Ecclesiastes 6 commentary

A man often has all he needs for outward enjoyment; yet the Lord leaves him so to covetousness or evil dispositions, that he makes no good or comfortable use of what he has. By one means or other his possessions come to strangers; this is vanity, and an evil disease. A numerous family was a matter of fond desire and of high honour among the Hebrews; and long life is the desire of mankind in general. Even with these additions a man may not be able to enjoy his riches, family, and life. Such a man, in his passage through life, seems to have been born for no end or use. And he who has entered on life only for one moment, to quit it the next, has a preferable lot to him who has lived long, but only to suffer.

A little will serve to sustain us comfortably, and a great deal can do no more. The desires of the soul find nothing in the wealth of the world to give satisfaction. The poor man has comfort as well as the richest, and is under no real disadvantage. We cannot say, Better is the sight of the eyes than the resting of the soul in God; for it is better to live by faith in things to come, than to live by sense, which dwells only upon present things. Our lot is appointed. We have what pleases God, and let that please us. The greatest possessions and honours cannot set us above the common events of human life. Seeing that the things men pursue on earth increase vanities, what is man the better for his worldly devices? Our life upon earth is to be reckoned by days. It is fleeting and uncertain, and with little in it to be fond of, or to be depended on. Let us return to God, trust in his mercy through Jesus Christ, and submit to his will. Then soon shall we glide through this vexatious world, and find ourselves in that happy place, where there is fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore.

CHAPTER 6

Ec 6:1-12.

1. common--or else more literally,--"great upon man," falls heavily upon man.

2. for his soul--that is, his enjoyment.

God giveth him not power to eat--This distinguishes him from the "rich" man in Ec 5:19. "God hath given" distinguishes him also from the man who got his wealth by "oppression" (Ec 5:8, 10).

stranger--those not akin, nay, even hostile to him (Jr 51:51; La 5:2; Ho 7:9). He seems to have it in his "power" to do as he will with his wealth, but an unseen power gives him up to his own avarice: God wills that he should toil for "a stranger" (Ec 2:26), who has found favor in God's sight.

3. Even if a man (of this character) have very many (equivalent to "a hundred," 2Ki 10:1) children, and not have a "stranger" as his heir (Ec 6:2), and live long ("days of years" express the brevity of life at its best, Ge 47:9), yet enjoy no real "good" in life, and lie unhonored, without "burial," at death (2Ki 9:26, 35), the embryo is better than he. In the East to be without burial is the greatest degradation. "Better the fruit that drops from the tree before it is ripe than that left to hang on till rotten" [Henry].

4. he--rather "it," "the untimely birth." So "its," not "his name."

with vanity--to no purpose; a type of the driftless existence of him who makes riches the chief good.

darkness--of the abortive; a type of the unhonored death and dark future beyond the grave of the avaricious.

5. this--yet "it has more rest than" the toiling, gloomy miser.

6. If the miser's length of "life" be thought to raise him above the abortive, Solomon answers that long life, without enjoying real good, is but lengthened misery, and riches cannot exempt him from going whither "all go." He is fit neither for life, nor death, nor eternity.

7. man--rather, "the man," namely, the miser (Ec 6:3-6). For not all men labor for the mouth, that is, for selfish gratification.

appetite--Hebrew, "the soul." The insatiability of the desire prevents that which is the only end proposed in toils, namely, self-gratification; "the man" thus gets no "good" out of his wealth (Ec 6:3).

8. For--"However" [Maurer]. The "for" means (in contrast to the insatiability of the miser), For what else is the advantage which the wise man hath above the fool?"

What--advantage, that is, superiority, above him who knows not how to walk uprightly

hath the poor who knoweth to walk before the living?--that is, to use and enjoy life aright (Ec 5:18, 19), a cheerful, thankful, godly "walk" (Psa 116:9).

9. Answer to the question in Ec 6:8. This is the advantage:

Better is the sight of the eyes--the wise man's godly enjoyment of present seen blessings

than the (fool's) wandering--literally, walking (Psa 73:9), of the desire, that is, vague, insatiable desires for what he has not (Ec 6:7; He 13:5).

this--restless wandering of desire, and not enjoying contentedly the present (1Ti 6:6, 8).

10. Part II begins here. Since man's toils are vain, what is the chief good? (Ec 6:12). The answer is contained in the rest of the book.

That which hath been--man's various circumstances

is named already--not only has existed, Ec 1:9; 3:15, but has received its just name, "vanity," long ago,

and it is known that it--vanity

is man--Hebrew, "Adam," equivalent to man "of red dust," as his Creator appropriately named him from his frailty.

neither may he contend, &c.--(Ro 9:20).

11. "Seeing" that man cannot escape from the "vanity," which by God's "mighty" will is inherent in earthly things, and cannot call in question God's wisdom in these dispensations (equivalent to "contend," &c.),

what is man the better--of these vain things as regards the chief good? None whatever.

12. For who knoweth, &c.--The ungodly know not what is really "good" during life, nor "what shall be after them," that is, what will be the event of their undertakings (Ec 3:22; 8:7). The godly might be tempted to "contend with God" (Ec 6:10) as to His dispensations; but they cannot fully know the wise purposes served by them now and hereafter. Their sufferings from the oppressors are more really good for them than cloudless prosperity; sinners are being allowed to fill up their measure of guilt. Retribution in part vindicates God's ways even now. The judgment shall make all clear. In Ec 7:1-29, he states what is good, in answer to this verse.

A man to whom God hath given riches - A man may possess much earthly goods, and yet enjoy nothing of them. Possession and fruition are not necessarily joined together; and this is also among the vanities of life. It is worthy of remark, that it belongs to God as much to give the power to enjoy as it does to give the earthly blessings. A wise heathen saw this: -

Di tibi divitias dederant, artemque fruendi.

Hor. Ep. lib. i., ep. 4, ver. 7. "The gods had given thee riches, and the art to enjoy them."

If a man beget a hundred children - If he have the most numerous family and the largest possessions, and is so much attached to his riches that he grudges himself a monument; an abortion in the eye of reason is to be preferred to such a man; himself is contemptible, and his life worthless. The abortion comes in with vanity - baulks expectation, departs in darkness - never opened its eyes upon the light, and its name is covered with darkness - it has no place in the family register, or in the chronicles of Israel. This, that hath neither seen the sun, nor known any thing is preferable to the miser who has his coffers and granaries well furnished, should he have lived a thousand years, and had a hundred children. He has seen - possessed, no good; and he and the abortion go to one place, equally unknown, and wholly forgotten.

All the labor of man - This is the grand primary object of all human labor; merely to provide for the support of life by procuring things necessary. And life only exists for the sake of the soul; because man puts these things in place of spiritual good, the appetite - the intense desire after the supreme good - is not satisfied. When man learns to provide as distinctly for his soul as he does for his body, then he will begin to be happy, and may soon attain his end.

For what hath the wise more than the fool? - They must both labor for the same end. Both depend upon the labor of themselves or others for the necessaries of life. Both must eat and drink in order to live; and the rich man can no more eat two meals at a time, than he can comfortably wear two changes of raiment. The necessaries of life are the same to both, and their condition in life is nearly similar; liable to the same diseases, dissolution, and death.

Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire - This is translated by the Vulgate, as a sort of adage: Melius est videre quod cupias, quam desiderare quod nescias, "It is better to see what one desires than to covet what one knows not." It is better to enjoy the present than to feed one's self with vain desires of the future. What we translate the wandering of desire, מהלך נפש mehaloch nephesh, is the travelling of the soul. What is this? Does it simply mean desire? Or is there any reference here to the state of separate spirits! It however shows the soul to be in a restless state, and consequently to be unhappy. If Christ dwell in the heart by faith, the soul is then at rest, and this is properly the rest of the people of God.

That which hath been is named already - The Hebrew of this verse might be translated, "Who is he who is? His name has been already called. And it is known that he is Adam; and that he cannot contend in judgment with him who is stronger than he." "What is more excellent than man; yet can he not, in the lawe, get the victory of him that is mightier than he." - Coverdale.

Adam is his name; and it at once points out,

1. His dignity; he was made in the image of God.

2. His fall; he sinned against his Maker and was cast out of Paradise. And

3. His recovery by Christ; the second man (Adam) was the Lord from heaven, and a quickening Spirit.

For who knoweth what is good for man in this life - Those things which we deem good are often evil. And those which we think evil are often good. So ignorant are we, that we run the greatest hazard in making a choice. It is better to leave ourselves and our concerns in the hands of the Lord, than to keep them in our own.

For who can tell a man what shall be after him - Futurity is with God. While he lives, man wishes to know what is before him. When he is about to die, he wishes to know what will be after him. All this is vanity; God, because he is merciful, will reveal neither.

Riches - All sorts of riches. To eat - Because God gives him up to a base and covetous mind.

With good - He hath not a contented mind and comfortable enjoyment of his estate. Is better - Which as it never enjoyed the comforts, so it never felt the calamities of life.

More rest - Because he is free from all those encumbrances and vexations to which the covetuous man is long exposed.

Tho' he live - Wherein he seems to have a privilege above an untimely birth. Seen - He hath enjoyed no comfort in it, and therefore long life is rather a curse, than a blessing to him. All - Whether their lives be long or short. Go - To the grave.

More - In these matters. Both are subject to the same calamities, and partakers of the same comforts of this life. The poor - More than the poor that doth not know this. He means such a poor man as is ingenious and industrious; fit for service and business.

The fight - The comfortable enjoyment of what a man hath. Than - Restless desires of what a man hath not. This - Wandering of the desire.

Is named - This is added as a further instance of the vanity of all things in this life. That which hath been (man, who is the chief of all visible beings) is named already, by God, who, presently after his creation, gave him the following name, to signify what his nature and condition was. Man - A mortal and miserable creature, as his very name signifies, which God gave him for this very end, that he might be always sensible of his vain and miserable estate in this world. With him - With almighty God, with whom men are apt to contend upon every slight occasion, and against whom they are ready to murmur for this vanity, and mortality, and misery.

Seeing - This seems to be added as a conclusion from all the foregoing chapters; seeing not only man is a vain creature in himself, but there are also many other things, which instead of diminishing, do but increase this vanity, as wisdom, pleasure, power, wealth; seeing even the good things of this life bring so much toil, and cares, and fears, with them. The better - By all that he can either desire or enjoy here?

Who knoweth - No man certainly knows what is better for him here, whether to be high or low, rich or poor. Vain life - Life itself is a vain and uncertain thing, and therefore all things which depend on it must be so too. While - While it abides, hath nothing solid, or substantial in it, and which speedily passes away, and leaves no sign behind it. For - And as no man can be happy with these things while he lives, so he can have no content in leaving them to others, because he knows not either who shall possess them, or how the future owners will use or abuse them.

2 A man to whom God hath given riches and wealth , and honour ▪ so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth , yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof , but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.

All sorts of Riches, as Gold and Silver, Cattle and Lands, &c.

Which he doth, or can reasonably desire.

Either because they are suddenly taken away from him by the Hand and Curse of God, and given to others: or because God gives him up to a base and covetous mind, which is both a s[illegible: 1+ letters]n and a plague.

i. e. Any considerable part of it, whereas the Stranger eateth not thereof, but it. i. e. all of it, devoureth it all in an instant.

Marginal references: Job 21. 10. Ps. 17. 14. & 73. 7.

3 If a man beget an hundred Children , and live many years , so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good , and also that he have no burial , I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.

i. e. Very many Children, to whom he intends to leave his Estate.

Which is the chief thing that he desires, and which giveth him opportunity of increasing his Estate vastly.

He saith days, because the Years of mens life are but few.

Hath not a contented mind and comfortable enjoyment of his Estate whilst he lives.

And if after his Death he hath either none, or a mean and dishonourable Burial, because his [illegible: 1+ letters]ordid and covetous carriage made him hateful and contemptible to all Persons, his Children and Heirs not excepted, and he was by all sorts of men thought unworthy of any testimonies of Honour, either in his Life or after his Death. Thus he describes a Man who lives miserably, and dies ignominiously.

Which as it never enjoyed the comforts, so it never felt the calamities of this life, which are far more considerable than its comforts, at least to a Man that denied himself the comforts, and plunged himself into the toils and vexations of this life.

Marginal references: Isa. 14. 19, 20. Jer. 22. 19.; Job 3. 16. Ps. 58. 8.

4 For he cometh in with vanity , and departeth in darkness , and his name shall be covered with darkness .

Or rather, Although, as this Particle is frequently rendred. For [illegible: 1+ letters]is Verse seems to contain not so much a reason of what he las[illegible: 1+ letters] that an untimely Birth is better than he, as an answer to an excep[illegible: 1+ letters] which might be made against it, Although all that is here said be true of the Abortive, yet it is better than he.

Either 1. the covetous Man. Or rather 2. the Abortive; of whom alone, and not of the former, that passage is true, He hath not seen the Sun, v. 5

Into the World, this word being oft put for a Man's being Born, as Iob 1. 21. Eccles. 5. 15.

Or, in vain, to no purpose; without any comfort or benefit by it, which also is in a great measure the case of the covetous wretch.

Dieth obscurely without any Observation or regard of men.

Shall be speedily and utterly forgotten, whereas the Name of such wicked men shall rot, and be remembred to their shame.

5 Moreover, he hath not seen the sun , nor known any thing : this hath more rest than the other.

He never beheld the light, and therefore it is not grievous to him to want it, whereas the covetous Man saw that light was very pleasant, and therefore the loss of it was irksom to him.

Hath had no knowledge, sense or experience of any thing whether good or evil.

Because he is perfectly free from all those incumbrances and vexations to which the covetous Man is long exposed.

6 Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told , yet hath he seen no good : do not all go to one place ?

Wherein he seems to have a priviledge above an untimely Birth.

He hath enjoyed little or no comfort in it, and therefore long life is rather a curse and mischief, than a blessing or advantage to him.

Whether Born out of and before their time, or in due time, whether their lives be long or short.

To the Grave. And so after a little time all are alike as to this life, of which he here speaks, and as to the other life his condition is infinitely worse than that of an untimely birth.

7 All the labour of man is for his mouth , and yet the appetite is not filled .

For Meat to put into his Mouth, that he may get food; and a Bread is oft put for all food, so food is put for all necessary Provisions for this life, as Prov. 30. 8. and elsewhere, whereof this is the chief, for which a Man will sell his House and Lands, yea the very Garments upon his back.

Although all that a Man can get by his labours is but necessary f[illegible: 1+ letters]od, which the meanest sort of men commonly enjoy, as is observed in the next Verse, yet such is the vanity of this World and the folly of Mankind, that men are insatiable in their desires, and restless in their endeavours, after more and more, and never say, they have enough.

Marginal references: Pro. 16. 26.; Heb. Soul.

8 For what hath the wise more than the fool ? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living ?

To wit, in these matters. Both are equally subject to the same calamities, and partakers of the same comforts of this Life.

To wit, before the poor that doth not know this? Which words are easily understood by comparing this clause with the former. And such defects are usual both in Scripture and other Authors, as hath been formerly noted, by a Figure which the Learned call Anantapodoton. And by this Phrase, that knoweth, &c. he means such a poor Man who is ingenious and industrious, who is fit for service and business, and knows how to carry himself towards rich men, so as to deserve and gain their favour, and to procure a livelihood.

9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandring of the desire : This is also vanity, and vexation of Spirit .

i. e. The comfortable enjoyment of what a man hath: for seeing is oft put for enjoying, as Psal. 34. 12. Eccles. 2. 1. & 3. 13. &c.

Restless and insatiable Desires of what a man hath not, wherewith covetous rich men are perpetually haunted and tormented.

This wandring of the desire wherein most men indulge themselves.

Is not the way to satisfaction, as they imagine, but to vexation.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word] the [illegible: 1 word] of the

10 That which hath been is named already , and it is known that it is man : neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he .

This verse is added either as a proof of what he last said concerning the vanity and wandring of unsatiable desires; or as a further instance of the vanity of all things in this Life. That which hath been (or is, for the Hebrew verb may be rendred either way, to wit, Man, considered with all his endowments and enjoyments, whether he be wise or foolish, rich or poor, Man, who is the chief of all visible and sublunary beings, for whom they were all made) is named already, to wit, by God, who▪ presently after his Creation, gave him the following name, to signifie what his nature and condition was or would be. Heb. What is that which hath been, or is, it is or hath been named already. Others understand it thus, All the several conditions which men have had or shall have in the World, Riches or Poverty, &c. are already named, i. e. appointed or determined by Gods unchangeable Counsel, and invincible Providence: But though this be true, it seems not to suit so well with the following clause, as the other Interpretation doth.

This is certain and manifest, that that being, which makes all this noise and stir in the world, howsoever magnified by themselves, and somtimes adored by Flatterers, and howsoever differenced from, or advanced above others, by Wisdom or Riches, or the like, is but a Man, i. e. a mean, earthly▪ mortal and miserable Creature, as his very name signifies, which God gave him for this very end, that he might be always sensible of his vain, and base, and miserable estate in this world, and therefore never expect satisfaction or happiness in it.

i. e. With Almighty God, with whom Men are very apt to contend upon every sleight occasion, and against whom they are ready to murmur for this Vanity, and Mortality, and Misery of Mankind, although they brought it upon themselves by their own sins. So this is seasonably added to prevent the abuse of the foregoing passage.

11 Seeing there be many things that increase vanity , what is man the better ?

This seems to be added as a Conclusion of the Disputation managed in all the foregoing Chapters, seeing not only Man is a vain Creature in himself, as hath been now said, but there are also many other things in the world, which instead of removing or diminishing, as might be expected, do but increase this vanity, as Wisdom, Pleasure, Power, Wealth, and the like, the vanity of all which hath been fully and particularly declared. Seeing even the good things of this Life bring so much Toil, and Cares, and Fears, &c. with them,

To wit, by all that he can either desire or enjoy here. Hence it is evident, that all these things cannot make him happy, but that he must seek for happiness elsewhere.

12 For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow ? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun ?

No man certainly knows what is best for him here, whether to be high or low, rich or poor, because those great things which men generally desire and pursue, are very frequently the occasions of Mens utter Ruine, as hath been noted again and again in this Book.

Life itself, which is the foundation of all mens Comforts and Enjoyments here, is a vain, and uncertain, and transitory thing, and therefore all things which depend upon it must needs be so too.

Which, whilest it abides, hath nothing real, and solid, or substantial in it, and doth speedily pass away, and leaves no sign behind it.

And as no man can be happy with these things whilest he liveth and enjoyeth them, so he can have no content in leaving them to others, because he knoweth not either who shall possess them, or how the future owners will use or abuse them, or what mischief they may do by them either to others, or even to themselves.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word] the num [illegible: 1+ letters] of the days [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word] life of his [illegible: 1 word].; Ps. 102. 11. [illegible: 1+ letters] 109. 23. [illegible: 1+ letters] 144. 4. Ch. 8. 13. Ja[illegible: 1+ letters]. 4. 14.

Ecc 6:1 “There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and in great weight it lies upon man: a man to whom God giveth riches, and treasures, and honour, and he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he may wish, but God giveth him not power to have enjoyment of it, for a strange man hath the enjoyment: that is vanity and an evil disease.” The author presents the result of personal observation; but inasmuch as he relates it in the second tense, he generalizes the matter, and places it scenically before the eyes of the reader. A similar introduction with ישׁ, but without the unnecessary asher, is found at Ecc 5:12; Ecc 10:5. Regarding בּה, vid., under Ecc 8:6; על does not denote the subj., as at Ecc 2:17 : it appears great to a man, but it has its nearest lying local meaning; it is a great (Ecc 2:21) evil, pressing in its greatness heavily upon man. The evil is not the man himself, but the condition in which he is placed, as when, e.g., the kingdom of heaven is compared to a merchant (Mat 13:45.), - not the merchant in himself, but his conduct and life is a figure of the kingdom of heaven.

Ecc 6:2

To עשׁר וּנך, as at 2Ch 1:11, וך and honour is added as a third thing. What follows we do not translate: “and there is nothing wanting ... ;” for that איננּוּ with the pleonastic suff. may mean: “there is not,” is not to be proved from Gen 39:9, thus: and he spares not for his soul (lxx καὶ οὐκ κ.τ.λ) what he always desires. חסר is adj. in the sense of wanting, lacking, as at 1Sa 21:1-15 :16; 1Ki 11:22; Pro 12:9. לנפשׁו, “for his soul,” i.e., his person, is = the synon. לעצמו found in the later usage of the language; מן (different from the min, Ecc 4:8) is, as at Gen 6:2, partitive. The נכרי, to whom this considerable estate, satisfying every wish, finally comes, is certainly not the legal heir (for that he enters into possession, in spite of the uncertainty of his moral character, Ecc 2:19, would be in itself nothing less than a misfortune, yet perfectly in order, Ecc 5:13 [14]), but some stranger without any just claim, not directly a foreigner (Heiligst.), but, as Burger explains: talis qui proprie nullum habet jus in bona ejus cui נכרי dicitur (cf. נכריּה of the unmarried wife in the Book of Proverbs).

That wealth without enjoyment is nothing but vanity and an evil disease, the author now shows by introducing another historical figure, and thereby showing that life without enjoyment is worse than never to have come into existence at all:

Ecc 6:3 “If a man begat an hundred, and lived many years, and the amount of the days of his years was great, and his soul satisfied not itself in good, and also he had no grave, then I say: Better than he is the untimely birth.” The accentuation of 3 a is like that of 2 a. The disjunctives follow the Athnach, as at 2Ki 23:13, only that there Telisha Gedhola stands for Pazer. Hitzig finds difficulty with the clause לו ... וגם־, and regards it as a marginal gloss to 5 a, taken up into the text at a wrong place. But just the unexpected form and the accidental nature, more than the inward necessity of this feature in the figure, leads us to conclude that the author here connects together historical facts, as conjecturally noted above, into one fanciful picture. מאה is obviously to be supplemented by (ובנות) בנים; the Targ. and Midrash make this man to be Cain, Ahab, Haman, and show at least in this that they extend down into the time of the Persian kingdom a spark of historical intelligence. שׁן רבּ interchanges with שׁן הר, Ecc 11:8, as at Neh 11:30. In order to designate the long life emphatically, the author expresses the years particularly in days: “and if it is much which (Heiligst.: multum est quod) the days of his years amount to;” cf. ימי ויּהיוּ, in Gen 5. With venaphsho there follows the reverse side of this long life with many children: (1) his soul satisfies not itself, i.e., has no self-satisfying enjoyment of the good (min, as at Psa 104:13, etc.), i.e., of all the good things which he possesses, - in a word, he is not happy in his life; and (2) an honourable burial is not granted to him, but קב חם, Jer 22:19, which is the contrary of a burial such as becomes a man (the body of Artaxerxes Ochus was thrown to the cats); whereupon Elster rightly remarks that in an honourable burial and an honourable remembrance, good fortune, albeit shaded with sadness, might be seen. But when now, to one so rich in children and so long-lived, neither enjoyment of his good fortune nor even this shaded glory of an honourable burial is allowed, the author cannot otherwise judge than that the untimely birth is better than he. In this section regarding the uncertainty of riches, we have already, Ecc 5:14, fallen on a reminiscence from the Book of Job; it is so much the more probable that here also Job 3:16 has an influence on the formation of the thought. נפל is the foetus which comes lifeless from the mother’s womb.

Ecc 6:4-5

The comparison of an untimely birth with such a man is in favour of the former: “For it cometh in nothingness and departeth in darkness; and with darkness its name is covered. Moreover, it hath not seen the sun, and hath not known: it is better with it than with that other.” It has entered into existence, בּהבל, because it was a lifeless existence into which it entered when its independent life should have begun; and בּהשׁך, it departeth, for it is carried away in all quietness, without noise or ceremony, and “with darkness” its name is covered, for it receives no name and remains a nameless existence, and is forgotten as if it had never been. Not having entered into a living existence, it is also (gam) thus happy to have neither seen the sun nor known and named it, and thus it is spared the sight and the knowledge of all the vanities and evils, the deceptions and sorrows, that are under the sun. When we compare its fate with the long joyless life of that man, the conclusion is apparent: מ ... נחת, plus quietis est huic quam illi, which, with the generalization of the idea of rest (Job 3:13) in a wider sense, is = melius est huic quam illi (זה ... זה, as at Ecc 3:19). The generalization of the idea proceeds yet further in the Mishn. נוח לו, e.g.: “It is better (נוח לו לאדם) for a man that he throw himself into a lime-kiln than that (ואל), etc.” From this usage Symm. renders מ ... נחת as obj. to ידע לא, and translates: οὐδὲ ἐπειράθη διαφορᾶς ἑτέρου πράγματος πρὸς ἓτερον ; and Jerome: neque cognovit distantiam boni et mali, - a rendering which is to be rejected, because thus the point of the comparison in which it terminates is broken, for 5 b draws the facit. It is true that this contains a thought to which it is not easy to reconcile oneself. For supposing that life were not in itself, as over against non-existence, a good, there is yet scarcely any life that is absolutely joyless; and a man who has become the father of an hundred children, has, as it appears, sought the enjoyment of life principally in sexual love, and then also has found it richly. But also, if we consider his life less as relating to sense: his children, though not all, yet partly, will have been a joy to him; and has a family life, so lengthened and rich in blessings, only thorns, and no roses at all? And, moreover, how can anything be said of the rest of an untimely birth, which has been without motion and without life, as of a rest excelling the termination of the life of him who has lived long, since rest without a subjective reflection, a rest not felt, certainly does not fall under the point of view of more or less, good or evil? The saying of the author on no side bears the probe of exact thinking. In the main he designs to say: Better, certainly, is no life than a joyless life, and, moreover, one ending dishonourably. And this is only a speciality of the general clause, Ecc 4:2., that death is better than life, and not being born is better than both. The author misunderstands the fact that the earthly life has its chief end beyond itself; and his false eudaemonism, failing to penetrate to the inward fountain of true happiness, which is independent of the outward lot, makes exaggerated and ungrateful demands on the earthly life.

Ecc 6:6

A life extending to more than even a thousand years without enjoyment appears to him worthless: “And if he has lived twice a thousand years long, and not seen good - Do not all go hence to one place?” This long period of life, as well as the shortest, sinks into the night of Sheol, and has advantage over the shortest if it wants the ראות ט, i.e., the enjoyment of that which can make man happy. That would be correct if “good” were understood inwardly, ethically, spiritually; but although, according to Koheleth’s view, the fear of God presides over the enjoyment of life, regulating and hallowing it, yet it remains unknown to him that life deepened into fellowship with God is in itself a most real and blessed, and thus the highest good. Regarding אלּוּ (here, as at Est 7:4, with perf. foll.: etsi vixisset, tamen interrogarem: nonne, etc.); it occurs also in the oldest liturgical Tefilla, as well as in the prayer Nishmath (vid., Baer’s Siddur, Abodath Jisrael, p. 207). פּ ... אלף, a thousand years twice, and thus an Adam’s life once and yet again. Otherwise Aben Ezra: 1000 years multiplied by itself, thus a million, like פּעמים עשׂרים, 20 x 20 = 400; cf. Targ. Isa 30:26, which translates שׁבעתים by 343 = 7 x 7 x 7. Perhaps that is right; for why was not the expression שׁנה אלפּים directly used? The “one place” is, as at Ecc 3:20, the grave and Hades, into which all the living fall. A life extending even to a million of years is worthless, for it terminates at last in nothing. Life has only as much value as it yields of enjoyment.

Ecc 6:7 “All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet his soul has never enough;” or, properly, it is not filled, so that it desires nothing further and nothing more; נמלא used as appropriately of the soul as of the ear, Ecc 1:8; for that the mouth and the soul are here placed opposite to one another as “organs of the purely sensual and therefore transitory enjoyment, and of the deeper and more spiritual and therefore more lasting kind of joys” (Zöck.), is an assertion which brings out of the text what it wishes to be in it, - נפשׁ and פּה stand here so little in contrast, that, as at Pro 16:26; Isa 5:14; Isa 29:8, instead of the soul the stomach could also be named; for it is the soul longing, and that after the means from without of self-preservation, that is here meant; נפשׁ היפה, “beautiful soul,” Chullin iv. 7, is an appetite which is not fastidious, but is contented. גּמו, καὶ ὃμως ὃμως δέ, as at Ecc 3:13; Psa 129:2. All labour, the author means to say, is in the service of the impulse after self-preservation; and yet, although it concentrates all its efforts after this end, it does not bring full satisfaction to the longing soul. This is grounded in the fact that, however in other respects most unlike, men are the same in their unsatisfied longing.

Ecc 6:8 “For what hath the wise more than the fool; what the poor who knoweth to walk before the living?” The old translators present nothing for the interpretation, but defend the traditional text; for Jerome, like the Syr., which translates freely, follows the Midrash (fixed in the Targ.), which understands החיים, contrary to the spirit of the book, of the blessed future. The question would be easier if we could, with Bernst. and Ginsburg, introduce a comparat. min before יודע; we would then require to understand by him who knows to walk before the living, some one who acts a part in public life; but how strange a designation of distinguished persons would that be! Thus, as the text stands, יודע ,sdnat is attrib. to לעני, what preference hath the poor, such an one, viz., as understands (vid., regarding יודע instead of היודע, under Psa 143:10); not: who is intelligent (Aben Ezra); יודע is not, as at Ecc 9:11, an idea contained in itself, but by the foll. הח ... לה (cf. Ecc 4:13, Ecc 4:14; and the inf. form, Exo 3:19; Num 22:13; Job 34:23) obtains the supplement and colouring required: the sequence of the accents (Zakeph, Tifcha, Silluk, as e.g., at Gen 7:4) is not against this. How the lxx understood its πορευθῆναι κατέναντι τῆς ζωῆς, and the Venet. it’s ἀπιέναι ἀντικρὺ τῆς ζωῆς, is not clear; scarcely as Grätz, with Mendelss.: who, to go against (נגד, as at Ecc 4:12) life, to fight against it, has to exercise himself in self-denial and patience; for “to fight with life” is an expression of modern coinage. הח signifies here, without doubt, not life, but the living. But we explain now, not as Ewald, who separates יודע from the foll. inf. להלך: What profit has then the wise man, the intelligent, patient man, above the fool, that he walks before the living? - by which is meant (but how does this interrog. form agree thereto?), that the wise, patient man has thereby an advantage which makes life endurable by him, in this, that he does not suffer destroying eagerness of desire so to rule over him, but is satisfied to live in quietness.Also this meaning of a quiet life does not lie in the words הח ... הלך. “To know to walk before the living” is, as is now generally acknowledged = to understand the right rule of life (Elst.), to possess the savoir vivre (Heiligst.), to be experienced in the right art of living. the question accordingly is: What advantage has the wise above the fool; and what the poor, who, although poor, yet knows how to maintain his social position? The matter treated of is the insatiable nature of sensual desire. The wise seeks to control his desire; and he who is more closely designated poor, knows how to conceal it; for he lays upon himself restraints, that he may be able to appear and make something of himself. But desire is present in both; and they have in this nothing above the fool, who follows the bent of his desire and lives for the day. He is a fool because he acts as one not free, and without consideration; but, in itself, it is and remains true, that enjoyment and satisfaction stand higher than striving and longing for a thing.

Ecc 6:9 “Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the soul: also this is vain and windy effort.” We see from the fin. הל־ן interchanging with מר that the latter is not meant of the object (Ecc 11:9), but of the action, viz., the “rejoicing in that which one has” (Targ.); but this does not signify grassatio,-i.e., impetus animae appetentis, ὁρμὴ τῆς ψυχῆς (cf. Marcus Aurelius, iii. 16), which Knobel, Heiligst., and Ginsburg compare (for הלך means grassari only with certain subjects, as fire, contagion, and the life; and in certain forms, as יהלך for ילך, to which הלך = לכת does not belong), - but erratio, a going out in extent, roving to a distance (cf. הלך, wanderer), ῥεμβασμὸς ἐπιθυμίας, Wisd. 4:12. - Going is the contrast of rest; the soul which does not become full or satisfied goes out, and seeks and reaches not its aim. This insatiableness, characteristic of the soul, this endless unrest, belongs also to the miseries of this present life; for to have and to enjoy is better than this constant Hungern und Lungern hungering and longing. More must not be put into 9 a than already lies in it, as Elster does: “the only enduring enjoyment of life consists in the quiet contemplation of that which, as pleasant and beautiful, it affords, without this mental joy mingling with the desire for the possession of sensual enjoyment.” The conception of “the sight of the eyes” is certainly very beautifully idealized, but in opposition to the text. If 9 a must be a moral proverb, then Luther’s rendering is the best: “It is better to enjoy the present good, than to think about other good.”

Ecc 6:10 “That which hath been, its name hath long ago been named; and it is determined what a man shall be: and he cannot dispute with Him who is stronger than he.” According to the usage of the tense, it would be more correct to translate: That which (at any time) has made its appearance, the name of which was long ago named, i.e., of which the What? and the How? were long ago determined, and, so to speak, formulated. This שׁ ... כּבר does not stand parallel to היה כבר, Ecc 1:10; for the expression here does not refer to the sphere of that which is done, but of the predetermination. Accordingly, אדם ... ונו is also to be understood. Against the accents, inconsistently periodizing and losing sight of the comprehensiveness of אדם ... אשׁר, Hitzig renders: “and it is known that, if one is a man, he cannot contend,” etc., which is impossible for this reason, that אדם הוא cannot be a conditional clause enclosed within the sentence יוכל ... אשׁר. Obviously ונודע, which in the sense of constat would be a useless waste of words, stands parallel to שׁמו נקרא, and signifies known, viz., previously known, as passive of ידע, in the sense of Zec 14:7; cf. Psa 139:1. Bullock rightly compares Act 15:18. After ידע, asher, like ki, which is more common, may signify “that,” Ecc 8:12; Eze 20:26; but neither “that he is a man” (Knobel, Vaih., Luzz., Hengst., Ginsb.), nor “that he is the man” (Ewald, Elst., Zöckler), affords a consistent meaning. As mah after yada' means quid, so asher after it may mean quod = that which (cf. Dan 8:19, although it does not at all stand in need of proof); and id quod homo est (we cannot render הוּא without the expression of a definite conception of time) is intended to mean that the whole being of a man, whether of this one or that one, at all times and on all sides, is previously known; cf. to this pregnant substantival sentence, Ecc 12:13. Against this formation of his nature and of his fate by a higher hand, man cannot utter a word.

The thought in 10b is the same as that at Isa 45:9; Rom 9:20. The Chethı̂b שׁהתּקּיףWith He unpointed, because it is omitted in the Kerı̂, as in like manner in כּשׁה, Ecc 10:3, שׁה, Lam 5:18. In the bibl. Rabb., the ה is noted as superfluous. is not inadmissible, for the stronger than man is מנּהּ ... מרי. Also התקיף might in any case be read: with one who overcomes him, has and manifests the ascendency over him. There is indeed no Hiph. הת .hpiH  found in the language of the Bible (Herzf. and Fürst compare הג, Psa 12:5); but in the Targ., אתקף is common; and in the school-language of the Talm., הת is used of the raising of weighty objections, e.g., Kamma 71 a. The verb, however, especially in the perf., is in the passage before us less appropriate. In לא־יוּכל lie together the ideas of physical (cf. Gen 43:32; Deu 12:17; Deu 16:5, etc.) and moral inability.

Ecc 6:11 “For there are many words which increase vanity: What cometh forth therefrom for man?” The dispute (objection), דּין, takes place in words; דּברים here will thus not mean “things” (Hengst., Ginsb., Zöckl., Bullock, etc.), but “words.” As that wrestling or contending against God’s decision and providence is vain and worthless, nothing else remains for man but to be submissive, and to acknowledge his limitation by the fear of God; thus there are also many words which only increase yet more the multitude of vanities already existing in this world, for, because they are resultless, they bring no advantage for man. Rightly, Elster finds herein a hint pointing to the influence of the learning of the Jewish schools already existing in Koheleth's time. We know from Josephus that the problem of human freedom and of God’s absoluteness was a point of controversy between opposing parties: the Sadducees so emphasized human freedom, that they not only excluded (Antt. xiii. 5. 9; Bell. ii. 8. 14) all divine predetermination, but also co-operation; the Pharisees, on the contrary supposed an interconnection between divine predetermination (εἱμαρμένη) and human freedom (Antt. xiii. 5. 9, xviii. 1. 3; Bell. ii. 8. 14). The Talm. affords us a glance at this controversy; but the statement in the Talm. (in Berachoth 33 a, and elsewhere), which conditions all by the power of God manifesting itself in history, but defends the freedom of the religious-moral self-determination of man, may be regarded as a Pharisaic maxim. In Rom 9, Paul places himself on this side; and the author of the Book of Koheleth would subscribe this passage as his testimony, for the “fear God” is the “kern und stern” kernel and star of his pessimistic book.

Ecc 6:12

Man ought to fear God, and also, without dispute and murmuring, submit to His sway: “For who knoweth what is good for man in life during the number of the days of his vain life, and which he spendeth like a shadow? No one can certainly show a man what shall be after him under the sun.” We translate אשׁר only by “ja” (“certainly”), because in Germ. no interrogative can follow “dieweil” (“because”). The clause with asher (as at Ecc 4:9; Ecc 8:11; Ecc 10:15; cf. Song, under Sol 5:2), according to its meaning not different from ki, is related in the way of proof to that beginning with ki. Man is placed in our presence. To be able to say to him what is good for him, - i.e., what position he must take in life, what direction he must give to his activity, what decision he must adopt in difficult and important cases, - we ought not only to be able to penetrate his future, but, generally, the future; but, as Tropfen drops in the stream of history, we are poor Tröpfe simpletons, who are hedged up within the present. Regarding the accus. of duration, וגו מספּר, pointing to the brevity of human life, vid., at Ecc 2:3. With הבלו, the attribute of breath-like transitiveness is assigned to life (as at Ecc 7:15; Ecc 9:9) (as already in the name given to Abel, the second son of Adam), which is continued by כּ ויע with the force of a relative clause, which is frequently the case after preceding part. attrib., e.g., Isa 5:23. We translate: which he spendeth like the (1) shadow [in the nom.] (after Ecc 8:13; Job 14:2); not: like a shadow [in the accus.]; for although the days of life are also likened to a shadow, Psa 144:4, etc., yet this use of עשׂה does not accord therewith, which, without being a Graecism (Zirkel, Grätz), harmonises with the Greek phrase, ποιεῖν χρόνον, Act 15:33; cf. Pro 13:23, lxx (also with the Lat. facere dies of Cicero, etc.). Thus also in the Syr. and Palest.-Aram. lacad is used of time, in the sense of transigere. Aharav does not mean: after his present condition (Zöckl.); but, as at Ecc 3:22; Ecc 7:14 : after he has passed away from this scene. Luzz. explains it correctly: Whether his children will remain in life? Whether the wealth he has wearied himself in acquiring will remain and be useful to them? But these are only illustrations. The author means to say, that a man can say, neither to himself nor to another, what in definite cases is the real advantage; because, in order to say this, he must be able to look far into the future beyond the limits of the individual life of man, which is only a small member of a great whole.

The Miseries of Covetousness.

1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: 2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease. 3 If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he. 4 For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. 5 Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other. 6 Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?

Solomon had shown, in the close of the foregoing chapter, how good it is to make a comfortable use of the gifts of God's providence; now here he shows the evil of the contrary, having and not using, gathering to lay up for I know not what contingent emergencies to come, not to lay out on the most urgent occasions present. This is an evil which Solomon himself saw under the sun, v. 1. A great deal of evil there is under the sun. There is a world above the sun where there is no evil, yet God causes his sun to shine upon the evil as well as upon the good, which is an aggravation of the evil. God has lighted up a candle for his servants to work by, but they bury their talent as slothful and unprofitable, and so waste the light and are unworthy of it. Solomon, as a king, inspected the manners of his subjects, and took notice of this evil as a prejudice to the public, who are damaged not only by men's prodigality on the one hand, but by their penuriousness on the other. As it is with the blood in the natural body, so it is with the wealth of the body politic, if, instead of circulating, it stagnates, it will be of ill consequence. Solomon as a preacher observed the evils that were done that he might reprove them and warn people against them. This evil was, in his days, common, and yet then there was great plenty of silver and gold, which, one would think, should have made people less fond of riches; the times also were peaceable, nor was there any prospect of trouble, which to some is a temptation to hoard. But no providence will of itself, unless the grace of God work with it, cure the corrupt affection that is in the carnal mind to the world and the things of it; nay, when riches increase we are most apt to set our hearts upon them. Now concerning this miser observe,

I. The abundant reason he has to serve God with joyfulness and gladness of heart; how well God has done for him.

1. He has given him riches, wealth, and honour, v. 2. Note, (1.) Riches and wealth commonly gain people honour among men. Though it be but an image, if it be a golden image, all people, nations, and languages, will fall down and worship it. (2.) Riches, wealth, and honour, are God's gifts, the gifts of his providence, and not given, as his rain and sunshine, alike to all, but to some, and not to others, as God sees fit. (3.) Yet they are given to many that do not make a good use of them, to many to whom God does not give wisdom and grace to take the comfort of them and serve God with them. The gifts of common providence are bestowed on many to whom are denied the gifts of a special grace, without which the gifts of providence often do more hurt than good.

2. He wants nothing for his soul of all that he desires. Providence has been so liberal to him that he has as much as heart could wish, and more, Ps. lxxiii. 7. He does not desire grace for his soul, the better part; all he desires is enough to gratify the sensual appetite, and that he has; his belly is filled with these hidden treasures, Ps. xvii. 14.

3. He is supposed to have a numerous family, to beget a hundred children, which are the stay and strength of his house and as a quiver full of arrows to him, which are the honour and credit of his house, and in whom he has the prospect of having his name built up and having all the immortality this world can give him. They are full of children (Ps. xvii. 14), while many of God's people are written childless and stripped of all.

4. To complete his happiness, he is supposed to live many years, or rather many days, for our life is to be reckoned rather by days than years: The days of his years are many, and so healthful is his constitution, and so slowly does age creep upon him, that they are likely to be many more. Nay, he is supposed to live a thousand years (which no man, that we know of, ever did), nay, a thousand years twice told, a small part of which time, one would think, were enough to convince men, by their own experience, of the folly both of those that expect to find all good in worldly wealth, and of those that expect to find any good in it but in using it.

II. The little heart he has to use this which God gives him, for the ends and purposes for which it was given him. This is his fault and folly that he renders not again according to the benefit done unto him, and serves not the Lord God his benefactor, with joyfulness and gladness of heart, in the abundance of all things. In the day of prosperity he is not joyful. Tristis es, et felix?—Art thou happy, yet sad? See his folly: 1. He cannot find in his heart to take the comfort of what he has himself. He has meat before him; he has wherewith to maintain himself and his family comfortably, but he has not power to eat thereof. His sordid niggardly temper will not suffer him to lay it out, no, not upon himself, no, not upon that which is most necessary for himself. He has not power to reason himself out of this absurdity, to conquer his covetous humour. He is weak indeed, who has not power to use what God gives him, for God gives him not that power, but withholds it from him, to punish him for his other abuses of his wealth. Because he has not the will to serve God with it, God denies him the power to serve himself with it. 2. He suffers those to prey upon him that he is under no obligation to: A stranger eateth it. This is the common fate of misers; they will not trust their own children perhaps, but retainers and hangers-on, that have the art of wheedling, insinuate themselves into them, and find ways of devouring what they have, or getting it to be left to them by their wills. God orders it so that a stranger eats it. Strangers devour his strength, Hos. vii. 9; Prov. v. 10. This may be well called vanity, and an evil disease. What we have we have in vain if we do not use it; and that temper of mind is certainly a most wretched distemper which keeps us from using it. Our worst diseases are those that arise from the corruption of our own hearts. 3. He deprives himself of the good that he might have had of his worldly possessions, not only forfeits it, but robs himself of it and throws it from him: His soul is not filled with good, v. 3. He is still unsatisfied and uneasy. His hands are filled with riches, his barns filled, and his bags filled, but his soul is not filled with good, no, not with that good, for it is still craving more. Nay (v. 6), he has not seen good; he cannot so much as please his eye, for that is still looking further and looking with envy on those that have more. He has not even the sensible good of an estate. Though he looks not beyond the things that are seen, yet he looks not with any true pleasure even on them. 4. He has no burial, none agreeable to his rank, no decent burial, but the burial of an ass. Through the sordidness of his temper he will not allow himself a fashionable burial, but forbids it, or the strangers that have eaten him up leave him so poor, at last, that he has not wherewithal, or those to whom he leaves what he has have so little esteem for his memory, and are so greedy of what they are to have from him, that they will not be at the charges of burying him handsomely, which his own children, if he had left it to them, would not have grudged him.

III. The preference which the preacher gives to an untimely birth before him: An untimely birth, a child that is carried from the womb to the grave, is better than he. Better is the fruit that drops from the tree before it is ripe than that which is left to hang on till it is rotten. Job, in his passion, thinks the condition of an untimely birth better than his when he was in adversity (Job iii. 16); but Solomon here pronounces it better than the condition of a worldling in his greatest prosperity, when the world smiles upon him. 1. He grants the condition of an untimely birth, upon many accounts, to be very sad (v. 4, 5): He comes in with vanity (for, as to this world, he that is born and dies immediately was born in vain), and he departs in darkness; little or no notice is taken of him; being an abortive, he has no name, or, if he had, it would soon be forgotten and buried in oblivion; it would be covered with darkness, as the body is with the earth. Nay (v. 5), he has not seen the sun, but from the darkness of the womb he is hurried immediately to that of the grave, and, which is worse than not being known to any, he has not known any thing, and therefore has come short of that which is the greatest pleasure and honour of man. Those that live in wilful ignorance, and know nothing to purpose, are no better than an untimely birth that has not seen the sun nor known any thing. 2. Yet he prefers it before that of a covetous miser. This untimely birth has more rest than the other, for this has some rest, but the other has none; this has no trouble and disquiet, but the other is in perpetual agitation, and has nothing but trouble, trouble of his own making. The shorter the life is the longer the rest; and the fewer the days, and the less we have to do with this troublesome world, the less trouble we know. 'Tis better die a child at four, Than live, and die so at fourscore. The reason he gives why this has more rest is because all go to one place to rest in, and this is sooner at his rest, v. 6. He that lives a thousand years goes to the same place with the child that does not live an hour, ch. iii. 20. The grave is the place we shall all meet in. Whatever differences there may be in men's condition in this world, they must all die, are all under the same sentence, and, to outward appearance, their deaths are alike. The grave is to one, as well as another, a land of silence, of darkness, of separation from the living, and a sleeping-place. It is the common rendezvous of rich and poor, honourable and mean, learned and unlearned; the short-lived and long-lived meet in the grave, only one rides post thither, the other goes by a slower conveyance; the dust of both mingles, and lies undistinguished.

The Insatiableness of Desire.

7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. 8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living? 9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit. 10 That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.

The preacher here further shows the vanity and folly of heaping up worldly wealth and expecting happiness in it.

I. How much soever we toil about the world, and get out of it, we can have for ourselves no more than a maintenance (v. 7): All the labour of man is for his mouth, which craves it of him (Prov. xvi. 26); it is but food and raiment; what is more others have, not we; it is all for the mouth. Meats are but for the belly and the belly for meats; there is nothing for the head and heart, nothing to nourish or enrich the soul. A little will serve to sustain us comfortably and a great deal can do no more.

II. Those that have ever so much are still craving; let a man labour ever so much for his mouth, yet the appetite is not filled. 1. Natural desires are still returning, still pressing; a man may be feasted to-day and yet hungry to-morrow. 2. Worldly sinful desires are insatiable, ch. v. 10. Wealth to a worldling is like drink to one in a dropsy, which does but increase the thirst. Some read the whole verse thus: Though all a man's labour fall out to his own mind (ori ejus obveniat—so as to correspond with his views, Juv.), just as himself would have it, yet his desire is not satisfied, still he has a mind to something more. 3. The desires of the soul find nothing in the wealth of the world to give them any satisfaction. The soul is not filled, so the word is. When God gave Israel their request he sent leanness into their souls, Ps. cvi. 15. He was a fool who, when his barns were full, said, Soul, take thine ease.

III. A fool may have as much worldly wealth, and may enjoy as much of the pleasure of it, as a wise man; nay, and perhaps not be so sensible of the vexation of it: What has the wise more than the fool? v. 8. Perhaps he has not so good an estate, so good a trade, nor such good preferment as the fool has. Nay, suppose them to be equal in their possessions, what can a wise man, a scholar, a wit, a politician, squeeze out of his estate more than needful supplies? and a half-witted man may do this. A fool can fare as well and relish it, can dress as well, and make as good a figure in any public appearance, as a wise man; so that if there were not pleasures and honour peculiar to the mind, which the wise man has more than the fool, as to this world they would be upon a level.

IV. Even a poor man, who has business, and is discreet, diligent, and dexterous, in the management of it, may get as comfortably through this world as he that is loaded with an overgrown estate. Consider what the poor has less than the rich, if he but knows to walk before the living, knows how to conduct himself decently, and do his duty to all, how to get an honest livelihood by his labour, how to spend his time well and improve his opportunities. What has he? Why, he is better beloved and more respected among his neighbours, and has a better interest than many a rich man that is griping and haughty. What has he? Why he has as much of the comfort of this life, has food and raiment, and is therewith content, and so is as truly rich as he that has abundance.

V. The enjoyment of what we have cannot but be acknowledged more rational than a greedy grasping at more (v. 9): Better is the sight of the eyes, making the best of that which is present, than the wandering of the desire, the uneasy walking of the soul after things at a distance, and the affecting of a variety of imaginary satisfactions. He is much happier that is always content, though he has ever so little, than he that is always coveting, though he has ever so much. We cannot say, Better is the sight of the eyes than the fixing of the desire upon God, and the resting of the soul in him; it is better to live by faith in things to come than to live by sense, which dwells only upon present things; but better is the sight of the eyes than the roving of the desire after the world, and the things of it, than which nothing is more uncertain nor more unsatisfying at the best. This wandering of the desire is vanity and vexation of spirit. It is vanity at the best; if what is desired, be obtained, it proves not what we promised ourselves from it, but commonly the wandering desire is crossed and disappointed, and then it turns to vexation of spirit.

VI. Our lot, whatever it is, is that which is appointed us by the counsel of God, which cannot be altered, and it is therefore our wisdom to reconcile ourselves to it and cheerfully to acquiesce in it (v. 10): That which has been, or (as some read it) that which is, and so likewise that which shall be, is named already; it is already determined in the divine foreknowledge, and all our care and pains cannot make it otherwise than as it is fixed. Jacta est alea—The die is cast. It is therefore folly to quarrel with that which will be as it is, and wisdom to make a virtue of necessity. We shall have what pleases God, and let that please us.

VII. Whatever we attain to in this world, still we are but men, and the greatest possessions and preferments cannot set us above the common accidents of human life: That which has been, and is, that busy animal that makes such a stir and such a noise in the world, is named already. He that made him gave him his name, and it is known that it is man; that is his name by which he must know himself, and it is a humbling name, Gen. v. 2. He called their name Adam; and all theirs have the same character, red earth. Though a man could make himself master of all the treasures of kings and provinces, yet he is a man still, mean, mutable, and mortal, and may at any time be involved in the calamities that are common to men. It is good for rich and great men to know and consider that they are but men, Ps. ix. 20. It is known that they are but men; let them put what face they will upon it, and, like the king of Tyre, set their heart as the heart of God, yet the Egyptians are men, and not gods, and it is known that they are so.

VIII. How far soever our desires wander, and how closely soever our endeavours keep pace with them, we cannot strive with the divine Providence, but must submit to the disposals of it, whether we will or no. If it is man, he may not contend with him that is mightier than he. It is presumption to arraign God's proceedings, and to charge him with folly or iniquity; nor is it to any purpose to complain of him, for he is in one mind and who can turn him? Elihu pacifies Job with this incontest able principle, That God is greater than man (Job xxxiii. 12) and therefore man may not contend with him, nor resist his judgments, when they come with commission. A man cannot with the greatest riches make his part good against the arrests of sickness or death, but must yield to his fate.

The Insatiableness of Desire.

11 Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better? 12 For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?

Here, 1. Solomon lays down his conclusion which he had undertaken to prove, as that which was fully confirmed by the foregoing discourse: There be many things that increase vanity; the life of man is vain, at the best, and there are abundance of accidents that concur to make it more so; even that which pretends to increase the vanity and make it more vexatious. 2. He draws some inferences from it, which serve further to evince the truth of it. (1.) That a man is never the nearer to true happiness for the abundance that he has in this world: What is man the better for his wealth and pleasure, his honour and preferment? What remains to man? What residuum has he, what overplus, what real advantage, when he comes to balance his accounts? Nothing that will do him any good or turn to account. (2.) That we do not know what to wish for, because that which we promise ourselves most satisfaction in often proves most vexatious to us: Who knows what is good for a man in this life, where every thing is vanity, and any thing, even that which we most covet, may prove a calamity to us? Thoughtful people are in care to do every thing for the best, if they knew it; but as it is an instance of the corruption of our hearts that we are apt to desire that as good for us which is really hurtful, as children that cry for knives to cut their fingers with, so is it an instance of the vanity of this world that what, according to all probable conjectures, seems to be for the best, often proves otherwise; such is our shortsightedness concerning the issues and events of things, and such broken reeds are all our creature-confidences. We know not how to advise others for the best, nor how to act ourselves, because that which we apprehend likely to be for our welfare may become a trap. (3.) That therefore our life upon earth is what we have no reason to take any great complacency in, or to be confident of the continuance of. It is to be reckoned by days; it is but a vain life, and we spend it as a shadow, so little is there in it substantial, so fleeting, so uncertain, so transitory is it, and so little in it to be fond of or to be depended on. If all the comforts of life be vanity, life itself can have no great reality in it to constitute a happiness for us. (4.) That our expectations from this world are as uncertain and deceitful as our enjoyments are. Since every thing is vanity, Who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun? He can no more please himself with the hopes of what shall be after him, to his children and family, than with the relish of what is with him, since he can neither foresee himself, nor can any one else foretel to him, what shall be after him. Nor shall he have any intelligence sent him of it when he is gone. His sons come to honour, and he knows it not. So that, look which way we will, Vanity of vanity, all is vanity.

CHAP. VI. Verſ. 1. There is an evil that I have ſeen under the Sun.

THis wretched life is ſo peſtered with evils, that the Preacher could hardly caſt his eye beſide one or other of them. A diligent obſerver hee was of humane miſeries, that hee might hang looſe to life, and the better preſs upon others the vanity of doting upon it. One would wonder (ſurely) that our life here being ſo grievouſly afflicted, ſhould yet bee ſo inordinately affected; and that even by thoſe that are in deaths often, that have born Gods yoak from their youth, that have ſuffered troubles without, and terrours within, and who, if they had hope in this life onely,1 Cor. 15. were (by their own confeſſion) of all men the moſt unhappy. And yet ſo it is, God is forced to ſmoke us out of our clayie cottages, and to make life unto us to bee nothing better than a lingering death, that wee may grow weary of it, and breathe after a better,Aeterna vita vera vita. Aug. where are riches without ruſt, pleaſure with out pain, youth without decay, joy without ſorrow; Ubi nihil ſit quod nolis, & totum ſit quod velis, where is all that heart can wiſh, &c. The skilful Chirurgeon mortifieth with ſtraight binding the member that muſt bee cut off: So doth God fit us for our cutting off,Bern. by binding us with the cords of afflictions. Hee crieth not when God bindeth him, Job 36.13. ſaith Elihu of hypocrites; a Generation of men, than the which nothing is more ſtupid and inſenſible; till at length,Hypocritis nihil ſtupidius Pareus Iſa. 28. God making forcible entry upon them, doth violently break that curſed Covenant that they have made with Death and Hell, daſh the very breath out of their bodies with one plague upon another, turn them out of their earthly Tabernacles, with a firma ejectione, and ſend them packing to their place in Hell, from which they would not bee ſtopped, by all thoſe croſſes, that, for that purpoſe, hee caſt in their way.

And it is common amongſt men] Proper to men, (for beaſts are not ſubject to this evil diſeaſe) and common to all ſorts of men. One evil may well bee common among many, when many evils are ſo commonly upon one. It fell out to bee a part of Mithridates miſery, that hee had made himſelf unpoiſonable. And Cato ſo left this miſerable life,Cic. in Tuſc. quaſt. ut cauſam moriendi nactum ſe eſſe gauderet, that hee was glad of an occaſion to go out of the world.

Verſ. 2. So that hee wanteth nothing] Nothing but every thing, becauſe hee dare not make uſe of any thing almoſt; but is Tantalized by his own baſeneſs. Hee famiſheth at a full feaſt, hee ſtarveth at a fire ſide. And this is often repeated in this book, becauſe it can never enough bee obſerved and abhorred.

Yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof] i. e. Hee with-holdeth his grace from him, that hee cannot uſe it to his comfort. Herein hee is like a Stag that hath great horns, but no courage to uſe them: or rather like an Aſs loaded with gold and victuals, but feeding upon thiſtles. Pray wee therefore,1 Tim. 6.17. that God would together with riches give us all things richly to enjoy. Vel mihi da clavem, vel mihi tolle ſeram. Either give mee the key, ſaith One, or take away the lock. The Greeks deſcribe a good houſholder to be [non-Latin text not transcribed], a good husband, as in getting, keeping and ſetting out what hee hath to the beſt, ſo in making good uſe of it, for his own and others behoof and benefit.

But a ſtranger eats it] God ſo providing, that if one will not, another ſhall; that if the owner will not eat, but ſit pidling or ſparing, a ſtranger, and perhaps an enemy ſhall take away.Deut 28. That if men will not ſerve God with chearfulneſs in the abundance of all things, they ſhould faſt another while, and be forced to ſerve their enemies in hunger, and thirſt, and nakedneſs; and by the want of all bee taught the worth of them, carendo quam fruendo.

Verſ. 3. If a man beget an hundred children] As Ahab did half an hundred, after that God had threatned to cut off all his houſe, as it were in contempt of the divine threatning: And as Proculus Caeſar got twenty Maids with child in fifteen daies ſpace,Lib. 7. Eraſm. in Chiſia. Hier, epiſt. 7. as Pliny reporteth. Eraſmus mentioneth a Maid of Euboea, called Combe, that being married to an husband, brought him an hundred children. Like enough it might bee luctuoſa foecunditas, as Hierom ſaith of Laeta, who buried many children.

And live many years] So that hee bee triſaecliſenex, as Neſtor was of old, and Johannes de temporibus, a French-man, not many ages ſince: to whom I may add that old, Parre. old, very old man, that died of late years, having been born in Henry the ſevenths daies, or Edward the fourths.

And his ſoul bee not filled with good] Though hee bee filled with years, and filled with children, that may ſurvive and ſucceed him in his eſtate, yet if hee bee a covetous caytiff, a miſerable muckworm, that injoyes nothing (as in the former verſe) is not Maſter of his wealth, but is maſtered by it, lives beſide what hee hath, and dies to ſave charges. As hee in Camd. Remains.

And alſo that hee have no burial] Hee leaves nothing to bring him honeſtly home, as they ſay, or if hee do, yet his ungrateful greedy heirs deny him that laſt honour,Jer. 22.19. ſo that hee is buried with the burial of an Aſs, as Coniah; ſuffered to rot and ſtink above ground, as that Aſſyrian Monarch, Iſa, 14. 19, 20. and after him Alexander the Great, who lay unburied thirty daies together. So Pompey the Great, of whom Claudian the Poet ſings thus, Nudus paſcit aves, jacet en qui poſſidet orbem, Exiguae telluris inops. —

And the like is ſtoried of our William the Conquerour, and divers other greedy engroſſers of the worlds good. See here the poiſonful and pernicious nature of niggardiſe and covetouſneſs, that turns long life, and large iſſue, (thoſe ſweeteſt bleſſings of God) into bitter curſes: And withall take notice of the juſt hand of God upon covetous old men, that they ſhould want comely burial; which is uſually one of their greateſt cares, as Plutarch obſerveth. For giving the reaſon why old men, that are going out of the world, ſhould bee ſo earneſtly bent upon the world, hee ſaith, it is out of fear that they ſhall not have [non-Latin text not transcribed], friends to keep them whiles alive, and ſome to bury them when they are dead.

I ſay that an untimely birth] I affirm it in the word of truth, and upon mature deliberation, That an untimely birth (not onely a naked young childe, (as aforeſaid) that is carried ab utero, ad urnam, from the womb, to the tomb, from the birth, to the burial) but an abortive, that coming too ſoon into the world, comes not at all; and, by having no name, findes it ſelf a name, as Pliny ſpeaks of the herb Anonymus.

Verſ. 4. For hee cometh in with vanity, &c.] As nothing, being ſenſeleſs of good or evil. And departeth in darkneſs, is buried in huggermugger. And his Name ſhall bee covered, &c. that is, there is no more talk of this abortive.

Verſ. 5. Moreover hee hath not ſeen the Sun] A ſecond priviledge and prerogative of the poor abortive. None are ſo miſerable wee ſee, but they may bee comparatively happy. It is ever beſt to look at thoſe below us, and then wee ſhall ſee cauſe to bee better contented.

This hath more reſt than the other] The Corn that is cropt as ſoon as it appeareth, or is bruiſed in peeces when it lies in ſprout, is better than the old weed that is hated while it ſtandeth, and in the end is cut down for the fire.

Verſ. 6. Yea though hee live a thouſand years] Which yet never any man did (Methuſalah wanted thirty two of a thouſand.) The reaſon thereof is given by Occolampadius, quia numerus iſte typum habeat perfectionis, ut qui conſtet è centenario decies revoluto, becauſe the number of a thouſand types out per[illegible: 1 letter]ection, as conſiſting of an hundred ten times told. But there is no perfection here ſaith hee.

Yet hath hee ſeen no good] For, All the daies of the afflicted are evil, ſaith Solomon. And mans daies are few and full of trouble, Prov. 15.15 Job 14.1 Gen. 47.9 ſaith Job. Few and evil are the daies of my pilgrimage, ſaith Jacob, and I have not attained to the daies of the years of the life of my Fathers, &c. For Abraham lived one hundred ſeventy five years, and Iſaac one hundred eighty, near upon forty years longer than Jacob, but to his ſmall comfort, for hee was blinde all that time: yet nothing ſo blinde as the rich wretch in the Text, qui privatus interno lumine, tamen in hac vita din vult perpeti caecitatem ſuam, as one ſpeaketh, who being blind as a Mole, lies rooting and poring unceſſantly in the bowels of the earth; as if he would that way dig himſelf a new and a nearer way to Hell, and with his own hands addeth to the load of this miſerable life. As hee hath done no good, ſo hee hath ſeen or enjoyed none; but goes to his place (Do not all go to one place?) the place that Adam provided for all his poſterity, the houſe appointed for all living, as Job calls it, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Heb. 12.23 chap. 30.23. the Congregation-houſe, as One renders it. Heaven the Apoſtle calls the Congregation-houſe of the firſt-born, whoſe names alſo are there ſaid to bee written in Heaven: But covetous perſons, as they are called, the inhabitants of the earth, Rev. 12. Jer. 17.13 in oppoſition to thoſe Coelicola, Citizens of Heaven, the Saints; ſo their names are written in the earth, becauſe they have forſaken the Lord,Jer. 2.13 the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out ciſterns that can hold no water. What marvel then if they live long, and yet ſee no good? if they are driven to that doleful complaint that Saul made, God hath forſaken mee,1 Sam. 28.15 and the Philiſtims are upon mee, ſickneſs, death, hell is upon mee, I am even now about to make my bed in the dark, and all the comfort I can have from God is, that diſmal ſentence, This ſhall yee have of mine hand, yee ſhall lye down in ſorrow, Iſa. 50.11. Loe, this is the curſed condition of the covetous carl, as hee hath lived beſide his goods, having jaded his body, broken his brains, and burthened his conſcience; ſo hee dies hated of God, and loathed of men; the Earth groans under him, Heaven is ſhut againſt him, Hell gapes for him, 1 Cor. 6.8, 9. Phil. 3.18. Thus many a Miſer ſpins a fair threed to ſtrangle himſelf, both temporally and eternally. O that they would ſeriouſly think of this before the cold grave hold their bodies, and hot hell torment their ſouls! before death come with a writ of Habeas corpus, and the Devil with a writ of Habeas animam, as once to that rich fool, Luk. 12.

Verſ. 7. All the labour of man is for his mouth] That is,Dii boni quantum hominum unus exercet venter! Seneca. Deus homini auguſtum ventrem, &c. Sergius PP. for food and rayment, as 1 Tim. 6. a little whereof will content nature, which hath therefore given us a little mouth and ſtomach, to teach us moderation, as Chryſoſtome well obſerveth; to the ſhame of thoſe beaſtly belly-gods, that glut themſelves, and devour the creatures, as if they were of kin to that Pope that was called Os porci, fatning themſelves like boars, till they bee brawned, and having, as Eliphaz ſpeaketh, collops in their flank. A man would think by their greedy and great eating, that their throats were whirl-pools, and their bellies bottomeleſs: that they were like locuſts which have but one gut,Ariſtot. the Aſſe-fiſh that hath his heart in his belly, or the Dolphin that hath his mouth in his maw, as Solinus ſaith.Quicquid avi[illegible: 2 letters] volitat, quicquid piſcium natat, quicquid ferarum diſcurrit, noſtris ſepelitur ventribus.

And yet the appetite is not filled] And yet what birds ſoever flye, what fiſhes ſoever ſwim, what beaſts ſoever run about, are all buried in our bellies, ſaith Seneca. Heliogabalus was ſerved at one ſupper with ſeven thouſand fiſhes, and five thouſand fowls. Hee had alſo ſix hundred harlots following him in Chariots, and yet gave great rewards to him that could invent any new pleaſure. His thirſt was unquenchable, his appetite like the hill Aetna, ever on fire after more. Now as in water face anſwereth to face, Prov. 27.19 ſo doth the appetite of a man to man; we are all as irregular if God ſuffer us to range.

Verſ. 8. For what hath the wiſe more than the fool?] Nothing at all in this vanity of humane nature, that it needeth ſtill new ſupply of nouriſhment to preſerve it. When a wiſe man hath eaten, is hee not again hungry? and muſt not his hunger again bee ſatisfied as well as a fools hunger? Indeed, as any man is more wiſe, hee is more temperate; hee eats to live, not lives to eat. Hee needs not much, nor is a ſlave to his appetite, or to his palat. Hee can feed upon gruel (for a need) with Daniel, upon Coleworts with Eliſha, upon a cake on the coals, [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Mat. 24.38 and a cruſe of water with Elijah, upon locuſts and wilde-honey with the Baptiſt, upon Barley bread with the Diſciples, upon an Herring or two, as Luther, &c. This a fool can ill frame to. Hee eats as a beaſt with the old world, and feeds without fear, Jud. 12. hee caters for the fleſh, Rom. 13. ult. and overchargeth it with ſurfetting and drunkenneſs, Luk. 21.34. hee meaſureth not his chear by that which nature requireth, but that which greedy appetite deſireth, as if therein conſiſteth his whole happineſs.

What hath the poor that knoweth to walk before the living] viz. The poor wiſe man that lives by his wits, can ſerve the time, in St. Pauls ſenſe (if ever hee meant it there, Rom. 12.11.) and make an honeſt ſhift to rub through the world? what hath ſuch a one more than a ſimpler man in this particular? doth not his hunger return, his ſtomach crave new nouriſhment? Animantis cujuſque vita eſt fuga, ſaith the Philoſopher: Were it not for the repair of nutrition, the natural life would bee ſoon extinguiſhed.

Verſ. 9. Better is the ſight of the eyes, &c.] i. e. (as ſome ſenſe it,) Better it is to over-look dainty diſhes, than to over-charge the ſtomach with them; to fill the eyes than the belly, to gratifie that, than to pamper this: though that is a vanity too in the iſſue, and may prove a vexation of ſpirit, may breed inward inquietation; the beſt that can come of it, is repentance, and ſelf-revenge, 2 Cor. 7.11. as in Epaminondas. Symmachus reads the words thus, Melim eſt providere, quam ambalare ut libet, Better it is to provide, than to walk at randome. The Septnagint thus, Melius eſt videre quod cupias, quam deſiderare quod neſcias, Better is it to ſee what thou deſireſt, than to deſire what thou knoweſt not. The beſt Expoſitors make it an anſwer to an objection: For whereas the rich man might reply, Better ſee wealth, than bee alwaies ſeeking it; better have it, than hawk after it: The Preacher anſwers, that Miſery may bee ſomewhat mitigated by this means, but never fully cured or caſhiered.

Verſ. 10. That which hath been, is named already] Or thus, That which is the name of it, hath been named already (viz. Eccleſ. 1.2, 3.) and it is known that it is Adam, or earthly man. The very notation of his name, argues him mortal and miſerable; whether hee bee wiſe or fooliſh, rich or poor, &c. that alters not the caſe: Homo ſum, ſaid one, humanum nihil a me alienum puto: I am a man, [non-Latin text not transcribed], &c. Iſoc. and therefore may not think ſtrange of miſery, whereunto I am born, as the ſparks fly upward, Job. 5.7. hee that forgets not that hee is a man, will not take it ill that evils befall him, ſaith another. When Francis King of France being held priſoner by Charles the fifth Emperour of Germany, ſaw the Emperours Motto, Plus Ultra, written on the wall of his chamber, Hee under-wrote theſe words,Job. Man. loc. com. p. 175. Hodie mihi, cras tibi. To day is my turn to ſuffer, tomorrow thine. The Emperour obſerved it, and wrote underneath that, Fatcer me eſſe hominem, I confeſs I am a man, and therefore ſubject to miſery. Metellus was by the Romans counted and called Felix, Happy, ſo was Sylla, Dictue potim eſt quam fuerit foelix Sylla. Solin. c. 7. But hee proved true that holy proverb, Better is the end of a thing, than the beginning, for hee died miſerably of the louſie diſeaſe, that daſhed all his former happineſs. The Delphian Oracle pronounced one Aglaus a poor contented Arcadian, the onely happy man alive. Solon preferred Tellus the Athenian, and Cleobis, and Bitus alſo, before rich Croeſus, telling him further, that hee might bee called rich and mighty,Valer. Max lib. 7. cap. 3. but not Bleſſed, till hee had made an happy end; and ſo confuting his fond conceit of an imaginary felicity. The Greeks, when they would call a man thrice-miſerable, they call him thrice a man. [non-Latin text not transcribed]. Herodot. The Hebrews, whereas they name a Bee from the order of her working, a Graſs-hopper from devouring, an Ant from gnawing, an Adamant from ſtrokes-bearing, a Serpent from curious obſerving, a Horſe from neying, &c. they give man his name Adam, from the duſt whereof bee was made, and Enoſh ſorry-man, ſick of a deadly diſeaſe, and ſo no way fit to contend with God that is much mightier than Hee, to require a reaſon of his judgements, which are ſometimes ſecret, alwaies juſt. God hath ſhut up all perſons and things (as it were cloſe priſoners) under vanity, by an irreſiſtible decree. To ſtrive againſt this ſtream, and by heaping riches, honours, pleaſures, to ſeek to break priſon, and to withſtand Gods will, is loſt labour. Miſery need not go to finde ſuch out, they run to meet their bane: which yet will (as wee ſay of foul weather) come time enough, before it is ſent for.

Verſ. 11. Seeing there hee many things that encreaſe] Seeing it is in vain to wraſtle or wrangle with God, to ſeek to ward off his blow, to mo[illegible: 1 letter] up ones ſelf againſt his fire: Why ſhould vain man contend with his Maker? Why ſhould hee beat himſelf to froth, as the ſurges of the Sea do againſt the Rock? Why ſhould hee (like the untamed Heifer unaccuſtomed to the yoke) gall his neck by wrigling? make his croſſes heavier than God makes them, by croſſeneſs and impatience? The very Heathen could tell him that, —Deus crudelius uritTibul. Eleg. 1. Quos videt invitos ſuccubuiſſe ſibi.

God will have the better of thoſe that contend with him: and his own Reaſon will tell him, that it is not fit that God ſhould caſt down the bucklers firſt: and that the deeper a man wades, the more hee ſhall bee wet.

Verſ. 12. For who knoweth what is good for man] Hee may think this and that to bee good, but is (moſtly) miſtaken and diſappointed. Ambroſe hath well obſerved, that other creatures are led by the inſtinct of Nature, to that which is good for them. The Lion when hee is ſick, cures himſelf by devouring an Ape, the Bear by devouring Ants, the wounded Dear, by feeding upon Dittany, &c. in ignoras, O homo, remedia tuo, but thou, O man, knoweſt not what is good for thee. Hee hath ſhewed thee, O man, what is good, ſaith the Prophet; and what doth the Lord require of thee but this (inſtead of raking riches together) to do juſtly, and to love mercy, and (inſtead of contending with him) to humble thy ſelf to walk with thy God? Micah 6.8.

For who can tell a man what ſhall bee after him] When the Worms ſhall bee ſcrambling for his body, the Devils (haply) for his ſoul, and his friends for his goods. A falſe Jeſuite publiſhed in print,Camd Eliſ. Dilexi virum qui cum corpore ſolveretur magit de Eccleſiarum ſtatu, &c. ſome years after Queen Elizabeths death, that ſhee died deſpairing, and that ſhee wiſhed ſhee might after her death, hang a while in the air, to ſee what ſtriving would bee for her Kingdome: I loved the man (ſaid Ambroſe of Theodoſius) for this, that when hee died, hee was more affected with care of the Churches good, than of his own.