The Wise and the Foolish
The Teacher revisits wisdom, madness, and folly, recognizing that a successor can only repeat what has already been done. He concludes that wisdom does surpass folly, just as light surpasses darkness, because the wise person sees where he is going while the fool walks in darkness.
T12hen I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what more can the king’s successor do than what has already been accomplished? 13And I saw that wisdom exceeds folly, just as light exceeds darkness: 14The wise man has eyes in his head,
Even so, the Teacher realizes that the same fate overtakes both wise and foolish, emptying wisdom of ultimate gain. Because both are forgotten and both die, he comes to hate life under the sun, judging all its work grievous, futile, and like chasing the wind.
15Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both. So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” 16For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool! 17So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.