Ecclesiastes 10
1 Flies `that dien, leesen the swetnesse of oynement. Litil foli at a tyme is preciousere than wisdom and glorie.
Muscæ morientes perdunt suavitatem unguenti. Pretiosior est sapientia et gloria, parva et ad tempus stultitia.
2 The herte of a wijs man is in his riyt side; and the herte of a fool is in his left side.
Cor sapientis in dextera ejus, et cor stulti in sinistra illius.
3 But also a fool goynge in the weie, whanne he is vnwijs, gessith alle men foolis.
Sed et in via stultus ambulans, cum ipse insipiens sit, omnes stultos æstimat.
4 If the spirit of hym, that hath power, stieth on thee, forsake thou not thi place; for heeling schal make gretteste synnes to ceesse.
Si spiritus potestatem habentis ascenderit super te, locum tuum ne demiseris, quia curatio faciet cessare peccata maxima.
5 An yuel is, which Y siy vndur the sunne, and goith out as bi errour fro the face of the prince; a fool set in hiy dignyte,
Est malum quod vidi sub sole, quasi per errorem egrediens a facie principis:
6 and riche men sitte bynethe.
positum stultum in dignitate sublimi, et divites sedere deorsum.
7 I siy seruauntis on horsis, and princes as seruauntis goynge on the erthe.
Vidi servos in equis, et principes ambulantes super terram quasi servos.
8 He that diggith a diche, schal falle in to it; and an eddre schal bite hym, that distrieth an hegge.
Qui fodit foveam incidet in eam, et qui dissipat sepem mordebit eum coluber.
9 He that berith ouer stoonys, schal be turmentid in tho; and he that kittith trees, schal be woundid of tho.
Qui transfert lapides affligetur in eis, et qui scindit ligna vulnerabitur ab eis.
10 If yrun is foldid ayen, and this is not as bifore, but is maad blunt, it schal be maad scharp with myche trauel; and wisdom schal sue aftir bisynesse.
Si retusum fuerit ferrum, et hoc non ut prius, sed hebetatum fuerit, multo labore exacuetur, et post industriam sequetur sapientia.
11 If a serpent bitith, it bitith in silence; he that bacbitith priueli, hath no thing lesse than it.
Si mordeat serpens in silentio, nihil eo minus habet qui occulte detrahit.
12 The wordis of the mouth of a wijs man is grace; and the lippis of an vnwijs man schulen caste hym doun.
Verba oris sapientis gratia, et labia insipientis præcipitabunt eum;
13 The bigynnyng of hise wordis is foli; and the laste thing of his mouth is the worste errour.
initium verborum ejus stultitia, et novissimum oris illius error pessimus.
14 A fool multiplieth wordis; a man noot, what was bifore hym, and who mai schewe to hym that, that schal come aftir hym?
Stultus verba multiplicat. Ignorat homo quid ante se fuerit; et quid post se futurum sit, quis ei poterit indicare?
15 The trauel of foolis shal turment hem, that kunnen not go in to the citee.
Labor stultorum affliget eos, qui nesciunt in urbem pergere.
16 Lond, wo to thee, whos kyng is a child, and whose princes eten eerli.
Væ tibi, terra, cujus rex puer est, et cujus principes mane comedunt.
17 Blessid is the lond, whos kyng is noble; and whose princis eten in her tyme, to susteyne the kynde, and not to waste.
Beata terra cujus rex nobilis est, et cujus principes vescuntur in tempore suo, ad reficiendum, et non ad luxuriam.
18 The hiynesse of housis schal be maad low in slouthis; and the hous schal droppe in the feblenesse of hondis.
In pigritiis humiliabitur contignatio, et in infirmitate manuum perstillabit domus.
19 In leiyyng thei disposen breed and wyn, that thei drynkynge ete largeli; and alle thingis obeien to monei.
In risum faciunt panem et vinum ut epulentur viventes; et pecuniæ obediunt omnia.
20 In thi thouyt bacbite thou not the kyng, and in the priuete of thi bed, curse thou not a riche man; for the briddis of heuene schulen bere thi vois, and he that hath pennys, schal telle the sentence.
In cogitatione tua regi ne detrahas, et in secreto cubiculi tui ne maledixeris diviti: quia et aves cæli portabunt vocem tuam, et qui habet pennas annuntiabit sententiam.
