r as light excels darkness. The wise
man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness: yet I know
that the same fate overtakes them all. Then I said in my heart, As is the
fate of a fool so will be my fate; so why have I then been more wise? Then
I said in my heart that this also is vanity. For of the wise man, even as
of the fool, there is no remembrance for ever, inasmuch as in the days to
come all will have been already forgotten. And how the wise man dies even
as the fool! So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun
is evil to me; for all is vanity and a striving after wind.

[Sidenote: Eccles. 2:24-26b]
There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and
find his pleasure in his labor. This also I saw that it is from the hand
of God. For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment without him? This is
also vanity and a striving after wind.

I. The Ritualists. Liberty of thought as well as speech was from the
first characteristic of Israel's life and thought. It was one of the many
valuable heritages that the Hebrews brought with them from the free life
of the desert. Their close contact with the outside world, and especially
with Hellenic life and thought during the Greek period, increased this
sense of freedom. The result is that many different currents of thought
are reflected in the Old Testament writings that come from this age.
Most familiar and easiest understood is the ritualistic type. It is
represented by the Chronicler, who lived and wrote some time between 300
and 250 B.C. For him all life and interest centred about the temple and
its services. In general the vision of the ritualists was turned toward
the past rather than the present and the future. In the traditions
regarding the origin of the temple and its institutions, in keeping the
ceremonial law, in participating in the formal ritual, and in joining
their songs with those of the temple singers they found an escape from
the pettiness of the age and attained that peace and joy which is
expressed in many of the psalms of the Psalter.

II. The Legalists. Closely related to the ritualists were those whose
interests were all fixed in the study of the law and the teachings of the
earlier priests. They regarded the written laws as a complete guide to
conduct and the embodiment of Jehovah's supreme message to his race.
Psalms like the fragment found in 19:7-14 voice their convictions:

The law of Jehovah is per