Charles Ellicott Commentary Ecclesiastes 4:7

"Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun." — Ecclesiastes 4:7 (ASV)

Then I returned.— The vanity of toil is especially apparent in the case of a solitary man. It is possible, as has been suggested , that this may have been the writer’s own case. The following verses, which speak of the advantages of friendship and unity, are of a more cheerful tone than the rest of the book.