‘Vanity of vanities, the Preacher says, vanity of vanities. All is vanity!” The Book of Ecclesiastes is an unremitting condemnation of the false hopes that so often drive a misplaced human optimism. The author seems to mock the pride of human achievement. What is the point of industrious labour if the fruits of that industry are inherited by the indolent? The catalogue becomes even more depressing. The author concludes that the whole of life is vanity, no more than chasing the wind.
The context of the Preacher’s pessimism reveals fascinating parallels with our own society.
