Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
What profit has a man from all his labor
In which he toils under the sun?
One generation passes away, and another generation comes;
But the earth abides forever.
...
All things are full of labor;
Man cannot express it.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor the ear filled with hearing.
That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there anything of which is may be said,
"See, this is new"?
It has already been in ancient times before us.
There is not remembrance of former things,
Nor will there be any remembrance
of things that are to come
By those who will come after.
-Portions of Ecclesiastes 1
