Dovina3 Feb 2006

Whoever wrote it claims to be the son of David and a king in Jeruselem. Only Solomon fits. I think it's a beautifully written book, which Szymborska apparently fails to appreciate as shown by making light of "Nothing is new under the sun." I don't think the writer meant that entirely literly. The book contains many images, and I think this one expresses his unhappy conclusion that, even after gaining all he strove for, happiness still eludes. He tries to show that following God's righteousness is the only hope for happiness, but I sense that even in that he finds less than he hoped for.

In a sense, I think he really means that nothing is new, or can be new in the future. Of course, that's easy to argue against, but I think he felt that at some level that it's true. That's worth thinking about, I think.