Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/647

ECCLESIASTES 625 (22). Such a desperate conclusion, however, makes death preferable to a toilsome life (iv. 1-3), a life spent in exertions to battle with the pre-ordained order of things, a life expended in labours which either arise from jealousies and fail in their end (4-6), or are prompted by avarice and defeat themselves (9-16). But as God has thus ordained the order of things, we ought to serve him (17-v. 6), trust to his protection under oppression (7, 8), and remember that the rich oppressor has not even the comfort of the poor labourer (9-11), and often br ngs misery upon his children and himself (12-16). This again brings Coheleth to the mournful conclusion that nothing is left but to enjoy the few fleeting years of life, which is a gift of God (17-19). Coheleth now shows that neither the much-coveted wealth nor the highly-praised prudence suffices to secure the desired happiness and solve the melancholy problem of life that the same failure attends wealth (vi. 1-9), for the rich man cannot over-rule the order of Providence, nor forecast what will be for his happiness (10-12). The same is the case with the prudential or common sense view of life. Coheleth thought to secure happiness by acquiring and leaving a good name (vi. 1-4), by listening to merited re buke (5-9), not indulging in a repining spirit. He would also submit to Divine Providence (10-14), be moderate in his religious practices (15-20), not meddle with the opinions of others (21, 22), seeing that higher wisdom is unattain able (23, 24), and submit to the oppressive powers that be, convinced that the mightiest tyrant will ultimately be punished (viii. 1-9), for, though righteous retribution is momentarily suspended which causes wickedness to triumph, God will eventually administer justice (10-13). But as he found that the fortunes of the righteous and the wicked are often reversed all their lifetime, he had to relinquish this common-sense view of life as utterly insufficient to calm the longings of the soul, and recurred to his repeated conclusion that there is nothing left for man but to enjoy the fleeting things of this life (14, 15). Before propounding his final conclusion, Coheleth gives a resume of his investigations. Since it is impossible to fathom the work of God by wisdom, seeing that even the righteous and wise are subject to this inscrutable Provi dence just as are the wicked (viii. 16-ix. 2) ; for all must die alike and be forgotten, and have no more participation in what takes place here (3-6), and we are therefore to indulge in pleasures here, since there is no hereafter (7-10); success does not always attend the strong aud the skilful (11, 12); wisdom, though advantageous in many respects, is often despised and defeated by folly (13 x. 3); we are to be patient under sufferings from rulers who by virtue of their power often pervert the order of things (4-7), since opposition may only increase our sufferings (8-11); the exercise of prudence will in the long run be more ad vantageous than folly (12-20); we are to be charitable, though the recipients of our charity often appear ungrate ful, since some of them may after all requite us (xi. 1, 2); we are always to be at work, not allowing ourselves to be deterred by imaginary failures, since we know not which of our efforts may prove successful (3-6), and thus make life as agreeable as we can, since this is the only scene of enj oy- ment, and the future is all vanity (7, 8); yet, seeing that even all this does not satisfy the higher craving of the soul, and still leaves conscious man in a more deplor able state than unconscious nature, for the objects of nature depart, retrace their course again, while man disappears and is for ever forgotten Coheleth at last comes to the conclusion that the enjoyment of this life, combined with a belief in a future judgment, does secure real happiness for man (9, 10). We are therefore to live from our early years in the fear of God and of a final judgment, when the Right- nous Judge will rectify all present inequalities (xii. 1-7). The wisest and most painstaking Coheleth found by experience that all human efforts to obtain real happiness are vanity of vanities (xii. 8-10), that the sacred writings alone contain the clue to it (11, 12), that there is a Righteous Judge who takes cognizance of all we do, that He will in the great Day of Judgment try the conduct of us all, and that we are therefore to fear Him and keep His commandments (13, 14). From this analysis of its contents it will be seen that the book consists of four parts, with a prologue and epilogue. The prologue and epilogue are distinguished by respectively beginning with the same phrase (i. 1, xii. 8) and ending with two marked sentences (i. 11, xii. 14). The prologue, which consists of chapter i. 1-11, propounds the grand problem of the book ; whilst the epilogue, which consists of chapter xii. 8-12, gives the solution proposed by Coheleth. The four sections, which are respectively indicated by the recurrence of the same formula or refrain, viz., ii. 26, v. 19, and viii. 15, give the result of each experiment or group of efforts to satisfy the cravings of the longing soul, apart from the conclusion at which Coheleth arrived. Coheleth fills up a gap in the Old Testament lessons. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures virtue and vice are spoken of as being visibly rewarded on earth. God declares at the very giving of the law that He will show mercy to thousands of those who love Him and keep His commandments, and visit the iniquity of those who hate Him to the third and fourth generation (Exod. xx. 5, 6). The whole of Lev. xxvi. and of Deut. xxviii. are replete with promises of earthly blessings to those who will walk in the way of the Lord, and threatenings of temporal afflic tions upon those who shall transgress His law. The faith ful fulfilment of these promises and threatenings in the early stages of the Jewish history convinced every Israelite that " God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day" and afforded a source of consolation to which the righteous resorted when the power of the wicked threatened destruction (1 Sam. xxiv. 13-16, xxvi. 23; Pss. vii., ix., Hi.). Like a net of fine threads is this doctrine spread over the entire Old Testament (comp. Pss. xvii. 1, 2; xxvi. 1, 2; xxviii. 1-3; xxxv.; liv. 7-9; Iv. 20-24; xc. ; cxii. ; cxxv. 3; cxxvii.; cxl. ; cxli. 10; Prov. x. 6; xi. 5-8, 19; xii. 7; Hag. ii. 15-20; Zech, i. 2-6; viii. 9-17; Malachi ii. 17). By limiting the bar of judg ment to this side of the grave, the Old Testament yielded no explanation of, or succour under, the distracting sight of the righteous suffering all their life, and then dying for their righteousness, and of the wicked prospering and pro longing their days through their wickedness. It was under such despairing circumstances that Psalms xxxvii., xlix., and Ixxiii were written, But these very Psalms endeavour to allay the prevailing scepticism in the moral government of God, by declaring that the righteous shall ultimately prosper and prolong their days upon the earth, and that the wicked shall suddenly be cut off in great misery. Hence the recurrence of this perplexity passing over into despair when these reassurances and consolations were not realized by experience, and when the sufferers, however conscious of their innocence, were looked upon as rejected of God in consequence of some secret sin. The book of Job, which so successfully combats the latter notion by showing that afflictions are not always a proper test of sin committed, only confirms the old opinion that the righteous are visibly rewarded here, inasmuch as it represents their calamities as transitory, aud Job himself as restored to double his original wealth and happiness in this life. Under the Persian aud Ptoleineian dominion over Palestine, the political affairs of the Jews -were such as to render the incongruity between the destinies of men and

VII. - 79