Wisdom 2

NEW JERUSALEM	VULGATA
1 And this is the false argument they use, 'Our life is short and dreary, there is no remedy when our endcomes, no one is known to have come back from Hades.	1 Dixerunt enim cogitantes apud se non recte : Exiguum et cum tædio est tempus vitæ nostræ, et non est refrigerium in fine hominis, et non est qui agnitus sit reversus ab inferis.
2 We came into being by chance and afterwards shal be as though we had never been. The breath in ournostrils is a puff of smoke, reason a spark from the beating of our hearts;	2 Quia ex nihilo nati sumus, et post hoc erimus tamquam non fuerimus. Quoniam fumus flatus est in naribus nostris, et sermo scintilla ad commovendum cor nostrum :
3 extinguish this and the body turns to ashes, and the spirit melts away like the yielding air.	3 qua extincta, cinis erit corpus nostrum, et spiritus diffundetur tamquam mollis aër ; et transibit vita nostra tamquam vestigium nubis, et sicut nebula dissolvetur quæ fugata est a radiis solis, et a calore illius aggravata.
4 In time, our name wil be forgotten, nobody wil remember what we have done; our life will pass awaylike wisps of cloud, dissolving like the mist that the sun's rays drive away and that its heat dispels.	4 Et nomen nostrum oblivionem accipiet per tempus, et nemo memoriam habebit operum nostrorum.
5 For our days are the passing of a shadow, our end is without return, the seal is affixed and nobodycomes back.	5 Umbræ enim transitus est tempus nostrum, et non est reversio finis nostri : quoniam consignata est, et nemo revertitur.
6 'Come then, let us enjoy the good things of today, let us use created things with the zest of youth:	6 Venite ergo, et fruamur bonis quæ sunt, et utamur creatura tamquam in juventute celeriter.
7 take our fil of the dearest wines and perfumes, on no account forgo the flowers of spring	7 Vino pretioso et unguentis nos impleamus, et non prætereat nos flos temporis.
8 but crown ourselves with rosebuds before they wither,	8 Coronemus nos rosis antequam marcescant ; nullum pratum sit quod non pertranseat luxuria nostra :
9 no meadow excluded from our orgy; let us leave the signs of our revelry everywhere, since this is ourportion, this our lot!	9 nemo nostrum exsors sit luxuriæ nostræ. Ubique relinquamus signa lætitiæ, quoniam hæc est pars nostra, et hæc est sors.
10 'As for the upright man who is poor, let us oppress him; let us not spare the widow, nor respect oldage, white-haired with many years.	10 Opprimamus pauperem justum, et non parcamus viduæ, nec veterani revereamur canos multi temporis :
11 Let our might be the yardstick of right, since weakness argues its own futility.	11 sit autem fortitudo nostra lex justitiæ ; quod enim infirmum est, inutile invenitur.
12 Let us lay traps for the upright man, since he annoys us and opposes our way of life, reproaches us forour sins against the Law, and accuses us of sins against our upbringing.	12 Circumveniamus ergo justum, quoniam inutilis est nobis, et contrarius est operibus nostris, et improperat nobis peccata legis, et diffamat in nos peccata disciplinæ nostræ.
13 He claims to have knowledge of God, and calls himself a child of the Lord.	13 Promittit se scientiam Dei habere, et filium Dei se nominat.
14 We see him as a reproof to our way of thinking, the very sight of him weighs our spirits down;	14 Factus est nobis in traductionem cogitationum nostrarum.
15 for his kind of life is not like other people's, and his ways are quite different.	15 Gravis est nobis etiam ad videndum, quoniam dissimilis est aliis vita illius, et immutatæ sunt viæ ejus.
16 In his opinion we are counterfeit; he avoids our ways as he would filth; he proclaims the final end of theupright as blessed and boasts of having God for his father.	16 Tamquam nugaces æstimati sumus ab illo, et abstinet se a viis nostris tamquam ab immunditiis, et præfert novissima justorum, et gloriatur patrem se habere Deum.
17 Let us see if what he says is true, and test him to see what sort of end he wil have.	17 Videamus ergo si sermones illius veri sint, et tentemus quæ ventura sunt illi, et sciemus quæ erunt novissima illius.
18 For if the upright man is God's son, God wil help him and rescue him from the clutches of hisenemies.	18 Si enim est verus filius Dei, suscipiet illum, et liberabit eum de manibus contrariorum.
19 Let us test him with cruelty and with torture, and thus explore this gentleness of his and put hispatience to the test.	19 Contumelia et tormento interrogemus eum, ut sciamus reverentiam ejus, et probemus patientiam illius.
20 Let us condemn him to a shameful death since God wil rescue him -- or so he claims.'	20 Morte turpissima condemnemus eum ; erit enim ei respectus ex sermonibus illius.
21 This is the way they reason, but they are misled, since their malice makes them blind.	21 Hæc cogitaverunt, et erraverunt : excæcavit enim illos malitia eorum.
22 They do not know the hidden things of God, they do not hope for the reward of holiness, they do notbelieve in a reward for blameless souls.	22 Et nescierunt sacramenta Dei : neque mercedem speraverunt justitiæ, nec judicaverunt honorem animarum sanctarum.
23 For God created human beings to be immortal, he made them as an image of his own nature;	23 Quoniam Deus creavit hominem inexterminabilem, et ad imaginem similitudinis suæ fecit illum.
24 Death came into the world only through the Devil's envy, as those who belong to him find to their cost.	24 Invidia autem diaboli mors introivit in orbem terrarum :
	25 imitantur autem illum qui sunt ex parte illius.