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and even the kingdom of Judea entered into a system of slow decay.

20. I then resolved in mine heart

To abandon all hope with respect to all the works
In which I had laboured under the sun.

21. For even the man whose works are executed
In wisdom, and in knowledge, and with skill;
Yet unto a man that hath not laboured therein
Must he give it as his portion!

This is also vanity, and a great vexation.

22. What else remaineth now unto man

For all his labours, and for the vexation of his heart,
That he thus toileth under the sun?

23. Surely all his days are sorrowful,

And his occupation grievous;

Even in the night his heart hath no rest.
This is therefore also vanity.

We have now before us the sum and substance of all the various experiments which Solomon invented and accomplished at great spiritual peril, and their results both of which he now found to be vanity of vanities and vexation of spirit. He was at great pains, trouble, expense, and anxiety in constructing an air balloon, as it were, in which he expected to mount above the common lot of humanity, and to breathe the air of pleasure and satisfaction, and enjoyment in higher spheres, which no common mortal can reach. But no sooner had he begun his rapid ascent than his balloon burst in several places, the storm tossed violently the injured machine, Solomon lost his balance, fell out of the ear, and broke his legs on landing in a deep ravine, at a great distance from his native desires and expectations. In his great distress and sore disappointment he sought consolation in the idea of leaving

the wisely-constructed and very costly, though now wrecked balloon, to his heir and successor. But he soon discovered the great danger to which that hollow inheritance would expose his crown prince, should he-who possessed far less wisdom and skill than his unfortunate father-attempt to reconstruct and refit the broken instrument for another experiment, which would probably end in the breaking of his neck in addition to his father's legs.

Having thus finished his perfect search through all the corners, and through all the different substances of this world and her vanities-having thoroughly pondered man's relation to her, in all his various circumstances, and possibly different conditions, and still found no pleasure, no real satisfaction, and no prospect of happiness, either for himself, or for his descendants after him, or for his fellow men, he therefore pronounced at last his severe but just sentence of condemnation, without any extenuating circumstances, upon all that is material and perishing, and in all its various relations to mortal man. He therefore became wearied of life, which had no more charms, no more promises for him, and consequently he became disgusted with all his riches, and possessions, and laborious works, in all of which he saw but vanity, deceit, and vexation of spirit. At last he exclaimed, "What else remaineth now unto man, for all his labours and for all the vexations of his heart, that he thus toileth under the sun?" as if he had said, "Is there anything that I neglected in the course of my investigations, wherefore I failed to find the expected fruits of satisfaction and pleasure? Is there any living man who can reasonably imagine to find more among the deceitful vanities of this world than I did? If not, why then do they continue to plague themselves with an experiment so entirely exhausted? Why

does not man in general hate and abandon everything as I do now? Why is not every man so disgusted with life as I am? Are not all his days full of sorrow, and all his occupations accompanied with grief? Do his eyes repose by day, or does his heart find rest by night? Is not all this vanity and madness? How long shall mortal man continue to deceive himself? How long shall he grasp at the foul air of worldly pleasures? How long shall he continue in the whirl of misery and vexation of spirit ?” Here we see an individual who, having ruined his constitution, not by the moderate use, but by the abuse of the creatures of God, given unto man to enjoy them with moderation and thanksgiving. Here we see a man who swallowed too much at once of a fat dish, by which he brought on himself derangement, disease, and sufferings. Now he not only condemns and abhors every thing, but also every man, and even those who use that dangerous dish moderately, and in a manner that will certainly do them good instead of harm. But it is usually the case with such disappointed men that when in the course of time their first impression of horror and disgust is past, they see clearly that it was the abuse and not the use of those things which caused them sufferings. So Solomon, when he awoke out of his wandering dream, when he soberly looked back to his extravagant and sinful career, he also moderated his opinion (as we shall see in the following chapters), and he himself recommends highly the moderate use of all the gifts of God, and the enjoyment of them by all men, in moderation, with thankfulness, contentedness, and satisfaction.

The end of the last century and the beginning of the present proved very productive of a mass of little Solomons, in the shape of discontented poets, defeated warriors, and murmuring and blaspheming

philosophers, which spread like a pest over the surface of civilized Europe. We call them little Solomons, though their littleness beside that really great man was manifested in every respect, while their assimilation unto him was only in the following point. Having like Solomon undertaken different experiments (though on a very small scale) upon the world and its foolish vanities, for the satisfaction of their selfish and wicked ambition, and vile lusts of their flesh, and having found themselves sooner or later sadly and sorely disappointed in all their expectations, they became misanthropes of the first order, and with an air of pedantic authority violently demanded their sober and regulated fellowmen to follow their examples, and to become misanthropes like themselves. These little beings, with comparatively but small brains and very limited means, were furnished with one or another valuable talent, which, if directed into a right channel and wisely employed, would in proper time have procured for them a peaceful and honourable existence. But no, they ventured to violate the laws of nature, and boundaries of Providence, in the vain hope to screen themselves under the protection of their little knowledge and reputation. Some of them ventured to lift themselves in rapid flights in a sphere very high above their station, where they naturally met with a benumbing cold, and fell down like icicles into the melting snow. Others plunged themselves into a depth of sin and base degradation, where they broke their limbs among the rocks of public opinion, and general condemnation. Thus disappointed, wounded, and sadly discouraged, they began to hate and condemn, not their excesses, lawlessness, imprudence, presumptions, and shameful behaviour, but everything created the world at large, the human family in general. Yea, they even ventured to attack

Providence and its omniscient arrangements, as if heaven was obliged to make other arrangements and rules for deceived and wicked monsters, who refuse to submit themselves and be guided, but wish to submit and guide others!-men who are not contented with the common lot and portion of humanity, but madly endeavour to lift themselves above the heads of greater men than they are―men who break all boundaries of decency, morality, and equity, and still expect and demand to remain unmolested, uncriticised, and uncondemned by their calm and sober fellowmen-men who search among the rubbish of a vain world for things which Providence either never intended man to find, or even strictly prohibited him the use thereof. These perverted beings condemned loudly the imperfection of men and objects, while they themselves and their vile conduct presented an awful picture of enormity, outrage, and imperfection. These little fishes ventured to jump out of their liquid element when in pursuit of flies, and thus they have either cast themselves into the outspread net of the fisherman, or were picked up into the long beaks of birds of prey. When taken by their own follies, they murmured against Providence and blasphemed God, and tried to persuade their fellow fish-who were still in the full enjoyment of their liberty-to despair, to hate life, to abhor everything around them, and to blaspheme Providence as they did. They forgot all the time that Providence has richly provided for them in their native element, and never advised them to jump out of it in search of dainties, and thus to fall into the power of their enemies. They forgot that their fellow fish might behave wiser than they did, and thus remain quiet, happy, and undisturbed in the spacious bosom of the crystal deep, where their Creator placed them, and prepared abundance for

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