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\sectd\sect{\header \pard\qr\plain\f0\fs16 Ecclesiastes (Page \chpgn) \par}{\pard \pagebb
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs72 ECCLESIASTES 
 
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\cf1 1}Discourses, by the Speaker, the son of David,{\super\cf2\fs24 1}king of Jerusalem.
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The Futility and Monotomy of Nature and Of Human Life

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 2}Utterest vanity! The Speaker declareth:
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Utterest vanity! All is vanity.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 3}What gain hath a man of all his toil
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Whereat he toileth under the sun?
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 4}The generations come and go,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
But evermore the earth abideth.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 5}The sun doth rise, and the sun doth set,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
But he panteth back to the place of his rising.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 6}South the wind goeth, and northward it circleth;
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Circling and circling goeth the wind,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And back on its circling the wind returneth.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 7}All the rivers run into the sea,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
But nevertheless is the sea not full.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
To the place to which the rivers run,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Thither they run and run for ever.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 8}All things are full or weariness,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Of weariness unutterable,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
With all that it sees hath the eye no rest,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And with all that it hears is the ear unfilled.
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The Futility of the Search after Knowledge

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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}What has been, shall be; what has happenedalready, will happen again: there is not a novelty {\super\cf2\fs24 10}under the sun. When anything occurs that one isdisposed to call really new, it will be found to have {\super\cf2\fs24 11}happened already \uc1\u8212* ages before us. Nobodyremembers (to-day) the people of the olden time,and similarly the people of the after-time will notbe remebered by anybody who comes after them.
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 12}I, the Speaker, was king over Israel in Jerusalem; {\super\cf2\fs24 13}and I gave my mind to the philosophic study andinvestigation of all that goes on under the sun. Buta sorry business it is that God has given men to {\super\cf2\fs24 14}busy themselves with. From my observation of all that goes on under the sun, I have come to theconclusion that it is all nothing but an illusion anda chasing of the wind. {\super\cf2\fs24 15}That which is crooked can never be straightened,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And that which is lacking can never be counted.
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 16}Then I said to myself, Let me take my own case.I have amassed wisdom beyond all my predecessorsin Jerusalem, and my experience of wisdom and of {\super\cf2\fs24 17}knowledge has been a wide one; but after applyingmy mind to the study of wisdom and knowledge, madnessand folly, I am convinced that this also is a chasing of the wind; for {\super\cf2\fs24 18}Who is rich in wisdom is rich in vexation,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And increase of knowledge brings increase of pain.
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The Futility of the Search after Pleasure
 
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\cf1 2}I said to myself, Well now, I will experiment with{\super\cf2\fs24 1}pleasure and indulge myself; but I discovered with {\super\cf2\fs24 2}Surprise that this, too, was an illusion. I concludedthat laughter was madness and joy a sterile thing.
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 3}I turned over in my mind how to cheer my senseswith wine \uc1\u8212* preserving at the same time, however,my habitual wisdom \uc1\u8212* and how to embrace folly,until I should discover what satisfaction may beprocured by men under heaven during the days {\super\cf2\fs24 4}of their brief lives. I went in for enterprises on animpressive scale. I had houses built and vineyards {\super\cf2\fs24 5}planted. I had gardens laid out and parks planted {\super\cf2\fs24 6}with all sorts of fruit trees, I had reservoirs con-structed to water the trees that formed the plan- {\super\cf2\fs24 7}tations. I bought male and female slaves in additionto the other that had been born in my house. I hadcattle and sheep in abundance \uc1\u8212* far beyond my {\super\cf2\fs24 8}predecessors in Jerusalem. Further, I amassedsilver and gold and treasure from (tributary) kingsand from the provinces. I procured male and femalesingers and sensuous delighs \uc1\u8212* concubines in {\super\cf2\fs24 9}abundance; and richer and richer I grew beyondall my predecessors in Jerusalem \uc1\u8212* taking care, how- {\super\cf2\fs24 10}ever, to retain my wisdom. I refused my eyesnothing that they longed for, and I did not abstainfrom pleasure of any kind, for there was a pleasureattached to all my effort, and the reward of all my {\super\cf2\fs24 11}effort I found in that. But when I looked at allthe things my hands had made, and at the effortthat I had spent upon them, it all turned out to benothing but an illusion and chasing of the wind: {\super\cf2\fs24 12b}here was no profit under the sun. For what willthe king's successor do but just what has been done before?
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The Futility of Wisdom

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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 12a}Then I turned to the consideration of wisdom and {\super\cf2\fs24 13}madness and folly, and I saw that wisdom is assuperior to folly as light to darkness; for {\super\cf2\fs24 14}While the wise have their eyes in their head,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
The fool walketh in darkness.Still, I am well aware that in their fate they are {\super\cf2\fs24 15}both alike. So I said to myself, The fate of the foolshall be my fate also; and what, in that case, amI the better for my pre-eminent wisdom? So I {\super\cf2\fs24 16}said to myself, Here is another illusion. For throughall time the wise man is not remembered any morethan the fool, seeing that in the days to come everyone will be soon forgotten. Alas! the wise man {\super\cf2\fs24 17}dies just like the fool. So life became odious tome, because I was vexed with all that goes on underthe sun; for it is all an illusion and a chasing of the wind,
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The Futility of Work

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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 18}Yes, all the effort that I had spent under the sunbecame odious to me, because I should have to {\super\cf2\fs24 19}leave it to my successor; and who can tell whetherit will be a wise man or a fool that will have thedisposal of the results of all my wise and earnesttoil under the sun? Here is another illusion.
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 20}Then I felt like yielding to despair because {\super\cf2\fs24 21}of all my laborious toil under the sun; for itmay happen that a man who has toiled withwisdom, knowledge, and skill has to bequeath theresults of it to another who has done no work uponit at all. Here, in this great evil, is another illusion. {\super\cf2\fs24 22}For what does a man get from all the striving {\super\cf2\fs24 23}and the strain of his work under the sun? His daysare all a torture, and his business a vexation: why,even the night brings no rest to his mind. Here is {\super\cf2\fs24 24}another illusion. There is, then, no satisfaction fora man beyond eating and drinking and enjoyinghimself as he works. This I saw to be from God's {\super\cf2\fs24 25}own hand; for how can there be eating or enjoymentapart form Him? {\super\cf2\fs24 26}For the man who pleases Him He gives wisdom,knowledge and happiness; to the sinner, on the otherhand, He gives the task of gathering and amassing,that it may be given (in the end) to the man who pleases God.Here is another illusion and chasing of the wind.
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The Futility of Human Effort in the Light of the Fixed
Order of the World 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\cf1 3}Everything has its reason appointed,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
{\super\cf2\fs24 1}And every affair under heaven has its time.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 2}A time to be born,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And a time to die.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
A time to plant,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And a time to uproot.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 3}A time to slay,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And a time to heal.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
A time to tear down,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And a time to build up.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 4}A time to weep,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And a time to laugh.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
A time to mourn,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And a time to dance.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 5}A time to scatter stones,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And a time to clear them away.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
A time to embrace,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And a time to refrain.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 6}A time to seek,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And a time to lose.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
A time to preserve,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And a time to throw away.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 7}A time to tear,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And a time to sew.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
A time to be silent,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And a time to speak.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 8}A time to love,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And a time to hate.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
A time for war,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And a time for peace.
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 10}What does the worker gain by all his toil (thought {\super\cf2\fs24 10}I) as I looked at the tasks that God has assigned to men to busy themselves with? {\super\cf2\fs24 11}It is a beautiful orfer that He has established\uc1\u8212*evrything at its appointed time. Besides, He hasplanted in the human heart (the instinct for) eternity;only men cannot discern the whole range \uc1\u8212* from begin-ning to end \uc1\u8212* of the work which God is carrying on. {\super\cf2\fs24 12}I am convinced that the only satisfaction that canbe theirs is to be happy and prosperous, while {\super\cf2\fs24 13}they live. Besides, it is God's own gift, when a manis priviledged to eat, drink, and experience happinessin all his work.
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 14}I am convinced that all that God does is eternal;it is capable neither of increase nor of diminution:and God has ordained this, in order to inspire menwith reverence.
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 15}Whatever is, has happened already; and whatis yet to happen, already is: for that which hasdrifted (into the past) God seeketh out again.
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The Futility of Hoping for the Redress of Injustice in Some Future World

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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 16}Once more, in the course of my observation underthe sun, I saw that, in the place where judgmentswere delivered, there was injustice \uc1\u8212* yes, injusticein the very place where justice should have beenadministered. {\super\cf2\fs24 17}I said to myself, Yes, but God will judge the just andthe unjust: for He hath appointed a time for everymatter and for every act. {\super\cf2\fs24 18}I said to myself, It is for men's sake, that Godmay show them in their true light, and lead them {\super\cf2\fs24 19}to see that they are but beasts. For the fate ofmen is the fate of beasts: their fate is one and thesame. The one dies like the other. One breathis in them all, and man is no way superior to the {\super\cf2\fs24 20}beasts. For all is but an illusion. All are on theirway to the same place. All sprang from the dust, {\super\cf2\fs24 21}and to the dust they shall all return. Who can tellwhether the human spirit goes upward and the {\super\cf2\fs24 22}spirit of the beast downward to the earth? So Orecognised that there is no greater satisfaction fora mn that to be happy in his work \uc1\u8212* that is hisreward; for, as to what is to happen after him\uc1\u8212*who can give him a glimpse of that?
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 Man's Inhumanity to Man
 
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\cf1 4}Once more, I considered all the oppression that{\super\cf2\fs24 1}goes on under the sun. I saw the tears of theoppressed, who have no one to comfort them\uc1\u8212*power brutally wielded by the oppressors, and not {\super\cf2\fs24 2}a soul to comfort them. Happy, thought I, werethe dead who are already dead rather than the {\super\cf2\fs24 3}living who are still alive; but happier than eitherthe creature that has never been born, to look uponthe evil work that goes on under the sun.
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The Taint of Jealousy

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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 4}Then I observed that all the laborious and skilfulwork of men has its origin and issue in their jealousyof one another. Here is another illusion and a chasing of the wind.
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The Wisdom of Unambitious Quiet

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 5}The fool foldeth his hands,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And his own flesh he devoureth.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 6}Better a single handful of quiet,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And a chasing of the wind.
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The Futility and Misery of Loneliness

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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 7}Here is another of the illusions that I have {\super\cf2\fs24 8}observed under the sun. Take, for example, alonely man, with no one by his side \uc1\u8212* he has neitherson nor brother: yet he toils on endlessly; hiseye can never see money enough. "And yet, whomam I toiling for, and beggaring myself to happi-ness? "Here is another illusion, a sorry business indeed.
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}Two are better than one, for their toil is happily {\super\cf2\fs24 10}rewarded. If, for example, one should fall, his comrade helps him to his feet: but woe betide the {\super\cf2\fs24 11}man who falls, with nobody to help him up. Again,if two lie together, they get warm: but how can a man {\super\cf2\fs24 12}get warm by himself? Again, while a solitaryman may be overpowered, two can stand up to anassailant; while a cord that has three strandsis not lightly snapped. 
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The Futility of Wisdom \uc1\u8212* An illustration

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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 13}A Young man that is poor but wise is better thana foolish old king who can no longer take a warning. {\super\cf2\fs24 14}There was one such who passed from prison to the throne, though in the (old king's) reign he had been {\super\cf2\fs24 15}born poor; and I obseved that every man alivethat walketh under the sun supported his youthful {\super\cf2\fs24 16}successor. Endless were the people who lookedup to him as leader; and yet in later years theirenthusiasm for him had vanished. Here is another illusion and a chasing of the wind.
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 Warnings against Insincerity and Rashness in the 
Discharge of Religious Duties 
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\cf1 5}walk warily, when you go to the house of God:{\super\cf2\fs24 1}to participate in the worship with attentive ear isbetter than the sacrifices offered by fools, who areonly versed in the practice of wickedness.
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 2}Do not be rash with your tongue, and do not letyour feelings hurry you into speech before God:for God is in heaven, while you are on earth; your words ought therefore to be few. For {\super\cf2\fs24 3}As dreams proceed from multiplied cares,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
So the din of fools from multiplied words. {\super\cf2\fs24 4}When you make a vow to God, pay it withoutdelay; for fools incur His displeasure. Pay {\super\cf2\fs24 5}therefore what you vow. Better not vow than vow {\super\cf2\fs24 6}and not pay. Do not allow your tongue to involveyou in guilt and punishment; and do not have toexplain to the official that it was a case of inadver-tence (on your part). Why should you say thingsthat must provoke God to bring your enterprises {\super\cf2\fs24 7}To ruin? for multiplied dreams and words bringmultiplied vanities. But hold God in reverence.
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The Prevalence of Oppression

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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 8}Do not be astonished when you see a poor mancrushed, or right and justice plundered in a pro-vinced; for high officials are perpetually spying uponone another, and over them are others higher still.
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}It is in every way an advantage to a land tohave a king devoted to the cultivation of the soil.
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The Futility of Wealth

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 10}Who loves money can never have money enough,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And the lover of riches no increase can satisfy.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Here is another illusion.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 11}Increase of wealth bringeth increase in those that consume it:
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
What gain hath is owner save gazing on it with his eyes?
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 12}Sweet is the sleep of the toiler, whether he eatmuch or little; but the satiety of the wealthyman will not let him sleep.
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 13}One of the grievous evils that I have observedunder the sun is this \uc1\u8212* wealth hoarded up to its {\super\cf2\fs24 14}owner's ruin. The wealth vanishes in some sorryadventure; and so, after becoming a father, he {\super\cf2\fs24 15}finds himself with nothing at all. Naked as hecame from his mother's womb must he go again,just as he came. For all his toil he can takenothing away with him that he can carry in his {\super\cf2\fs24 16}hand. This also is a grievous evil, that he must goaway just as he came; and what has he gained {\super\cf2\fs24 17}by toiling for the wind? Yes, all his days arespent in darkness and mourning, in deep vexation,sickness and anger.
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 18}I claim, as the result of my observation, that itis an excellent and comely thing (for a man) to eat,drink, and enjoy himself amid all his laborious toil under the sun during the days of the brief life {\super\cf2\fs24 19}which God gives him: for that is his lot. Yes,when God gives a man wealth and riches and powerto enjoy them, to take his share and be happy in {\super\cf2\fs24 20}his work \uc1\u8212* this is a gift of God. Such a man will not think much about the brevity of his life; for his heart is touched by God to a glad response.
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The Futility of Wealth the Power to Enjoy
 
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\cf1 6}One of the vexatious things that I have seen under {\super\cf2\fs24 2}the sun to press heavily upon men is this. Takethe case of a man to whom God has given wealth,riches, honour, everything heart can desire exceptthe opportunity to enjoy it\uc1\u8212* that opportunity fallingto some stranger. Here is a grieveous and painfulillusion.
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 3}If a man be the father of a hundred sons, and livefor many long years, but without having enjoyedany true satisfaction from his prosperity and withoutthe honour of burial (in the end), then such a man,I maintain, is not so fortunate as an untimely {\super\cf2\fs24 4}birth, which, coming as a futility, departs in dark- {\super\cf2\fs24 5}ness with its name enveloped in darkness, neverhaving has sight or knowledge of the sunlight.It is this, rather than the other, that enjoys rest. {\super\cf2\fs24 6}Though the man should live a thousand years twiceover, yet enjoy no experience of happiness, are notboth on their way to same place?
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 7}The toil of man is all for his mouth,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Yet the appetite is unfilled.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 8}What gain hath the wise man more than the fool,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Or the poor man who walks through the world with discretion?
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}Better a glimpse with the eyes
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Than the roaming of the appetite.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Here is another illusion and a chasing of the wind.
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The Futility of the Struggle with Destiny

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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 10}The character of what is has already been deter-mined, and the destiny of man is already fore-ordained: he cannot contend with one mightier {\super\cf2\fs24 11}than himself. For multiplied words mean butmultiplied vanities; and what is man the better? {\super\cf2\fs24 12}Who can tell what is good for man during his life-time all the days of the brief and empty life that hepasses like a shadow? Who can declare to a manwhat is to happen after him under the sun?
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 Counsels for Conduct
 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\cf1 7}A fair name is better than precious ointment,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
{\super\cf2\fs24 1}And the day of death the day of one's birth.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 2}It is better to go the house of mourning
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Than to go to the banquetting-house;
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Inasmuch as that is the end of all men,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And the living should lay it to heart.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 3}Vexation is better than laughter;
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
For, when the face is sad, it is well with the heart.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 4}The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
But the heart of the fool in the house of mirth.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 5}It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Than to lend one's ears to the song of a fool.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 6}For like crackling of nettles under kettles,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Even so is the cackle of fools.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Here is another illusion.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 7}Extortion maketh the wise man mad,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And a bribe destroyeth the character.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 8}The end of a thing is better than the beginning,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And the patience is better than pride.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}Do not be hastily vexed in thy temper;
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Vexation doth lodge in the bosom of fools,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 10}Say not, "Why were the former days better than these?"
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
For such a question is not of wisdom.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 11}As good as an inheritance is wisdom.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And gainful to those who behold the sun.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 12}Wisdom defends, even as money defends;
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
But herein is the greater gain of knowledge,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
That a wisdom is life unto those that possess her.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 13}Consider well the work of God;
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
For who can make straight that which He hath made crooked?
\par}

{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 14}In happy days be happy, and in the day of misfor-tune consider: for God has balanced the one againstthe other, in order to prevent men from discovering anything of the future.
\par}

{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The Folly of Extremes

\par}

{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 15}In the course of my illusory life I have witnessedall sort of things \uc1\u8212* honest men ruined by theirvery honesty, and unprincipled men who owe their {\super\cf2\fs24 16}long life to their very lack of principle. Do notbe over-pious or over-wise: why court destruction? {\super\cf2\fs24 17}But neither be over-wicked, nor play the fool: {\super\cf2\fs24 18}why die before your time? It is good, while cling-ing to the one, not to relax your grasp of theother; for true religion avoids the excesses of both.
\par}

{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 19}Wisdom is a mightier protector to the wise than {\super\cf2\fs24 20}ten men who are in authority over a city. Forthere is not a single righteous man upon earth\uc1\u8212*a man who does nothing but good and never falls into sin.
\par}

{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 21}Further, pay no attention to current gossip, incase you may hear that your servant has cursed {\super\cf2\fs24 22}you; for your conscience tells you that you toohace cursed others many a time.
\par}

{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 Woman a Delusion and a Snare

\par}

{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 23}I subjected all this to the test of wisdom. I resolvedto acquire wisdom, but she remained remote. {\super\cf2\fs24 24}Yes, the essence of things remained remote \uc1\u8212* deepdown in depths unfathomable.
\par}

{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 25}Then, casting about, I gave my mind to theunderstanding and investigation of wisdom, tosearch after her for results, and to study the folly {\super\cf2\fs24 26}of wickedness and the madness of folly. And athing that I find to be more bitter than death iswoman: for she is a veritable net, with her heartof snares and her hands of fetters. The man whoenjoys the favour of God escapes her, but the sinner {\super\cf2\fs24 27}is caught by her. Now mark this, says the Speaker.Putting one thing with another in order to arrive {\super\cf2\fs24 28}at a conclusion \uc1\u8212* which, however, I have long andearnestly sought in vain \uc1\u8212* this at least I have dis-covered: that there is one man in a thousand\uc1\u8212*that I have discovered \uc1\u8212* but never a woman in all {\super\cf2\fs24 29}that number have I found. This only have I found-mark it well: that men were createdupright by God, but they have sought out manycontrivances of their own.
\par}

{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 Reflections upon Despotism
 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\cf1 8}Who is like the wise man?
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
{\super\cf2\fs24 1}Who is skilled in interpretation?
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
A man's wisdom illumines his face,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And a face that is harsh is transfigured. {\super\cf2\fs24 2}Obey the king's commands; but, remembering {\super\cf2\fs24 3}your oath to God, do not be drawn into hastyaction. Leave his presence, and do not embarkupon any hurtful course; for a king can do any- {\super\cf2\fs24 4}thing he pleases, seeing that his royal word isauthorative, and his conduct unchallengeable.
\par}

{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 5}He who keeps the commandment will nevercome to harm. The wise man knows in his heart {\super\cf2\fs24 6}that there is an hour of judgment; for everythinghas its hour for judgment \uc1\u8212* and men will be crushed {\super\cf2\fs24 7}beneath the weight of calamity. For they areignorant of the future: who can tell what form it {\super\cf2\fs24 8}will take? No man can control the day of hisdeath, any more than he can control or restrainthe wind. In war there is no discharge. Wrongwill secure no immunity for the wrong-doer.
\par}

{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}All this I saw, as I applied my mind to all thatgoes on under the sun, at a time when men werewielding their power over other men to ruinthem.
\par}

{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The Futility of Looking for a Moral Order in this World,
and there is No Other
\par}

{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 10}Thereafter I saw wicked men borne to the tombfrom the holy place \uc1\u8212* men who usde to go aboutamid plaudits in the very city where they had sobehaved. Here is another illusion. {\super\cf2\fs24 11f}Because sentence is not swiftly executed upon deedsof wickedness, but a sinner may enjoy a long life thoughthe do evil a hundred times over, men's hearts swellwith the impulse to do evil; though sure I am that itwill be well with those who fear God \uc1\u8212* I mean those {\super\cf2\fs24 13}who really reverence Him \uc1\u8212* but it will not be well withthe wicked: his life will be short as a shadow, becausehe has no reverence for God.
\par}

{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 14}Here is another of the anomalies to be found uponthe earth \uc1\u8212* honest meb who fare as if they had beenscoundrels, and scoundrels who fare as if they hadbeen honest men. Here, methought, is another {\super\cf2\fs24 5}futility. Then I commended mirth \uc1\u8212* for the onlyhuman satisfaction under the sun is to eat, drink,and be merry: these are the things that shouldaccompany men during the days of the laboriouslife with God has given them under the sun.
\par}

{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 16}When I gave my mind to the study of wisdomand to the observation of the business that is trans-acted in the world \uc1\u8212* for day and night one never {\super\cf2\fs24 17}gets a glimpse of sleep \uc1\u8212* then I recognised that manis impotent to discover the meaning of all the workof God that goes on under the sun. However laboriously men search, they will never discoverit. A wise man may imagine he is on the point ofunderstanding it, but he can never find it out.  {\cf1 9}For all this I laid to heart, and my heart observed{\super\cf2\fs24 1}it all, that the just, the wise, and their doings arein the hand of God: no man knows whether it isto be love or hatred. All that lies ahead of them is {\super\cf2\fs24 2}vapour, inasmuch as the fate of all is alike \uc1\u8212* ofsaint and scoundrel, good and bad, pure and impure,those who do and those who do not practise sacrifice.Good man and sinner fare alike, those who takeoaths and those who are afraid to take them. {\super\cf2\fs24 3}This is one of the vexing things that go on uni-versally under the sun, that the fate of all is alike.Besides, the human heart is full of evil: all theirlife long, madness is in men's heart, and thereafter {\super\cf2\fs24 4}they join the dead \uc1\u8212* not a man is left. There ishope for all who are in life\uc1\u8212* a live dog even is {\super\cf2\fs24 5}better than a dead lion- for the living know atleast that they have to die, but the dead have noknowledge at all, and no further reward is possible {\super\cf2\fs24 6}for them \uc1\u8212* their very memory is forgotten. Theirlove, hatred, jealousy, all alike have alreadyvanished, and for all time they have no share inanything that goes on under the sun.
\par}

{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The Wisdom of Enjoyment

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 7}Go and eat thy bread with joy,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And drink thy wine with a merry heart;
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
For what thou doest is God's good pleasure.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 8}At all times let thy raiment be white,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And let not oil on thy head be lacking.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}Enjoy thy life with the woman thou lovest,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
All the days of thy fleeting life,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Which He hath given thee under the sun.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
For that is thy reward in thy life of laborious toil
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
under the sun.
\par}

{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 Do}with thy might whatever thou hast in thypower to do; for nothing can be done or devised,known or apprehended, in the under-world to whichthou art going.
\par}

{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The Element of Chance in Life

\par}

{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 11}Once more: I observed that under the sun it isnot the swift that win the race, nor the strong thatconquer in battle, neither is wisdom rewarded withbread, nor insight with wealth, nor intellect withpractical appreciation; all alike are the victims of {\super\cf2\fs24 12}time and chance. Nobody knows his hour. Men arelike fish caught in a net, or birds in a trap. Like them men are caught in the meshes in an evil hour,when suddenly it falls upon them.
\par}

{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 The place of Wisdom in Popular Esteem
 {\super\cf2\fs24 13}The following illustrations of wisdom came under {\super\cf2\fs24 14}my notice, and it greatly impressed me. There wasa small and thinly garrisoned town, which a power-ful king came and invested by building huge {\super\cf2\fs24 15}siege-works against it. But there happened to bein it a man, poor indeed, but endowed with a wisdomwhich enabled him to save the town. Not a soul, {\super\cf2\fs24 16}However, remembered this poor man. So, me-thought, wisdom of a poor man is held in contempt, and hiswords are not listened to. {\super\cf2\fs24 17}Better wise words that are heard in quiet
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Than the shrieking of one who is lord among fools.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 18}Better is wisdom than weapons of war,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
For one single blunder may ruin much good.
\par}

{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 A Topsy-Turvy World
 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\cf1 10}Under the sun this evil I have seen,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
{\super\cf2\fs24 5}As 'twere the blundering order of a Ruler:
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 6}The fool is set upon a lofty height,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
While men of wealth must take a lowly seat.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 7}Slaves have I seen upon horse-back,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And princes walking like slaves on the ground.
\par}

{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 A Collection of Proverbs

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 1}As a deadly fly causes stench in the perfumer's ointment,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
So a little folly can ruin the rarest wisdom.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 2}The sense of a wise an leads him to the right,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
But the sense of a fool to the left.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 3}As he goes on his way, a fool showeth his lack of sense;
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And every one saith of him, "There goes a fool."
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 4}If a ruler flare up in a passion against thee,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Quit not thy post: for composure
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Can lull mighty passions to rest.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 8}He that diggeth a pit may fall therein,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And a serpent may bite him that breaks through a wall;
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}He that quarrieth stones may be hurt by them,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And the man who cleaves wood is imperilled thereby.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 10}If the iron be blunt, and you whet not its edge,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
You must use more strength.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
He succeeds who can claim the advantage of wisdom.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 11}If a serpent bite for lack of enchantment,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Then the skillful charmer hath no advantage.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 12}The words of a wise man's mouth win him favour,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
But a fool by his lips is brought to ruin;
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 13}From the first the words of his mouth are folly,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And the end of his speech is calamitous madness.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 14}The fool maketh many words.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Man knoweth not the future;
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
And what shall happen after him,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Who can declare unto him?
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 15}The fuss of fools must weary the man
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Who does not know his way to the town.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 16}Alas for thee, land! when thy king is a youth,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And thy princes feast in the early morning;
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 17}But hail to thee, land! when thy king is a noble,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And thy princes feast at the proper season,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Like men and not like sots.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 18}Through idleness the roof sinks in,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And through slackness of hands does the house fall a-leaking.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 19}Feasts are made for mirth,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And wine cheers the heart of the living,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And money answereth all things.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 20}Even in thy thought curse not the king,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And curse not the rich in thy sleeping-chamber;
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
For a bird of the air may carry the sound,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And the thing that hath wings may declare the matter. 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\cf1 11}Cast thy bread on the face of the waters,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
{\super\cf2\fs24 1}For after many days thou shalt find it.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 2}Give a portion to seven, yea, even to eight,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
For thou knowest not what evil may come on the land.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 3}When the clouds are filled with rain,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
They empty it over the earth.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
If a tree falls northward or southward,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
In the place where it falls it remains.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 4}He who always is watching the wind
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Never gets to his sowing.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
He who always is scanning the clounds
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Never gets to his reaping.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 5}As thou knowest not what is the way of the wind,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Nor how the child grows in the womb of the mother,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
So knowest thou not how God doth work\uc1\u8212*
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
He who worketh in all things evermore.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 6}In the morning sow thy seed,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And till evening rest not thy hand;
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
For thou knowest not which of the two shall prosper,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Or whether both shall be good alike.
\par}

{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 Rejoice, Young Man, in thy Youth: for the Sorrows of 
Age are Many and Sure
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 7}Sweet is the light, and pleasant it is
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
For the eyes to behold the sun.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 8}For, though a man live many years,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
All of them filled with gladness,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Yet let him remember the days of darkness,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
For many shall they be.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
All that cometh is vapour.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}Rejoice, young man, in thy youth,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And keep thy young heart merry;
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Walk in the ways of thy heart,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And in all that allureth thine eyes.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
But know that for all these things
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
God will bring thee to judgment.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 10}Put vexation away from thy mind,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And banish all gloom from thy body\uc1\u8212*
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
For youth and life's dawn are illusions\uc1\u8212* 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\cf1 12}But keep thy Creator in mind
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
{\super\cf2\fs24 1}In the days of thy prime:
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Ere the gloomy days come on,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And the years arrive when thou sayest,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
" No pleasure are they to me:"
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 2}The days when the sun grows dark,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And the light, and the moon, and the stars,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And the rain is followed by clouds,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 3}And the guards of the house fall a-trembling,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
The mighty men are bent,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
The grinders cease, being few,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Those that look through the windows are darkened,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 4}The doors in the street are shut,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
When the sound of the mill is low,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
And the twitter of birds is faint,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And the daughters of son are all feeble,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 5}Yea, (the old) are afraid of a height,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And the road is for them full of terrors,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
The almond-tree wears it blossoms,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
The grasshopper limps along,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And the caperberry is powerless;
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
For the man goes his way to his long, long home,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And the mourners wander about the streets\uc1\u8212*
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 6}On the day when the silver cord is snapped,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
ANd the bowl (with the) golden (oil) is broken,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
And the pitcher is shattered over the spring,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And the wheel falls into the cistern broken,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 7}And the dust goes back to the earth as it was,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
And the breath returns to the God who gave it.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 8}Utterest vanity! The Speaker declareth:
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
All is vanity.
\par}

{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs48 A Later Addition in Praise of the Book, and, in general, of Wisdom

\par}

{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}The Speaker, besides being wise, further instructedthe people in knowledge, weighing and searching itout, and arranging it in the form of copious proverbs. {\super\cf2\fs24 10}The Speaker made it his study to devise sayingsthat were at once true and attractive, and to recordthem in proper form.
\par}

{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 11}The words of wise men, as collected, are like goads,or like nails driven home; but they are (all) the giftof one shepherd.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 Beyond}these, too, my son, take warning.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Books are so many, their making is endless;
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
For this is the essence of all that is human.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 14}For God will bring every work to the judgment
\par}

{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
That is passed on all secret things, good or bad.
\par}

}