§ 1. _On the Authorship, Form, Design, and Contents of the Book_ 3-32
§ 2. _On the History of the Captivity_ 32-66
(1) The Babylonian Period 38-43 (2) The Persian Period 43-66
§ 1. _The Prologue_ 69-70
§ 2. _The First Section_: or, The Quest of the Chief Good in Wisdom and in Pleasure 71-76
§ 3. _The Second Section_: or, The Quest in Devotion to the Affairs of Business 77-86
§ 4. _The Third Section_: or, The Quest in Wealth and in the Golden Mean 87-96
§ 5. _The Fourth Section_: or, The Quest Achieved 97-108
§ 6. _The Epilogue_ 109, 110
§ 2. THE FIRST SECTION: or, _The Quest in Wisdom and in Pleasure_ 127-141
_(a) The Quest in Wisdom_ 127-133
_(b) The Quest in Pleasure_ 133-137
_(c) Wisdom and Pleasure Compared_ 138-140
_(d) The Conclusion_ 140, 141
§ 3. THE SECOND SECTION: or, _The Quest in Devotion to the Affairs of Business_ 142-186
(_a_) The Quest obstructed by Divine Ordinances 143-145
(_b_) And by Human Injustice and Perversity 145-151
(_c_) It is rendered hopeless by the base Origin of Human Industries 151, 152
(_d_) Yet these are capable of a nobler Motive and Mode 153-158
(_e_) So also a happier and more effective Method of Worship is open to Man; 158-160
(_f_) And a more helpful and consolatory Trust in the Divine Providence 161-164
(_g_) The Conclusion 164, 165
(_a_) Devotion to Business springs from Jealous Competition: 168, 169
(_b_) It tends to form a Covetous Temper; 169-171
(_c_) To produce a Materialistic Scepticism; 171-173
(_d_) To make Worship Formal and Insincere; 173, 174
(_e_) And to take from Life its Quiet and Innocent Enjoyments 175-179
(_f_) The Correctives of this Devotion are,
(1) A Sense of its Perils; 179, 180
(2) And the Conviction that it is opposed to the Will of God as expressed--
(_a_) In the Ordinances of his Providence, 180
(_b_) In the Wrongs which He permits Men to inflict upon us; 181
(_c_) But above all in the immortal Cravings which He has quickened in the Soul 182, 183
(_g_) Practical Maxims deduced from this View of the Business-Life 184-186
(1) A Maxim on Co-operation 184
(2) A Maxim on Worship 184, 185
(3) A Maxim on Trust in God 185, 186
§ 4. THE THIRD SECTION: or, _The Quest in Wealth and in the Golden Mean_ 187-228
(A) _The Quest in Wealth_ 188-193
(_a_) The Man who makes Riches his Chief Good is haunted by Fears and Perplexities: 188-190
(_b_) For God has put Eternity into his heart; 190, 191
(_c_) And much that he gains only feeds Vanity; 191, 192
(_d_) Neither can he tell what it will be Good for him to have, 192
(_e_) Nor foresee what will become of his Gains 192, 193
(B) _The Quest in the Golden Mean_ 193-209
(_a_) The Method of the Man who seeks a Competence 195-199
(_b_) The Perils to which it exposes him 199-207
(1) He is likely to compromise Conscience: 200, 201
(2) To be indifferent to Censure: 201-203
(3) To despise Women: 203-205
(4) And to be indifferent to Public Wrongs 205-207
(_c_) The Preacher condemns this Theory of Human Life 207-209