The Hebrew Bible

The idea of sleepless pursuit of wisdom is surely appropriate to Qohelet’s repeated affirmation of his dedication to philosophical investigation.

Human nature begins with the potential for honesty (“upright” is literally “straight”), but people pervert this potential by devising devious calculations, like wily accountants juggling figures in their books.

The wicked are given a proper burial while the righteous are forgotten—nothing stands to reason in this world.

4He who watches the wind will not plant, and who gazes on clouds will not harvest.

The peculiarity of Qohelet’s philosophic stance is compounded by the peculiarity of his literary vehicle: he is a writer who works out philosophic thought through poetic prose.

As Nabokov movingly puts it in the opening sentence of Speak, Memory, “common sense tells us that our existence is but a crack between two eternities of darkness.”

11The words of the wise are like goads and like nails driven in—from the composers of collections, given from a certain shepherd.

The evident idea here is that people may fling themselves

9Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart be merry in the days of your prime, and go about in the ways of your heart and what your eyes see. But know that for all these God will bring you to judgment. 10And remove worry from your heart, and take evil away from your flesh, for youth and the time of vigor are mere breath.