Charles Spurgeon Commentary Ecclesiastes 12:5-6

"yea, they shall be afraid of [that which is] high, and terrors [shall be] in the way; and the almond-tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goeth to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets: before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern," — Ecclesiastes 12:5-6 (ASV)

Because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

"The silver cord" is the spinal marrow, which gradually relaxes, for its strength and power are gone. The whole frame begins to show symptoms of the paralysis which is creeping on. "The golden bowl" is the skull, which contains the brain, and whoever has seen a skull must see how appropriate the figure is. Then, in "the pitcher" and "the wheel" we have a reference to the circulation of the blood, of which Solomon seems to have had at least some inklings. There have been writers who have affirmed that the entire system of anatomy might very well be gathered from these words. They are wonderful, not only because of the poetic imagery which is on the surface, but also because of the depth of meaning which lies beneath.