Ecclesiastes 2
1 Dixi ego in corde meo: Vadam, et affluam deliciis, et fruar bonis. Et vidi quod hoc quoque esset vanitas.
I said in my heart, 'Pray, come, I try thee with mirth, and look thou on gladness;' and lo, even it [is] vanity.
2 Risum reputavi errorem: et gaudio dixi: Quid frustra deciperis?
Of laughter I said, 'Foolish!' and of mirth, 'What [is] this it is doing?'
3 Cogitavi in corde meo abstrahere a vino carnem meam, ut animam meam transferrem ad sapientiam, devitaremque stultitiam, donec viderem quid esset utile filiis hominum: quo facto opus est sub sole numero dierum vitæ suæ.
I have sought in my heart to draw out with wine my appetite, (and my heart leading in wisdom), and to take hold on folly till that I see where [is] this — the good to the sons of man of that which they do under the heavens, the number of the days of their lives.
4 Magnificavi opera mea, ædificavi mihi domos, et plantavi vineas,
I made great my works, I builded for me houses, I planted for me vineyards.
5 feci hortos, et pomaria, et consevi ea cuncti generis arboribus,
I made for me gardens and paradises, and I planted in them trees of every fruit.
6 et extruxi mihi piscinas aquarum, ut irrigarem silvam lignorum germinantium,
I made for me pools of water, to water from them a forest shooting forth trees.
7 possedi servos et ancillas, multamque familiam habui: armenta quoque, et magnos ovium greges ultra omnes qui fuerunt ante me in Ierusalem:
I got men-servants, and maid-servants, and sons of the house were to me; also, I had much substance — herd and flock — above all who had been before me in Jerusalem.
8 coacervavi mihi argentum, et aurum, et substantias regum, ac provinciarum: feci mihi cantores, et cantatrices, et delicias filiorum hominum, scyphos, et urceos in ministerio ad vina fundenda:
I gathered for me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces. I prepared for me men-singers and women-singers, and the luxuries of the sons of man — a wife and wives.
9 et supergressus sum opibus omnes, qui ante me fuerunt in Ierusalem: sapientia quoque perseveravit mecum.
And I became great, and increased above every one who had been before me in Jerusalem; also, my wisdom stood with me.
10 Et omnia, quæ desideraverunt oculi mei, non negavi eis: nec prohibui cor meum quin omni voluptate frueretur, et oblectaret se in his, quæ præparaveram: et hanc ratus sum partem meam, si uterer labore meo.
And all that mine eyes asked I kept not back from them; I withheld not my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced because of all my labour, and this hath been my portion, from all my labour,
11 Cumque me convertissem ad universa opera, quæ fecerant manus meæ, et ad labores, in quibus frustra sudaveram, vidi in omnibus vanitatem et afflictionem animi, et nihil permanere sub sole.
and I have looked on all my works that my hands have done, and on the labour that I have laboured to do, and lo, the whole [is] vanity and vexation of spirit, and there is no advantage under the sun!
12 Transivi ad contemplandam sapientiam, erroresque et stultitiam (quid est, inquam, homo, ut sequi possit regem Factorem suum?)
And I turned to see wisdom, and madness, and folly, but what [is] the man who cometh after the king? that which [is] already — they have done it!
13 et vidi quod tantum præcederet sapientia stultitiam, quantum differt lux a tenebris.
And I saw that there is an advantage to wisdom above folly, like the advantage of the light above the darkness.
14 Sapientis oculi in capite eius: stultus in tenebris ambulat: et didici quod unus utriusque esset interitus.
The wise! — his eyes [are] in his head, and the fool in darkness is walking, and I also knew that one event happeneth with them all;
15 Et dixi in corde meo: Si unus et stulti et meus occasus erit, quid mihi prodest quod maiorem sapientiæ dedi operam? Locutusque cum mente mea, animadverti quod hoc quoque esset vanitas.
and I said in my heart, 'As it happeneth with the fool, it happeneth also with me, and why am I then more wise?' And I spake in my heart, that also this [is] vanity:
16 Non enim erit memoria sapientis similiter ut stulti in perpetuum, et futura tempora oblivione cuncta pariter operient: moritur doctus similiter ut indoctus.
That there is no remembrance to the wise — with the fool — to the age, for that which [is] already, [in] the days that are coming is all forgotten, and how dieth the wise? with the fool!
17 Et idcirco tæduit me vitæ meæ videntem mala universa esse sub sole, et cuncta vanitatem et afflictionem spiritus.
And I have hated life, for sad to me [is] the work that hath been done under the sun, for the whole [is] vanity and vexation of spirit.
18 Rursus detestatus sum omnem industriam meam, qua sub sole studiosissime laboravi, habiturus heredem post me,
And I have hated all my labour that I labour at under the sun, because I leave it to a man who is after me.
19 quem ignoro, utrum sapiens an stultus futurus sit, et dominabitur in laboribus meis, quibus desudavi et solicitus fui. Et est quidquam tam vanum?
And who knoweth whether he is wise or foolish? yet he doth rule over all my labour that I have laboured at, and that I have done wisely under the sun! this also [is] vanity.
20 Unde cessavi, renunciavitque cor meum ultra laborare sub sole.
And I turned round to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labour that I laboured at under the sun.
21 Nam cum alius laboret in sapientia, et doctrina, et solicitudine, homini otioso quæsita dimittit: et hoc ergo, vanitas, et magnum malum.
For there is a man whose labour [is] in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity, and to a man who hath not laboured therein he giveth it — his portion! Even this [is] vanity and a great evil.
22 Quid enim proderit homini de universo labore suo, et afflictione spiritus, qua sub sole cruciatus est?
For what hath been to a man by all his labour, and by the thought of his heart that he laboured at under the sun?
23 Cuncti dies eius doloribus et ærumnis pleni sunt, nec per noctem mente requiescit: et hoc nonne vanitas est?
For all his days are sorrows, and his travail sadness; even at night his heart hath not lain down; this also [is] vanity.
24 Nonne melius est comedere et bibere, et ostendere animæ suæ bona de laboribus suis? Et hoc de manu Dei est.
There is nothing good in a man who eateth, and hath drunk, and hath shewn his soul good in his labour. This also I have seen that it [is] from the hand of God.
25 Quis ita devorabit, et deliciis affluet ut ego?
For who eateth and who hasteth out more than I?
26 Homini bono in conspectu suo dedit Deus sapientiam, et scientiam, et lætitiam: peccatori autem dedit afflictionem, et curam superfluam, ut addat, et congreget, et tradat ei qui placuit Deo: sed et hoc vanitas est, et cassa solicitudo mentis.
For to a man who [is] good before Him, He hath given wisdom, and knowledge, and joy; and to a sinner He hath given travail, to gather and to heap up, to give to the good before God. Even this [is] vanity and vexation of spirit.
