< Ecclesiastes 6 >

1 Est et aliud malum, quod vidi sub sole, et quidem frequens apud homines:
Here was an evil, I had seen under the sun, —and it is, common, among men:
2 Vir, cui dedit Deus divitias, et substantiam, et honorem, et nihil deest animæ suæ ex omnibus, quæ desiderat: nec tribuit ei potestatem Deus ut comedat ex eo, sed homo extraneus vorabit illud. Hoc vanitas, et miseria magna est.
A man to whom God giveth riches and gains and honour, so that nothing doth he lack for his soul—of all that he craveth, and yet God doth not give him power to eat thereof, but, a man unknown, eateth it, —this, was vanity, and, an incurable evil, it was.
3 Si genuerit quispiam centum liberos, et vixerit multos annos, et plures dies ætatis habuerit, et anima illius non utatur bonis substantiæ suæ, sepulturaque careat: de hoc ergo pronuncio quod melior illo sit abortivus.
Though a man should beget a hundred children, and live, many years, so that many should be the days of his years but, his own soul, should not be satisfied with the good, and he should not even have, a burial, I said, Better than he, is an untimely birth!
4 Frustra enim venit, et pergit ad tenebras, et oblivione delebitur nomen eius.
For, in vain, it came in, and, in darkness, it departeth, —and, with darkness, its name, is covered:
5 Non vidit solem, neque cognovit distantiam boni et mali:
even the sun, it never saw, nor aught did it know, —more quietness, hath this than the other.
6 etiam si duobus millibus annis vixerit, et non fuerit perfruitus bonis: nonne ad unum locum properant omnia?
Even though one hath lived a thousand years twice told, yet, good, hath he not seen, —is it not, unto one place, that, all, are going?
7 Omnis labor hominis in ore eius: sed anima eius non implebitur.
All the toil of man, is for his mouth, —though, even the desire, is not satisfied!
8 Quid habet amplius sapiens a stulto? Et quid pauper nisi ut pergat illuc, ubi est vita?
For what profit hath the wise man, over the dullard? What can, the poor man, know—so as to walk before the living?
9 Melius est videre quod cupias, quam desiderare quod nescias. Sed et hoc vanitas est, et præsumptio spiritus.
Better what the eyes behold, than the wandering of desire, —even this, was vanity, and a feeding on wind.
10 Qui futurus est, iam vocatum est nomen eius: et scitur quod homo sit, et non possit contra fortiorem se in iudicio contendere.
Whatsoever one may be, long ago, was he called by his name, and it is known that it is—Son of Earth, —he cannot, therefore, contend with one stronger than he.
11 Verba sunt plurima, multamque in disputando habentia vanitatem.
Seeing there are things in abundance which make vanity abound, what profit hath man?
12 Quid necesse est homini maiora se quærere, cum ignoret quid conducat sibi in vita sua numero dierum peregrinationis suæ, et tempore, quod velut umbra præterit? Aut quis ei poterit indicare quod post eum futurum sub sole sit?
For who knoweth what is good for a man throughout his life, for the number of the days of his life of vanity, seeing he will make them, like a shadow, —for who can tell a man, what shall be after him, under the sun?

< Ecclesiastes 6 >