The Vanity of the World

A penetrating exposition of Ecclesiastes 1:2, demonstrating that all earthly pursuits — pleasures, riches, and honors — are ultimately vanity when pursued as ends in themselves. Hopkins argues that worldly things are not vain in their natural being, nor in relation to God their Creator, but only when sinful humanity elevates them above their proper station. The treatise calls readers to redirect their affections heavenward, using the world's goods as means to glorify God rather than as substitutes for Him.