Ecclesiastes 1
1 These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
Verba Ecclesiastæ, filii David, regis Ierusalem.
2 “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
Vanitas vanitatum, dixit Ecclesiastes: vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas.
3 What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
Quid habet amplius homo de universo labore suo, quo laborat sub sole?
4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
Generatio præterit, et generatio advenit: terra autem in æternum stat.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
Oritur sol, et occidit, et ad locum suum revertitur: ibique renascens,
6 The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
gyrat per Meridiem, et flectitur ad Aquilonem: lustrans universa in circuitu pergit spiritus, et in circulos suos revertitur.
7 All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.
Omnia flumina intrant in mare, et mare non redundat: ad locum, unde exeunt flumina, revertuntur ut iterum fluant.
8 All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
Cunctæ res difficiles: non potest eas homo explicare sermone. Non saturatur oculus visu, nec auris auditu impletur.
9 What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
Quid est quod fuit? Ipsum quod futurum est. Quid est quod factum est? Ipsum quod faciendum est.
10 Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
Nihil sub sole novum, nec valet quisquam dicere: Ecce hoc recens est: iam enim præcessit in sæculis, quæ fuerunt ante nos.
11 There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
Non est priorum memoria: sed nec eorum quidem, quæ postea futura sunt, erit recordatio apud eos, qui futuri sunt in novissimo.
12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
Ego Ecclesiastes fui rex Israel in Ierusalem,
13 And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!
et proposui in animo meo quærere et investigare sapienter de omnibus, quæ fiunt sub sole. Hanc occupationem pessimam dedit Deus filiis hominum, ut occuparentur in ea.
14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
Vidi cuncta, quæ fiunt sub sole, et ecce universa vanitas, et afflictio spiritus.
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
Perversi difficile corriguntur, et stultorum infinitus est numerus.
16 I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”
Locutus sum in corde meo, dicens: Ecce magnus effectus sum, et præcessi omnes sapientia, qui fuerunt ante me in Ierusalem: et mens mea contemplata est multa sapienter, et didici.
17 So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
Dedique cor meum ut scirem prudentiam, atque doctrinam, erroresque et stultitiam: et agnovi quod in his quoque esset labor, et afflictio spiritus,
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
eo quod in multa sapientia multa sit indignatio: et qui addit scientiam, addit et laborem.
