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, Come now, I will prove thee with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also was vanity.
2 Risum reputavi errorem, et gaudio dixi: Quid frustra deciperis?
I said of laughter, It is mad; and of mirth, What doeth it?
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 searched in my heart how to cheer my flesh with wine, my heart yet guiding [me] with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what it was good for the sons of men that they should do under heaven all the days of their life.
4 Magnificavi opera mea, ædificavi mihi domos, et plantavi vineas;
I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards;
5 feci hortos et pomaria, et consevi ea cuncti generis arboribus;
I made me gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruit;
6 et exstruxi mihi piscinas aquarum, ut irrigarem silvam lignorum germinantium.
I made me pools of water, to water therefrom the forest where trees were reared;
7 Possedi servos et ancillas, multamque familiam habui: armenta quoque, et magnos ovium greges, ultra omnes qui fuerunt ante me in Jerusalem;
I bought men-servants and maid-servants, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all that were 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 me also silver and gold, and the treasure of kings and of the provinces; I gat me men-singers and women-singers, and the delights of the sons of men, musical instruments, and that of all sorts.
9 et supergressus sum opibus omnes qui ante me fuerunt in Jerusalem: sapientia quoque perseveravit mecum.
So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained 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 whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them; I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced because of all my labor; and this was my portion from all my labor.
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.
Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do; and, behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was no profit under the sun.
12 Transivi ad contemplandam sapientiam, erroresque, et stultitiam. (Quid est, inquam, homo, ut sequi possit regem, factorem suum?)
And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what [can] the man [do] that cometh after the king? [even] that which hath been done long ago.
13 Et vidi quod tantum præcederet sapientia stultitiam, quantum differt lux a tenebris.
Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
14 Sapientis oculi in capite ejus; stultus in tenebris ambulat: et didici quod unus utriusque esset interitus.
The wise man’s eyes are in his head, and the fool walketh in darkness: and yet I perceived that one event happeneth to them all.
15 Et dixi in corde meo: Si unus et stulti et meus occasus erit, quid mihi prodest quod majorem sapientiæ dedi operam? Locutusque cum mente mea, animadverti quod hoc quoque esset vanitas.
Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then said I in my heart, that this also 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.
For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no remembrance for ever; seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. And how doth the wise man die even as the fool!
17 Et idcirco tæduit me vitæ meæ, videntem mala universa esse sub sole, et cuncta vanitatem et afflictionem spiritus.
So I hated life, because the work that is wrought under the sun was grievous unto me; for all is vanity and a striving after wind.
18 Rursus detestatus sum omnem industriam meam, qua sub sole studiosissime laboravi, habiturus hæredem post me,
And I hated all my labor wherein I labored under the sun, seeing that I must leave it unto the man that shall be after me.
19 quem ignoro utrum sapiens an stultus futurus sit, et dominabitur in laboribus meis, quibus desudavi et sollicitus fui: et est quidquam tam vanum?
And who knoweth whether he will be a wise man or a fool? yet will he have rule over all my labor wherein I have labored, and wherein I have showed myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.
20 Unde cessavi, renuntiavitque cor meum ultra laborare sub sole.
Therefore I turned about to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labor wherein I had labored under the sun.
21 Nam cum alius laboret in sapientia, et doctrina, et sollicitudine, homini otioso quæsita dimittit; et hoc ergo vanitas et magnum malum.
For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, and with knowledge, and with skilfulness; yet to a man that hath not labored therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also 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 a man of all his labor, and of the striving of his heart, wherein he laboreth under the sun?
23 Cuncti dies ejus doloribus et ærumnis pleni sunt, nec per noctem mente requiescit. Et hoc nonne vanitas est?
For all his days are [but] sorrows, and his travail is grief; yea, even in the night his heart taketh no rest. 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 better for a man [than] that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.
25 Quis ita devorabit et deliciis affluet ut ego?
For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, 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 sollicitudo mentis.
For to the man that pleaseth him [God] giveth wisdom, and knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that pleaseth God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
