Wisdom and the Acceptance of Reality

Ecclesiastes 7:1-10

A good name is better than perfumed oil, and the day of death better than the day of birth.

Better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for all are destined to be mourned; the living should lay this to heart.

Grief is better than laughter, for sadness can improve a person.

The thoughts of the wise are in the house of mourning, but the thoughts of fools are in the house of pleasure.

It is better to hear the rebukes of the wise than to listen to the songs of fools.

For the laughter of fools is like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot; this too is pointless.

But oppression can make a wise man stupid; also a gift can destroy understanding.

The end of something is better than its beginning, so the patient are better than the proud.

Don't be quick to get angry, for [only] fools nurse anger.

Don't ask why the old days were better than now, because that is a foolish question.