“Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.”
The affirmation that non-existence surpasses existence, given the prevalence of evil under the sun, extends the dark vision of verses 1-2 into a kind of anti-natalism or life-negation. The evil that persons perpetrate and suffer, and the toil required merely to exist, make non-being appear advantageous. Yet even in the deepest darkness of Ecclesiastes, such statements provoke reflection rather than action; Qohelet does not recommend suicide but describes the logical conclusion of pursuing meaning through worldly success.
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