Add parallel Print Page Options

Search for Human Equilibrium

How To Discover?

Chapter 7

Laughter and Anguish[a]

A good name is better than precious ointment,
    and the day of death than the day of birth.[b]
It is better to go to the house of mourning
    than to the house of feasting.
For that is the end of every man;
    let the living take it to heart.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 7:1 We must realize that there is no equality between life and death; death will always have the last word. It is useless for us to try to evade this point; a proper equilibrium lies in accepting the human condition such as it is.
  2. Ecclesiastes 7:1 The day of death [is better] than the day of birth: see 2 Cor 5:1-10; Phil 1:21-23. In verses 2-6, Qoheleth shows how we learn more from times of trial than from times of happiness.