Vanity of vanities; all is vanity

E109713

biblical phrase literary quotation religious quotation

"Vanity of vanities; all is vanity" is the famous refrain from the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes that encapsulates its theme of the fleeting, ultimately insubstantial nature of human endeavors and worldly pursuits.

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All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
Ecclesiastes 1:2	1
Vanity of vanities; all is vanity canonical	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T925150 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Vanity of vanities; all is vanity
Context triple: [Book of Ecclesiastes, keyPhrase, Vanity of vanities; all is vanity]

A. Nil Sine Labore
Nil Sine Labore is the Latin motto of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, expressing the principle that nothing is achieved without hard work.
B. The Meaning of Life
The Meaning of Life is a 1983 British comedy film by Monty Python that satirically explores the stages and absurdities of human existence through a series of surreal sketches.
C. Life, the Universe and Everything
Life, the Universe and Everything is the third comedic science fiction novel in Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, continuing the absurd adventures of Arthur Dent and his companions.
D. Veritas vos liberabit
Veritas vos liberabit is a Latin phrase meaning "The truth will set you free," commonly used as a university and institutional motto emphasizing the liberating power of knowledge and truth.
E. Fool's Paradise
Fool's Paradise is a 2023 satirical comedy film that marks Charlie Day's feature directorial debut, following a mute man who becomes an accidental Hollywood star.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Vanity of vanities; all is vanity
Target entity description: "Vanity of vanities; all is vanity" is the famous refrain from the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes that encapsulates its theme of the fleeting, ultimately insubstantial nature of human endeavors and worldly pursuits.

A. Nil Sine Labore
Nil Sine Labore is the Latin motto of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, expressing the principle that nothing is achieved without hard work.
B. The Meaning of Life
The Meaning of Life is a 1983 British comedy film by Monty Python that satirically explores the stages and absurdities of human existence through a series of surreal sketches.
C. Life, the Universe and Everything
Life, the Universe and Everything is the third comedic science fiction novel in Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, continuing the absurd adventures of Arthur Dent and his companions.
D. Veritas vos liberabit
Veritas vos liberabit is a Latin phrase meaning "The truth will set you free," commonly used as a university and institutional motto emphasizing the liberating power of knowledge and truth.
E. Fool's Paradise
Fool's Paradise is a 2023 satirical comedy film that marks Charlie Day's feature directorial debut, following a mute man who becomes an accidental Hollywood star.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (45)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	biblical phrase ⓘ literary quotation ⓘ religious quotation ⓘ
alternativeTranslation	"Meaningless! Meaningless!" ⓘ "Utterly meaningless; everything is meaningless" ⓘ
appearsIn	Book of Ecclesiastes ⓘ Tanakh ⓘ surface form: Hebrew Bible Bible ⓘ surface form: Old Testament
associatedConcept	detachment from worldly goods ⓘ memento mori ⓘ
attributedTo	King Solomon ⓘ
biblicalBook	Book of Ecclesiastes ⓘ surface form: Ecclesiastes
canonicalStatus	canonical scripture ⓘ
chapter	Book of Ecclesiastes ⓘ surface form: Ecclesiastes 1
functionInText	opening thesis of Ecclesiastes ⓘ programmatic summary of Ecclesiastes ⓘ
genreContext	wisdom literature ⓘ
hebrewMeaning	breath ⓘ vanity ⓘ vapor ⓘ
hebrewTerm	hevel ⓘ
influenceOn	Christian ascetic thought ⓘ Western literature ⓘ philosophical reflections on mortality ⓘ
language	English ⓘ
literaryDevice	repetition ⓘ superlative construction ⓘ
mood	contemplative ⓘ pessimistic ⓘ
motif	existential skepticism ⓘ worldly impermanence ⓘ
refrainOf	Book of Ecclesiastes ⓘ
religiousTradition	Christianity ⓘ Judaism ⓘ
sourceLanguage	Hebrew ⓘ surface form: Biblical Hebrew
speaker	Book of Ecclesiastes ⓘ surface form: Qoheleth
theme	ephemerality of earthly achievements ⓘ futility of human endeavors ⓘ meaninglessness of worldly pursuits ⓘ transience of human life ⓘ
translationSource	King James Version ⓘ
usedAs	literary epigraph ⓘ proverbial saying ⓘ sermon text ⓘ
verse	Vanity of vanities; all is vanity self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: Ecclesiastes 1:2

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Book of Ecclesiastes → keyPhrase → Vanity of vanities; all is vanity ⓘ

Vanity of vanities; all is vanity → verse → Vanity of vanities; all is vanity self-linksurface differs ⓘ

subject surface form: "Vanity of vanities; all is vanity"

this entity surface form: Ecclesiastes 1:2

All labels observed (2)

How this entity was disambiguated Show

Statements (45)

How these facts were elicited Show

Referenced by (2)

How this entity was disambiguated

How these facts were elicited