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:Objective considerations of contemporary phenomena compel the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account.
:Objective considerations of contemporary phenomena compel the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account.
Six verses before the end the tone shifts abruptly. Beginning with the words "and moreover," a second voice takes over. Isaac Asimov notes that this second writer is "apparently appalled at the pessimism of the Preacher" and tries to sum up in a conclusion that does not contradict the Preacher or deny his wisdom, yet is less negative in tone. He does seem to suggest that a danger in being overly intellectual: "by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh." (Ecc 12:12) In a summary that does not really seem to summarize the Preacher's words, he says: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."
''Ecclesiastes'' should not be confused with ''Ecclesiasticus,'' which a completely different book of the Bible. ''Ecclesiasticus'' is found in the Catholic Douay bible; in Protestant bibles it is either omitted or included as one of the ''apocrypha,'' material considered valuable but not having the full authority of Scripture.