12 And who knoweth what is good for man in life,
The brief day of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow?
And who can tell what shall be after him under the sun?
The Quest in the Golden Mean. The Method of the Man who pursues it. Ch. vii., vv. 1-14.
1 A good name is better than good nard,
And the day of death better than the day of one's birth:
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning
Than to the house of feasting,
Because this is the end of every man,
And the living should lay it to heart:
Ver. 2. "Because this is the end;" i.e. the death bewailed in the house of mourning.
3 Better is serious thought than wanton mirth,
For by a sad countenance the heart is bettered:
4 The heart of the wise therefore is in the house of mourning,
But in the house of mirth is the heart of fools.
5 It is better for a man to listen to the reproof of the wise
Than to listen to the song of fools;
6 For the laughter of fools is like the crackling of thorns under a pot:
This also is vanity.
Ver. 6. The laughter of fools, etc. There is a play on words in the original which cannot be reproduced in English. Dean Plumptre, following the lead of Delitzsch, proposes as the nearest equivalents, "As crackling nettles under kettles," or "As crackling stubble makes the pot bubble."
7 Wrong-doing maketh the wise man mad,
As a bribe corrupteth the heart.
8 The end of a reproof is better than its beginning,
And patience is better than pride;
9 Therefore hurry not on thy spirit to be angry:
For anger is nursed in the bosom of fools.
10 Say not, "How is it that former days were better than these?"
For that is not the part of wisdom.
11 Wisdom is as good as wealth,
And hath an advantage over it for those who lead an active life:
Ver. 11. Those who lead an active life. Literally, "those who see the sun," i.e. those who are much in the sun, who lead a busy active life, are much occupied with traffic or public affairs.
12 For wisdom is a shelter,
And wealth is a shelter;
But the advantage of wisdom is
That it fortifieth the heart of them that have it.