Omnia hæc tractavi in corde meo, ut curiose intelligerem. Sunt justi atque sapientes, et opera eorum in manu Dei; et tamen nescit homo utrum amore an odio dignus sit.

All these things have I considered in my heart, that I might carefully understand them: there are just men and wise men, and their works are in the hand of God: and yet man knoweth not whether he be worthy of love, or hatred:

All this, too, I pondered in my heart, and would spare no pains to find out the meaning of it. Here are upright men and wise; and every task of theirs is in God’s keeping, nor can any tell whether they have earned his love, or his displeasure!

Sed omnia in futurum servantur incerta, eo quod universa æque eveniant justo et impio, bono et malo, mundo et immundo, immolanti victimas et sacrificia contemnenti. Sicut bonus, sic et peccator; ut perjurus, ita et ille qui verum dejerat.

But all things are kept uncertain for the time to come, because all things equally happen to the just and to the wicked, to the good and to the evil, to the clean and to the unclean, to him that offereth victims, and to him that despiseth sacrifices. As the good is, so also is the sinner: as the perjured, so he also that sweareth truth.

This remains as yet uncertain, and meanwhile all have the same lot, upright and godless, good and wicked, clean and unclean alike. Brought they offerings or brought they none, well did they or ill, true swore they or false, it is all one.

Hoc est pessimum inter omnia quæ sub sole fiunt: quia eadem cunctis eveniunt. Unde et corda filiorum hominum implentur malitia et contemptu in vita sua, et post hæc ad inferos deducentur.

This is a very great evil among all things that are done under the sun, that the same things happen to all men: whereby also the hearts of the children of men are filled with evil, and with contempt while they live, and afterwards they shall be brought down to hell.

Of all that goes amiss, here under the sun, nothing does more hurt than this equality of fortunes; what wonder if men’s hearts, while yet they live, are full of malice and defiance? And so they journey on to the grave.

Nemo est qui semper vivat, et qui hujus rei habeat fiduciam; melior est canis vivus leone mortuo.

There is no man that liveth always, or that hopeth for this: a living dog is better than a dead lion.

Were but immortality the prize! But no, hope of that is none; living dog is better off than dead lion.

Viventes enim sciunt se esse morituros; mortui vero nihil noverunt amplius, nec habent ultra mercedem, quia oblivioni tradita est memoria eorum.

For the living know that they shall die, but the dead know nothing more, neither have they a reward any more: for the memory of them is forgotten.

They live under sentence of death; and when death comes, of nothing will they be aware any longer; no reward can they receive, now that every trace of them has vanished away;

Amor quoque, et odium, et invidiæ simul perierunt; nec habent partem in hoc sæculo, et in opere quod sub sole geritur.

Their love also, and their hatred, and their envy are all perished, neither have they any part in this world, and in the work that is done under the sun.

no love, no hatred, no envy can they feel; they have said good-bye to this world, and to all its busy doings, here under the sun.

Vade ergo, et comede in lætitia panem tuum, et bibe cum gaudio vinum tuum, quia Deo placent opera tua.

Go then, and eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with gladness: because thy works please God.

Go thy ways, then, eat thy bread with a stout heart, and drink wine to thy contenting; that done, God asks no more of thee.

Omni tempore sint vestimenta tua candida, et oleum de capite tuo non deficiat.

At all times let thy garments be white, and let not oil depart from thy head.

Ever be thy garments of white, ever let thy brow glisten with oil;

Perfruere vita cum uxore quam diligis, cunctis diebus vitæ instabilitatis tuæ, qui dati sunt tibi sub sole omni tempore vanitatis tuæ: hæc est enim pars in vita et in labore tuo quo laboras sub sole.

Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest, all the days of thy unsteady life, which are given to thee under the sun, all the time of thy vanity: for this is thy portion in life, and in thy labour wherewith thou labourest under the sun.

live at ease with the wife that is thy heart’s love, long as this uncertain life is granted thee; fugitive days, here beneath the sun. Live thou and labour thou under the sun as thou wilt, this thy portion shall be, and nothing more.

Quodcumque facere potest manus tua, instanter operare, quia nec opus, nec ratio, nec sapientia, nec scientia erunt apud inferos, quo tu properas.

Whatsoever thy hand is able to do, do it earnestly: for neither work, nor reason, nor wisdom, nor knowledge shall be in hell, whither thou art hastening.

Whatever lies in thy power, do while do it thou canst; there will be no doing, no scheming, no wisdom or skill left to thee in the grave, that soon shall be thy home.

Verti me ad aliud, et vidi sub sole nec velocium esse cursum, nec fortium bellum, nec sapientium panem, nec doctorum divitias, nec artificum gratiam; sed tempus casumque in omnibus.

I turned me to another thing, and I saw that under the sun, the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the learned, nor favour to the skilful: but time and chance in all.

Then my thought took a fresh turn; man’s art does not avail, here beneath the sun, to win the race for the swift, or the battle for the strong, a livelihood for wisdom, riches for great learning, or for the craftsman thanks; chance and the moment rule all.

Nescit homo finem suum; sed sicut pisces capiuntur hamo, et sicut aves laqueo comprehenduntur, sic capiuntur homines in tempore malo, cum eis extemplo supervenerit.

Man knoweth not his own end: but as fishes are taken with the hook, and as birds are caught with the snare, so men are taken in the evil time, when it shall suddenly come upon them.

Nor does man see his end coming; hooked fish or snared bird is not overtaken so suddenly as man is, when the day of doom falls on him unawares.

Hanc quoque sub sole vidi sapientiam, et probavi maximam:

This wisdom also I have seen under the sun, and it seemed to me to be very great:

And here, too, is wise warning, most wise, as I judge it.

civitas parva, et pauci in ea viri; venit contra eam rex magnus, et vallavit eam, exstruxitque munitiones per gyrum, et perfecta est obsidio.

A little city, and few men in it: there came against it a great king, and invested it, and built bulwarks round about it, and the siege was perfect.

There was a small city once, with few men to hold it; and there was a great king that marched out against it, raised a mound and ringed it with siege-works, till it was beleaguered on every side.

Inventusque est in ea vir pauper et sapiens, et liberavit urbem per sapientiam suam; et nullus deinceps recordatus est hominis illius pauperis.

Now there was found in it a man poor and wise, and he delivered the city by his wisdom, and no man afterward remembered that poor man.

To such a city, how came relief? By the wise counsel of one poor man that had his wits about him. And was there anyone, think you, that remembered the poor man afterwards? Not one.

Et dicebam ego meliorem esse sapientiam fortitudine. Quomodo ergo sapientia pauperis contempta est, et verba ejus non sunt audita?

And I said that wisdom is better than strength: how then is the wisdom of the poor man slighted, and his words not heard?

Sure enough, said I, wisdom has the better of valour; but see how the poor man’s wisdom goes for nothing, and no one listens to him now!

Verba sapientium audiuntur in silentio, plus quam clamor principis inter stultos.

The words of the wise are heard in silence, more than the cry of a prince among fools.

A wise man’s whisper carries further than great outcry from a king of fools.

Melior est sapientia quam arma bellica; et qui in uno peccaverit, multa bona perdet.

Better is wisdom, than weapons of war: and he that shall offend in one, shall lose many good things.

Arms cannot match wisdom; by one slip, what great advantage is lost!