Simon Says, October 14, 2022

It must be sad to be Kollehet.  The book opens with “Utter futility.”  The first chapter sets the tone of the book:  “There is nothing new under the sun.” 

My cousin Ronnie said 50 years ago, “I am a pessimist, because good things are a boon.” 

I am an optimist; the glass is half-full.

“But,” Kollehet says, “the earth remains the same forever.” 

The geologists disagree.  The earth is forever changing. 

Kohellet knew the earth was forever changing; earthquakes changed the earth during Kohellet’s lifetime. 

Many things are new.  Airplanes, telephones, space travel.  Shakespeare, Beethoven, da Vinci, Twyla Tharp, Frank Lloyd Wright. 

Many things new were in Kohellet’s time:  brass, bronze, and the alphabet.  My great fear is that I will miss out on new scientific discoveries after my death:  warp drive, anti-gravity, the cure for cancer, the cures of genetic diseases, and I will miss out on political realities:  world peace.

Kohellet had gloomy worldview.  I much admire the lovers of The Song of Songs.