Portuguese Irregular Verbs

creio, dou, digo, durmo, faco, hei, vou, leio, ouco, peco, posso, ponho, quero, sei, sou, trago, vejo, venho.

Alexander McCall Smith's novel Portuguese Irregular Verbs (New York: Anchor Books, 2003. Amazon Link) features a scholar who searches for recognition and love, both of which slip through his fingers at the last moment.

"He brought himself to order. There was no point in self-pity, which was something he invariably disliked in others. No; he would not allow himself to be discouraged. He had much to be proud of in this life; much for which he should be grateful. He was, after all Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld. That, on its own, would have been quite enough; but there was more: he was the author of Portuguese Irregular Verbs, and that was something that would forever be associated with his name, just as when people thought of Thomas Mann they thought of ...
"Von Igelfeld stopped. Then he laughed, which made Prinzel swerve the car slightly; before he righted it and they continued their journey back to Germany, where they belonged." (p. 128).

This quote begins with a reference to "order" which is a Wisdom Literature theme, and a theme which Ecclesiastes challenges. Good things do not always happen to good people. Von Igelfeld also seems to lament this lack of order as he does his best to make wise and careful decisions, but to no avail. Yet, to be honest, he has much to be grateful for, and that thought brings him to contentment, another major theme in Ecclesiastes (e.g. 3:22). Ecclesiastes advocates acceptance of the lot that God has given each person. Smith's book closes with von Igelfeld going back to his allotted place, "Germany, where they belonged."

Epic of Gilgamesh

"Gilgamesh, whither rovest thou?
the life thou pursuest thou shalt not find.
When the gods created mankind,
Death for mankind they set aside,
Life in their own hands retaining.
thou, Gilgamesh, let full be thy belly,
Make thou merry by day and by night.
Of each day make thou a feast of rejoicing,
Day and night dance thou and play!
Let thy garments be sparkling fresh,
Thy head be washed; bathe thou in water.
Pay heed to the little one that holds on to thy hand,
Let they spouse delight in thy bosom!
For this is the task of [mankind]!" ANET 90.

This is the ale-wife's [='beer-woman', i.e. tavern owner] speech to Gilgamesh, the hero of the ancient (2000 B.C.) Akkadian epic who travels extensively in search of the secret of immortality. The quotation above anticipates Ecclesiastes' theme of enjoying life (e.g. Eccl 3:22).

Another connection:
"You have toiled without cease, and what have you got?" (Brown 2000, 5, citing Kovacs 92-93). Eccl 1:3, "What does man gain from all his labor?" (NIV).


See Seow's commentary in the Anchor Bible for many connections between Ecclesiastes and Gilgamesh.

Worthless Pursuit of the Things on the Earth

Chris Taylor's contemporary Christian music album Worthless Pursuit of the Things on the Earth (Rhythm House Music/ASCAP 2000. Amazon link) has a very Ecclesiastes-type ring to the title track. Here are the lyrics:

I've spent years and years and years
Chasing the wind out of my very own sails
Time and time again... I've lost the inspiration that got me here.
What is worth the life and the living...
The pain of loss is it worth the giving?
From the moment of my birth
The worthless pursuit of things on the earth.

Over and over it seems
I've worked my fingers all the way to the bone.
Possessing the things I don't need.
I live in a big house...but I feel so alone.
All that toil, all that grief,
All that gain but still no peace.
Dust turns into dirt.
The worthless pursuit of things on the earth.

I'm on my way... to the end of the world.
All along the way... chaos rules both kings and fools.
I'm on my way...to the end of the world.

I had some money for a little while;
Left holes in my pockets and a long paper trail.
Everyone's looking for the meaning of life.
Everyone's got their own story to tell...

All our searching, all our finding, all our conscience still reminding.
We wear it like a shirt.
The worthless pursuit of things on the earth.

The album insert explains the origin of the song with no mention of Ecclesiastes. Here are some allusions as I see them:

"Chasing the wind"... Eccl 1:14, etc.
"Possessing the things I don't need" ... Eccl 5:13 [heb 12] "wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner"
"I feel so alone"... Eccl 4:8.
"All that gain but still no peace" ... Eccl 1:3, "What does man gain from all his labor"; Eccl 5:12 [heb 11] "the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep."
"Dust turns into dirt"... Eccl 12:7, "the dust returns to the ground where it came from"
"chaos rules both kings and fools" ... 'chaos' is a break down of divine order, which Ecclesiastes sees in the break down of retribution (e.g. Eccl 9:2). 'Chaos' is also used to translate 'formless and void' (tohu vavohu, Genesis 1:2) which parallels Ecclesiastes' key word 'vanity' (hebel) which can be translated as 'nothing, empty'. 'Chaos' (tohu) is translated 'vanity' in Isa 44:9 (KJV), and is used in parallel with 'vanity' (hebel) in Isa 49:4.
"kings and fools" ... Eccl 4:13, "Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king"
"I had some money for a little while"... Eccl 5:14 [heb 13], "wealth lost through some misfortune."
"All our searching" ... Eccl 1:13, "I devoted myself to study and explore."
"All our finding" ... Eccl 7:28, "while I was still searching but not finding."

(all quotations from New International Version)

What use was it having all that money

Mma Ramotswe of the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency reminisced about life in rural Africa, and criticized the empty lifestyle of the wealthy. "How sorry she felt for white people, who couldn't do any of this, and who were always dashing around and worrying themselves over things that were going to happen anyway. What use was it having all that money if you could never sit still or just watch your cattle eating grass?" (p 162. Alexander McCall Smith. New York: Pantheon Books, 1998). Ecclesiastes 4:6, "Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind" (NIV). Link to Amazon.

Evil under the Sun

Agatha Christie has a Poirot novel with the title Evil under the Sun which really has an 'Ecclesiastes' ring to it, since 'under the sun' is a key phrase in the biblical book. The book has no discernible relationship to Ecclesiastes apart from the title, which Poirot pronounces in the context of a conversation where the character Emily Brewster suggests that there wouldn't be a murder in such an island paradise. Poirot replies, "It is peaceful. The sun shines. The sea is blue. But you forget, Miss Brewster, there is evil everywhere under the sun" (p. 11).
The Reverend Stephen Lane soon pipes up, "I was interested, M. Poirot, in something you said just now. You said that there was evil done everywhere under the sun. It was almost a quotation from Ecclesiastes." "Yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live" (p. 12).
This is a quotation of Ecclesiastes 9:3 from the King James Version. The choice is surprising since the quote does not mention the 'sun'. The unquoted first part of the verse, however, does say, "This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun..." The verse is actually lamenting the finality of death.
Other verses the author could have quoted:
Eccl 4:1, "the oppressions that are done under the sun"
Eccl 4:3, "the evil work that is done under the sun"
Eccl 5:13 [heb 12], "evil which I have seen under the sun"
Eccl 10:5, "There is an evil which I have seen under the sun"

Agatha Christie, Evil under the Sun. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1940.
Amazon edition, click here.

Now stop worrying and enjoy your life

CNN reports that London buses are displaying an advertisement that reads, "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."
Link to CNN video
Ecclesiastes has a similar message, but based on a different premise. We can stop worrying and enjoy life, precisely because there is a God who is in control.