Excerpt from The Book of Ecclesiastes: A New Metrical Translation The Book of Ecclesiastes is unparalleled in the whole range of Biblical Literature. Ernest Renan spoke of it as the only charming book that was ever written by a Jew. Heinrich Heine called it the Canticles of Skepticism, while Franz Delitzsch thought it was entitled to the name of the Canticles of the Fear of God. From the earliest times down to the present age Ecclesiastes has attracted the attention of thinkers. It was a favorite book of Frederick the Great, who referred to it as a Mirror of Princes. But Biblical students of all ages have experienced some difficulties about this remarkable production. Some in the Jewish Church denied the inspired character of the work, until the synod of Jabneh (90 A. D.

)decided in favor of the canonicity of the Book. The genuine portions of Ecclesiastes are out of place in the Canon. Their author is not a theologian, but a man of the world, probably a physician, with keen observation, penetrating insight, and vast experience. I believe that the genuine portions of Ecclesiastes were written by a prominent Sadducean physician in Jerusalem, who was born at the beginning of the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes (175-164) and died in the first decade of the reign of Alexander Jannaeus (104-78 B. C.). About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.

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