John Gill Commentary Ecclesiastes 1:17

"And I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also was a striving after wind." — Ecclesiastes 1:17 (ASV)

And I gave my heart to know wisdom
Which is repeated, for the confirmation of it, from (Ecclesiastes 1:13), and that it might be taken notice of how assiduous and diligent he had been in acquiring it; a circumstance not to be overlooked; and to know madness and folly :
that he might the better know wisdom, and learn the difference between the one and the other, since opposites illustrate each other; and that he might shun madness and folly, and the ways thereof, and expose the actions of mad and foolish men:

so Plato ^F19 says, ignorance is a disease, of which there are two kinds, madness and folly. The Targum, Septuagint, and all the Oriental versions, interpret the last word, translated "folly", by understanding, knowledge, and prudence; which seems to be right, since Solomon speaks of nothing afterwards, as vexation and grief to him, but wisdom and knowledge:

and I would therefore read the clause in connection with the preceding, thus, "and the knowledge of things boasted of", vain glorious knowledge; "and prudence", or what may be called craftiness and cunning; or what the apostle calls "science falsely so called", (1 Timothy 6:20); see (Proverbs 12:8) (Daniel 8:25);

I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit ;
(See Gill on Ecclesiastes 1:14); the reason follows.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F19: In Timaeo, p. 1084.