Immerse: Poets Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 266
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IMMERSE
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POETS
1:18–2:20
The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief.
To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.
I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’
in life.” But I found that this, too, was meaningless. So I said, “Laughter
is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?” After much thought, I
decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I
clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world.
I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by
planting beautiful vineyards. I made gardens and parks, filling them with
all kinds of fruit trees. I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my
many flourishing groves. I bought slaves, both men and women, and others
were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more
than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. I collected
great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I
hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful
concubines. I had everything a man could desire!
So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and
my wisdom never failed me. Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied
myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward
for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to
accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was
nothing really worthwhile anywhere.
So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness (for who
can do this better than I, the king?). I thought, “Wisdom is better than
foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. For the wise can see where
they are going, but fools walk in the dark.” Yet I saw that the wise and the
foolish share the same fate. Both will die. So I said to myself, “Since I will
end up the same as the fool, what’s the value of all my wisdom? This is all
so meaningless!” For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not
be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will
be forgotten.
So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so
troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others
everything I have earned. And who can tell whether my successors will be
wise or foolish? Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill
and hard work under the sun. How meaningless! So I gave up in despair,
questioning the value of all my hard work in this world.
