Ecclesiastes 2

VULGATA	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Dixi ego in corde meo : Vadam, et affluam deliciis, et fruar bonis ; et vidi quod hoc quoque esset vanitas.	1 I said to myself, "Come, now, let me try you with pleasure and the enjoyment of good things." But behold, this too was vanity.
2 Risum reputavi errorem, et gaudio dixi : Quid frustra deciperis ?	2 Of laughter I said: "Mad!" and of mirth: "What good does this do?"
3 Cogitavi in corde meo abstrahere a vino carnem meam, ut animam meam transferrem ad sapientiam, devitaremque stultitiam, donec viderem quid esset utile filiis hominum, quo facto opus est sub sole numero dierum vitæ suæ.	3 I thought of beguiling my senses with wine, though my mind was concerned with wisdom, and of taking up folly, until I should understand what is best for men to do under the heavens during the limited days of their life.
4 Magnificavi opera mea, ædificavi mihi domos, et plantavi vineas ;	4 I undertook great works; I built myself houses and planted vineyards;
5 feci hortos et pomaria, et consevi ea cuncti generis arboribus ;	5 I made gardens and parks, and set out in them fruit trees of all sorts.
6 et exstruxi mihi piscinas aquarum, ut irrigarem silvam lignorum germinantium.	6 And I constructed for myself reservoirs to water a flourishing woodland.
7 Possedi servos et ancillas, multamque familiam habui : armenta quoque, et magnos ovium greges, ultra omnes qui fuerunt ante me in Jerusalem ;	7 I acquired male and female slaves, and slaves were born in my house. I also had growing herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, more than all who had been before me in Jerusalem.
8 coacervavi mihi argentum et aurum, et substantias regum ac provinciarum ; feci mihi cantores et cantatrices, et delicias filiorum hominum, scyphos, et urceos in ministerio ad vina fundenda ;	8 I amassed for myself silver and gold, and the wealth of kings and provinces. I got for myself male and female singers and all human luxuries.
9 et supergressus sum opibus omnes qui ante me fuerunt in Jerusalem : sapientia quoque perseveravit mecum.	9 I became great, and I stored up more than all others before me in Jerusalem; my wisdom, too, stayed with me.
10 Et omnia quæ desideraverunt oculi mei non negavi eis, nec prohibui cor meum quin omni voluptate frueretur, et oblectaret se in his quæ præparaveram ; et hanc ratus sum partem meam si uterer labore meo.	10 Nothing that my eyes desired did I deny them, nor did I deprive myself of any joy, but my heart rejoiced in the fruit of all my toil. This was my share for all my toil.
11 Cumque me convertissem ad universa opera quæ fecerant manus meæ, et ad labores in quibus frustra sudaveram, vidi in omnibus vanitatem et afflictionem animi, et nihil permanere sub sole.	11 But when I turned to all the works that my hands had wrought, and to the toil at which I had taken such pains, behold! all was vanity and a chase after wind, with nothing gained under the sun.
12 Transivi ad contemplandam sapientiam, erroresque, et stultitiam. (Quid est, inquam, homo, ut sequi possit regem, factorem suum ?)	12 For what will the man do who is to come after the king? What men have already done! I went on to the consideration of wisdom, madness and folly.
13 Et vidi quod tantum præcederet sapientia stultitiam, quantum differt lux a tenebris.	13 And I saw that wisdom has the advantage over folly as much as light has the advantage over darkness.
14 Sapientis oculi in capite ejus ; stultus in tenebris ambulat : et didici quod unus utriusque esset interitus.	14 The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness.Yet I knew that one lot befalls both of them.
15 Et dixi in corde meo : Si unus et stulti et meus occasus erit, quid mihi prodest quod majorem sapientiæ dedi operam ? Locutusque cum mente mea, animadverti quod hoc quoque esset vanitas.	15 So I said to myself, if the fool's lot is to befall me also, why then should I be wise? Where is the profit for me? And I concluded in my heart that this too is vanity.
16 Non enim erit memoria sapientis similiter ut stulti in perpetuum, et futura tempora oblivione cuncta pariter operient : moritur doctus similiter ut indoctus.	16 Neither of the wise man nor of the fool will there be an abiding remembrance, for in days to come both will have been forgotten. How is it that the wise man dies as well as the fool!
17 Et idcirco tæduit me vitæ meæ, videntem mala universa esse sub sole, et cuncta vanitatem et afflictionem spiritus.	17 Therefore I loathed life, since for me the work that is done under the sun is evil; for all is vanity and a chase after wind.
18 Rursus detestatus sum omnem industriam meam, qua sub sole studiosissime laboravi, habiturus hæredem post me,	18 And I detested all the fruits of my labor under the sun, because I must leave them to a man who is to come after me.
19 quem ignoro utrum sapiens an stultus futurus sit, et dominabitur in laboribus meis, quibus desudavi et sollicitus fui : et est quidquam tam vanum ?	19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruits of my wise labor under the sun. This also is vanity.
20 Unde cessavi, renuntiavitque cor meum ultra laborare sub sole.	20 So my feelings turned to despair of all the fruits of my labor under the sun.
21 Nam cum alius laboret in sapientia, et doctrina, et sollicitudine, homini otioso quæsita dimittit ; et hoc ergo vanitas et magnum malum.	21 For here is a man who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, and to another, who has not labored over it, he must leave his property. This also is vanity and a great misfortune.
22 Quid enim proderit homini de universo labore suo, et afflictione spiritus, qua sub sole cruciatus est ?	22 For what profit comes to a man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has labored under the sun?
23 Cuncti dies ejus doloribus et ærumnis pleni sunt, nec per noctem mente requiescit. Et hoc nonne vanitas est ?	23 All his days sorrow and grief are his occupation; even at night his mind is not at rest. This also is vanity.
24 Nonne melius est comedere et bibere, et ostendere animæ suæ bona de laboribus suis ? et hoc de manu Dei est.	24 There is nothing better for man than to eat and drink and provide himself with good things by his labors. Even this, I realized, is from the hand of God.
25 Quis ita devorabit et deliciis affluet ut ego ?	25 For who can eat or drink apart from him?
26 Homini bono in conspectu suo dedit Deus sapientiam, et scientiam, et lætitiam ; peccatori autem dedit afflictionem et curam superfluam, ut addat, et congreget, et tradat ei qui placuit Deo ; sed et hoc vanitas est, et cassa sollicitudo mentis.	26 For to whatever man he sees fit he gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering possessions to be given to whatever man God sees fit. This also is vanity and a chase after wind.