Ecclesiastes 7
1 A good name is better than oil of great price, and the day of death than the day of birth.
Melius est nomen bonum quam unguenta pretiosa, et dies mortis die nativitatis.
2 It is better to go to the house of weeping, than to go to the house of feasting; because that is the end of every man, and the living will take it to their hearts.
Melius est ire ad domum luctus quam ad domum convivii; in illa enim finis cunctorum admonetur hominum, et vivens cogitat quid futurum sit.
3 Sorrow is better than joy; when the face is sad the mind gets better.
Melior est ira risu, quia per tristitiam vultus corrigitur animus delinquentis.
4 The hearts of the wise are in the house of weeping; but the hearts of the foolish are in the house of joy.
Cor sapientium ubi tristitia est, et cor stultorum ubi lætitia.
5 It is better to take note of the protest of the wise, than for a man to give ear to the song of the foolish.
Melius est a sapiente corripi, quam stultorum adulatione decipi;
6 Like the cracking of thorns under a pot, so is the laugh of a foolish man; and this again is to no purpose.
quia sicut sonitus spinarum ardentium sub olla, sic risus stulti. Sed et hoc vanitas.
7 The wise are troubled by the ways of the cruel, and the giving of money is the destruction of the heart.
Calumnia conturbat sapientem, et perdet robur cordis illius.
8 The end of a thing is better than its start, and a gentle spirit is better than pride.
Melior est finis orationis quam principium. Melior est patiens arrogante.
9 Be not quick to let your spirit be angry; because wrath is in the heart of the foolish.
Ne sis velox ad irascendum, quia ira in sinu stulti requiescit.
10 Say not, Why were the days which have gone by better than these? Such a question comes not from wisdom.
Ne dicas: Quid putas causæ est quod priora tempora meliora fuere quam nunc sunt? stulta enim est hujuscemodi interrogatio.
11 Wisdom together with a heritage is good, and a profit to those who see the sun.
Utilior est sapientia cum divitiis, et magis prodest videntibus solem.
12 Wisdom keeps a man from danger even as money does; but the value of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to its owner.
Sicut enim protegit sapientia, sic protegit pecunia; hoc autem plus habet eruditio et sapientia, quod vitam tribuunt possessori suo.
13 Give thought to the work of God. Who will make straight what he has made bent?
Considera opera Dei, quod nemo possit corrigere quem ille despexerit.
14 In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him.
In die bona fruere bonis, et malam diem præcave; sicut enim hanc, sic et illam fecit Deus, ut non inveniat homo contra eum justas querimonias.
15 These two have I seen in my life which is to no purpose: a good man coming to his end in his righteousness, and an evil man whose days are long in his evil-doing.
Hæc quoque vidi in diebus vanitatis meæ: justus perit in justitia sua, et impius multo vivit tempore in malitia sua.
16 Be not given overmuch to righteousness and be not over-wise. Why let destruction come on you?
Noli esse justus multum, neque plus sapias quam necesse est, ne obstupescas.
17 Be not evil overmuch, and be not foolish. Why come to your end before your time?
Ne impie agas multum, et noli esse stultus, ne moriaris in tempore non tuo.
18 It is good to take this in your hand and not to keep your hand from that; he who has the fear of God will be free of the two.
Bonum est te sustentare justum: sed et ab illo ne subtrahas manum tuam; quia qui timet Deum nihil negligit.
19 Wisdom makes a wise man stronger than ten rulers in a town.
Sapientia confortavit sapientem super decem principes civitatis;
20 There is no man on earth of such righteousness that he does good and is free from sin all his days.
non est enim homo justus in terra qui faciat bonum et non peccet.
21 Do not give ear to all the words which men say, for fear of hearing the curses of your servant.
Sed et cunctis sermonibus qui dicuntur ne accomodes cor tuum, ne forte audias servum tuum maledicentem tibi;
22 Your heart has knowledge how frequently others have been cursed by you.
scit enim conscientia tua quia et tu crebro maledixisti aliis.
23 All this I have put to the test by wisdom; I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me.
Cuncta tentavi in sapientia. Dixi: Sapiens efficiar: et ipsa longius recessit a me,
24 Far off is true existence, and very deep; who may have knowledge of it?
multo magis quam erat. Et alta profunditas, quis inveniet eam?
25 I gave my mind to knowledge and to searching for wisdom and the reason of things, and to the discovery that sin is foolish, and that to be foolish is to be without one's senses.
Lustravi universa animo meo, ut scirem et considerarem, et quærerem sapientiam, et rationem, et ut cognoscerem impietatem stulti, et errorem imprudentium:
26 And I saw a thing more bitter than death, even the woman whose heart is full of tricks and nets, and whose hands are as bands. He with whom God is pleased will get free from her, but the sinner will be taken by her.
et inveni amariorem morte mulierem, quæ laqueus venatorum est, et sagena cor ejus; vincula sunt manus illius. Qui placet Deo effugiet illam; qui autem peccator est capietur ab illa.
27 Look! this I have seen, said the Preacher, taking one thing after another to get the true account,
Ecce hoc inveni, dixit Ecclesiastes, unum et alterum ut invenirem rationem,
28 For which my soul is still searching, but I have it not; one man among a thousand have I seen; but a woman among all these I have not seen.
quam adhuc quærit anima mea, et non inveni. Virum de mille unum reperi; mulierem ex omnibus non inveni.
29 This only have I seen, that God made men upright, but they have been searching out all sorts of inventions.
Solummodo hoc inveni, quod fecerit Deus hominem rectum, et ipse se infinitis miscuerit quæstionibus. Quis talis ut sapiens est? et quis cognovit solutionem verbi?
