Nothing New Under the Sun Quotes

“Words can be powerful, but talkative fools make things worse. They don’t know how to shut up. They’re incapable of silence. They think that if they keep talking, they’ll eventually say something true. But even if they hit the truth, they won’t have the sense to know it. They can’t tell where they’re going or where they’ve been. They can’t even tell where they are! Fools drift aimlessly. A nation is in big trouble if its rulers are demagogues and its lawmakers are drunks. Laziness in high places leads to broken windows, leaky roofs, and weak walls. Given”
― Adam S. Miller, Nothing New Under the Sun: A Blunt Paraphrase of Ecclesiastes

“Wisdom depends on a measure of good fortune. Broken by poverty and illness, even the wise become fools. But riches don’t guarantee wisdom either. Wisdom is just as easily destroyed by greed and bribes. As a result, no one is safe from idiocy until they’re dead. This is another reason why ends are better than beginnings. Patience”
― Adam S. Miller, Nothing New Under the Sun: A Blunt Paraphrase of Ecclesiastes

“Also, don’t be that fool who runs around yelling: “The sky is falling, the sky is falling! Once upon a time the world was good! The old days were so much better! The world is about to end!” This is nonsense. There is nothing new under the sun. The world is as it has ever been: full of hungry, selfish, ignorant people who can’t see what’s right in front of them. Wisdom, like a windfall, can be good if you find it. It can help you see things for what they are. It can help protect you from your own foolishness. But wisdom has its limits. Consider”
― Adam S. Miller, Nothing New Under the Sun: A Blunt Paraphrase of Ecclesiastes

“People just want to feel full. Hunger, though, is eternal. On this score, what advantage do the wise have over fools? What advantage comes from knowing how to get ahead? It’s better to learn how to be content with what’s right in front of your eyes than to perpetually stoke your cravings with plans and fantasies. Nothing’s more futile than daydreams. Wishing things were different can’t change the fact that things happen as they must. Wishing for a different world can’t change the fact that God knew from the start how everything would end. It’s useless to argue with God about your fate. God’s plans are unfathomable. The more time you spend propping up your fantasies with fancy words and careful arguments, the less you’ll actually accomplish. What made you think more words would help? Words can’t fix this! You can barely tie your shoes, why would you think that you—you of all people!—would be the one who finally, actually, understood the world and knew what was best in life? No. Life is short. Wisdom is rare. The future is obscure.”
― Adam S. Miller, Nothing New Under the Sun: A Blunt Paraphrase of Ecclesiastes

“People love some things and hate others, but they don’t know why they loved or hated in the first place. Even these strong emotions are empty.”
― Adam S. Miller, Nothing New Under the Sun: A Blunt Paraphrase of Ecclesiastes

“Wisdom is universally honored—and, then, just as universally ignored.”
― Adam S. Miller, Nothing New Under the Sun: A Blunt Paraphrase of Ecclesiastes

“Everything is empty, futile, and vain. Everything is ephemeral. Breath is all.”
― Adam S. Miller, Nothing New Under the Sun: A Blunt Paraphrase of Ecclesiastes