scribing the vanity of all things on earth, concludes his teaching in the last chapter with these words: " Man shall go into the house of his eternity." (Eccles 12:5) O house of eternity, what a vast edifice you are! He who has a long journey before him, my dear brethren, through a desert country, where there is no shelter to be found and no food, must take provisions with him and fill his travelling-bag with food and drink if he does not wish to perish on the way. Silver, gold, bank-notes, precious treasures are of no use to him on such an occasion; they would only tire him, but could not prevent him from dying of hunger and thirst. Leonius tells us of two travellers who were journeying together through a desert; the one had over ten thousand golden crowns, the other had nothing but a piece of dry bread and a jar of water. The first began to suffer thirst, but knew not where to find help, because his companion had too little water to spare him any. At last he offered all his gold for a drink of water. The second, greedy of the money and anxious to become rich all at once, exchanged the water for the gold. But how foolish he was! The first drank the water and thereby saved his life; the second grew tired carrying the gold and perished of thirst. If he had kept the water he might have had the gold too, in time, for the first would have died and left it to him. But he did not think of that in time, and so his repentance came too late.
Where are you going, human soul? Into the house of your eternity; that is, into that vast, infinite wilderness in which you shalt find nothing but what you brought with you from here for your journey; in which there is no shelter for you but what you have first built up for yourself; and no other life but what you have prepared for yourself here below. What will become of your wealth, rich man? Will it go into eternity? But what good would it be to you there? That is a land in which money cannot buy anything. Woe to you, then, if you have made no other provision for the road; you shalt surely suffer eternal hunger and thirst! What will become of your honors and dignities, ambitious man? Will they, perhaps, accompany you into the house of your eternity? But have you nothing else to bring with thee? Alas! if so, you wilt receive but little honor there, for in that house there is no respect for persons, for high dignities, for great honors, and an illustrious name. There the peasant is as good as the king, and the humble servant will be
