But (A)better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

I have seen that every labor and every (B)skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a person and his neighbor. This too is (C)futility and striving after wind. The fool (D)folds his hands and (E)consumes his own flesh.

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But better than both
    is the one who has never been born,(A)
who has not seen the evil
    that is done under the sun.(B)

And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(C)

Fools fold their hands(D)
    and ruin themselves.

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