The evening world., 1921-01-27
Poets OF the Bible
Bv Rev. Thomas b. Gregory.
Cot,yr-ht. 1921. lc The Pyea Pltiishtng %.
fTbe New YORK Evening World.
No. 2, EccLEslAsTEs.

The wonderful prose poem known az
"Bcclesiastes" belongs to the series o.
so-called wisdom Books such ~
The Wisdom Of Solomon" the Wis
dom Of the Son of SirGch," proverbs
and 'Ecclesiastes," dating from about
go 3. c. to $50 b. c. The date Of Ec-
clesiastes Is around 200 =. c.
It's author, therefore, was not King
Solomon, but some Hellenized Jew
probably of the City of Alexandria
Egypt By tho third century 3. 9. the
Greek cynical philosophy was firmly
established In that city, and In &c
clesiastes" the influence of that phil
Osophy Is quite evident.
The subject Of the book Ia LAfe-
mans life here on this earth-and be-
cause OF the subject, together with the
fact that the Unknown author was a
man Of supreme genius, II Is perhaps
the most fascinating composition in
the world.
In every whole name soul there IS
the permanent possibility OF the rank-
est pessimism, and the conditions be-
ing forthcoming, the pes5imism asserts
itself in unmistakablc fashion.
We see 1t In Homer, In Shakespeare,
in Tasso and Dante, in Carlisle, Schop-
enhauer and Leopard, but in none OF
them does the disease take hold OF US
as 1t does in Ecclesiastes.
AS an artist-that is TO say, in the
art of putting things the Great I'M
known" OF the city of the Ptolemies
OvertOps them all. For a long time
the authorities debated the question
as To whether ECclesiastes SHOULD be
included in the Canon, as many being
against it as for It, but fortunately II
was finally admitted.
II would have been a calamity Of the
hrst order to have permitted this won
derful work to drop into Oblivion.
1t fills a place in the intellectual
world that could have heen made good
by no other production Of tho human
mind.
AS the ducks foot fts the mud 90
does this book ut our occasional
moods. To every one who has any
brains at ali there now and then
comes the hour when he feels like TAX
ing jump into the bottomless pit, or
II that is putting it too strongly, whom
he feels like going OF into the desert
or the wilderness and Kicking himself
into Fragments. Everything Is wrong
and nothing is right. The whole
framework Of things is out OF joint
4 ne sun Is not DTlBnLs the mowers arc
not sweet; friendship is a lie and love
a cheat. The mighty maze" seems to
be going TO the devil-and we are glad
OF It, for It should never have been
started in the first place.
And when such mood possesses Us
there Is nothing like a good dose Of
the pes5imism OF Bcclesiastes, At such
times 1t is Just what the system calls
for-vociferously, imperativeiy, un-
cOmpromising1yI
At such time 70 turn TO the Beati-
tudes and the twenty-third Psalm, or
to Emerson's "Oversoul" and the Inn
itation" OF ST. Thomas a'KemptS
would be mockery q the deepest dye
When the devtls Of despair are grim
ming at us We are in no state OF mind
to enjoy the faces OF the good angels
Devils and stin more devils is what
We need.
What we NEED. I say. according to
tint old eternal truth that 1t Is the
hair OF the dog that cures the bite"
For, look you! After wallowing in
his pessimism, and enjoying 1t as the
cat enjoys rolling in the catnip, the
author all of 8 sudden sees a star
blinking through the clouds and cries
out: This Is the end OF the matter.
Fear God and keep His command
msnts, for this 10 the whole duty OF
man"