Ecclesiastes 9

VULGATA	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 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.	1 All this I have kept in mind and recognized: the just, the wise, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Love from hatred man cannot tell; both appear equally vain,
2 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.	2 in that there is the same lot for all, for the just and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for him who offers sacrifice and him who does not. As it is for the good man, so it is for the sinner; as it is for him who swears rashly, so it is for him who fears an oath.
3 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.	3 Among all the things that happen under the sun, this is the worst, that things turn out the same for all. Hence the minds of men are filled with evil, and madness is in their hearts during life; and afterward they go to the dead.
4 Nemo est qui semper vivat, et qui hujus rei habeat fiduciam ; melior est canis vivus leone mortuo.	4 Indeed, for any among the living there is hope; a live dog is better off than a dead lion.
5 Viventes enim sciunt se esse morituros ; mortui vero nihil noverunt amplius, nec habent ultra mercedem, quia oblivioni tradita est memoria eorum.	5 For the living know that they are to die, but the dead no longer know anything. There is no further recompense for them, because all memory of them is lost.
6 Amor quoque, et odium, et invidiæ simul perierunt ; nec habent partem in hoc sæculo, et in opere quod sub sole geritur.	6 For them, love and hatred and rivalry have long since perished. They will never again have part in anything that is done under the sun.
7 Vade ergo, et comede in lætitia panem tuum, et bibe cum gaudio vinum tuum, quia Deo placent opera tua.	7 Go, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a merry heart, because it is now that God favors your works.
8 Omni tempore sint vestimenta tua candida, et oleum de capite tuo non deficiat.	8 At all times let your garments be white, and spare not the perfume for your head.
9 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.	9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of the fleeting life that is granted you under the sun. This is your lot in life, for the toil of your labors under the sun.
10 Quodcumque facere potest manus tua, instanter operare, quia nec opus, nec ratio, nec sapientia, nec scientia erunt apud inferos, quo tu properas.	10 Anything you can turn your hand to, do with what power you have; for there will be no work, nor reason, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the nether world where you are going....
11 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.	11 Again I saw under the sun that the race is not won by the swift, nor the battle by the valiant, nor a livelihood by the wise, nor riches by the shrewd, nor favor by the experts; for a time of calamity comes to all alike.
12 Nescit homo finem suum ; sed sicut pisces capiuntur hamo, et sicut aves laqueo comprehenduntur, sic capiuntur homines in tempore malo, cum eis extemplo supervenerit.	12 Man no more knows his own time than fish taken in the fatal net, or birds trapped in the snare; like these the children of men are caught when the evil time falls suddenly upon them.
13 Hanc quoque sub sole vidi sapientiam, et probavi maximam :	13 On the other hand I saw this wise deed under the sun, which I thought sublime.
14 civitas parva, et pauci in ea viri ; venit contra eam rex magnus, et vallavit eam, exstruxitque munitiones per gyrum, et perfecta est obsidio.	14 Against a small city with few men in it advanced a mighty king, who surrounded it and threw up great siegeworks about it.
15 Inventusque est in ea vir pauper et sapiens, et liberavit urbem per sapientiam suam ; et nullus deinceps recordatus est hominis illius pauperis.	15 But in the city lived a man who, though poor, was wise, and he delivered it through his wisdom. Yet no one remembered this poor man.
16 Et dicebam ego meliorem esse sapientiam fortitudine. Quomodo ergo sapientia pauperis contempta est, et verba ejus non sunt audita ?	16 Though I had said, "Wisdom is better than force," yet the wisdom of the poor man is despised and his words go unheeded.
17 Verba sapientium audiuntur in silentio, plus quam clamor principis inter stultos.	17 "The quiet words of the wise are better heeded than the shout of a ruler of fools"--!
18 Melior est sapientia quam arma bellica ; et qui in uno peccaverit, multa bona perdet.	18 "A fly that dies can spoil the perfumer's ointment, and a single slip can ruin much that is good."