(7.) Every toil of the man (i.e. humanity) is to his mouth (remembering the meaning of עמל, the sense is clear; the anxiety of men is directed to their mouths, to satisfy physical or moral hunger), and besides the soul (i.e. the self, the ego, as metaphysicians write) is not filled (i.e. satisfied, or fills itself).
8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
What profit then is there to the wise above the befooled? simply that which it is to a man in distress to maintain himself in the presence of the living.
(8.) For what is profiting to the wise beyond the befooled? what (repeated, ‘even what’) to the poor (but ‘poor’ in the sense of oppressed or unfortunate) made to know to walk in the presence of the living ones? We must notice, in explaining this very obscure passage, that החיים, being with the article, must be looked upon as denoting lives generally; moreover נגד has the meaning of ‘in the presence of,’ ‘amongst,’ ‘in the midst of.’ Thus the advantage, or that which is really profitable to the wise, is to know how to walk, proceed, or act; to know which way to go in the presence of the living; in what way, therefore, to direct himself through life and amongst its pleasures and difficulties, so as to make no mistakes as the befooled does. Thus we obtain a connected sense. The anxiety is for enjoyment, but satisfaction is impossible. What, then, is the advantage or profit of wisdom, in the sense of knowing what is best to do under a given set of circumstances? and what advantage gives it over the man who is dissatisfied equally, but does not know this? The answer is, Just the same as to a man in distress, who can manage to live. Existence itself is the struggle for life; but the wise rise to the top, and the fools sink.
9 Better is the sight of the eyes [¹]than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
[¹] Hebrew walking of the soul.
Good is a sight with one’s eyes above a longing for one knows not what: another instance this of evanescence and vexation of spirit.