Читать книгу The Great Reduction - Jay Trott - Страница 19

At one time there was nothing he wanted more than to pursue wisdom, but in his old age he has come to regard it as a sore travail that eventually brings great weariness.

Don’t worry; he is going to tell us why later on. But for the moment let’s think about the change itself. It is a simple fact that we all grow weary as we grow old. Projects we would not have hesitated to undertake begin to seem daunting if not impossible.

Part of this is the loss of energy and strength. But partly it is something else, too. Our perspective on the ambitious projects of youth changes. We no longer see them in a glowing light. Knowing they cannot make us happy, we begin to have doubts about their value.

The project Solomon has in mind is his avid pursuit of wisdom. Just as it is possible to become skeptical about the excellent addition which we have built with our own hands, so it is possible to become skeptical about the pursuit of wisdom if it does not lead to happiness.

There is no identity more desirable than that of a wise man or woman. You can be a successful politician or a great athlete or musician, but if you do not have wisdom you are a very inferior star. Everyone admires wisdom. Everyone loves wisdom because to have it is to know how to be happy.

But in Solomon’s case—not so much. Wisdom, the thing he used to love with all his heart, now seems like a great travail to him, hard to obtain, and, as we will see, sometimes even harder to bear.