2. I envy those who are dead and gone; they are better off than those who are still alive.
3. But better off than either are those who have never been born, who have never seen the injustice that goes on in this world.
4. I have also learnt why people work so hard to succeed: it is because they envy their neighbours. But it is useless. It is like chasing the wind.
5. They say that anyone would be a fool to fold his hands and let himself starve to death.
6. Perhaps so, but it is better to have only a little, with peace of mind, than to be busy all the time with both hands, trying to catch the wind.
7. I have noticed something else in life that is useless.
8. Here is a man who lives alone. He has no son, no brother, yet he is always working, never satisfied with the wealth he has. For whom is he working so hard and denying himself any pleasure? This is useless, too — and a miserable way to live.
9. Two are better off than one, because together they can work more effectively.
13-14. A man may rise from poverty to become king of his country, or go from prison to the throne, but if in his old age he is too foolish to take advice, he is not as well off as a young man who is poor but intelligent.
15. I thought about all the people who live in this world, and I realized that somewhere among them there is a young man who will take the king's place.
16. There may be no limit to the number of people a king rules; when he is gone, no one will be grateful for what he has done. It is useless. It is like chasing the wind.