Ecclesiastes 1:2

2. Vanity of vanities This utterance, like a prelude, gives the solemn keynote of the book. As we proceed, we shall see that it means, not that the works of God or the callings of men are unreal and delusive, but that the struggle to satisfy the heart in worldly things is vain. By repetition the writer makes his thought conspicuous and impressive, like a proposition in science which he goes on to prove.