I also amassed silver and gold for myself, as well as valuable treasures taken from kingdoms and provinces. I acquired male singers and female singers for myself, and what gives a man sensual delight – a harem of beautiful concubines!

I also thought to myself, “It is for the sake of people, so God can clearly show them that they are like animals.

Who really knows if the human spirit ascends upward, and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth?

When a sentence is not executed at once against a crime, the human heart is encouraged to do evil.

Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. There is no end to the making of many books, and much study is exhausting to the body.

For the fate of humans and the fate of animals are the same: As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath. There is no advantage for humans over animals, for both are fleeting.

This is the unfortunate fact about everything that happens on earth: the same fate awaits everyone. In addition to this, the hearts of all people are full of evil, and there is folly in their hearts during their lives – then they die.

Surely, no one knows his appointed time! Like fish that are caught in a deadly net, and like birds that are caught in a snare – just like them, all people are ensnared at an unfortunate time that falls upon them suddenly.