I finished reading Carlo Rovelli‘s book The Order of Time the other night. Ecclesiastes is paraphrased, referenced, and quoted three times in technically three chapters. I was curious about the exact text as it appears in my NIV and NRSV editions, so I looked them up and found myself finally understanding what “everything is meaningless” (Eccl. 3:19) means even though I cannot articulate it.
The mentions of Ecclesiastes occurs in Chapter 9 [footnote 77 (Eccl. 3:2-4)], Chapter 13 [footnote 126 (Eccl. 3:2)], and what’s technically Chapter 14 or a Post-Script that’s left un-numbered [footnote 132 (Eccl. 12:6-7)].
Chapter 9: Time is Ignorance
“There is a time to be born and a time to die, a time to weep and a time to dance, a time to kill and a time to heal. A time to destroy and a time to build.” (131).
Chapter 13: The Source of Time
“We for whom, as Ecclesiastes has it, there is a time to be born and a time to die.” (198).
Un-numbered Last Chapter: The Sister of Sleep
“‘The silver thread is broken, the golden bowl is shattered, the amphora at the fountain breaks, the bucket falls into the well, the earth returns to dust.'” (212).
The full text from the Bible of these reference, quoted verses:
Eccl. 3:2-4: NIV version
“a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time mourn and a time to dance.”
NRSV version
“a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;”
Eccl. 12:6-7: NIV version
“Remember him — before the silver cord is severed,
or the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
or the wheel broken at the well,
and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”
NRSV version
“before the silver cord is snapped,
and the golden bowl is broken,
and the pitcher is broken at the fountain
and the wheel broken at the cistern,
and the dust returns to the earth as it was,
and the breath returns to God who gave it.”
~!~
As someone who’s spent more time blogging about books in the sports, military history, fiction/fantasy, anatomy/biology, and biography categories, why would I read a book about quantum physics? This blogger’s post inspired me to find new ideas or perspectives on how to make a tenuous peace with being alive (still).
Things that made me go “hmmm”:
“…the world is nothing but change… the world is a network of events… nothing is: things happen.” – (96).
“The events of the world do not form an orderly queue, like the English. They crowd around chaotically, like Italians.” – (96).
“The entire evolution of science would suggest that the best grammar for thinking about the world is that of change, not of permanence. Not of being, but of becoming.” – (97).
“…we approximate the world by breaking it down into pieces. It is the structure of our nervous system that works in this way. It receives sensory stimuli, elaborates information continuously, generating behavior.” – (175).
Watch the physicist himself talk about contents of his book:
Pic cred: goodreads
Sitting Pugs: Sports Movies 