There will be what has been before, and there will be what has been done before. There is nothing new under the sun. - Ecclesiastes 1, Chinese Union Version Modern Punctuation (CUVMP Traditional)
I saw this sentence in "Super Beast Warriors" and now it's been many years. During these years, I have thought of this sentence many times.
I saw this sentence in "Super Beast Warriors" and now it's been many years. During these years, I have thought of this sentence many times.
Does creation exist?#
For example, I have always questioned whether there is creation.
The standard of creation is actually the degree of "newness". The Bible also adds, "Is there anything of which one can say, 'Look! This is something new'? It was here already, long ago, before our time."
In terms of articles, I have always believed that "articles are naturally created, and the skilled occasionally obtain them." Whether it is art or religion, according to Marx's view, "all religions are nothing more than reflections of the fantasies of external forces that dominate people's daily lives." It is nothing more than a reflection of the so-called "material life".
Although this view ignores human free will and the independence of the spiritual world, it reflects the difficulties in the emergence of "new things".
As for non-humanities fields such as science and technology, although progress is exciting, the discoveries of nature are not creations. In the development of artificial intelligence today, what is "new" and what is "creation" is once again deeply impacted.
The reason why there is nothing new under the sun#
The absence of "new things" does not mean the stability and silence of the world. In the eyes of ordinary people, the world is changing rapidly and history is constantly being written. It is precisely because of the huge contrast between the general concept and the statement "there is nothing new under the sun" that people can glimpse a trace of "old things" from the complex phenomena.
New things are not new, and old things are not old. The fundamental composition of the world remains unchanged, only the arrangement and combination, and the distinction between new and old under time. But I am not here to sing praises for this correct nonsense.
The essence of there being nothing new under the sun#
"Super Beast Warriors" uses this sentence to illustrate the fact of the world's cycle, highlighting the power of the spirit that "the height of the fountain cannot exceed its source, and the supernatural power of the super beast warriors cannot exceed their beliefs."
And I use this sentence to reflect on the consequences of my own inconsistency.
Respecting the laws of the world#
What is learned from books is shallow. I have always liked these famous sayings, but truly understanding a sentence is not about deconstructing the sentence, but about constructing a sentence with one's own memory and experience. Therefore, this kind of secondary product, similar to a blog, that explains classics is generally only meaningful to the author.
I claim to love this sentence, but does my behavior reflect this sentence? The development of this world has its own laws, the so-called "there will be what has been before." Our personal development also has its own laws. For example, some people like to watch adult films, but after watching them, they feel guilty and decide to delete all adult films. After the "wise mode" ends, they start watching adult films again. Is it really necessary to delete them? Even if it is necessary, is the repetition and the resulting inconsistency appropriate? Adult films can refer to all human desires. Smoking, drinking, reading novels, fishing, eating...
Do we really understand ourselves?#
A person is a world. From childhood to adulthood, "new things" and "old things" constantly appear in a person's life. As the masters of ourselves, we cannot truly master ourselves. Just like ancient monarchs and modern presidents, constantly giving orders to the body, mind, and consciousness.
But do we really understand ourselves? "Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it." Perhaps the people are not the sovereign, and perhaps we are not the masters of ourselves. In the rise and fall of dynasties and the life and death of individuals, understanding oneself is more important. "There is a god three feet above the head." Humans do not need to worship supernatural powers in such a hurry. First understand the natural forces clearly. Understanding "there is nothing new under the sun" may help us avoid many detours. For example, when a monarch issues a decree, it would be appropriate to consult the advice of the nobles, so as not to suffer from revolution.
Specific understanding of there being nothing new under the sun#
To describe my further understanding of this sentence in one word, it is modesty. Taking the modesty of criminal law as an example, if crime can be restrained without using criminal law, then extreme measures should not be used to solve the problem. Just like what is said in "Expanded Collection of Wise Sayings".
Be considerate of others and benefit yourself; when one family builds a wall, two families benefit from it.
Leave room for reconciliation when face to face, so that it will be easier to meet again in the future.
Being a decent person#
For many people, this is a simple truth: don't be too willful. But because of my low level since childhood, I have a special love for "tinkering".
I remember in a psychology class, the teacher asked everyone, "What kind of person do you want to be?" My answer was that I like to go to extremes and be an extreme person. This mentality is nothing more than wanting to gain attention through fierce competition, to cover up the inner feelings of inferiority and weakness. We cannot say that this mentality is bad. On the contrary, there are many people who want to achieve something through "extremes", although most of them end up badly. But it is very necessary to respect the objective existence of this mentality.
Because no one is always extreme, and no one is always moderate. These paths are not "new things". What we need to do is to be more modest and decent.
Similarly, if Hitler could understand that "there is nothing new under the sun", he would not have carried out radical genocide, nor would he have left a bad reputation for thousands of years.
Revolution should be conservative#
The history of England and France is worth pondering.
The incomplete revolution in England#
In 1215, the nobles and the king signed the "Magna Carta," which limited the power of taxation. Whether it is the Glorious Revolution or later the 1679 "Habeas Corpus Act," the 1689 "Bill of Rights," and the 1701 "Act of Settlement," the tradition of English empiricism and conservatism allowed it to complete the bourgeois revolution without bloodshed, and the continuity of laws for nearly a thousand years maximized the value of order.
The thorough revolution in France#
On the other hand, the French people who have a revolution at the drop of a hat, although the revolution was thorough, suffered the consequences of not respecting the laws. Since the outbreak of the French bourgeois revolution in 1789, the "Declaration of the Rights of Man" was born, and France has issued 13 constitutions. It has evolved from the First French Republic to the Fifth French Republic. The monarchy was repeatedly restored, and bloodshed occurred continuously. As mentioned earlier, the monarchy and oppression cannot be resolved overnight. These are all "old things" that have been repeated for thousands of years. Even though the monarchical system is a product of a historical stage, this power does not disappear suddenly, but changes gradually.
The American Revolution and the French Revolution, one before the other, the former with one constitution to this day, and the latter with 13 constitutions, how much price did they pay? The fact that the American Constitution can still function today shows the powerful forces of conservatism and empiricism in the English-American legal system.
Laws should be based on experience#
Justice Holmes of the United States said, "The life of the law has not been logic, it has been experience." The experience here does not refer to the experience of a single person, but the conservatism of humanity following precedents and the modesty towards extreme measures. For me personally, I should not be too willful. For a country, especially China after the Opium War, what is lacking is not revolution, but experience and conservatism, and a thorough understanding of "there is a god three feet above the head."
This is my understanding of there being nothing new under the sun. In the future, we may have other insights, but there is no need to overthrow this article. This may be a reflection of some of my actions!