you can do little to hasten their action4 ,why1 to gain so little1 should you risk so much8 ,and the man is content to sit still with folded hands when every hand that can strike a blow for right is wanted in the strife1 and can even quote texts of ,scripture to prove that in quietness1 and confidence in the action of ,divine ,laws1 is the true strength4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,preacher condemns this ,theory1 and declares the ,quest to be still unattained4 ,ch4 vii41 vv4 #ad1 #ae4 ,now ,i make my appeal to those who daily enter the world of business--is not this the tone of that world8 are not these the very perils to which you lie open8 ,how often have you heard men recount the slips of the righteous in order to justify themselves for not assuming to be righteous overmuch6 ,how often have you heard them vindicate their own occasional errors by citing the errors of those who give greater heed to religion than they do1 or make a louder profession of it6 ,how often have you heard them congratulate a neighbour on his good luck in carrying off an heiress1 or speak of wedded love itself as a mere help to worldly advancement6 ,how often have you heard them sneer at the nonsensical enthusiasm which has led certain men to throw away their chances in life in order to devote themselves to the service of truth1 or to forfeit popularity that they might lead a forlorn hope against customary wrongs1 and thank ,god that no such maggot ever bit their brains6 ,if during the years which have lapsed since ,i too went on ',change1 the general tone has not risen a whole heaven--and ,i have heard of no such miracle--,i know that you must daily hear such things as these1 and worse than these2 and that not only from irreligious men of bad character1 but from men who take a fair place in our ,christian congregations4 ,from the time of the wise ,preacher to the present hour1 this sort of talk has been going on1 and the scheme of life from which it springs has been stoutly held4 ,there is the more need1 therefore1 for you to listen to and weigh the ,preacher's conclusion4 ,for his conclusion is1 that this scheme of life is wholly and irredeemably wrong1 that it tends to make a man a coward and a slave1 that it cannot satisfy the large desires of the soul1 and that it cheats him of the ,chief ,good4 ,his conclusion is1 that the man who so sets his heart on acquiring even a ,competence that he cannot be content without it1 has no genuine trust in ,god1 since he is willing to give in to immoral maxims and customs in order to secure that which1 as he thinks1 will make him largely independent of the ,divine ,providence4 ,the ,preacher speaks as to wise men1 to men of some experience of the world4 ,judge you what he says4 ,,fourth ,,section4 ,,the ,,quest ,,achieved4 ,,the ,,chief ,,good ,,is ,,to ,,be ,,found1 ,,not ,,in ,,wisdom1 ,,nor ,,in ,,pleasure1 ,,nor ,,in ,,devotion ,,to ,,affairs ,,and ,,its ,,rewards2 ,,but ,,in ,a ,,wise ,,use ,,and ,a ,,wise ,,enjoyment ,,of ,,the ,,present ,,life1 ,,combined ,,with ,a ,,stedfast ,,faith ,,in ,,the ,,life ,,to ,,come4 ,,chap4 ,,viii41 ,,ver4 #af1 ,,to ,,chap4 ,,xii41 ,,ver4 #g4 ,at last we approach the end of our ,quest4 ,the ,preacher has found the ,chief ,good1 and will show us where to find it4 ,but are we even yet prepared to welcome it and to lay hold of it8 ,apparently he thinks we are not4 ,for1 though he has already warned us that it is not to be found in ,wealth or ,industry1 in ,pleasure or ,wisdom1 he repeats his warning in this last ,section of his ,book1 as if he still suspected us of hankering after our old errors4 ,not till he has again assured us that we shall miss our mark if we seek the supreme ,good in any of the directions in which it is commonly sought1 does he direct us to the sole path in which we shall not seek in vain4 ,once more1 therefore1 we must gird up the loins of our mind to follow him along his several lines of thought1 encouraged by the assurance that the end of our journey is not now far off4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,chief ,good not to be found in ,wisdom3 ,ch4 viii41 v4 #af-;,ch4 ix41 v4 #f4 #a4 ,the ,preacher commences this ,section by carefully defining his position and equipment as he starts on his final course4 ,as yet he carries no lamp of ,revelation in his hand1 although he will not venture beyond a certain point without it4 ,for the present he will trust to ,reason and ,experience1 and mark the conclusions to which these conduct when unaided by any direct light from ,heaven4 ,his first conclusion is that ,wisdom1 which of all temporal goods still stands foremost with him1 is incapable of yielding a true content4 ,much as it can do for man1 it cannot solve the moral problems which task and afflict his heart1 the problems which he must solve before he can be at peace4 ,he may be so bent on solving these by ,wisdom as to see no sleep with his eyes by day or night2 he may rely on ,wisdom with a confidence so genuine as to suppose at times that by its help he has found out all the work of ,god--really solved all the mysteries of the ,divine ,providence2 but nevertheless he has not found it out2 the illusion will soon pass1 and the unsolved mysteries reappear dark and sombre as of old 7chap4 viii41 vv4 #af1 #ag74 ,and the proof that he has failed is1 first1 that he is as incompetent to foresee the future as those who are not so wise as he4 ,with all his sagacity1 he cannot tell whether he shall meet the love or the hatred of his fellows4 ,his lot is as closely hidden in the hand of ,god as theirs1 although he may be as much better as he is wiser than they 7chap4 ix41 ver4 #a74 ,a second proof is that the same fate overtakes both the wise and the foolish1 the righteous and the wicked1 and he is as unable to escape it as any of his neighbours4 ,all die2 and to men ignorant of the heavenly hope of the ,gospel the indiscrimination of ,death seems the most cruel and hopeless of wrongs4 ,the ,preacher1 indeed1 is not ignorant of that bright hope2 but as yet he has not taken the lamp of ,revelation into his hand3 he is simply speaking the thought of those who have no higher guide than ,reason1 no brighter light than ,reflection4 ,and to these1 their wisdom having taught them that to do right is infinitely better than to do wrong1 no fact was so monstrous and inscrutable as that their lives should run to the same disastrous close with the lives of evil and violent men1 that all alike should fall into the hands of that churl1 ,death4 ,as they revolved this fact1 their hearts grew hot with a fierce resentment as natural as it was impotent1 a resentment all the hotter because they knew how impotent it was4 ,therefore the ,preacher dwells on this fact1 lingers over his description of it1 adding touch to touch4 ,one fate comes to all1 he says1 to the righteous and to the wicked1 to the pure and to the impure1 to the religious and to the irreligious1 to the profane and to the reverent4 ,if death be a good1 the maddest fool and the vilest reprobate share it with the sage and the saint4 ,if death be an evil1 it is inflicted on the good as well as on the bad4 ,none is exempt4 ,of all wrongs this is the greatest2 of all problems this is the most insoluble4 ,nor is there any doubt as to the nature of death4 ,to him for whom there shines no light of hope behind the darkness of the grave1 death is the supreme evil4 ,for to the living1 however deject and wretched1 there is still some hope that times may mend3 even though in outward condition despicable as that unclean outcast1 a dog--the homeless and masterless scavenger of ,eastern cities--he has some advantage over the royal lion who1 once couched on a throne1 now lies in the dust rotting to dust4 ,the living know at least that they must die2 but the dead know not anything4 ,the living can recall the past1 and their memory harps fondly on notes which were once most sweet2 but the very memory of the dead has perished1 no music of the happy past can revive on their dulled sense1 nor will any recall their names4 ,the heavens are fair2 the earth is beautiful and generous2 the works of men are many and diverse and great2 but they have no more any portion for ever in ought that is done under the sun 7vv4 #b-f74 ,this is the ,preacher's description of the hapless estate of the dead4 ,his words would go straight home to the hearts of the men for whom he wrote1 with a force even beyond that which they would have for heathen races4 ,in their ,captivity1 they had renounced the worship of idols4 ,they had renewed their covenant with ,jehovah4 ,many of them were devoutly attached to the ordinances and commandments which they and their fathers had neglected in happier and more prosperous years4 ,yet their lives were made bitter to them with cruel bondage1 and they had as little hope in their death as the ,persians who embittered their lives1 and probably even less4 ,it was in this sore strait1 and under the strong compulsions of this dreadful extremity1 that the more studious and pious of their rabbis1 like the ,preacher himself1 drew into an expressive context the passages scattered through their ,sacred ,books which hinted at a retributive life beyond the tomb1 and settled into that firm persuasion of the immortality of the soul which1 as a rule1 they never henceforth altogether let go4 ,but when the ,preacher wrote1 this settled and general conviction had not been reached4 ,there were many among them who1 as their thoughts circled round the mystery of death1 could only cry1 ,is this the end8 is this the end8 ,to the great majority of them it seemed the end4 ,and even the few1 who sought an answer to the question by blending the ,greek and ,oriental with the ,hebrew ,wisdom1 attained no clear answer to it4 ,to mere human wisdom1 ,life remained a mystery1 and ,death a mystery still more cruel and impenetrable4 ,only those who listened to the ,preachers and ,prophets taught of ,god beheld the dawn which already began to glimmer on the darkness in which men sat4 ,sidenote3 ,nor in ,pleasure3 ,ch4 ix41 vv4 #g-ab4 ,imagine1 then1 a ,jew brought to the bitter pass which ,coheleth has described4 ,he has acquainted himself with ,wisdom1 native and foreign2 and wisdom has led him to conclusions of virtue4 ,nor is he of those who love virtue as they love music--without practising it4 ,believing that a righteous and religious carriage of himself will ensure happiness and equip him to encounter the problems of life1 he has striven to be good and pure1 to offer his sacrifices and pay his vows4 ,but he has found that1 despite his best endeavours1 his life is not tranquil1 that the very calamities which overtake the wicked overtake him1 that that wise carriage of himself by which he thought to win love has provoked hatred1 that death remains a frowning and inhospitable mystery4 ,he hates death1 and has no great love for the life which has brought him only labour and disappointment4 ,where is he likely to turn next8 ,wisdom having failed him1 to what will he apply8 ,at what conclusion will he arrive8 ,will not his conclusion be that standing conclusion of the baffled and the hapless1 ,let us eat and drink for to-morrow we die8 ,will he not say1 ,why should ,i weary myself any more with studies which yield no certain science1 and self-denials which meet with no reward8 ,if a wise and pure conduct cannot secure me from the evils ,i dread1 let me at least try to forget them and to grasp such poor delights as are still within my reach8 ,this1 at all events1 is the conclusion in which the ,preacher lands him2 and hence he takes occasion to review the pretensions of ,pleasure or ,mirth4 ,to the baffled and hopeless devotee of ,wisdom he says1 ,go1 then1 eat thy bread with gladness1 and drink thy wine with a merry heart4 ,cease to trouble yourself about ,god and ,his judgments4 ,he1 as you have seen1 does not mete out rewards and punishments according to our merit or demerit2 and as ,he does not punish the wicked after their deserts1 you may be sure that ,he has long since accepted your wise virtuous endeavours1 and will keep no score against you4 ,deck yourself in white festive garments2 let no perfume be lacking to your head2 add to your harem any woman who charms your eye3 and1 as the day of your life is brief at the best1 let no hour of it slip by unenjoyed4 ,as you have chosen ,mirth for your portion1 be as merry as you may4 ,whatever you can get1 get2 whatever you can do1 do4 ,you are on the road to the dark dismal grave where there is no work nor device2 there is1 therefore1 the more reason why your journey should be a merry one 7vv4 #g-aj74 ,thus the ,preacher describes the ,man of ,pleasure1 and the maxims by which he rules his life4 ,how true the description is ,i need not tarry to prove2 'tis a point every man can judge for himself4 ,judge also whether the warning which the ,preacher subjoins be not equally true to experience 7vv4 #aa1 #ab74 ,for1 after having depicted1 or personated1 the ,man who trusts in ,wisdom1 and the ,man who devotes himself to ,pleasure1 he proceeds to show that even the ,man who blends mirth with study1 whose wisdom preserves him from the disgusts of satiety and vulgar lust1 is nevertheless--to say nothing of the ,chief ,good--very far from having reached a certain good4 ,then1 at least1 the race was not 7always7 to the swift1 nor the battle to the strong2 neither was bread to the wise1 nor riches to the intelligent1 nor favour to the learned4 ,those who had the fairest chances had not always the happiest success2 nor did those who bent themselves most strongly to their ends always reach their ends4 ,those who were wanton as birds1 or heedless as fish1 were often taken in the snare of calamity or swept up by the net of misfortune4 ,at any moment a killing frost might blight all the growths of ,wisdom and destroy all the sweet fruits of ,pleasure3 and if they had only these1 what could they do but starve when they were gone8 ,the good which was at the mercy of accident1 which might vanish before the instant touch of disease or loss or pain1 was not worthy to be1 or to be compared with1 the ,chief ,good1 which is a good for all times1 in all accidents and conditions1 and renders him who has it equal to all events4 ,sidenote3 ,nor in ,devotion to ,affairs and its ,rewards4 ,ch4 ix41 v4 #ac-;,ch4 x41 v4 #bj4 ,so far1 then1 ,coheleth has been occupied in retracing the argument of the first ,section of the ,book4 ,now he returns upon the second and third ,sections3 he deals with the man who plunges into public affairs1 who turns his wisdom to practical account1 and seeks to attain a competence1 if not a fortune4 ,he lingers over this stage of his argument1 probably because the ,jews1 then as always1 even in exile and under the most cruel oppression1 were a remarkably energetic1 practical1 money-getting race1 with a singular faculty of dealing with political issues or handling the market2 and1 as he slowly pursues it1 he drops many hints of the social and political conditions of the time4 ,two features of it he takes much to heart3 first1 that wisdom1 even of the most practical and sagacious sort1 did not win its fair recognition and reward--a very natural complaint in so wise a man2 and1 secondly1 that his people were under tyrants so gross1 self-indulgent1 indolent1 and unstatesman-like as the ,persians of his day--also a natural complaint in a man of so wise and patriotic a spirit4 ,he opens with an anecdote in proof of the slight regard in which the most valuable and remunerative sagacity was held4 ,he tells us of a poor man--and ,i have sometimes thought that this poor man may have been the ,author himself2 for the military leaders of the ,jews1 though among the most expert strategists of that era1 were often very learned and studious men--who lived in a little city1 with only a few inhabitants4 ,a great king came up against the city1 besieged it1 threw up the lofty military causeway1 as high as the walls1 from which it was the fashion of the time to deliver the assault4 ,by his ,archimedian wit the poor man hit on a stratagem which saved the city2 but though his service was so signal1 and the city so little that the few men in it must have seen him every day1 yet no one remembered that same poor man1 or lent a hand to lift him from his poverty4 ,wise as he was1 his wisdom did not bring him bread1 nor riches1 nor favour 7vv4 #ac-ae74 ,therefore1 concludes the ,preacher1 wisdom1 great gift though it is1 and better1 as in this instance1 than an army to a beleaguered city 7chap1 vii41 ver4 #ai71 is not of itself sufficient to secure success4 ,a poor man's wisdom--as many an inventor has found--is despised even by those who profit by it4 ,although his counsel1 in the day of extremity1 is infinitely more valuable than the loud bluster of fools1 or of a ruler among fools1 nevertheless the ruler1 because he is foolish1 may be affronted to find one of the poorest men in the place wiser than himself2 he may easily cast his merit in the eye of scorn1 and so rob him both of the honour and the reward of his achievement 7vv4 #af1 #ag7--;an ancient saw not without modern instances4 ,for the fool is a greater power in the world1 especially the fool who is wise in his own conceit4 ,insignificant in himself1 he may nevertheless do great harm and destroy much good4 ,just as a tiny fly1 when it is dead1 may make the sweetest ointment offensive by infusing its own evil savour1 so a man1 when his wit is gone1 may with his little folly cause many sensible men to distrust the wisdom they should honour 7chap4 x41 ver4 #a73--who has not met such a hot-headed want-wit in1 for example1 the lobbies of the ,house of ,commons8 ,to a wise man1 such as ,coheleth1 the fool1 the presumptuous conceited fool1 is rank and smells to heaven1 infesting sweeter natures than his own with a most pestilent corruption4 ,he paints us a picture of him--paints it with a keen graphic scorn which1 if the eyes of the fool were in his head 7chap4 ii41 ver4 #ad71 and what he is pleased to call his mind could for a moment shift from his left hand to his right 7ver4 #b71 might make him nearly as contemptible to himself as he is to others4 ,as we read ver4 #c the unhappy wretch stands before us4 ,we see him coming out of his house2 he goes dawdling down the street1 for ever wandering from the path1 attracted by the merest trifle1 staring at familiar objects with eyes that have no recognition in them1 knowing neither himself nor others2 and1 with pointed finger1 chuckles after every sober citizen he meets1 ,there goes a fool6 ,yet a fool quite as foolish and malignant as this1 quite as indecent even in outward behaviour1 may be lifted to high place1 and has ere now sat on an imperial throne4#dd ,the ,preacher had seen many of them suddenly raised to power1 while nobles were depraved1 and high functionaries of ,state reduced to an abject servitude4 ,now if the poor wise man have to attend the durbar1 or sit in the divan1 of a foolish capricious despot1 how should he bear himself8 ,the ,preacher counsels meekness and submission4 ,he is to sit unruffled even though the ruler should rate him1 lest by resentment he should provoke some graver outrage 7vv4 #d-g3 comp4 chap4 viii41 ver4 #c74 ,to strengthen him in his submission1 the ,preacher hints at cautions and consolations which1 because free and open speech was very dangerous under the ,persian despotism1 he wraps up in obscure maxims capable of a double sense--nay1 as the commentators have shown1 capable of a good many more senses than two--to the true sense of which a foolish ruler was by no means likely to penetrate1 even if they fell into his hands4 #dd ,to cite only one instance out of many--other instances may be found in the ,introduction--let the reader recall the ,emperor ,caligula1 and refer1 for example1 to his reception of the ,alexandrian ,jews1 as recorded by ,philo1 ,legat ad ,caium1 cc4 #dd1 #de2 or by ,merivale1 in his ,history of the ,romans1 chap4 xlvii41 pp4 #dg-ej2 or by ,milman1 in his ,history of the ,jews1 ,book xii41 pp4 #ada-de4 ,he will then know1 to quote the phrase of ,apollonius of ,tyana1 what the kind of beast called a tyrant is or may be4 ,the first of these maxims is1 ,he who diggeth a pit shall fall into it 7ver4 #h74 ,and the allusion is1 of course1 to an ,eastern mode of trapping wild beasts and game4 ,the huntsman dug a pit1 covered it with twigs and sods1 and strewed the surface with bait2 but as he dug many such pits1 and some of them were long without a tenant1 he might at any inadvertent moment fall into one of them himself4 ,the proverb is capable of at least two interpretations4 ,it may mean that the foolish despot1 plotting the ruin of his wise servant1 might in his anger go too far2 and1 betraying his intention1 provoke a retaliative anger before which he himself would fall4 ,or it may mean that1 should the wise servant seek to undermine the throne of the despot1 he might be taken in his treachery and bring on himself the whole weight of the tyrant's wrath4 ,the second maxim is1 ,whoso breaketh down a wall1 a serpent shall bite him 7ver4 #h72 and here1 of course1 the allusion is to the fact that snakes infect the crannies of old walls 7comp4 ,amos v4 #ai74 ,to set about dethroning a tyrant was like pulling down such a wall2 you would break up the nest of many a reptile1 many a venomous hanger-on1 and might only get bit or stung for your pains4 ,or1 again1 in pulling out the stones of an old wall1 you might let one of them fall on your foot2 and in hacking out its timbers1 you might cut yourself3 that is to say1 even if your conspiracy did not involve you in absolute ruin1 it would be only too likely to do you serious and lasting injury 7ver4 #i74 ,the next adage runs 7ver4 #aj71 ,if the axe be blunt1 and he do not whet the edge1 he must put on more strength1 but wisdom should teach him to sharpen it1 and is1 perhaps1 the most difficult passage in the ,book4 ,the ,hebrew is read in a different way by almost every translator4 ,as ,i read it1 it means1 in general1 that it is not well to work with blunt tools when by a little labour and delay you may whet them to a keener edge4 ,read thus1 the political rule implied in it is1 ,do not attempt any great enterprise1 any revolution or reform1 till you have a well-considered scheme to go upon1 and suitable instruments to carry it out with4 ,but the special political import of it may be1 ,your strength is nothing to that of the tyrant2 do not therefore lift a blunt axe against the trunk of despotism3 wait till you have put a sharp edge upon it4 ,or1 the tyrant himself may be the blunt axe1 and then the warning is1 ,sharpen him up1 repair him1 use him and his caprices to serve your end2 get your way by giving way to him1 and by skilfully availing yourself of his varying moods4 ,which of these may be the true meaning of this obscure disputed passage1 ,i do not undertake to say2 but the latter of the two seems to be sustained by the adage which follows3 ,if the serpent bite because it is not charmed1 there is no advantage to the charmer4 ,for here1 ,i think1 there can be little doubt that the foolish angry ruler is the serpent1 and the wise functionary the charmer who is to extract the venom of his anger4 ,let the foolish ruler be never so furious1 the poor wise man1 who is able to cull the plots of best advantages1 and to save a city1 can surely devise a charm of soft submissive words which will turn away his wrath2 just as the serpent-charmer of the ,east1 by song and incantation1 is at least reputed to draw serpents from their lurk1 that he may pluck the venom from their teeth 7ver4 #aa74 ,for1 as we are told in the very next verse1 the words of the wise man's mouth win him grace1 while the lips of the fool destroy him4 ,and on this hint1 on this casual mention of his name1 the ,preacher--who all this while1 remember1 is personating the sagacious man of the world1 bent on rising to wealth1 power1 distinction--once more comes down on the fool4 ,he speaks of him with a burning heat and contempt1 as men versed in public affairs are wont to do1 since they best know how much harm a voluble1 impudent1 self-conceited fool may do1 how much good he may prevent4 ,here1 then1 is the fool of public life4 ,he is a man always prating and predicting1 although his words1 only foolish at the first1 swell and fret into a malignant madness before he has done1 and although he of all men is least able to give good counsel1 to seize occasions as they rise1 or to foresee what is about to come to pass4 ,puffed up by the conceit of wisdom or of his own importance1 he is for ever intermeddling with great affairs1 though he has no notion how to handle them1 and is incapable of even finding his way along the beaten road which leads to the capital city1 of taking and keeping the plain and obvious path which the exigencies of the time require2 while 7ver4 #c7 he is forward to cry1 ,there goes a fool1 of every man who is wiser than himself 7vv4 #ab-ae74 ,if he would only hold his tongue1 he might pass muster2 beguiled by his gravity and silence1 men might give him credit for sagacity1 and fit his foolish deeds with profound motives2 but he will speak1 and his words betray and swallow him up4 ,of course we have no such fools1 full of words1 to rise in their high place and wag their tongues to their own hurt2 they are peculiar to ,antiquity or to the ,east4 ,but then there were so many of them1 and their influence in the ,state was so disastrous that1 as the ,preacher thinks of them1 he breaks into an almost dithyrambic fervour1 and cries1 ,woe to thee1 ,o land1 when thy king is a child1#de and thy princes feast in the morning6 ,happy art thou1 ,o land1 when thy king is noble1 and thy princes eat at due hours1 for strength and not for revelry6 ,through the sloth and riot of these foolish rulers1 the whole fabric of the ,state was fast fading into decay--the roof rotting and the rain leaking in4 ,to support their inopportune and profligate revelry1 they imposed crushing taxes on the people1 which inspired in some a revolutionary discontent1 and in some the apathy of despair4 ,the ,wise ,exile foresaw that the end of a despotism so unjust and luxurious could not be far off2 that when the storm rose and the wind blew1 the ancient ,house1 unrepaired in its decay1 would topple on the heads of those who sat in its halls1 revelling in a wicked mirth 7vv4 #af-ai74 ,meantime1 the sagacious servant of the ,state1 perchance too of foreign extraction1 unable to arrest the progress of decay1 or not caring how soon it was consummated1 would make his market of the time2 he would carry himself warily3 and1 because the whole land was infested with the spies bred by despotism1 he would give them no hold on him1 nor so much as speak the simple truth of his foolish debauched rulers in the privacy of his own bed-chamber1 or mutter his thoughts on the roof1 lest some bird of the air should carry the report 7ver4 #bj74 #de ,what ,coheleth means by the king being a child is best explained by ,isa4 iii4 #ab3 ,as for my people1 their ruler is a wilful child1 and women rule over him4 ,but if this were the condition of the time1 if to rise in public life involved so many mean crafts and submissions1 so many deadly imminent risks from spies and from fools clad in a little brief authority1 how could any man hope to find the ,chief ,good in it8 ,wisdom did not always win promotion2 virtue was inimical to success4 ,the anger of an incapable idiot1 or the whisper of an envious rival1 or the caprice of a merciless despot1 might at any moment undo the work of years1 and expose the most upright and sagacious of men to the worst extremities of misfortune4 ,there was no tranquillity1 no freedom1 no security1 no dignity in such a life as this4 ,till this were resigned and some nobler1 loftier aim found1 there was no chance of reaching that great satisfying ,good which lifts man above all accidents1 and fixes him in a happy security from which no blow of ,circumstance can dislodge him4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sidenote3 ,but in a wise ,use and a wise ,enjoyment of the ,present ,life1 ,ch4 xi41 vv4 #a-h4 ,what that ,good is1 and where it may be found1 the ,preacher now proceeds to show4 ,but1 as his manner is1 he does not say in so many words1 ,this is the ,chief ,good of man1 or ,you will find it yonder2 but he places before us the man who is walking in the right path and drawing closer and closer to it4 ,even of him the preacher does not give us any formal description2 but1 following what we have seen to be his favourite method1 he gives us a string of maxims and counsels from which we are to infer what manner of man he is who happily achieves this great ,quest4 ,and1 at the very outset1 we learn that this happy person is of a noble1 unselfish1 generous temper4 ,unlike the man who simply wants to get on and make a fortune1 he grudges no man his gains2 he looks on his neighbours' interests as well as his own1 and does good even to the evil and the unthankful4#df ,he is one who casts his bread upon the waters 7ch4 xi41 ver4 #a71 and who gives a portion thereof to seven1 and even to eight 7ver4 #b74 ,the familiar proverb of the first verse has long been read as an allusion to the sowing of rice and other grain from a boat1 during the periodical inundation of certain ,eastern rivers1 especially the ,nile4 ,we have been taught to regard the husbandman pushing from the embanked village in his frail bark1 to cast the grain he would gladly eat on the surface of the flood1 as a type of ,christian labour and charity4 ,he denies himself2 so also must we if we would do good4 ,he has faith in the ,divine laws1 and trusts to receive his own again with usury1 to reap a larger crop the longer he waits for it2 and1 in like manner1 we are to trust in the ,divine laws which bring us a hundredfold for every act of self-denying service1 and bless our long patience with the ampler harvest4 ,but it is doubtful whether the ,hebrew usus loquendi admits of this interpretation4 ,it probably suggests another which1 if unfamiliar to us1 has a beauty of its own4 ,in the ,east bread is commonly made in thin flat cakes1 something like ,passover cakes2 and one of these cakes flung on the stream1 though it would float with the current for a time1 would soon sink2 and once sunk would1 unlike the grain cast from the boat1 yield no return4 ,and our charity should be like that4 ,we should do good1 hoping for nothing again4 ,we should show kindnesses which will soon be forgotten1 never be returned1 and be undismayed by the thanklessness of the task4 ,it is not so thankless as it seems4 ,for1 first1 we shall find the good of it in the loftier1 more generous temper which the habit of doing good breeds and confirms4 ,if no one else be the better for our kindness1 we shall be the better1 because the more kindly1 for it4 ,the quality of charity1 like that of mercy1 is twice blessed2 ,it blesseth him that gives and him that takes4 #df ,one of the most elaborate proverbs in the ,talmud is on ,charity3--,iron breaks the stone1 fire melts iron1 water extinguishes fire1 the clouds drink up the water1 a storm drives away the clouds1 man withstands the storm1 fear unmans man1 wine dispels fear1 sleep drives away wine1 and death sweeps all away--even sleep4 ,but ,solomon the ,wise says1 ,charity saves from death4 ,and there is hardly a finer passage in ,shakespeare's ,sonnets than that 7,,cxvi47 in which he sings the disinterestedness of ,love1 and its superiority to all change3 ,love is not love ,which alters when it alteration finds1 ,or bends with the remover to remove4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,love's not ,time's fool1 though rosy lips and cheeks ,within his bending sickle's compass come2 ,love alters not with his brief hours and weeks1 ,but bears it out even to the edge of doom4 ,and1 again1 the task is not so thankless as it sometimes seems2 for though many of our kind deeds may quicken no kindness in him that takes1 yet some of them will2 and the more we help and succour the more likely are we to light upon at least a few who1 when our need comes1 will succour and console us4 ,even the most hardened have a certain tenderness for those who help them1 if only the help meet a real need1 and be given with grace4 ,and1 therefore1 we may be very sure that if we give a portion of our bread to seven and even to eight1 especially if they know that we ourselves have stomach for it all1 at least one or two of them will share with us when we need bread4 ,but is not this1 after all1 only a refined selfishness8 ,if we give because we do not know how soon we may need a gift1 and in order that we may by-and-bye find the good of it1 do not even the heathen and the publicans the same8 ,well1 not many of them1 ,i think4 ,i have not observed that it is their habit to cast their bread on thankless waters4 ,if they forbode calamity and loss1 they provide against them1 not by giving1 but by hoarding2 and even they themselves would hardly accept as a model of charity a man who buttoned up his pocket against every appeal1 lest he should be yielding to a selfish motive1 or be suspected of it4 ,the refined selfishness of showing kindness and doing good even to the evil and the unthankful because we hope to find the good of it is by no means too common yet2 we need not go in dread of it4 ,nor is it an altogether unworthy motive4 ,st4 ,paul urges us to help a fallen brother on the express ground that we may need similar help some day 7,gal4 vi4 #a72 and he was not in the habit of appealing to base motives4 ,nay1 the very ,golden ,rule itself1 which all men admire even if they do not walk by it1 touches this spring of action2 for among other meanings it surely has this1 that we are to do to others as we would that they should do to us1 in the hope that they will do to us as we have done to them4 ,there are other higher meanings in the ,rule of course1 as there are other and purer motives for ,charity2 but ,i do not know that we are any of us of so lofty a virtue that we need fear to show kindness in order to win kindness1 or to give help that we may get help when we need it4 ,possibly1 to act on this motive may be the best and nearest way of rising to such higher motives as we can reach4 ,the first characteristic1 then1 of the man who is likely to achieve the ,quest of the ,chief ,good is the ,charity which prompts him to be gracious1 and to show kindness1 and to do good1 even to the thankless and ungracious4 ,and his second characteristic is the stedfast ,industry which turns all seasons to account4 ,the man of affairs1 who wants to rise1 waits on occasion2 he is on the watch to avail himself of the moods and caprices of men and bend them to his interest4 ,but he who has learned to value things at their true worth1 and whose heart is fixed on the acquisition of the highest good1 does not want to get on so much as to do his duty under all the variable conditions of life4 ,just as he will not withhold his hand from giving1 lest some of the recipients of his charity should prove unworthy1 so also he will not withdraw his hand from the labour appointed him1 because this or that endeavour may be unproductive1 or lest it should be thwarted by the ordinances of ,heaven4 ,he knows that the laws of ,nature will hold on their way1 often causing individual loss to promote the general good4 ,he knows1 for instance1 that when the clouds are full of rain they will empty themselves upon the earth1 even though they put his harvest in peril2 and that when the wind is fierce it will blow down trees1 even though it should also scatter the seed which he is sowing4 ,but he does not therefore wait upon the wind till it is too late to sow1 nor upon the clouds till his ungathered crops rot in the fields4 ,he is conscious that1 though he knows much1 he knows little of these as of other works of ,god3 he cannot tell whether this or that tree will be blown down2 almost all he can be certain of is that1 when the tree is down1 it will lie where it has fallen1 lifting its bleeding roots in dumb protest against the wind which has brought it low4 ,but this too he knows1 that it is ,god who worketh all2 that he is not responsible for events beyond his control3 that what he is responsible for is that he do the duty of the moment whatever wind may blow1 and calmly leave the issue in the hand of ,god4 ,and so he is not over exquisite to cast the fashion of uncertain evils2 diligent and undismayed1 he goes on his way1 giving himself heartily to the present duty1 sowing his seed morning and evening1 although he cannot tell which shall prosper1 this or that1 or whether both shall prove good 7vv4 #c-f74 ,windy ,march cannot blow him from his constant purpose1 though it may blow the seed out of his hand2 nor a rainy ,august melt him to despairing tears1 though it may damage his harvest4 ,he has done his duty1 discharged his responsibility3 let ,god see to the rest2 whatever pleases ,god will content him4 ,this man1 then1 has learned one or two of the profoundest secrets of ,wisdom1 plain as they look4 ,he has learned that1 giving1 we gain2 and1 spending1 thrive4 ,he has also learned that a man's true care is himself2 that all that pertains to the body1 to the issues of labour1 to the chances of fortune1 is external to himself2 that whatever form these may take1 he may learn from them1 and profit by them1 and be content in them3 that his true business in the world is to cultivate a strong and dutiful character which shall prepare him for any world or any fate2 and that so long as he can do this1 his main duty will be done1 his ruling object attained4 ,totum in co est1 ut tibi imperes4#dg #dg ,cicero1 ,tusc41 lib4 ,,ii41 cap4 #bb4 ,is not this true wisdom8 is it not an abiding good8 ,pleasures may bloom and fade4 ,speculations may shift and change4 ,riches may come and go--what else have they wings for8 ,the body may sicken or strengthen4 ,the favour of men may be conferred and withdrawn4 ,there is no stability in these2 and if we are dependent on them1 we shall be variable and inconstant as they are4 ,but if we make it our chief aim to do our duty whatever it may be1 and to love and serve our neighbour whatever the attitude he may assume to us1 we have an aim always within our reach1 a duty we may always be doing1 a good as enduring as ourselves1 and therefore a good we may enjoy for ever4 ,standing on this rock1 from which no wave of change can sweep us1 the light will be sweet to us1 and it shall be pleasant to our eyes to behold the sun1 whatever the day1 or the world1 on which he may rise 7ver4 #g74 ,but is all our life to be taken up in meeting the claims of ,duty and of ,charity8 ,are we never to relax into mirth1 never to look forward to a time in which reward will be more exactly adjusted to service8 ,yes1 we are to do both this and that4 ,it is very true that he who makes it his ruling aim to do the present duty1 and to leave the future with ,god1 will have a happy because a useful life4 ,he that walks this path of duty only thirsting ,for the right1 and learns to deaden ,love of self1 before his journey closes1 ,he shall find the stubborn thistle bursting ,into glossy purples1 which outredden ,all voluptuous garden roses4 ,the path may often be steep and difficult2 it may be overhung with threatening rocks and strewn with stones of offence2 but he who pursues it1 still pressing on through the long gorge and winning his way upward1 ,shall find the toppling crags of ,duty scaled1 ,are close upon the shining table-lands ,to which our ,god ,himself is sun and moon4 ,nevertheless1 if his life is to be full and complete1 he must be able to pluck whatever bright flowers of joy spring beside his path1 to find laughing waters in the crags he climbs1 and to rejoice not only in the glossy purples of the armed and stubborn thistle1 but in the delicate beauty of the ferns1 the pure grace of the cyclamens1 and the sweet breath of the fragrant grasses and flowers which haunt those severe heights4 ,if he is to be a ,man1 rather than a ,stoic or an ,anchorite1 he must add to his sense of duty a keen delight in all beauty1 all grace1 all innocent and noble pleasure4 ,for the sake of others1 too1 as well as for his own sake1 he must carry with him the merry heart which doeth good like a medicine1 since1 lacking that1 he will neither do all the good he might1 nor himself become perfect and complete4 ,and it is proof1 ,i think1 of the good divinity1 no less than of the broad humanity1 of the ,preacher that he lays much stress on this point4 ,he not only bids us enjoy life1 but gives us cogent reasons for enjoying it4 ,even1 he says1 if a man should live many years1 he ought to enjoy them all4 ,but why8 ,because there will be many dark days1 days of old age and growing infirmity in which pleasures will lose their charm2 days of death through which he will sleep quietly in the dark stillness of the grave1 beyond the touch of any happy excitement 7ver4 #h74 ,therefore the man who attains the ,chief ,good will not only do the duty of the moment2 he will also enjoy the pleasure of the moment4 ,he will not toil through the long day of life till1 spent and weary1 he has no power to enjoy his much goods1 or no time for his soul to make merry the glad4 ,while he is a young man1 he will rejoice in his youth1 and let his heart cheer him1 and go after the pleasures which attract youth 7ver4 #i74 ,while his heart is still fresh1 when pleasures are most innocent and healthful1 easiest of attainment and unalloyed by anxiety and care1 he will cultivate that cheerful temper which is a prime safeguard against vice1 discontent1 and the morose fretfulness of a selfish old age4 ,sidenote3 ,combined with a stedfast ,faith in the ,life to come4 ,ch4 x41 v4 #i-;,ch4 xii1 v4 #g4 ,but1 soft2 is not our man of men becoming a mere man of pleasure8 ,no2 for he recognises the claims of ,duty and of ,charity4 ,these keep his pleasures sweet and wholesome1 prevent them from usurping the whole man1 and landing him in the satiety and weariness of dissipation4 ,but lest even these safeguards should prove insufficient1 he has also this3 he knows that ,god will bring him into judgment2 that all his works1 whether of charity or duty or recreation1 will be weighed in the pure and even balance of ,divine ,justice 7ver4 #i74 ,this is the secret of the pure heart--the heart that is kept pure amid all labours and cares and joys4 ,but the intention of the ,preacher in thus adverting to the ,divine ,judgment has been gravely misconstrued1 wrested even to its very opposite4 ,we too much forget what that ,judgment must have seemed to the enslaved ,jews2--how weighty a consolation1 how bright a hope6 ,they were captive exiles1 oppressed by profligate despotic lords4 ,cleaving to the ,divine ,law with a passionate loyalty such as they had never felt in happier days1 they were nevertheless exposed to the most dire and constant misfortunes4 ,all the blessings which the ,law pronounced on the obedient seemed withheld from them1 all its promises of good and peace to be falsified2 the wicked triumphed over them1 and prospered in their wickedness4 ,now to a people whose convictions and hopes had suffered this miserable defeat1 what truth would be more welcome than that of a life to come1 in which all wrongs should be both righted and avenged1 and all the promises in which they had hoped should receive a large fulfilment that would beggar hope8 what prospect could be more cheerful and consolatory than that of a day of retribution on which their oppressors would be put to shame1 and they would be recompensed for their fidelity to the law of ,god8 ,this hope would be sweeter to them than any pleasure2 it would lend a new zest to every pleasure1 and make them more zealous in good works4 ,nay1 we know1 from the ,psalms composed during the ,captivity1 that the judgment of ,god was an incentive to hope and joy2 that1 instead of fearing it1 the pious ,jews looked forward to it with rapture and exultation4 ,what1 for example1 can be more riant and joyful than the concluding strophe of ,psalm xcvi48 ,let the heavens rejoice1 and let the earth be glad2 ,let the sea roar1 and the fulness thereof2 ,let the field exult and all that therein is2 ,and let all the trees of the wood sing for joy ,before ,jehovah3 for ,he cometh1 ,for ,he cometh to judge the earth1 ,to judge the world with righteousness1 ,and the peoples with his truth2 or than the third strophe of ,psalm xcviii48 ,let the sea roar1 and the fulness thereof2 ,the world1 and they that dwell therein2 ,let the floods clap their hands1 ,and let the hills sing for joy together ,before ,jehovah3 for ,he cometh to judge the earth2 ,with righteousness shall ,he judge the world1 ,and the peoples with equity4 ,it is impossible to read these verses1 and such verses as these1 without feeling that the ,jews of the ,captivity anticipated the ,divine ,judgment1 not with fear and dread1 but with a hope and joy so deep and keen as that they summoned the whole round of ,nature to share in it and reflect it4 ,if we remembered this1 we should not so readily agree with the ,preachers and ,commentators who assume ,coheleth to be speaking ironically in this verse1 and as though he would defy his readers to enjoy their pleasures with the thought of ,god and his judgment of them in their minds4 ,we should rather understand that he was making life more cheerful to them2 that he was removing the blight of despair which had fallen on it2 that he was kindling in their dreary prospect a light which would shine even into their darkened present with gracious and healing rays4 ,all wrongs would be easier to bear1 all duties would be faced with better heart1 all alleviating pleasures would grow more welcome1 if once they were fully persuaded that there was a life beyond death1 a life in which the good would be comforted and the evil tormented4 ,it is on the express ground that there is a ,judgment that the ,preacher1 in the last verse of this chapter1 bids them banish care and sadness1 or1 as the words perhaps mean1 moroseness and trouble2 though he also adds another reason which no longer afflicts him much1 viz41 that youth and manhood are vanity1 soon gone1 never to be recalled1 and never enjoyed if the brief occasion is suffered to pass4 ,mark how quickly the force of this great hope has reversed his position4 ,only in ver4 #h1 the very instant before he discloses his hope1 he urges men to enjoy the present because all that is coming is vanity1 because there were so many dark days1 days of infirm querulous age and silent dreary death before them4 ,but here1 in ver4 #aj1 the very moment he has disclosed his hope1 he urges them to enjoy the present1 not because the future is vanity1 but because the present is vanity1 because youth and manhood soon pass and the pleasures proper to them will be out of reach4 ,why should they any longer be fretted with care and anxiety when the lamp of ,revelation shone so brightly on the future8 ,why should they not be cheerful when so happy a prospect lay before them8 ,why should they sit brooding over their wrongs when their wrongs were so soon to be righted1 and they were to enter on so ample a recompense of reward8 ,why should they not travel toward a future so welcome and inviting with hearts attuned to mirth and responsive to every touch of pleasure8 ,but is the thought of ,judgment to be no check on our pleasures8 ,well1 it is certainly used here as an incentive to pleasure1 to cheerfulness4 ,we are to be happy because we are to stand at the bar of ,god1 because in the ,judgment ,he will adjust and compensate all the wrongs and afflictions of time4 ,but it is not every one who can take to himself the full comfort of this argument4 ,only he can do that who makes it his ruling aim to do his duty and help his neighbour4 ,and no doubt even he will find the hope of judgment--for with him it is a hope rather than a fear--a valuable check1 not on his pleasures1 but on those base counterfeits which often pass for pleasures1 and which betray men1 through voluptuousness1 into satiety1 disgust1 remorse4 ,because he hopes to meet ,god1 and has to give account of himself to ,god1 he will resist the evil lusts which pollute and degrade the soul3 and thus the prospect of ,judgment will become a safeguard and a defence4 ,but he has a safeguard of even a more sovereign potency than this4 ,for he not only looks forward to a future judgment1 he is conscious of a present and constant judgment4 ,god is with him wherever he goes4 ,from the days of his youth he has remembered his ,creator 7chap4 xii41 ver4 #a74 ,he has remembered ,him1 and given to the poor and needy4 ,he has remembered ,him and1 doing all things as to ,him1 duty has grown light4 ,he has remembered ,him1 and his pleasures have grown the sweeter because they were gifts from ,heaven1 and because he has taken them1 in a thankful spirit1 for a temperate enjoyment4 ,of all safeguards to a life of virtue1 this is the noblest and the best4 ,we can afford1 indeed1 to part with none of them1 for we are strangely weak1 often where we least suspect it1 and need all the helps we can get3 but least of all can we afford to part with this4 ,we need to remember that every sin is punished here and now1 inwardly if not outwardly1 and that these inward punishments are the most severe4 ,we need to remember that we must all appear before the judgment-seat of ,god1 to render an account of the deeds done in the body4 ,but above all--if love1 and not fear1 is to be the animating motive of our life--we need to remember that ,god is always with us1 observing what we do2 and that1 not that ,he may spy upon us and accumulate heavy charges against us1 but that ,he may help us to do well2 not to frown upon our pleasures1 but to hallow1 deepen1 and prolong them1 and to be ,himself our ,chief ,good and our ,supreme ,delight4 ',live while you live1' the ,epicure would say1 ',and seize the pleasure of the present day4' ',live while you live1' the ,sacred ,preacher cries1 ',and give to ,god each moment as it flies4' ,lord1 in my view let both united be3 ,i live in pleasure while ,i live in ,thee4#dh #dh ,dum vivimus vivamus4--,doddridge4 ,finally1 the ,preacher enforces this early and habitual reference of the soul to the ,divine ,presence and ,will by a brief allusion to the impotence and weariness of a godless old age1 and by a very striking description of the terrors of the death in which it culminates4 ,while the dew of youth is still fresh upon us we are to remember our ,creator and his constant judgment of us lest1 forgetting ,him1 we should waste our powers in sensual excess2 lest temperate mirth should degenerate into an extravagant and wanton devotion to pleasure2 lest the lust of mere physical enjoyment should outlive the power to enjoy1 and1 groaning under the penalties our unbridled indulgence has provoked1 we should find days of evil rise on us in long succession1 and draw out into years of fruitless desire1 self-disgust1 and despair 7ver4 #a74 ,before the evil days come1 and that they may not come2 before the years arrive of which we shall say1 ,i have no pleasure in them1 and that they may not arrive1 we are to bethink us of the ,pure and ,awful ,presence in which we daily stand4 ,god is with us that we may not sin2 with us in youth1 that the angel of his ,presence may save us from the sins to which youth is prone2 with us1 to save us from the noted slips of youth and liberty1 that our closing years may have the cheerful serenity of a happy old age4 ,to this admonition drawn from the miseries of godless age1 the ,preacher appends a description of the terrors of approaching death 7vv4 #b-e71--;a description which has suffered many strange torments at the hands of critics and commentators4 ,it has commonly been read as an allegorical1 but singularly accurate1 diagnosis of the disease men call death1 as setting forth in graphic figures the gradual decay of sense after sense1 faculty after faculty4#di ,learned physicians have written treatises upon it1 and have been lost in admiration of the force and beauty of the metaphors in which it conveys the results of their special science1 although they differ in their interpretation of almost every sentence1 and are driven at times to the most gross and absurd conjectures in order to sustain their several theories4 ,i need not give any detailed account of these speculations1 for the simple reason that they are based1 as ,i believe1 on an entire misconception of the ,sacred ,text4 ,instead of being1 as has been assumed1 a figurative description of the dissolution of the body1 it sets forth the threatening approach of death under the image of a tempest which1 gathering over an ,eastern city during the day1 breaks upon it toward evening3 so1 at least1 ,i1 with many more1 take it4 ,and ,i do not know how we can better arrive at it than by considering what would be the incidents which would strike us if we were to stroll through the narrow tortuous streets of such a city as the day was closing in4 #di ,it may be worth while to specify some of the gross and absurd conjectures1 some also of the strange differences1 into which what may be called the medical reading of this passage has betrayed its advocates4 ,ginsburg has a marvellous collection of them in his notes to these verses4 ,i select and combine only a few of them4 ,the darkening of the light1 the sun1 the moon1 and the stars 7ver4 #b7 is taken by one great authority 7the ,talmud7 to mean the darkening of the forehead1 the nose1 the soul1 and the teeth2 by another 7the ,chaldee ,paraphrast71 the obscuring of the face1 the eyes1 the cheeks1 and the apples of the eyes2 by a third 7,dr4 ,smith1 in his ,portraiture of ,old ,age71 for the decay of all the mental faculties4 ,that the clouds return after the rain signifies1 according to ,ibn ,ezra1 the constant dimness of the eyes2 according to ,le ,clerc1 a bad influenza1 accompanied with unceasing snuffling4 ,the keepers of the house 7ver4 #c7 are the ribs and the loins 7,talmud71 the knees 7,chaldee71 and the hands and arms 7,ibn ,ezra74 ,the men of power are the thighs 7,talmud7 and the arms 7,chaldee74 ,the grinding maids are the teeth1 and the ladies who look out of the lattices are the eyes1 by general consent4 ,the door closed on the street is the pores of the skin 7,dr4 ,smith71 the lips 7,ibn ,ezra71 and the eyes 7,henstenberg74 ,that the noise of the mills ceases or grows faint 7ver4 #d7 means that the mastication of food becomes imperfect 7,dr4 ,smith71 that the appetite fails 7,chaldee71 that the voice grows feeble 7,grotius74 ,that the songbirds descend to their nests signifies that music and songs are a bore to the aged man 7,talmud71 that he is no longer able to sing 7,chaldee71 that his ears are heavy 7,grotius74 ,the allusion to the almond 7ver4 #e7 denotes that the haunch-bone shall come out from leanness 7,talmud71 or 7,reynolds7 it denotes the hoary hair which comes quickly on a man just as the almond-tree thrusts out her blossoms before any other tree2 while at least half-a-dozen scholars and physicians take it as pointing to membrum genitale or glans virilis4 ,that the locust becomes a burden means that the ankles swell 7,chaldee71 gout in the feet 7,jerome71 a projecting stomach 7,le ,clerc71 the dry shrivelled frame of an old man 7,dr4 ,smith74 ,almost all modern commentators take the reference to the caper-berry as marking the fact that condiments lose their power to provoke appetite with the aged1 while many of the ancients took it as marking the failure of sexual desire4 ,the silver cord and golden bowl of ver4 #f are the tongue and the skull 7,chaldee71 backbone and brain 7,dr4 ,smith71 urine and bladder 7,gasper ,sanctius72 while the bucket is either the gall or the right ventricle of the heart1 and the wheel that draws the water stands for the air-inspiring lungs4 ,now of course it would not be just to condemn any interpretation simply because it is weighted with absurdities and contradictions such as these1 though it surely requires a very strong reading to carry them4 ,but when an interpretation is so obviously forced and fanciful1 when it is so remarkably ingenious and leaves to ingenuity so wide and lawless a scope1 we shall do well to hesitate before accepting it4 ,and if another interpretation be offered us1 as in the text1 which gives a literal rendering to every phrase instead of a figurative one1 which bases itself on the common household facts of ,eastern experience instead of on the technicalities of ,western science1 which instead of being so indeterminate and fanciful as at times to be self-contradictory and grotesque1 is coherent and impressive1 we really have no alternative before us4 ,we cannot but choose the one and reject the other4 ,as we passed along we should find small rows of houses and shops1 broken here and there by a wide stretch of blank wall1 behind which were the mansions1 harems1 courtyards of its wealthier inhabitants4 ,round and within the low narrow gates which gave access to these mansions1 we should see armed men lounging whose duty it is to guard the premises against robbers and intruders2 these are the keepers of the house1 over whom1 as over the whole household1 are placed superior officials--members of the family often--or men of power4 ,going through the gates and glancing up at the latticed windows1 we might catch glimpses of the veiled faces of the ladies of the house who1 not being permitted to stir abroad except on rare occasions and under jealous guardianship1 are accustomed to amuse their dreary leisure1 and to learn a little of what is going on around them1 by looking out of the windows4 ,within the house1 the gentlemen of the family would be enjoying the chief meal of the day1 provoking appetite with delicacies such as the locust1#ej or condiments such as the caper-berry1#ea or with choice fruit such as the almond4#eb ,above all the shrill cries and noises of the city you would hear a loud humming sound rising on every side1 for which you would be sorely puzzled to account if you were a stranger to ,eastern habits4 ,it is the sound of the cornmills which1 towards evening1 are at work in every house4 ,a cornmill was indispensable to every ,eastern family1 since there were no public mills or bakers except the ,king's4 ,the heat of the climate makes it necessary that corn should be ground and bread baked every day4 ,and as the task of grinding at the mill was very irksome1 only the most menial class of women1 often slaves or captives1 were employed upon it4 ,of course the noise caused by the revolution of the upper upon the nether millstone was very great when the mills were simultaneously at work in every house in the city4 ,no sound is more familiar in the ,east2 and1 if it were suddenly stopped1 the effect would be as striking as the sudden stoppage of all the wheels of traffic in an ,english town4 ,so familiar was the sound1 indeed1 and of such good omen1 that in ,holy ,writ it is used as a symbol of a happy1 active1 well-provided people2 while the cessation of it is employed to denote want1 and desolation1 and despair4 ,to an ,oriental ear no threat would be more doleful and pathetic than that in ,jeremiah 7xxv4 #aj71 ,i will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness1 the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride1 the sound of the millstones1 and the light of the candle4 #ej ,this locust 7chagab7 is one of the four kinds which the ,law of ,moses marked out as fit for human food4 ,to this day several kinds of locust are held to be an agreeable and nutritious diet4 ,there are many ways of preparing them for the table4 ,they may be pounded with flour and water1 and made into cakes4 ,they may be smoked1 boiled1 roasted1 stewed1 and fried in butter4 ,they may be salted with salt2 and thus treated are eaten by the ,arabs as a great delicacy4 ,or they may be dried in the sun1 and then steeped in wine3 baskets of them1 prepared in this way1 are to be commonly seen in ,eastern markets4 ,dr4 ,kitto1 who often ate them1 says that they taste like shrimps2 ,dr4 ,shaw says that they are quite as good as our freshwater crayfish4 #ea ,the caper-plant grows abundantly in ,asia1 as it does also in ,africa and ,southern ,europe4 ,it commonly springs in the crevices of walls1 on heaps of ruins1 or on barren wastes1 and forms a diffuse many-branched shrub4 ,its flowers are large and showy3 the four petals are white1 but the long numerous stamens have their filaments tinged with purple1 and terminate in yellow anthers4 ,as the ovary ripens it droops and forms a pear-shaped berry1 which holds in its pulp many small seeds4 ,almost every part of the shrub has been used as a condiment by the ancients4 ,the stalk and seed were salted1 or preserved in vinegar or wine4 ,its buds are still held to be an agreeable sauce--we eat them with boiled mutton4 ,and the berries possess irritant properties which win them high esteem among the ,orientals as a provocative to appetite4 #eb ,the fruit of the almond-tree is still reckoned one of the most delicate and delicious fruits in the ,east4 ,we may fancy that we are acquainted with it1 that we know almonds at least as well as we know raisins4 ,but1 ,i believe1 that the almond we eat is only the kernel of the stone in the true almond2 the fruit itself is of the same order with apricots1 peaches1 plums4 ,now suppose the day on which we rambled through the city had been boisterous and lowering2 that heavy rain had fallen1 obscuring all the lights of heaven2 and as the evening drew on1 the thick clouds1 instead of dispersing1 had returned after the rain1 so that setting sun and rising moon1 and the growing light of stars1 were all blotted from view 7ver4 #b74 ,the tempest1 long in gathering1 breaks on the city2 the lightnings flash through the darkness1 making it more hideous2 the thunder crashes and rolls above the roofs2 the tearing rain beats at all lattices and floods all roads4 ,if we cared to abide the pelting of the storm1 we should have before us the very scene which the ,preacher depicts4 ,the keepers of the house1 the guards and porters1 would quake4 ,the men of power1 the lords or owners of the house1 or the officials who most closely attended on them1 would crouch and tremble with apprehension4 ,the maids at the mill would stop because one or other of the two women--two at least--whom it took to work the heavy millstone had been frightened from her task by the gleaming lightning and the pealing thunder4 ,the ladies1 looking out of their lattices1 would be driven back into the darkest corners of the inner rooms of the harem4 ,every door would be closed and barred lest robbers1 availing themselves of the darkness and its terrors1 should creep in 7ver4 #c74 ,the noise of the mills would grow faint or utterly cease1 because the threatening tumult had terrified many1 if not all1 the grinding-maids from their work4 ,the strong-winged swallow1 lover of wind and tempest1 would flit to and fro with shrieks of joy2 while the delicate song-birds would drop1 silent and alarmed1 into their nests4 ,the gentlemen of the house would soon lose all gust for their delicate cates#ec and fruits2 the almond would be pushed aside1 the locust loathed1 and even the stimulating caper-berry provoke no appetite1 fear being a singularly unwelcome and disappetising guest at a feast4 ,in short1 the whole people1 stunned and confused by the awful and stupendous majesty of a tropical storm1 would be affrighted at the terrors which come flaming from the height of heaven1 to confront them on every highway 7vv4 #d1 #e74 #ec ,sir ,henry ,rawlinson says3 ,at the present day1 among the bons vivants of ,persia1 it is usual to sit down for hours before dinner1 drinking wine1 and eating dried fruits1 such as filberts1 almonds1 pistachio-nuts1 melon-seeds1 etc4 ,a party1 indeed1 often sits down at seven o'clock1 and the dinner is not brought in till eleven4 ,the dessert dishes1 intermingled as they are with highly seasoned delicacies1 are supposed to have the effect of stimulating the appetite4--,notes to ,rawlinson's ,herodotus1 vol4 i41 p4 #bgd4 ,such and so terrible is the tempest that at times sweeps over an ,eastern city4#ed ,such and so terrible1 adds the ,preacher1 is death to the godless and sensual4 ,they are carried away as by a storm2 the wind riseth and snatcheth them out of their place4 ,for if we ask1 ,why1 ,o ,preacher1 has your pencil laboured to depict the terrors of a tempest8 he replies1 ,because man goeth to his long home1 and the mourners pace up and down the street 7ver4 #e74 ,he leaves us in no doubt as to the moral of the fable1 the theme and motive of his picture4 ,while painting it1 while adding touch to touch1 he has been thinking of the long home--or1 as the ,hebrew has it1 the house of eternity2 a phrase still used by the ,jews as a synonym for the grave--which is appointed for all living1 and of the mercenary professional mourners who loiter under the windows of the dying man in the hope that they may be hired to lament him4 ,to the expiring sinner death is simply dreadful4 ,it puts an end to all his activities and enjoyments1 just as the tempest brings all the labours and recreations of the city to a pause4 ,he has nothing before him but the grave1 and none to mourn him but the harpies who already pace the street1 longing for the moment when he will be gone1 and who value their fee far above his life4 ,if we would have death shorn of its terrors for us1 we must remember our ,creator before death comes2 we must seek by charity1 by a faithful discharge of duty1 by a wise use and a wise enjoyment of the life that now is1 to prepare ourselves for the life which is to come4 #ed ,it should be borne in mind that the comparative rarity of thunderstorms in ,syria and the adjacent lands makes them much more dreadful to the inhabitants of those countries4 ,throughout the ,old ,testament1 and especially in the ,psalms1 we find many traces of the dread which such storms inspired--a dread almost unaccountable to our accustomed nerves4 ,death itself1 as ,coheleth proceeds to remind us 7ver4 #f71 cannot be escaped4 ,some day the cord will break and the lamp fall2 some day the jar or pitcher must be broken1 and the wheel1 shattered1 fall into the well4 ,death is the common event4 ,it befalls not only the sinful and injurious1 but also the useful and the good4 ,our life may have been like a golden lamp suspended by a silver chain1 fit for the palace of a king1 and may have shed a welcome and cheerful light on every side and held out every promise of endurance but1 none the less1 the costly durable chain will be snapped at last1 and the fair costly bowl be broken4 ,or our life may have been like the pitcher dipped1 by village maidens1 into the village fountain2 or1 again1 like the wheel by which water is drawn1 by a thousand hands1 from the city well2 it may have conveyed a vital refreshment to the few or to the many around us3 but1 none the less1 the day must come when the pitcher will be shattered on the edge of the fountain1 and the time-worn wheel fall from its rotten supports4 ,there is no escape from death4 ,and1 therefore1 as we must all die1 let us all live as cheerfully and helpfully as we can2 let us all prepare for the better life beyond the grave1 by serving our ,creator before the body is cast into the earth from which it came1 and the spirit returns to ,god who gave it 7ver4 #g74 99 99 99 99 99 ,this1 then1 according to the ,hebrew ,preacher1 is the ideal man1 the man who achieves the ,quest of the ,chief ,good3--,charitable1 dutiful1 cheerful1 he prepares for death by a useful and happy life1 for future judgment by a constant reference to the present judgment1 for meeting ,god hereafter by walking with ,him here4 ,has he not achieved the ,quest8 ,can we hope to find a more solid and enduring ,good8 ,what to him are the shocks of ,change1 the blows of ,circumstance1 the mutations of ,time1 the fluctuations of ,fortune8 ,these cannot touch the ,good which he holds to be ,chief4 ,if they bring trouble1 he can bear trouble and profit by it3 if they bring prosperity1 success1 mirth1 he can bear even these1 and neither value them beyond their worth nor abuse them to his hurt2 for his ,good1 and therefore his peace and blessedness1 are founded on a ,rock over which the changeful waves may wash1 but against which they cannot prevail4 ,let the sun shine never so hotly1 let the storm beat never so furiously1 the ,rock stands firm1 and the house which he has built for himself upon the ,rock4 ,whatever may befall1 he can be doing his main work1 enjoying his supreme satisfaction1 since he can meet all changes with a dutiful and loving heart2 since1 through all1 he may be forming a noble character and helping his neighbours to form a character as noble as his own4 ,because he has a gracious ,god always with him1 and because a bright future stretches before him in endless and widening vistas of hope1 he can carry to all the wrongs and afflictions of time a cheerful spirit which shines through them with transfiguring rays1--a spirit before which even the thick darkness of death will grow light1 and the solemnities of the ,judgment be turned into holiday festivity and a triumph4 ,ah1 foolish and miserable that we are who1 with so noble a life1 and so bright a prospect1 and a ,good so enduring open to us--and with such helps to them in the ,gospel of ,christ as ,coheleth could not know--nevertheless creep about the earth the slaves of every accident1 the very fools of ,time6 ,,the ,,epilogue4 ,,in ,,which ,,the ,,problem ,,of ,,the ,,book ,,is ,,conclusively ,,solved4 ,,chap4 ,,xii41 ,,vers4 #h-ad4 ,students1 says the ,talmud1 are of four kinds2 they are like a sponge1 a funnel1 a strainer1 and a sieve3 like a sponge that sucketh all up2 like a funnel which receiveth at one end and dischargeth at the other2 like a strainer which letteth the wine pass but retaineth the lees2 and like a sieve which dischargeth the bran but retaineth the corn4 ,coheleth is like the sieve4 ,he is the good student who has sifted all the schemes and ways and aims of men1 separating the wheat from the bran1 teaching us to know the bran as bran1 the wheat as wheat4 ,it is a true corn of heaven which he offers us1 and not any of the husks to obtain which reckless and prodigal man has often wasted his whole living--husks which1 though they have the form and hue of wheat1 have not its nutriment1 and cannot therefore satisfy the keen hunger of the soul4 ,we have now followed the sifting process to its close2 much bran lies about our feet1 but a little corn is in our hands1 and from this little there may grow a harvest unto life4 ,starting in quest of that ,chief ,good in which1 when once it is attained1 we can rest with an unbroken and measureless content1 we have learned that it is not to be found in ,wisdom1 in ,pleasure1 in ,devotion to ,business or ,public ,affairs1 in a modest ,competence or in boundless ,wealth4 ,we have learned that only he achieves this supreme ,quest who is charitable1 dutiful1 cheerful2 only he who by a wise use and a wise enjoyment of the present life prepares himself for the life which is to come4 ,we have learned that the best incentive to this life of virtue1 and its best safeguards1 are a constant remembrance of our ,creator and of his perpetual presence with us1 and a constant hope of that future judgment in which all the wrongs of time are to be redressed4 ,and here we might think our task was ended4 ,we might suppose that the ,preacher would dismiss us from the ,school in which he has so long held us by his sage maxims1 his vivid illustrations1 his gracious warnings and encouragements4 ,but even yet he will not suffer us to depart4 ,he has still words to utter for ,god1 words which it will be well for us to ponder4 ,as in the ,prologue he had stated the problem he was about to take in hand1 so now he subjoins an ,epilogue in which he re-states the solution of it at which he has arrived4 ,his last words are1 as we should expect them to be1 heavily weighted with thought4 ,so closely packed are his thoughts and allusions1 indeed1 as to give a disconnected and illogical tone to his words4 ,every saying seems to stand alone1 complete in itself2 and hence our main difficulty in dealing with this ,epilogue is to trace the links of sequence which bind saying to saying and thought to thought1 and so to get the best part of his work4 ,every verse supplies a text for patient meditation1 or a theme which needs to be illustrated by historic facts that lie beyond the general reach2 and the danger is lest1 while dwelling on these separate themes and texts1 we should fail to collect their connected meaning1 and to grasp the large conclusion to which they all conduct4#ee #ee ,as the main ethical1 literary1 and historical interest of the whole ,book is gathered up into this brief ,epilogue1 ,i offer no apology for the comparative length of my treatment of it4 ,coheleth commences 7ver4 #h7 by once more striking the keynote to which all his work is set3 ,vanity of vanities1 saith the ,preacher1 all is vanity6 ,we are not1 however1 to take these words as announcing his deliberate verdict on the sum of human endeavours and affairs2 for he has now discovered the true abiding ,good which underlies all the vanities of earth and time4 ,his repetition of this familiar phrase is simply a touch of art by which the ,poet reminds us of what the main theme of his ,poem has been1 of the pain and weariness and disappointment which have attended his long ,quest4 ,as it falls once more1 and for the last time1 on our ear1 we cannot but remember how often1 and in what connections1 we have heard it before4 ,memory and imagination are set to work4 ,the whole course of the sacred drama passes swiftly before us1 with its mournful pauses of defeated hope1 as we listen to this echo of the despair with which the baffled ,preacher has so often returned from seeking the true ,good in this or that province of human life in which it was not to be found4 ,having thus reminded us of the several stages of his ,quest1 and of the verdict which he had been compelled to pronounce at the close of each but the last1 ,coheleth proceeds 7ver4 #i7 to set forth his qualifications for undertaking this sore task3 ,not only was the ,preacher a wise man1 he also taught the people wisdom1 and composed1 collected1 and arranged many proverbs or parables1 the proverb being a condensed parable and the parable an expanded proverb4 ,his claims are that he is a sage1 and a public teacher1 who has both made many proverbs of his own1 collected the wise sayings of other sages1 and has so arranged them as to convey a connected and definite teaching to his disciples2 and his motive in setting forth these claims is1 no doubt1 that he may the more deeply impress upon us the conclusion to which he has come1 and which it has cost him so much to reach4 ,now during the ,captivity there was a singular outbreak of literary activity in the ,hebrew race4 ,even yet this crisis in their history is little studied and understood2 but we shall only follow the ,preacher's meaning through vv4 #i-ab as we read them in the light of this striking event4 ,that a change of the most radical and extraordinary kind passed upon the ,hebrews of this period1 that they were by some means drawn to a study of their ,sacred ,writings much more thorough and intense than any which went before it1 we know2 but of the causes of this change we are not so well informed4#ef ,a great1 and perhaps the greatest1 authority#eg on this subject writes3 ,one of the most mysterious and momentous periods in the history of humanity is that brief space of the ,exile4 ,what were the influences brought to bear on the captives during that time1 we know not4 ,but this we know1 that from a reckless1 lawless1 godless populace1 they returned transformed into a band of ,puritans4 ,the religion of ,zerdusht 7,zoroaster71 though it has left its traces in ,judaism1 fails to account for that change4444 ,yet the change is there1 palpable1 unmistakable--a change which we may regard as almost miraculous4 ,scarcely aware before of their glorious national literature1 the people now began to press round these brands plucked from the fire--the scanty records of their faith and history--with a fierce and passionate love1 a love stronger even than that of wife and child4 ,these same documents1 as they were gradually formed into a canon1 became the immediate centre of their lives1 their actions1 their thoughts1 their very dreams4 ,from that time forth1 with scarcely any intermission1 the keenest as well as the most poetical minds of the nation remained fixed upon them4 #ef ,in the ,introduction1 however1 ,i have tried to give what is known of the history of this period4 ,roughly speaking1 ,i believe the ,jews owed their literary advance mainly to contact with the inquisitive and learned ,babylonians1 and their religious advance mainly to the sorrows of the ,captivity and their contact with the pure faith of the primitive ,persians4 #eg ,emmanuel ,deutsch1 whose premature death is still lamented by many as an irreparable loss4 ,the passage will be found in his celebrated article on ,the ,talmud in ,the ,quarterly of ,october #ahfg4 ,the ,quest of the ,chief ,good was published at the close of that year4 ,and at this point in it1 while ,deutsch was still alive1 but before ,i knew him personally1 ,i gently complained of the loss he had unwittingly inflicted on me4 ,i had for ten years been collecting the gnomic sayings of the ,talmud from any quarter open to one to whom the ,talmud itself was a sealed book1 and had indeed printed some two score of them in the ,christian ,spectator for #ahff4 ,and here came one who out of his profuse wealth carelessly flung down most of my special treasures4 ,only half-a-dozen of the sayings ,i had collected now had any stamp of novelty on them to the thousands who had revelled in the wit and learning of that famous article in ,the ,quarterly4 ,and of these ,i ventured to call special attention to four which seemed to me of special value and beauty2 viz41 those on the four kinds of students1 on new and old flasks1 on not serving ,god for the sake of reward1 and on doing ,god's will as if it were our will3 they will all be found in this ,section4 ,but if ,i lost something1 ,i also gained much by the appearance of that article1 as those who read what follows will discover1 although it only came into my hands as ,i was correcting the proofs of the final pages in my ,book4 ,the more we think of this change1 the more the wonder grows4 ,good kings and inspired prophets had desired to see the nation devoted to the ,word of the ,lord1 had spent their lives in vain endeavours to recall the thought and affection of their race to the ,sacred ,records in which the will of ,god was revealed4 ,but what they failed to do was done when the inspiration of the ,almighty was withdrawn and the voice of ,prophecy had grown mute4 ,in their ,captivity1 under the strange wrongs and miseries of their exile1 the ,jews remembered ,god their ,maker1 ,giver of songs in the night4 ,they betook themselves to the study of the ,sacred ,oracles4 ,they began to acquaint themselves with all wisdom that they might define and illustrate whatever was obscure in the ,scriptures of their fathers4 ,they commenced that elaborate systematic commentary of which many noble fragments are still extant4 ,they drew new truths from the old letter1 or from the collocation of scattered passages1--as1 for instance1 the truths of the immortality of the soul and of the resurrection of the body4 ,they laid the hidden foundations of the ,synagogues and ,schools which afterwards covered the land4 ,ezra and ,nehemiah1 who1 by grace of the ,persian conquerors1 led them back from ,babylonia to ,jerusalem1 are still claimed as the founders of the ,great ,synagogue1 i4e4 as the leaders of that great race of jurists1 sages1 authors1 whose utterances are still a law in ,israel1 and of whom the lawyers and the scribes of the ,new ,testament were the modern successors4 ,before the ,captivity there was not a term for school in their language2 there were at least a dozen in common use within two or three centuries after the accession of ,cyrus4 ,education had become compulsory4 ,its immense value in the popular estimation is marked in innumerable sayings such as these3 ,jerusalem was destroyed because the education of the young was neglected2 ,even for the rebuilding of the ,temple the schools must not be interrupted2 ,study is more meritorious than sacrifice2 ,a scholar is greater than a prophet2 ,you should revere the teacher even more than your father2 the latter only brought you into this world1 the former shews you the way into the next4 ,to meet the national craving indicated in these and similar proverbs1 innumerable copies of the ,sacred ,books1 of commentaries1 traditions1 and the gnomic utterances of the ,wise1 were written and circulated1 of which1 in the ,canon1 in some of the ,apocryphal ,scriptures1 in the works of ,philo1 and in the legal and legendary sections of the ,talmud1 many specimens have come down to us4 ,in fine1 whatever was the cause of this marvellous outburst1 there can be no doubt that the whole ,rabbinical period was characterised by devotion to learning1 a mental and literary activity1 much more general and vital than it is easy for us to conceive4 ,in such an age the words of a professed and acknowledged ,sage would carry great weight4 ,if1 besides being a wise man1 he was a recognised teacher1 a man whose wisdom was stamped by public and official approval1 whatever fell from his lips would command public attention3 for these teachers1 or rabbis1 were the real rulers of the time1 and not the pharisees or the priests1 or even the politicians4 ,they might be1 they often were1 tent-makers1 sandal-makers1 weavers1 carpenters1 tanners1 bakers1 cooks2 for it is among their highest claims to our respect that these learned rabbis reverenced labour1 however menial or toilsome1 that they held mere scholarship and piety of little worth unless conjoined with regular and healthy physical exertion4 ,but1 however toilsome their lives or humble their circumstances1 these wise men were masters of the law4 ,it was their special function to interpret the ,law of ,moses--which1 remember1 was the law of the land--to explain its bearing on this case or that1 if not1 as many modern critics maintain1 to add to its precepts and codes2 and1 as members of the local courts or the metropolitan ,sanhedrin1 to administer the law they expounded4 ,an immense power1 therefore1 was in their hands4 ,to obey the ,law was to be at once loyal and religious1 happy here and hereafter4 ,hence the rabbis1 whose business it was to apply the law to all the details of life1 and whose decisions were authoritative and final1 could not fail to command universal deference and respect4 ,they were lawyers1 judges1 schoolmasters1 heads of colleges1 public orators and lecturers1 statesmen and preachers1 all in one or all in turn1 and therefore concentrated in themselves the esteem which we distribute on many offices and many men4 ,such a rabbi was ,coheleth4 ,he was of the ,wise2 he was a master of the law4 ,and1 in addition to these claims1 he was also a teacher and an author who1 besides composing1 had collected and arranged many proverbs4 ,than this latter he could hardly have any higher claim to the regard1 and even to the affection1 of the ,hebrew public4 ,the passionate fondness of ,oriental races for proverbs1 fables1 stories of any kind1 is well known4 ,and the ,jews for whom ,coheleth wrote took1 as was natural at such a time1 an extraordinary delight1 extraordinary even for the ,east1 in listening to and repeating the wise or witty sayings1 the parables and poems1 of their national authors4 ,some of these are still in our hands3 as we read them1 we cease to wonder at the intense enjoyment with which they were welcomed by a generation not cloyed1 as we are1 with books4 ,they are not only charming as works of art3 they have also this charm1 that they convey lofty ethical instruction4 ,take a few of these pictorial proverbs1 not included in the ,canonical ,scriptures4 ,the house that does not open to the poor will open to the physician4 ,commit a sin twice1 and you will begin to think it quite allowable4 ,the reward of good works is like dates--sweet1 but ripening late4 ,even when the gates of prayer are shut in heaven1 the gate of tears is open4 ,when the righteous dies1 it is the earth that loses2 the lost jewel is still a jewel1 but he who has lost it--well may he weep4 ,who is wise8 ,he who is willing to learn from all men4 ,who is strong8 ,he who subdues his passions4 ,who is rich8 ,he that is satisfied with his lot4 ,these are surely happy expressions of profound moral truths4 ,but the rabbis are capable of putting a keener edge on their words2 they can utter witty epigrams as incisive as those of any of our modern satirists1 and yet use their wit in the service of good sense and morality4 ,it would not be easy to match1 it would be very hard to beat1 such sayings as these3--,the sun will go down without your help4 ,when the ox is down1 many are the butchers4 ,the soldiers fight1 and kings are the heroes4 ,the camel wanted horns1 and they took away his ears4 ,the cock and the owl both wait for morning3 the light brings joy to me1 says the cock1 but what are you waiting for8 ,when the pitcher falls on the stone1 woe to the pitcher2 when the stone falls on the pitcher1 woe to the pitcher3 whatever happens1 woe to the pitcher4 ,look not at the flask1 but at that which is in it3 for there are new flasks full of old wine1 and old flasks which have not even new wine in them3 ah1 of how many of those old flasks have some of us had to drink1 or seem to drink6 ,when the rabbis draw out their moral at greater length1 when they tell a story1 their skill does not desert them4 ,here is one of the briefest1 which can hardly fail to remind us of more than one of the parables uttered by the ,great ,teacher ,himself4 ,there was once a king who bade all his servants to a great repast1 but did not name the hour4 ,some went home1 and put on their best garments1 and came and stood at the door of the palace4 ,others said1 ',there is time enough1 the king will let us know beforehand4' ,but the king summoned them of a sudden2 and those that came in their best garments were well received1 but the foolish ones1 who came in their slovenliness1 were turned away in disgrace4 ,repent ye to-day1 lest ye be summoned to-morrow4 ,is it any wonder that the ,jews1 even in the sorrows of their ,captivity1 liked to hear such proverbs and parables as these8 that they had an immense and grateful admiration for the men who spent much thought and care on the composition and arrangement of these wise1 beautiful sayings8 ,should not we ourselves be thankful to hear them when the day's work was done1 or even while it was doing8 ,if1 then1 such an one as ,coheleth--a sage1 a rabbi1 a composer and collector of proverbs and parables--came to them and said1 ,my children1 ,i have sought what you are all seeking2 ,i have been in quest of that ,chief ,good which you still pursue2 and ,i will tell you the story of the ,quest in the parables and proverbs which you are so fond of hearing3--we can surely understand that they would be charmed to listen1 that they would hang upon his words1 that they would be predisposed to accept his conclusions4 ,as they listened1 and found that he was telling them their own story no less than his1 that he was trying to lead them away from the vanities which they themselves felt to be vanities1 toward an abiding ,good in which he had found rest2 as they heard him enforce the duties of charity1 industry1 hilarity--duties which all their rabbis urged upon them1 and invite them to that wise use and wise enjoyment of the present life which their own consciences approved3 above all1 as he unfolded before them the bright hope of a future judgment in which all wrongs would be redressed and all acts of duty receive a great recompense of reward1--would they not hail him as the wisest of their teachers1 as the great rabbi who had achieved the supreme ,quest8 ,assuredly few books were1 or are1 more popular than the book ,ecclesiastes4 ,its presence and influence may be traced on every subsequent age and department of ,hebrew literature2 it has entered into our ,english literature hardly less deeply4 ,many of its verses are familiar to us as household words1 are household words4 ,brief as the ,book is1 ,i am disposed to think it is better known among us than any other of the ,old ,testament ,books except ,genesis1 the ,psalter1 and the prophecies of ,isaiah4 ,job is an incomparably finer1 as it is a much longer poem2 but ,i doubt whether most of us could not quote at least two verses from the shorter for every one that we could repeat from the longer ,scripture4 ,we can very easily understand1 therefore1 that the ,wise ,preacher1 as he himself assures us 7ver4 #aj71 bestowed on this work much care and thought2 that he had made diligent search for words of comfort by which he might solace and strengthen the hearts of his oppressed brethren2 and that1 having found words of comfort and of truth1 he wrote them down with a frank sincerity and uprightness4 ,from this description of the motives which had impelled him to publish the results of his thought and experience1 and of the spirit in which he had composed his work1 ,coheleth passes1 in ver4 #aa1 to a description of the twofold function of the ,teacher which is really a marvellous little poem in itself1 a pastoral cut on a gem4 ,that function is1 on the one hand1 progressive1 and1 on the other hand1 conservative4 ,at times the ,teacher's words are like goads with which the herdsmen prick on their cattle to new pastures1 correcting them when they loiter or stray2 at other times they are like the spikes which the shepherds drive into the ground when they pitch their tents on pastures where they intend to linger3 ,the words of the ,wise are like goads1 he says2 and the ,wise was a technical term for the sages who interpreted and administered the law2 while those of the ,masters of the ,assemblies are like spikes driven home1 ,masters of ,assemblies being a technical name for the heads of the colleges and schools which1 during the ,rabbinical period1 were to be found in every town1 and almost in every hamlet1 of ,judea4 ,the same man might1 and commonly did1 wear both titles2 and1 probably1 ,coheleth was himself both a ,wise ,man and a ,master4 ,so much as this1 indeed1 seems implied in the very name by which he introduces himself in the ,prologue4 ,for ,coheleth means1 as we have seen1 one who calls an assembly together and addresses them1 i4e4 precisely such a wise man as was reckoned the master of an assembly among the ,jews4 ,what did these ,masters teach8 ,everything almost--at least everything then known4 ,it is true that their main function was to interpret and enforce the law of ,moses2 but this function demanded all science for its adequate fulfilment4 ,take a simple illustration4 ,the ,law said1 ,thou shalt not kill4 ,here1 if ever1 is a plain and simple statute1 with no ambiguities1 no qualifications1 capable neither of misconstruction nor evasion4 ,anybody may remember it1 and know what it means4 ,may they8 ,i am not so sure of that4 ,the ,law says ,i am not to kill4 ,what1 not in self-defence6 not to save honour from outrage6 not in a patriotic war6 not to save my homestead from the freebooter or my house from the midnight thief6 not when my kinsman is slain before my eyes and in my defence6 ,many similar cases might be mooted1 and were mooted1 by the ,jews4 ,the ,master had to consider such cases as these1 to study the recorded and traditional verdicts of previous judges1 the glosses and comments of other ,masters2 he had to lay down rules and to apply rules to particular and exceptional cases1 just as our ,english ,judges have to define the ,common ,law or to interpret a ,parliamentary ,statute4 ,the growing wants of the ,commonwealth1 the increasing complexity of the relations of life as the people of ,israel came into contact with foreign races1 or were carried into captivity in strange lands1 necessitated new laws1 new rules of conduct4 ,and as there was no recognised authority to issue a decree1 no ,parliament to pass an ,act1 the wise ,masters1 learned in the law of ,god1 were compelled to lay down these rules1 to extend and qualify the ancient statutes till they covered modern cases and wants4 ,thus in this very ,book1 ,coheleth gives the rules which should govern a wise and pious ,jew in the new relations of ,traffic 7ch4 iv41 vv4 #d-af71 and in the service of foreign despots 7ch4 x41 vv4 #a-bj74 ,for such contingencies as these the ,law made no provision2 and hence the rabbis1 who sat in ,moses' chair1 made provision for them by legislating in the spirit of the ,law4 ,even in the application of known and definite laws there was need for care1 and science1 and thought4 ,the ,mosaic code1 says ,deutsch1 has injunctions about the ,sabbatical journey2 the distance had to be measured and calculated1 and mathematics were called into play4 ,seeds1 plants1 and animals had to be studied in connection with many precepts regarding them1 and natural history had to be appealed to4 ,then there were the purely hygienic paragraphs1 which necessitated for their precision a knowledge of all the medical science of the time4 ,the seasons and the feast-days were regulated by the phases of the moon2 and astronomy1 if only in its elements1 had to be studied4 ,as the ,hebrews came successively into contact with ,babylonians1 ,persians1 ,greeks1 ,romans1 the political and religious systems of these foreign races could not fail to leave some impressions on their minds1 and that these impressions might not be erroneous and misleading1 it became the ,master to acquaint himself with the results of foreign thought4 ,nay1 not only was science1 in its widest sense1 required of him1 but even an acquaintance with its fantastic shadows1 such as astrology1 magic1 and the rest1 in order that1 both as lawgiver and judge1 he might be able to enter into the popular feeling about these 'arts1' and wisely control it4 ,the proofs that this varied knowledge was acquired and patiently applied to the study of the ,law by these masters in ,israel are still with us in many learned sayings and essays of that period2 and in all these the conservative element or temper is sufficiently prominent4 ,their leading aim was1 obviously1 to honour the law of ,moses2 to preserve its spirit even in the new rules or codes which the changed circumstances of the time imperatively required2 to fix their stakes and pitch their tents in the old fields of thought4 ,so obvious is this aim1 even in the familiar pages of the ,new ,testament1 that ,i need not illustrate it4 ,but1 on the other hand1 the signs of progress are no less decisive1 though we may be less familiar with them4 ,through all this mass of learned and deferential comment on the ,mosaic ,code1 there perpetually crop up sayings which savour of the ,gospel rather than of the ,law--sayings that denote a great advance in thought4 ,study is better than sacrifice1 for example1 must have been a very surprising proverb to the backward-looking ,jew4 ,it is only one of many ,rabbinical sayings conceived in the same spirit3 but would not the whole ,levitical family listen to it with the wry1 clouded face of grave suspicion8 ,so1 when ,rabbi ,hillel1 anticipating the golden rule1 said1 ,do not unto another what thou wouldest not have another do unto thee2 this is the whole law1 the rest is mere commentary1 the lawyers1 with all who had trusted in ordinances and observances1 could hardly fail to be shocked and alarmed4 ,so1 too1 when ,rabbi ,antigonous said1 ,be not as men who serve their master for the sake of reward1 but be like men who serve not looking for reward2 or when ,rabbi ,gamaliel said1 ,do ,god's will as if it were thy will1 that ,he may accomplish thy will as if it were his1 there would be many1 no doubt1 who would feel that these venerable rabbis were bringing in very novel1 and possibly very dangerous1 doctrine4 ,nor could they fail to see what new fields of thought were being thrown open to them when ,coheleth affirmed the future judgment and the future life of men4 ,such words as these were in very deed goads1 correcting the errors of previous thought1 and urging men on to new pastures of truth and godliness4 ,sometimes1 as ,i have said1 the progressive ,sage and the conservative ,master would be united in the same person2 for there are those1 though there are not too many of them1 who can stand on the old ways and yet look for the new4 ,but1 often1 no doubt1 the two would be divided and opposed1 then as now4 ,for in thought1 as in politics1 there are always two great parties2 the one1 looking back with affectionate reverence and regret on the past1 and set to keep invention in a noted weed2 the other1 looking forward with eager hope and desire to the future1 and attached to new-found methods and to compounds strange2 the one1 bent on conserving as much as possible of the large heritage which our fathers have bequeathed us2 the other1 bent on leaving a larger and less encumbered inheritance to those that shall be after them4 ,the danger of the conservative thinker is that he may hold the debts on the estate as part of the estate1 that he may set himself against all liquidations1 all better methods of management1 against improvement in every form4 ,the danger of the progressive thinker is that1 in his generous ambition to improve and enlarge the estate1 he may break violently from the past1 and cast away many heirlooms and hoarded treasures that would add largely to our wealth4 ,the one is too apt to pitch his tents in familiar fields long after they are barren2 the other is too apt to drive men on from old pastures to new before the old are exhausted or the new ripe4 ,and1 surely1 there never was a larger or a more tolerant heart than that of the ,preacher who has taught us that both these classes of men and teachers1 both the conservative thinker and the progressive thinker1 are of ,god and have each a useful function to discharge2 that both the shepherd who loves his tent and the herdsman who wields the goad1 both the sage who urges us forward and the sage who holds us back1 are servants of the one ,great ,pastor1 and owe whether goad or tent-spike to ,him4 ,simply to entertain the conception widens and raises our minds2 to have conceived it and thrown it into this perfect form proves the ,sacred ,preacher to have been all he claims and more--not only ,sage1 ,teacher1 ,master1 ,author1 but also a true ,poet and a true man of ,god4 ,it is to be observed1 however1 that our accomplished ,sage limits the field of mental activity on either hand 7ver4 #ab74 ,his children1 his disciples--my son was the rabbi's customary term for his pupils1 as rabbi1 i4e4 my father1 was the title by which the pupil addressed his master--are to beware both of the many books of the making of which there was even then no end1 and of that over-addiction to study which was a weariness to the flesh4 ,the latter caution1 the warning against much study1 was a logical result of that sense of the sanitary value of physical labour by which1 as we have seen1 the masters in ,israel were profoundly impressed4 ,they held bodily exercise to be good for the soul as well as for the body1 a safeguard against the dreamy abstract moods and the vague fruitless reveries which relax rather than brace the intellectual fibre1 and which tend to a moral languor all the more perilous because its approaches are masked under the semblance of mental occupation4 ,they knew that those who attempt or affect to be creatures too bright and good for human nature's daily food are apt to sink below the common level rather than to rise above it4 ,they did not want their disciples to resemble many of the young men who lounged through the philosophical schools of ,greece and ,rome1 and who1 though always ready to discuss the first true1 first perfect1 first fair1 did nothing to raise the tone of common life whether by their example or their words2 young men1 as ,epictetus bitterly remarked of some of his disciples1 whose philosophy lay in their cloaks and their beards rather than in any wise conduct of their daily lives or any endeavour to better the world4 ,it was their aim to develop the whole man--body1 soul1 and spirit2 to train up useful citizens as well as accomplished scholars1 to spread the love and pursuit of wisdom through the whole nation rather than to produce a separate and learned class4 ,and1 in the prosecution of this aim1 they enjoined neither the exercises of the ancient palaestra1 nor athletic sports like those in vogue at our ,english seats of learning1 which are often a mere waste of good muscle1 but useful and productive toils4 ,with ,ruskin1 they believed1 not in the gospel of the cricket-bat or of the gymnasium1 but in the gospel of the plough and the spade1 the saw and the axe1 the hammer and the trowel2 and saved their disciples from the weariness of overtaxed brains by requiring them to become skilled artisans1 and to labour heartily in their vocations4 ,nor is the caution against many books1 at which some critics have taken grave offence1 the illiberal sentiment it has often been pronounced4 ,for1 no doubt1 ,coheleth1 like other wise ,hebrews1 was fully prepared to study whatever science would throw light on the ,divine ,law1 or teach men how to live4 ,mathematics1 astronomy1 natural history1 medicine1 casuistry1 the ethical and religious systems of the ,east and the ,west1--some knowledge of all these various branches of learning was necessary1 as has been shown1 to those who had to interpret and administer the statutes of the ,mosaic code1 and to supplement them with rules appropriate to the new conditions of the time4 ,in these and kindred studies the rabbis were masters2 and what they knew they taught4 ,that which distinguished them from other men of equal learning was that they did not love knowledge for its own sake merely1 but for its bearing on practice1 on conduct4 ,like ,socrates1 they were not content with a purely intellectual culture1 but sought a wisdom that would mingle with the blood of men and mend their ways1 a wisdom that would hold their baser passions in check1 infuse new energy into the higher moods and aptitudes of the soul1 and make duty their supreme aim and delight4 ,to secure this great end1 they knew no method so likely to prove effectual as an earnest1 or even an exclusive1 study of the ,sacred ,scriptures in which they thought they had eternal life1 i4e4 the true life of man1 the life which is independent of the chances and changes of time4 ,whatever studies would illuminate and illustrate these ,scriptures they pursued and encouraged2 whatever might divert attention from them1 they discouraged and condemned4 ,many of them1 as we learn from the ,talmud1 refused to write down the discourses they delivered in ,school or ,synagogue lest1 by making books of their own1 they should withdraw attention from the ,inspired ,writings4 ,it was better they thought to read the ,scriptures than any commentary on the ,scriptures1 and hence they confined themselves to oral instruction3 even their profoundest and most characteristic sayings would have perished if fond tradition had not babbled of them for many an age to come4 ,if the sentiment which dictated this course was in part a mistaken sentiment1 it sprang from a noble motive4 ,for no ordinance could be more self-denying to a learned and literary class than one which forbade them to put on record the results of their researches1 the conclusions of their wisdom1 and thus to win name and fame and use in after generations4 ,but was their course1 after all1 one which calls for censure8 ,has the world ever produced a literature so noble1 so pure1 so lofty and heroic in its animating spirit1 as that of the ,hebrew historians and poets8 ,the world is forwarded by having its attention fixed on the best things1 says ,matthew ,arnold in his ,preface to his selection of ,wordsworth's poems1 and proceeds to define the best things as those works of the great masters of song which have won the approval of the whole group of civilised nations4 ,but even those whom the civilised world has acclaimed as its highest and best have confessed that in the ,bible1 viewed simply as literature1 their noblest work is far excelled3 and what sane man will deny that ,faust1 for example1 would cut a sorry figure if compared with ,job1 which our own greatest living poet has pronounced the finest poem whether of ancient or of modern times1 or ,wordsworth himself if placed side by side with ,isaiah8 ,who can doubt1 then1 that the world would have been forwarded if its attention had been fixed on this best8 ,who can doubt that it would be infinitely sweeter and better than it is if these ancient ,scriptures had been studied before and above all other writings1 if they had been brooded over and wrought into the minds of men till the life in them had been assimilated and reproduced8 ,the man who has had a classical or scientific education1 and profited by it1 must be an ingrate indeed1 unless he be the slave of some dominant crotchet1 if he do not hold in grateful reverence the great masters at whose feet he has sat2 but the man who has really found life in the ,scriptures must be worse than an ingrate if he does not feel that a merely mental culture is a small good when compared with the treasures of an eternal life1 if he does not admit that the main object of all education should be to conduct men through a course of intellectual training which shall culminate in a moral and spiritual discipline4 ,to be wise is much2 but how much more is it to be good6 ,better be a child in the kingdom of heaven than a philosopher or a poet hanging vaguely about its outskirts4 ,if any of us still suspect the ,preacher's words of illiberality1 and say1 ,there was no need to oppose the one ,book to the many1 and to depreciate these in order to magnify that1 we have only to consider the historical circumstances in which he wrote in order to acquit him of the charge4 ,for generations the ,holy ,scriptures had been neglected by the ,jews2 copies had grown scarce1 and were hidden away in obscure nooks in which they were hard to find2 some of the inspired writings had been lost1 and have not been recovered to this day4 ,the people were ignorant of their own history1 and law1 and hope4 ,suddenly they were awaked from the slumber of indifference1 to find themselves in a night of ignorance4 ,during the miseries of the ,captivity a longing for the ,divine ,word was quickened within them4 ,they were eager to acquaint themselves with the ,revelation which they had neglected and forgotten4 ,and their teachers1 the few men who knew and loved the ,word1 set themselves to deepen and to satisfy the craving4 ,they multiplied copies of the ,scriptures1 circulated them1 explained them in the ,schools1 exhorted from them in the ,synagogues4 ,and1 till the people were familiar with the ,scriptures1 the wiser rabbis would not write books of their own1 and looked with a jealous eye on the many books bred by the literary activity of the time4 ,it was the very feeling which preceded and accompanied the ,english ,reformation4 ,then the newly-discovered ,bible threw all other books into the shade4 ,the people thirsted for the pure ,word of ,god2 and the leaders of the ,reformation were very well content that they should read nothing else till they had read that2 that they should leave all other fountains to drink of the river of life4 ,the translation and circulation of the ,scriptures was the one work1 almost the exclusive work1 to which they bent their energies4 ,like the ,jewish rabbis1 ,tyndale and his fellow-labourers did not care to write books themselves1 nor wish the people to read the books they were compelled to write in self-defence4 ,there is a remarkable passage in ,fryth's ,scripture ,doctrine of the ,sacrament1 in which1 replying to ,sir ,thomas ,more1 the ,reformer says3 ,this hath been offered you1 is offered1 and shall be offered4 ,grant that the ,word of ,god1 ,i mean the text of ,scripture1 may go abroad in our ,english tongue 444 and my brother ,tyndale and ,i have done1 and will promise you to write no more4 ,if you will not grant this condition1 then will we be doing while we have breath1 and show in few words that the ,scripture doth in many1 and so at the least save some4 ,the ,hebrew ,reformers of the school of ,coheleth were animated by precisely the same lofty and generous spirit4 ,they were content to be nothing1 that the ,word of ,god might be all in all4 ,the ,bible1 and the ,bible only1 they conceived to be the want of their age and race2 and hence they were content to forego the honours of authorship1 and the study of many branches of learning which under other conditions they would have been glad to pursue1 and besought their disciples to concentrate all their thoughts on the one ,book which was able to make them wise unto salvation4 ,learned themselves1 and often profoundly learned1 it was no contempt for learning which actuated them1 but a devout godliness and the fervours of a most self-denying piety4 ,so far the ,epilogue may seem a mere digression1 not without interest and value indeed1 but having no vital connection with the main theme of the ,poem4 ,it tells us that the ,preacher was a sage1 a recognised official teacher1 the master of an assembly1 a doctor of laws1 an author who had expended much labour on many proverbs1 a conservative shepherd pitching his tent on familiar fields of thought1 a progressive herdsman goading men on to new pastures--not ,solomon therefore1 by the way1 for who would have described him in such terms as these8 ,if we are glad to know so much of him1 we cannot but ask1 ,what has all this to do with the quest of the ,chief ,good8 ,it has this to do with it4 ,coheleth has achieved the quest2 he has solved his problem1 and has given us his solution of it4 ,he is about to repeat that solution4 ,to give emphasis and force to the repetition1 that he may carry his readers more fully with him1 he dwells on his claims to their respect1 their confidence1 their affection4 ,he is all that they most admire2 he carries the very authority to which they most willingly defer4 ,if they know this--and1 scattered as they were through many cities and provinces1 how should they know it unless he told them8--they cannot refuse him a hearing2 they will be predisposed to accept his conclusion2 they will be sure not to reject it without consideration4 ,it is out of any personal conceit1 therefore1 nor any pride of learning1 nor even that he may grant himself the relief of lifting his mask from his face for a moment1 that he recounts his titles to their regard4 ,he is simply gathering force from the willing respect and deference of his readers in order that he may plant his final conclusion more strongly and more deeply in their hearts4 ,and what is the conclusion which he is at such pains to enforce8 ,the conclusion of the matter is this2 that ,god taketh cognizance of all things3 fear ,him1 therefore1 and keep his commandments1 for this it behoveth every man to do2 since ,god will bring every deed to the judgment appointed for every secret thing1 whether it be good or whether it be bad 7vv4 #ac1 #ad74 ,now that this conclusion is simply a repetition1 in part expanded and in part condensed1 of that with which the ,preacher closes the previous ,section1 is obvious4 ,there he incites men to a life of virtue with two leading motives3 first1 by the fact of the present constant judgment of ,god2 and1 secondly1 by the prospect of a future1 a more searching and decisive1 judgment4 ,here he appeals to precisely the same motives1 though now1 instead of implying a present judgment under the injunction ,remember thy ,creator1 he broadly affirms that ,god takes note of all things2 and1 instead of simply reminding the young that ,god will bring the ways of their heart into judgment1 he defines that future judgment at once more largely and more exactly as appointed for every secret thing and extending to every deed1 both good and bad4 ,in dealing with the motives of a virtuous life1 therefore1 he goes a little beyond his former lines of thought1 gives them a wider scope1 makes them more sharp and definite4 ,on the other hand1 in speaking of the forms which the virtuous or ideal life assumes1 he is very curt and brief4 ,all he has to say on that point now is1 ,fear ,god and keep his commandments2 whereas1 in his previous treatment of it1 he had much to say1 bidding us for instance1 cast our bread upon the waters1 and give a portion to seven1 and even to eight2 bidding us sow our seed morning and evening1 though the clouds should be full of rain1 and whatever the course of the wind2 bidding us rejoice in all our labours1 and carry to all our self-denials the merry heart that physics pain4 ,as we studied the meaning of the beautiful metaphors of chapter xi41 sought to gather up their several meanings into an orderly connection1 and to express them in a more literal logical form--to translate them1 in short1 from the ,eastern to the ,western mode--we found that the main virtues enjoined by the ,preacher were charity1 industry1 cheerfulness2 the charity which does good hoping for nothing again1 the industry which bends itself to the present duty in scorn of omen or consequence2 and the cheerfulness which springs from a consciousness of the ,divine presence1 from the conviction that1 however men may misjudge us1 ,god knows us altogether and will do us justice4 ,this was our summary of the ,preacher's argument1 of his solution of the supreme moral problem of human life4 ,here1 in the ,epilogue1 he gives us his own summary in the words1 ,fear ,god1 and keep his commandments4 ,if we compare these two summaries1 there seems at first rather difference than resemblance between them3 the one appears1 if more indefinite1 much more comprehensive1 than the other4 ,yet there is one point of resemblance which soon strikes us4 ,for we know by this time that on the ,preacher's lips ,fear ,god does not mean ,be afraid of ,god2 that it indicates and demands just that reverent sense of the ,divine ,presence1 that strong inward conviction of the constant judgment ,he passes on all our ways and motives and thoughts1 which ,coheleth has already affirmed to be a prime safeguard of virtue4 ,it is the phrase and keep his commandments that sounds so much larger than anything we have heard from him before1 so much more comprehensive4 ,for the commandments of ,god are many and very broad4 ,he reveals his will in the natural universe and the laws which govern it2 laws which1 as we are part of the universe1 we need to know and to obey4 ,he reveals his will in the social and political forces which govern the history and development of the various races of mankind1 which therefore meet and affect us at every turn4 ,he reveals his will in the ethical intuitions and codes which govern the formation of character1 which enter into and give shape to all in us that is most spiritual1 profound1 and enduring4 ,to keep all the commandments revealed in these immense fields of ,divine activity with an intelligent and invariable obedience is simply impossible to us2 it is the perfection which flows round our imperfection1 and towards which it is our one great task to be ever reaching forth4 ,is it as inciting us to this impossible perfection that the ,preacher bids us fear ,god and keep his commandments8 ,yes and ,no4 ,it is not as having this large perfect ideal distinctly before his mind that he utters the injunction1 although in the course of this ,book he has glanced at every element of it2 nor even as having so much of it in his mind as is expressed in the law that came by ,moses1 although that too includes precepts for the physical and the political as well as for the moral and religious provinces of human life4 ,what he meant by bidding us keep the commandments was1 ,i apprehend1 that we should take the counsels he has already given us1 and follow after charity1 industry1 cheerfulness4 ,every other phrase in this final conclusion is1 as we have seen1 a repetition of the truths announced at the close of the previous ,section1 and therefore we may fairly assume this phrase to contain a truth--the truth of ,duty--which he there illustrates4 ,throughout the whole ,book there is not a single technical allusion1 no allusion to the ,temple1 to the feasts1 to the sacrifices1 rites1 ceremonies of the ,law2 and therefore we can hardly take this reference to the commandments as an allusion to the ,mosaic table4 ,by the rules of fair interpretation we are bound to take these commandments as previously defined by the ,preacher himself1 to understand him as once more enforcing the virtues which1 for him1 comprised the whole duty of man4 ,do we thus limit and degrade the moral ideal1 or represent him as degrading and limiting it8 ,by no means3 for to love our neighbour1 to discharge the present duty whatever rain may fall and whatever storm may blow1 to carry a bright hopeful spirit through all our toils and charities2 to do this in the fear of ,god1 as in his ,presence1 because ,he is judging and will judge us--this1 surely1 includes all that is essential even in the loftiest ideal of moral duty and perfection4 ,for how are we to be cheerful and dutiful and kind except as we obey the commandments of ,god in whatever form they may have been revealed8 ,the diseases which result from a violation of sanitary laws1 as also the ignorance or the wilfulness or the impotence which lead us to violate social or ethical laws1 of necessity and by natural consequence impair our cheerfulness1 our strength for laborious duties1 our neighbourly serviceableness and good-will4 ,to live the life which the ,preacher enjoins1 on the inspiration of the motives which he supplies1 is therefore1 in the largest and broadest sense1 to keep the commandments of ,god4 ,what advantage1 then1 is there in saying1 ,be kind1 be dutiful1 be cheerful1 over saying1 ,obey the laws of ,god8 ,there is this great practical advantage that1 while in the last resort the one rule of life is as comprehensive as the other1 and just as difficult1 it is more definite1 more portable1 and does not sound so difficult4 ,it is the very advantage which our ,lord's memorable summary1 ,thou shalt love the ,lord thy ,god with all thy heart1 and thy neighbour as thyself1 has over the ,law and the ,prophets4 ,bid a man keep the whole ,mosaic code as interpreted by the prophets of a thousand years1 and you set him a task so heavy1 so hopeless1 that he may well decline it2 only to understand the bearing and harmony of the ,mosaic statutes1 and to gather the sense in which the prophets--to say nothing of the rabbis--interpreted them1 is the labour of a lifetime1 a labour for which even the whole life of a trained scholar is insufficient4 ,but bid him love ,god and man1 and you give him a principle which his own conscience at once accepts and confirms1 a golden rule or principle which if he be of a good heart and a willing mind1 he will be able to apply to the details and problems of life as they arise4 ,in like manner if you say3 ,the true ideal of life is to be reached only by the man who comprehends and obeys all the laws of ,god revealed in the physical universe1 in the history of humanity1 in the moral intuitions and discoveries of the race1 you set men a task so stupendous as that no man ever has or will be able to accomplish it4 ,say1 on the other hand1 ,do the duty of every hour as it passes1 without fretting about future issues2 help your neighbour to do his duty or to bear his burden1 even though he may never have helped you2 be blithe and cheerful even when your work is hard and your neighbour is ungrateful or unkind1 and you speak straight to a man's heart1 to his sense of what is right and good2 you summon every noble and generous instinct of his nature to his aid4 ,he can begin to practise this rule of life without preliminary and exhausting study of its meaning2 and if he finds it work1 as assuredly he will1 he will be encouraged to make it his rule4 ,he will soon discover1 indeed1 that it means more than he thought1 that it is not so easy to apply to the complexities of human affairs1 that it is very much harder to keep than he supposed3 but its depth and difficulty will open on him gradually1 as he is able to bear them4 ,if his heart now and then faint1 if hand and foot falter1 still ,god is with him1 with him to help and reward as well as to judge2 and that conviction once in his mind is there for ever1 a constant spur to thought1 to obedience1 to patience4 ,in nothing1 indeed1 does the wisdom of the ,hebrew sages show its superiority over that of the other sages of antiquity more decisively than in its adaptation to the practical needs of men busied in the common affairs of life1 and with no learning and no leisure for the study of large intricate problems4 ,it comes straight down into the beaten ways of men4 ,if you read ,confucius1 for example1 and still more if you read ,plato1 you cannot fail to be struck with their immense grasp of thought1 or their profound learning1 or even their moral enthusiasm2 as you read1 you will often meet with wise rules of life expressed in beautiful forms4 ,and yet your main feeling will be that they give you1 and men like you1 if at least you be of the common build1 as most of us are1 little help2 that unless you had their rare endowments1 or could give yourself largely and long to the study of their works1 you could hardly hope to learn what they have to teach1 or order your life by their plan4 ,and that this feeling is just is proved by the histories of ,china and ,greece1 different as they are4 ,in ,china only students1 only literati1 are so much as supposed to understand the ,confucian system of thought and ethics2 the great bulk of the people have to be content with a few rules and forms and rites which are imposed on them by authority4 ,in ancient ,greece1 the wisdom to which her great masters attained was only taught in the ,schools to men addicted to philosophical studies2 even the natural and moral truths on which the popular mythology was based were hidden in mysteries open only to the initiated few2 while the great mass of the people were amused with fables which they misapprehended1 and with rites which they soon degraded into licentious orgies4 ,no man cared for their souls2 their errors were not corrected1 their license was not rebuked4 ,their wise men made no effort to lift them to a height from which they might see that the whole of morality lay in the love of ,god and man1 in charity1 diligent devotion to duty1 cheerfulness4 ,but it was far otherwise with the ,hebrews and their sages4 ,men such as the ,preacher confined themselves to no school or class1 but carried their wisdom to the synagogue1 to the market-place1 to the popular assemblies4 ,they invented no mysteries1 but brought down the mysteries of ,heaven to the understanding of the simple4 ,instead of engaging in lofty abstract speculations in which only the learned could follow them1 they compressed the loftiest wisdom into plain moral rules which the unlettered could apprehend1 and urged them to obedience by motives and promises which went home to the popular heart4 ,and they had their reward4 ,the truths they taught became familiar to all sorts and conditions of ,hebrew men2 they became a factor1 and the most influential factor1 in the national life4 ,fishermen1 carpenters1 tent-makers1 sandal-makers1 shepherds1 husbandmen1 grew studious of the ,divine ,will and learned the secrets of righteousness and peace4 ,during the wonderful revival of literary and religious activity which followed the exile in ,babylon--a revival mainly owing to these ,sages--every child was compelled to attend a common school in which the sacred ,scriptures were taught by the ablest and most learned rabbis2 in which1 as we learn from the ,talmud1 the duty of leading a religious life in all outward conditions1 even to the poorest1 was impressed upon them1 and the virtues of charity1 industry1 and cheerfulness were enforced as the very soul of religion4 ,here1 for example1 is a legend from the ,talmud1 and it is only one of many1 which illustrates and confirms all that has just been said4--,a sage1 while walking in a crowded market-place suddenly encountered the prophet ,elijah1 and asked him who1 out of that vast multitude1 would be saved4 ,whereupon the ,prophet first pointed out a weird-looking creature1 a turnkey1 'because he was merciful to his prisoners1' and next two common-looking tradesmen who were walking through the crowd1 pleasantly chatting together4 ,the sage instantly rushed after them1 and asked them what were their saving works4 ,but they1 much puzzled1 replied3 ',we are but poor working-men who live by our trade4 ,all that can be said for us is that we are always cheerful and good-natured4 ,when we meet anybody who seems sad1 we join him1 and we talk to him and cheer him up1 that he may forget his grief4 ,and if we know of two people who have quarrelled1 we talk to them1 and persuade them till we have made them friends again4 ,this is our whole life4' ,it is impossible that such a legend should have sprung up on any but ,hebrew soil4 ,had ,confucius been asked to point out the man whom ,heaven most approved1 he would probably have replied1 ,the superior man is catholic1 not sectarian2 he is observant of the rules of propriety and decorum2 and he does not do to others what he would not have done to himself3#eh and he would certainly have looked for him in some state official distinguished by his wise administration4 ,had any of the ,greek sages been asked the same question1 they would have found their perfect man in the philosopher who1 raised above the common passions and aims of men1 gave himself to the pursuit of an abstract and speculative wisdom4 ,only a ,hebrew would have looked for him in that low estate in which the one truly ,perfect ,man dwelt among us4 ,and yet how that ,hebrew legend charms and touches and satisfies us6 ,what a hope for humanity there is in the thought that the poor weird-looking jailer who was merciful to his prisoners1 and the kindly1 industrious1 cheerful working-men1 living by their craft1 and incapable of regarding their diligence and good-nature as saving works1 stood higher than priest or rabbi1 ruler or philosopher6 ,how welcome and ennobling is the conviction that there are last who yet are first--last with men1 first with ,god2 that turnkeys and artisans1 publicans and sinners even1 may draw nearer to ,heaven than sophist or flamen1 sage or prince6 ,who so poor but that he has a little bread to cast on the thankless unreturning waters8 who so faint of heart but that he may sow a little seed even when the winds rave and the sky is full of clouds8 who so solitary and forlorn but that he may say a word of comfort to a weeping neighbour1 or seek to make two people who have quarrelled friends again8 ,and this is all that the ,preacher1 all that ,god through the ,preacher1 asks of us4 #eh ,this partial anticipation of the ,golden ,rule will be found in the ,confucian ,analects1 book xv41 chap4 xxiii4 ,tsze-kung asked1 saying1 ',is there one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's life8' ,the ,master said1 ',is not reciprocity such a word8 ,what you do not want done to yourself1 do not do to others4' ,the same rule is given in another form in book v41 chap4 i of the ,analects4 ,the other phrases put into the sage's mouth are quoted from ,dr4 ,legge's translation of this work4 ,all--yet even this is much2 even for this we shall need the pressure of constant and weighty motives3 for it is not only occasional acts which are required of us1 but settled tempers and habits of goodwill1 industry1 and cheerfulness2 and to love all men1 to rejoice alway1 to do our duty in all weathers and all moods1 is very hard work to our feeble1 selfish1 and easily-dejected natures4 ,does the ,preacher supply us with such motives as we need8 ,he offers us two motives2 one in the present judgment1 another in the future judgment of ,god4 ,god is with you1 he says1 taking cognizance of all you do2 and you will soon be with ,god1 to give ,him an account of every secret and every deed4 ,but that is an appeal to fear--is it not8 ,it is1 rather1 an appeal to love and hope4 ,he has no thought of frightening us into obedience--for the obedience of fear is not worth having1 is not obedience in the true sense2 but he is trying to win and allure us to obedience4 ,for whatever terrors ,god's judgment or the future world may have for us1 it is very certain that these terrors were in large measure unknown to the ,jews4 ,the ,talmud knows nothing of hell1 nothing of an everlasting torture4 ,even the ,sheol of the ,old ,testament is simply the under-world in which the ,jews believed the spirits of both good men and bad to be gathered after death4 ,and1 to the ,jews for whom ,coheleth wrote1 the judgment of ,god1 whether here or hereafter1 would have singular and powerful attractions4 ,they were in captivity to merciless and capricious despots who took no pains to understand their character or to deal with them according to their works1 who had no sense of justice1 no kindness1 no ruth for slaves4 ,for men thus oppressed and hopeless there would be an infinite comfort in the thought that ,god1 the ,great ,ruler and ,disposer1 knew them altogether1 saw all their struggles to maintain his worship and to acquaint themselves with his will1 took note of every wrong they suffered1 was afflicted in all their afflictions1 and would one day call both them and their oppressors to the bar at which all wrongs are at once righted and avenged4 ,would it affright them to hear that ,god taketh cognizance of all things1 and has appointed a judgment for every secret and every deed8 ,would not this be1 rather1 their strongest consolation1 their brightest hope8 ,would they not do their duty with better heart if they knew that ,god saw how hard it was to do8 ,would they not show a more constant kindness to their neighbours1 if they knew that ,god would openly reward every alms done in secret8 ,would they not carry a blither and more patient spirit to all their labours and afflictions if they knew that a day of recompenses was at hand8 ,the ,preacher thought they would2 and hence he bids them rejoice1 bids them banish care and sadness1 because ,god will bring them into judgment1 and incites them to keep the commandments because ,god's eye is upon them1 and because1 in the judgment1 ,he will not forget the work of their obedience1 the labour of their love4 ,this1 to some of us1 may be a novel view whether of the present or of the future judgment of ,god4 ,for the most part1 ,i fear1 we speak of the ,divine judgments as terrible and well-nigh unendurable4 ,we would escape them even here1 if we could2 but1 above all1 we dread them when we shall stand before the bar at which the secrets of all hearts will be disclosed4 ,now we need not1 and we must not1 lose ought of the awe and reverence for ,him who is our ,god and ,father which1 so far from impairing1 deepens our love4 ,but we need to remember that fear is base1 that it is the enemy of love2 that so long as we anticipate the ,divine judgments only or mainly with dread1 we are far from the love which gives value and charm to obedience2 and that1 if we are to be good and at peace1 we must shut out fear with all the strength of hope4 ,what is it that we fear8 ,suffering6 ,but why should we fear that1 if it will make us perfect8 ,death6 ,but why should we fear that1 if it will take us home to our ,father8 ,god's anger6 ,but ,god is not angry with us if we love ,him and try to do his will2 ,he loves us even when we sin against ,him1 and shows his love in making the way of sin so hard to us that we are constrained to leave it4 ,ought we1 then1 to dread1 ought we not rather to desire1 the judgments by which we are corrected1 purified1 saved8 ,but the future judgment--that is so dreadful6 ,is it8 ,god knows us as we are already3 is it so very much worse that we should know ourselves1 and that our neighbours should know us8 ,if among our secrets there be many things evil1 are there not at least some that are good8 ,do we not find ourselves perpetually thwarted or hindered in our endeavours to give form and scope to our purest emotions1 our tenderest sympathies1 our loftiest resolves8 ,do we not perpetually complain that1 when we would do good1 even if evil is not present to overcome the good1 it is present to mar it1 to make our goodness poor1 scanty1 ungraceful8 ,well1 these obstructed purposes and intentions and resolves1 all the good in us that has been frustrated or deformed1 or limited1 by our social conditions1 by our lack of power1 culture1 expression1 by the clogging flesh or the flagging brain1--all these are among the secret things which ,god will bring to light2 and we may be sure that ,he will not think less of these1 his own work in us1 than of the manifold sins by which we have marred his work4 ,we are in some danger of regarding the judgment as a revelation of our trespasses only1 instead of every deed1 and every secret1 whether good or bad4 ,once conceive of it aright1 as the revelation of the whole man1 as the unveiling of all that is in us1 and mere honesty might lead us to desire rather than to dread it4 ,one of the finest and most devout spirits of modern ,france#ei has said3 ,it seems to me intolerable to appear to men other than we appear to ,god4 ,my worst torture at this moment is the over-estimate which generous friends form of me4 ,we are told that at the last judgment the secret of all consciences will be laid bare to the universe3 would that mine were so this day1 and that every passer-by could read me as ,i am6 ,to seem what we are1 to be known for what we are1 to be treated as we are1 this is the judgment of ,god4 ,and1 though this judgment must bring even the best of us much shame and much sorrow1 who that sincerely loves ,god and truth will not rejoice to have done at last with all masks and veils1 to wear his natural colours1 and to take his true place1 even though it be the lowest8 #ei ,maurice de ,guerin in his ,journal4 ,in the corrupted currents of this world ,offence's gilded hand may shove by justice1 ,and oft 'tis seen the wicked prize itself ,buys out the law3 but 'tis not so above2 ,there is no shuffling1 there the action lies ,in its true nature1 and we ourselves compell'd ,even to the teeth and forehead of our faults ,to give in evidence4 ,to have got out of the corrupted currents of which audacious and strong injustice so often avails itself to our hurt2 to be quit of all the shuffling equivocations by which we often pervert the true character of our actions1 and persuade ourselves that we are other and better than we are2 to be compelled to look our faults straight and fairly in the face2 to have all the latent goodness of our natures developed1 and their fettered and obstructed virtue liberated from every bond2 to see our every secret good as well as bad1 and our every deed good as well as bad1 exposed in their true colours3 is there no hope1 no comfort for us1 in such a prospect as this8 ,it is a prospect full of comfort1 full of hope1 if at least we have any real trust in the grace and goodness of ,god2 and if1 through his grace1 we have set ourselves to do our duty1 to love our neighbour1 and to bear the changes and burdens of life with a patient cheerful heart4 ,now that we have once more heard the ,preacher's final conclusion1 we shall have no difficulty in fitting into its place1 or valuing at its worth1 the partial and provisional conclusion to which he rises at the close of the previous ,sections of the ,book4 ,in the ,first ,section he describes his quest of the ,chief ,good in ,wisdom and in ,mirth2 he declares that1 though both wisdom and mirth are good1 neither of them is the supreme good of life1 nor both combined2 and1 in despair of reaching any higher mark1 he closes with the admission 7ch4 ii41 vv4 #bd-bf7 that even for the man who is both wise and good there is nothing better than to eat and to drink1 and to let his soul take pleasure in all his labour4 ,in the ,second ,section he pursues his quest in ,devotion to ,business and to ,public ,affairs1 only to find his former conclusion confirmed 7ch4 v41 vv4 #ah-bj73 ,behold1 that which ,i have said holds good2 it is well for a man to eat and to drink1 and to enjoy all the good of his labour through the brief day of his life2 this is his portion2 and he should take his portion and rejoice in his labour1 remembering that the days of his life are not many1 and that ,god meant him to work for the enjoyment of his heart4 ,in the ,third ,section1 his quest in ,wealth and in the ,golden ,mean conducts him by another road to the same bright resting-place which1 however1 for all so bright as it looks1 he seems to enter every time with a more rueful and dejected gait 7ch4 viii41 ver4 #ae73 more and more sadly he commends mirth1 because there is nothing better for man than to eat and to drink and to rejoice1 and because this will go with him to his work through the days of his life which ,god giveth him under the sun4 ,to my mind there is a strange pathos in the mournful tones in which the ,preacher commends mirth1 in the plaintive minors of a voice from which we should naturally expect the clear ringing majors of joy4 ,as we listen to these recurring notes1 we feel that he has been baffled in his ,quest2 that1 starting every day in a fresh direction and travelling till he is weary and spent1 he finds himself night after night at the very spot he had left in the morning1 and can only alleviate the unwelcome surprise of finding himself no farther and no higher by muttering1 ,as well here perhaps as elsewhere6 ,no votary of mirth and jollity surely ever wore so woebegone a countenance1 or sang their praises with more trembling and uncertain lips4 ,what can be more hopeless than his there is nothing better1 so you must even be content with this1 or than the way in which he harps on the brevity of life6 ,you feel that the man has been passionately seeking for something better1 for a good which would be a good not only through the brief hours of time but for ever2 that it is with a heart saddened by the sense of wasted endeavour and cravings unsatisfied that he falls back on pleasures as brief as his day1 as wearisome as his toils4 ,yet all the while he feels1 and makes you feel1 that there is a certain measure of truth in his conclusion2 that mirth is a great good1 though not the greatest2 that if he could but find that something better of which he is in quest1 he would learn the secret of a deeper mirth than that which springs from eating and drinking and sensuous delights1 a mirth which would not set with the setting sun of his brief day4 ,this feeling is justified by the issue4 ,now that the ,preacher has completed his circle of thought1 we can see that it is well for a man to rejoice and take pleasure in his labours1 that ,god did mean him to work for the enjoyment of his heart1 that there is a mirth purer and more enduring than that which springs from knowledge1 or from the gratification of the senses1 or from success in affairs1 or from the possession of much goods1--a mirth for this life which expands and deepens into an everlasting joy4 ,throughout his ,quest he has held fast to the conviction that it is a comely fashion to be glad1 though he could allege no better reason for his conviction than the transitoriness of life and the impossibility of reaching any higher good4 ,before he could justify this conviction1 he must achieve his ,quest4 ,it is only when he has learned to regard our life-- as a harp1 ,a gracious instrument on whose fair strings ,we learn those airs we shall be set to play ,when mortal hours are ended1 that his plaintive minors pass into the frank1 jocund tones appropriate to a sincere and well-grounded mirth4 ,now he can cease to trouble heaven with his bootless cries on the indiscrimination of death and the vanity of life4 ,he can now say to his soul1 ,what hast thou to do with sorrow ,or the injuries of to-morrow8 for he has discovered that no morrow can any more injure him1 no sorrow rob him of his true joy4 ,god is with him1 observing all the postures and moods of his soul1 and adapting all his circumstances to the correction of what is evil in him or the cultivation of what is good4 ,there is no dark impassable gulf between this world and the next2 life does not cease at death1 but grows more intense and full2 death is but a second birth into a second and better life1 a life of ampler and happier conditions1 and yet a life which is the continuation and consummation of that we now live in the flesh4 ,all that he has to do1 therefore1 is to fear ,god and keep his commandments1 leaving the issues of his labour in the ,hands which bend all things to a final goal of good4 ,what though the clouds drop rain or the winds blew bitterly1 what though his diligence a charity meet no present recognition or reward8 ,all that is no business of his4 ,he has only to do the duty of the passing hour1 and to help his neighbours do their duty4 ,so long as he can do this1 why should he not be bright and gay8 ,in this lies his ,chief ,good3 why should he not enjoy that1 even though other and lesser goods be taken from him for a time--be lent to the ,lord that they may hereafter be repaid with usury8 ,he is no longer a pipe for fortune's finger to sound what stop she please3 he has a tune of his own1 a cheerful tune1 to play1 and will play it1 let fortune be in what mood she please4 ,he is not passion's slave1 but the servant and friend of ,god2 and because ,god is with him and for him1 and because he will soon be with ,god1 he is ,as one1 in suffering all1 that suffers nothing1 and can take fortune's buffets and rewards with equal thanks4 ,his cheerful content does not lie at the mercy of accident2 the winds and waves of vicissitude cannot prevail against it3 for it has two broad and solid foundations2 one on earth1 and the other in heaven4 ,on the one hand1 it springs from a faithful discharge of personal duty and the neighbourly charity which hopeth all things and endureth all things2 on the other hand1 it springs from the conviction that ,god takes note of all things1 and will bring every secret and every deed into a judgment perfectly just and perfectly kind4 ,the fair structure which rises on these sure foundations is not to be shaken by ought that does not sap the foundations on which it rests4 ,convince him that ,god is not with him1 or that ,god does not so care for him as to judge and correct him2 or convict him of gross and constant failures in duty and in charity2 and then1 indeed1 you touch1 you endanger1 his peace4 ,but no external loss1 no breath of change1 no cloud in the sky of his fortunes1 no loss1 no infirmity that does not impede him in the discharge of duty1 can do more than cast a passing shadow on his heart4 ,whatever happens1 into whatever new conditions or new worlds he may pass1 his chief good and therefore his supreme joy is with him4 ,this man is freed from servile bands ,of hope to rise or fear to fall3 ,lord of himself1 though not of lands1 ,and1 having nothing1 yet hath all4 ,now1 too1 without fear or favour1 without any prejudice for or against his conclusion because we find it in ,holy ,writ1 we may ask ourselves1 ,has the ,preacher satisfactorily solved the problem which he took in hand8 has he really achieved his ,quest and attained the ,chief ,good8 ,one thing is quite clear2 he has not lost himself in speculations foreign to our experience and remote from it2 he has dealt with the common facts of life such as they were in his time1 such as they remain in ours3 for now1 as then1 men are restless and craving1 and seek the satisfactions of rest in science or in pleasure1 in successful public careers or in the fortunate conduct of affairs1 by securing wealth or by laying up a modest provision for present and future wants4 ,now1 as then1 ,the common problem1 yours1 mine1 everyone's1 ,is not to fancy what were fair in life ,providing it could be1--but1 finding first ,what may be1 then find how to make it fair ,up to our means--a very different thing4 ,that the ,preacher should have attacked this common problem1 and should have handled it with the practical good sense which characterises his ,poem1 is a point1 and a large point1 in his favour4 ,nor is the conclusion at which he arrives1 in its substance1 peculiar to him1 or even to the ,scriptures4 ,he says3 ,the perfect man1 the ideal man1 is he who addresses himself to the present duty untroubled by adverse clouds and currents1 who so loves his neighbour that he can do good even to the evil and the unthankful1 and who carries a brave cheerful temper to the unrewarded toils and sacrifices of his life1 because ,god is with him1 taking note of all he does1 and because there is a future life for which this course of duty1 charity1 and magnanimity1 is the best preparative4 ,he affirms that the man who has risen to the discovery and practice of this ideal has attained the ,chief ,good1 that he has found a duty from which no accident can divert him1 a pure and tranquil joy which will sustain him under all change and loss4 ,and1 on his behalf1 ,i am bold to assert that1 allowing for inevitable differences of conception and utterance1 his conclusion is the conclusion of all the great teachers of morality4 ,take any of the ancient systems of morality and religion--,hindu1 ,egyptian1 ,persian1 ,chinese1 ,greek1 or ,latin2 select those elements of it in virtue of which it has lived and ruled over myriads of men2 reduce those elements to their simplest forms1 express them in the plainest words2 and1 as ,i believe1 you will find that in every case they are only different and modified versions of the final conclusion of the ,preacher4 ,do your duty patiently2 ,be kind and helpful one to another2 ,shew a cheerful content with your lot2 ,heaven is with you and will judge you3--these brief maxims seem to be the ethical epitome of all the creeds and systems that have had their day1 as also of those which have not ceased to be4 ,it is very true that the motive to obedience which ,coheleth draws from the future life of man has been of a varying force and influence1 rising perhaps to its greatest clearness among the ,egyptians and the ,persians1 sinking to its dimmest among the ,greeks and the ,romans1 although we cannot say it did not shine even upon these2 for1 though the secret of their mysteries has been kept with a rare fidelity1 yet the general impression of ,antiquity concerning them was that1 besides disclosing to the initiated the natural and moral truths on which the popular mythology was based1 they opened to man a comforting prospect of a future state4 ,i am not careful to show how the ,word of ,inspiration surpasses all other scriptures in the precision with which it enunciates the elementary truths of all morality1 in its freedom from admixture with baser matter1 in its application of those truths to all sorts and conditions of men1 and the power of the motives by which it enforces them4 ,that is no part of my present duty4 ,the one point to which ,i ask attention is this3 ,with what an enormous weight of authority1 drawn from all creeds and systems1 from the whole ethical experience of humanity1 the conclusion of the ,preacher is clothed2 how we stand rebuked by the wisdom of all past ages if1 after duly testing it1 we have not adopted his solution of the master-problem of life1 and are not working it out4 ,out of every land1 in all the different languages of the divided earth1 from the lips of all the ancient sages whom we reverence for their excellence or for their wisdom1 no less than from the mouths of prophet and psalmist1 preacher and apostle1 there come to us voices which with one consent bid us fear ,god and keep his commandments2--a sacred chorus which paces down the long-drawn aisles of ,time1 chanting the praise of the man who does his duty even though he lose by it1 who loves his neighbour even though he win no love in return1 who breasts the blows of circumstance with a tranquil heart1 who by a wise use and a wise enjoyment of the life that now is qualifies himself for the better life to be4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this1 then1 is the ,hebrew solution of the common problem4 ,it is also the ,christian solution4 ,for when the ,fellow of the ,lord of hosts1 instead of clutching at his equality with ,god1 humbled ,himself and took on ,him the form of a servant1 the very ideal of perfect manhood became incarnate in this man from heaven4 ,does the ,hebrew ,preacher1 backed by the consentient voices of the great sages of ,antiquity1 demand that the ideal man1 moved thereto by his sense of a constant ,divine ,presence and the hope of ,god's future judgment1 should cast the bread of his charity on the thankless waters of neighbourly ingratitude1 give himself with all diligence to the discharge of duty whatever clouds may darken his sky1 whatever unkindly wind may nip his harvest1 and maintain a calm and cheerful temper in all weathers1 and through all the changing scenes and seasons of life8 ,his demand is met1 and surpassed1 by the ,man ,christ ,jesus4 ,he loved all men with a love which the many waters of their hostility and unthankfulness could not quench4 ,always about his ,father's business1 when ,he laid aside the glory ,he had with the ,father before the world was1 ,he put off the robes of a king to don the weeds of the husbandman1 and went forth to sow in all weathers1 beside all waters1 undaunted by any wind of opposition or any threatening cloud4 ,in all the shock of hostile circumstance1 in the abiding agony and passion of a life short in years indeed1 but in sorrows above all measure long1 ,he carried ,himself with a cheerful patience and serenity which never wavered1 for the joy set before ,him enduring1 and even despising1 the bitter cross4 ,in fine1 the very virtues inculcated by the ,preacher were the very substance of the highest1 holiest manhood4 ,and if we ask1 ,what were the motives which inspired this life of consummate and unparalleled excellence8 we find among them the very motives suggested by ,coheleth4 ,the strong ,son of ,man and of ,god was never alone1 because the ,father was with ,him1 as truly with ,him while ,he was on earth as when ,he was in the heaven from which ,he came down4 ,he never bated heart nor hope because ,he knew that ,he would soon be with ,god once more1 to be judged of ,him and recompensed according to the deeds done in the body of his humiliation4 ,men might misjudge ,him1 but the ,judge of all the earth would do ,him right4 ,men might award ,him only a crown of thorns2 but ,god would touch the thorns and1 at his quickening touch1 they would flower into a garland of immortal beauty and honour4 ,nor did the ,lord ,jesus help us in our quest of the ,chief ,good only by becoming a ,pattern of all virtue and excellence4 ,the work of his ,redemption is a still more sovereign help4 ,by the sacrifice of the ,cross ,he took away the sins which had rendered the pursuit of excellence a wellnigh hopeless task4 ,by the impartation of his ,spirit1 no less than by the inspiration of his ,example1 ,he seeks to win us to the love of our neighbour1 to fidelity in the discharge of our daily duty1 and to that cheerful and constant trust in the providence of ,god by which we are redeemed from the bondage of care and fear4 ,he1 the ,immanuel1 by taking our flesh and dwelling among us1 has proved that ,god is with us1 that ,he will in very deed dwell with men upon the earth4 ,he1 the ,victor over death1 by his resurrection from the grave1 has proved the truth of a future life and a future judgment with arguments of a force and quality unknown to our ,hebrew fathers4 ,so that now as of old1 now even more demonstrably than of old1 the conclusion of the whole matter is that we fear ,god and keep his commandments4 ,this is still the one solution of the common problem and the whole duty of man4 ,he who accepts this solution and discharges this duty has achieved the ,supreme ,quest2 to him it has been given to find the ,chief ,good4 ,printed by ,hazell1 ,watson1 ,viney1 ,ld41 ,london and ,aylesbury4 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's ,note3 ,minor typographical errors and inconsistencies have been silently normalized4 ,archaic and variable spellings and hyphenation have been retained