Charles Ellicott Commentary Ecclesiastes 7:8

"Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof; [and] the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit." — Ecclesiastes 7:8 (ASV)

Thing. —Here, as in Ecclesiastes 6:11 and elsewhere, we may also translate word. Possibly the thought still is the advantage of bearing patiently the rebuke of the wise.