Ecclesiastes/Qohelet 10

NEW JERUSALEM	VULGATA
1 One dead fly can spoil the scent-maker's oil: a grain of stupidity outweighs wisdom and glory.	1 Muscæ morientes perdunt suavitatem unguenti. Pretiosior est sapientia et gloria, parva et ad tempus stultitia.
2 The sage's heart leads him aright, the fool's leads him astray.	2 Cor sapientis in dextera ejus, et cor stulti in sinistra illius.
3 A fool walks down the road, he has no wit -- and everyone remarks, 'How silly he is!'	3 Sed et in via stultus ambulans, cum ipse insipiens sit, omnes stultos æstimat.
4 If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your post; composure mitigates grave offences.	4 Si spiritus potestatem habentis ascenderit super te, locum tuum ne demiseris, quia curatio faciet cessare peccata maxima.
5 One evil I observe under the sun: the sort of misjudgement to which rulers are prone-	5 Est malum quod vidi sub sole, quasi per errorem egrediens a facie principis :
6 fol y promoted to the top and the rich taking the lowest place.	6 positum stultum in dignitate sublimi, et divites sedere deorsum.
7 I see slaves riding on horses and princes on foot like slaves.	7 Vidi servos in equis, et principes ambulantes super terram quasi servos.
8 He who digs a pit fal s into it, he who undermines a wal gets bitten by a snake,	8 Qui fodit foveam incidet in eam, et qui dissipat sepem mordebit eum coluber.
9 he who quarries stones gets hurt by them, he who chops wood takes a risk from it.	9 Qui transfert lapides affligetur in eis, et qui scindit ligna vulnerabitur ab eis.
10 If, for want of sharpening, the blade is blunt, you have to work twice as hard; but it is the outcome that makes wisdom rewarding.	10 Si retusum fuerit ferrum, et hoc non ut prius, sed hebetatum fuerit, multo labore exacuetur, et post industriam sequetur sapientia.
11 If, for want of charming, the snake bites, the snake-charmer gets nothing out of it.	11 Si mordeat serpens in silentio, nihil eo minus habet qui occulte detrahit.
12 The sayings of a sage give pleasure, what a fool says procures his own ruin:	12 Verba oris sapientis gratia, et labia insipientis præcipitabunt eum ;
13 his words have their origin in stupidity and their ending in treacherous fol y.	13 initium verborum ejus stultitia, et novissimum oris illius error pessimus.
14 A fool talks a great deal, but none of us in fact can tel the future; what wil happen after us, who cantel ?	14 Stultus verba multiplicat. Ignorat homo quid ante se fuerit ; et quid post se futurum sit, quis ei poterit indicare ?
15 A fool finds hard work very tiring, he cannot even find his own way into town.	15 Labor stultorum affliget eos, qui nesciunt in urbem pergere.
16 Woe to you, country with a lad for king, and where princes start feasting in the morning!	16 Væ tibi, terra, cujus rex puer est, et cujus principes mane comedunt.
17 Happy the land whose king is nobly born, where princes eat at a respectable hour to keepthemselves strong and not merely to revel!	17 Beata terra cujus rex nobilis est, et cujus principes vescuntur in tempore suo, ad reficiendum, et non ad luxuriam.
18 Thanks to idleness, the roof-tree gives way, thanks to carelessness, the house lets in the rain.	18 In pigritiis humiliabitur contignatio, et in infirmitate manuum perstillabit domus.
19 We give parties to enjoy ourselves, wine makes us cheerful and money has an answer for everything.	19 In risum faciunt panem et vinum ut epulentur viventes ; et pecuniæ obediunt omnia.
20 Do not abuse the king, even in thought, do not abuse a rich man, even in your bedroom, for a bird ofthe air might carry the news, a winged messenger might repeat what you have said.	20 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.