Ecclesiastes 1
16 I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.”
17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly,
but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief.
King Solomon's personal account of his endeavours he labels “chasing after the wind.” In his quest for exponential wisdom Solomon not only realised how pointless his pursuits were, but also how tiring they were both physically, mentally, and spiritually. Solomon confesses that he has been exhausted by his pursuit of wisdom.
Solomon references the wind, the way it blows around, and around with descriptions of the cycles of the earth, revealing that life repeats itself again, and again the same way it always has. Nothing changes reflecting the author's contention that all is vanity.
The author of Ecclesiastes (King Solomon?) goes on to explain the lack of satisfaction he has experienced. Solomon encounters great frustration, never feeling at peace with his efforts to grow wiser.
In the final verse of this chapter the author appears to regret the wisdom that he has acquired claiming that it has not brought him joy, only sorrow. Solomon warns his audience that if they seek to increase in knowledge, they will also increase their sorrows.
Many would attribute King Solomon's frustrations to the irascible old man syndrome, so common among the elderly vexing over their frustrations, the unfairness of life, the many injustices that appear before their eyes when viewing the television news reports focusing almost exclusively on the negative. Venting ones spleen is a common manifestation of an elderly person's determination to speak their mind knowing that nothing will change, despite their protestations chasing the wind.
Life's wise sages over the centuries teach us that our pessimism leads us to reflect on our aspirations, sufficiently to understand that one fine day, death intervenes. What then the benefit of acquiring knowledge?
Solomon prefers to use the term, wisdom (rather than knowledge) appearing to suggest that through wisdom, understanding grows.
An optimistic understanding of life's passage might well be contained in a few words, drawn from the New Testament, summing up the life of Jesus of Nazareth:
“He went about doing good” (Acts 10:38)
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