Book of Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes has had a deep influence on Western literature. It contains several phrases that have resonated in the British and American languages, such as "e;nothing new under the sun;"e; "e;a time for everything;"e; and "e;vanity of vanities, all is vanity."e; America's 16th president, Abraham Lincoln quoted Ecclesiastes 1:4 in his address to a reconvening Congress in December of 1862 during the dark hours of the Civil War, stating, "e;One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever....Our strife pertains to ourselves - to the passing generations of men; and it can without convulsion be hushed forever with the passing of one generation."e; American novelist Thomas Wolfe wrote: "e;[Of] all I have ever seen or learned, that book seems to me the noblest, the wisest, and the most powerful expression of man's life upon this earth-and also the highest flower of poetry, eloquence, and truth. I am not given to dogmatic judgments in the matter of literary creation, but if I had to make one I could say that Ecclesiastes is the greatest single piece of writing I have ever known, and the wisdom expressed in it the most lasting and profound."e;