ECCLESIAS'TES, BOOK OF, consists of an introduction, a main body, and a con clusion. The introduction announces the theme that all things beneath the sun, if pur sued as in themselves the chief end of man, and without reference to God and to immortality, are utterly vain. Man in such a pursuit, with all his high faculties, has less value and power than pertain to unconscious nature, for while it abideth he is ' quickly cut off; natural objects depart and return, in endless circuit, but man's life comes to an end and he is no more. The main body of the book establishes this proposi tion not by abstract reasoning, but by appeal to the actual experience of the human heart; and not among the poor, lowly, and ignorant, but among the wise, exalted, and rich. At the head of this class, in a Jew's esteem, would he the kings in Jerusalem, and among them all Solomon was most exalted. He, therefore, is introduced as revealing the feelings of his heart in the midst of his wisdom, wealth, and power. lie had tried wisdom, pleasure, and every form of great achievement, and had found them vanity. .Yet, by bringing God and the soul into the account, measures of happiness may be enjoyed. These the book proceeds to declare: 1. Happiness is attainable here in the enjoyment of the food which sustains life, and of labor as it is performed. But even this, man cannot secure by his own efforts alone. It must be the gift of God. He will bestow wisdom, knowledge, and joy on those who are good in his sight; but the activity and energy of sinners he will make advantageous to others rather than to themselves. 2. Riches, even when obtained through toil, cannot in themselves give happiness; for all enjoyment of the food which sustains life, and of the wealth which crowns it, is the gift of God, and from him must the rich obtain it, on the conditions which he prescribes, and in the measures which he bestows, or vanity and vexation will.fill their souls. 3. As there are many circumstances of life in which wealth has no power to give happiness, as it is often lost after it has been acquired, and as many persons never possess it, happi ness is to be found in the enjoyment of the food which sustains life, and in the possession of joy in the soul, independently of circumstances, whether of wealth or poverty, of suc cess or failure, of obscurity or fame. This only can abide with man amidst all changes; and this, God who created the soul, and he only can supply. 4. Life, whatever its cir cumstances and experiences, comes to one inevitable end, in which all that is material shall return to the earth, and the spirit, the great gift of God, shall return to him. Prepara tion for this end, therefore, is the great object of life. If it be rightly made, life is a grand success, whatever its circumstances and transient experiences may be; if it be not made, life is an awful failure, whatever honor, wealth, or pleasure may have been secured. While these four propositions, linked together, are the golden thread which
runs through the book, many particulars, drawn from personal observation and experi ence, are grouped around them. Some of these may be readily comprehended by any thoughtful mind; others, many persons can scarcely, if at rill, understand. But this difficulty shows that the book is true to life; for while much of human experience is common to all men, and may therefore be understood by all, in other parts of it each heart knows its own bitterness and a stranger does not intermeddle with its joy. Every human soul, in its progress from folly to wisdom, or on its way back from transgression to righteousness, passes through phases of inconsistency, darkness, doubt, mystery, and wickedness, which, if faithfully recorded, would he incomprehensible to other minds. It is possible that sonic of the confusion which many find in the details of Ecclesiastes, is of this sort. The conclusion of the book, repeating the declaration that human life, when pursued as if,it contained within itself its highest end, is the vainest of vain things, adds a single rule for its guidance in all circumstances and iu every age. The fear of God, securing obedience to his commandments in view of his appointed judgment to come, is all that is requisite to insure the righteousness, peace, and welfare of man.
Since the time of Luther, continental critics generally, including many who do not question the canonical authority of Ecclesiastes, have ascribed the authorship of it to some unknown writer who lived between B.C. 536 and 150, and, as they suppose, intro duced Solomon as revealing his own experience and speaking as a representative of man kind. The reasons assigned for their opinion are: 1. That the book is written in IIebrew of a much later age than Solomon's, and contains-many Aramaic words; 2. That many parts of the subject matter are not such as Solomon would have written. On the other hand, Jewish tradition from the earliest times has attributed the book to Solomon, say ing that he wrote the song of songs in his youth, the proverbs in middle life, and Eccle siastes in old age. Some modern scholars, whose thorough knowledge of Hebrew is unquestioned,• stand resolutely by Jewish tradition; and some, who, perhaps, are not Hebrew scholars, are bold enough to say that since Solomon, in his later years, had con stant conversation with foreign women, he may have corrupted his language with foreign words and idioms, so that the peculiarities of diction which are found in Eccle siastes, instead of proving that he did not write the book, are only additional mementos of the transgressions which had made so much of his life more bitter than death.