lasts. Being given a good “name” on the day of your birth is not worth much unless the rest of your life sustains it. But if you have a good “name” on the day of your death, it will endure longer than even the most expensive perfume. This is also the sentiment expressed in the first half of Eccl. 7:8: “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning.” The word which the RSV translates “end” here seems to mean “the latter part of life” in Prov. 14:12; 25:8 but is translated “future” in Prov. 23:18;