The Teacher’s observations regarding life “East of Eden” might lead some to believe that there’s nothing worth living for. Might as well face the music and end your life now before your eyes ingest more carnage and corruption. A facile reading of Ecclesiastes contributes to such an interpretation of the text, seemingly condoning a cynical view of the world in which nothing matters. (Ecc 7:1) The assertions found in chapters 4 and 5, however, upset this understanding while also speaking in realistic terms about the vanities of life in “once-Eden.”