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"Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is
made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in
the house of mirth."
His question concerning mirth was, "What doeth it?" In what way does it help man
upon the road to true peace and lasting joy. Surely the beginning of wisdom is to
recognize that we are in an evil age, with corruption in our nature, and condemnation as
our legal end. Laughter and mirth are out of place in the presence of such a state. It is
like the crackling of thorns under a pot in its transience. Solomon went the whole gamut
of experiences, and in verse 3, when he gave himself to wine, he exposed the subtle
philosophy of the Ruba'iyát of `Omar Khaiyam. Chapter 7: answers the "laying hold of
folly" by replying "It is good that thou shouldest take hold of (same word) this",
indicating the argument of verses 13-17 already quoted above. No conclusion is arrived
at in 2: 3. All we know is that the writer tested these things in turn with one object:--
"Till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under
heaven all the days of their life."
We must examine the process of investigation more thoroughly in another paper.
#9.
Life's true Portion (2: 4-11).
pp. 113 - 116
In this series we are seeking principles. The limitations of space and time prevent us
from a closer consideration of connecting details other than a brief survey. Such a survey
must be given now of the subject matter of chapter 2: 4-10. The pursuit of the enquiry as
to what was "that good for the sons of men which they should do under the heaven all the
days of their life" was not conducted as a theoretical speculation, but as a practical
experiment. Koheleth's attention is first described as that which from the days of the
flood till the present time has been a past summary of human activity: "I builded, I
planted". Here we see the laying out and equipping of a great establishment. Matthew
Henry in his commentary writes:--
"Solomon here, in pursuit of the summum bonum, the felicity of man, adjourns out of
his study, his library, his laboratory, his council chamber, where he had in vain sought for
it, into the park and play house, his garden and his summer house, exchanging the
company of philosophers and grave senators for that of the wits and gallants, and the
beaux esprits of his court, to try if he could find true satisfaction and happiness among
them. Here he takes a great step downward from the noble pleasures of intellect to the
brutal ones of sense; yet, if he resolve to make a thorough trial, he must knock at this
door because here a great part of mankind imagine they have found that which he was in
quest for."
The turning from pure wisdom and abstractions to the concrete erection of buildings
and planting of gardens here noticed is founded upon the two phases manifestly indicated