Ecclesiastes 7:4

4 melior est ira risu quia per tristitiam vultus corrigitur animus delinquentis

Ecclesiastes 7:4 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 7:4

The heart of the wise [is] in the house of mourning
When his body is not; when it does not suit him to go thither in person, his mind is there, and his thoughts are employed on the useful subjects of the frailty and mortality of human nature, of death, a future judgment, and a world to come; which shows him to be a wise man, and concerned for the best things, even for his eternal happiness in another state; but the heart of fools [is] in the house of mirth;
where jovial company is, merry songs are sung, and the cup or glass passes briskly round, and all is gay and brilliant: here the fool desires to be oftener than he is, and when he cannot; which shows the folly of his mind, what a vain taste he has, and how thoughtless he is of a future state, and of his eternal welfare.

Ecclesiastes 7:4 In-Context

2 melius est nomen bonum quam unguenta pretiosa et dies mortis die nativitatis

3 melius est ire ad domum luctus quam ad domum convivii in illa enim finis cunctorum admonetur hominum et vivens cogitat quid futurum sit

4 melior est ira risu quia per tristitiam vultus corrigitur animus delinquentis

5 cor sapientium ubi tristitia est et cor stultorum ubi laetitia

6 melius est a sapiente corripi quam stultorum adulatione decipi