Painterly whole and halved pear on a dark plate beside an overturned wine glass on plum.

Original artwork, not a still

The Bible

Ecclesiastes 8:15

A man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Ordinary pleasures are placed at the top of what life offers. Eating, drinking and being merry make enjoyment concrete rather than abstract. Within this excerpt, the emphasis falls on valuing the experience of living, without specifying how that judgment relates to the surrounding argument.

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