Vanity of Vanities

Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

-- Ecclesiastes 1: 2 (KJV)

Right at the beginning of his book, Ecclesiastes -- called "the Preacher" here but whose name really means "assembler" -- sets forth his theme: "vanity of vanities: all is vanity." In other words, "human endeavor is vain and empty." Writing books excepted, of course.

The King James rendition, which borrows from the Geneva Bible of 1560, preserves a peculiar Hebrew method of forming superlatives. "Vanity of vanities" (meaning "vain beyond belief") is a memorable example, as are "king of kings" (meaning "supreme king") and "song of songs." Though this "X of Xs" structure is not native to English, Ecclesiastes' denunciation made it fashionable for a time in the Renaissance. "Give me that man / That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him / In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart," says Hamlet (Act 3, scene 2). This is not quite faithful to the Hebrew form, but then again Hamlet does have only one heart. Though the modern phrase "in my heart of hearts" (which seems to trace to William Wordsworth's "Intimations of Immortality," 1806) recalls Ecclesiastes more exactly, it is both a misquotation of Shakespeare and an offense to logic.

 
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Michael Macrone is Associate Site Producer of GraceCom and the author of nine books on language, literature, and ideas, including the best-selling Brush Up Your Shakespeare!