Ecclesiastes 2

VULGATA	NEW JERUSALEM
1 Dixi ego in corde meo : Vadam, et affluam deliciis, et fruar bonis ; et vidi quod hoc quoque esset vanitas.	1 I thought to myself, 'Very wel , I wil try pleasure and see what enjoyment has to offer.' And this wasfutile too.
2 Risum reputavi errorem, et gaudio dixi : Quid frustra deciperis ?	2 This laughter, I reflected, is a madness, this pleasure no use at al .
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 decided to hand my body over to drinking wine, my mind still guiding me in wisdom; I resolved toembrace folly, to discover the best way for people to spend their days under the sun.
4 Magnificavi opera mea, ædificavi mihi domos, et plantavi vineas ;	4 I worked on a grand scale: built myself palaces, planted vineyards;
5 feci hortos et pomaria, et consevi ea cuncti generis arboribus ;	5 made myself gardens and orchards, planting every kind of fruit tree in them;
6 et exstruxi mihi piscinas aquarum, ut irrigarem silvam lignorum germinantium.	6 had pools made for watering the young trees of my plantations.
7 Possedi servos et ancillas, multamque familiam habui : armenta quoque, et magnos ovium greges, ultra omnes qui fuerunt ante me in Jerusalem ;	7 I bought slaves, male and female, had home-born slaves as wel ; herds and flocks I had too, more thananyone in Jerusalem before me.
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 silver and gold, the treasures of kings and provinces; acquired singers, men and women,and every human luxury, chest upon chest of it.
9 et supergressus sum opibus omnes qui ante me fuerunt in Jerusalem : sapientia quoque perseveravit mecum.	9 So I grew great, greater than anyone in Jerusalem before me; nor did my wisdom leave 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 I denied my eyes nothing that they desired, refused my heart no pleasure, for I found all my hard worka pleasure, such was the return for al my efforts.
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 I then reflected on al that my hands had achieved and all the effort I had put into its achieving. Whatfutility it al was, what chasing after the wind! There is nothing to be gained under the sun.
12 Transivi ad contemplandam sapientiam, erroresque, et stultitiam. (Quid est, inquam, homo, ut sequi possit regem, factorem suum ?)	12 My reflections then turned to wisdom, stupidity and fol y. For instance, what can the successor of aking do? What has been done already.
13 Et vidi quod tantum præcederet sapientia stultitiam, quantum differt lux a tenebris.	13 More is to be gained from wisdom than from fol y, just as one gains more from light than fromdarkness; this, of course, I see:
14 Sapientis oculi in capite ejus ; stultus in tenebris ambulat : et didici quod unus utriusque esset interitus.	14 The wise have their eyes open, the fool walks in the dark. No doubt! But I know, too, that one fateawaits them both.
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 'Since the fool's fate', I thought to myself, 'will be my fate too, what is the point of my having beenwise?' I realised that this too is futile.
16 Non enim erit memoria sapientis similiter ut stulti in perpetuum, et futura tempora oblivione cuncta pariter operient : moritur doctus similiter ut indoctus.	16 For there is no lasting memory for the wise or the fool, and in the days to come both will be forgotten;the wise, no less than the fool, must die.
17 Et idcirco tæduit me vitæ meæ, videntem mala universa esse sub sole, et cuncta vanitatem et afflictionem spiritus.	17 Life I have come to hate, for what is done under the sun disgusts me, since al is futility and chasingafter the wind.
18 Rursus detestatus sum omnem industriam meam, qua sub sole studiosissime laboravi, habiturus hæredem post me,	18 All I have toiled for under the sun and now bequeath to my successor I have come to hate;
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 who knows whether he wil be wise or a fool? Yet he wil be master of al the work into which I have putmy efforts and wisdom under the sun. That is futile too.
20 Unde cessavi, renuntiavitque cor meum ultra laborare sub sole.	20 I have come to despair of all the efforts I have expended 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 one who has laboured wisely, skilfully and successful y and must leave what is his own tosomeone who has not toiled for it at al . This is futile too, and grossly unjust;
22 Quid enim proderit homini de universo labore suo, et afflictione spiritus, qua sub sole cruciatus est ?	22 for what does he gain for al the toil and strain that he has undergone under the sun-
23 Cuncti dies ejus doloribus et ærumnis pleni sunt, nec per noctem mente requiescit. Et hoc nonne vanitas est ?	23 since his days are ful of sorrow, his work is ful of stress and even at night he has no peace of mind?This is futile too.
24 Nonne melius est comedere et bibere, et ostendere animæ suæ bona de laboribus suis ? et hoc de manu Dei est.	24 There is no happiness except in eating and drinking, and in enjoying one's achievements; and I seethat this too comes from God's hand;
25 Quis ita devorabit et deliciis affluet ut ego ?	25 for who would get anything to eat or drink, unless al this came 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 Wisdom, knowledge and joy, God gives to those who please him, but on the sinner he lays the task ofgathering and storing up for someone else who is pleasing to him. This too is futility and chasing after the wind.