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Again i looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: saw the tears of the oppressed-

and they have no comforter;

power was on the side of their oppressors

and they have no comforter.

And i declared that the dead, are happier than the living,

that are still alive.

But better than both

is the one who has never been born

who has not seen the evil

that is done under the sun.

And i saw that all toil spring from one person's envy of another.

Fools fold their hands

and ruin themselves.

Better one handful with tranquility

than two handfuls with toil

and chasing after the wind.

Again i saw something meaningless under the sun:

Better a poor but wise youth

than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning.

There was no end to all the people who were born before them.

But those who came later were not pleased

This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.