Study Desk

All the daies of his life also must he eate in the darcke, with greate carefulnesse, sicknesse & sorow.

Therfore me thinke it a better and a fayrer thinge, a man to eate and drynke, and to be refreshed of all his laboure, yt he taketh vnder the Sonne all the dayes of his life which God geueth him, for this is his porcion.

For vnto whom so euer God geueth riches, goodes and power, he geueth it him to enioye it, to take it for his porcion, and to be refreshed of his laboure: this is now the gifte of God.

For he thinketh not moch how longe he shal lyue, for so moch as God fylleth his hert with gladnesse.

when God geueth a man riches, goodes & honoure, so that he wanteth nothinge of all that his herte can desyre: and yet God geueth him not leue to enioye the same, but another man spedeth them. This is a vayne thinge & a miserable plage.

Yf a man begett an hundreth children, and lyue many yeares, so that his dayes are many in nombre, and yet can not enioye his good, nether be buried: as for him I saye, that an vntymely byrth is better then he.

For he cometh to naught, & goeth his waye in to darcknes, and his name is forgotten.

All the laboure that a man taketh, is for himself, and yet his desyre is neuer fylled after his mynde.

For who knoweth what is good for man lyuynge, in ye dayes of his vayne life, which is but a shadowe? Or, who wil tell a man, what shal happen after him vnder the Sonne?

Who so doeth wronge, maketh a wyse man to go out of his witt, and destroyeth a gentle hert.

These ij. thiges also haue I cosidred in ye tyme of vanite: yt the iust man perisheth for his rightuousnes sake, & the vngodly liueth in his wickednesse.

Be not haistie to go out of his sight, & se thou cotynue in no euell thinge: for what so euer it pleaseth him, yt doeth he.

Like as when a kynge geueth a charge, his commaundement is mightie: Euen so who maye saye vnto him: what doest thou?

All these thinges haue I considered, and applied my mynde vnto euery worke that is vnder the Sonne: how one man hath lordshipe vpon another to his owne harme.

Agayne, as for the vngodly, it shall not be well with him, nether shal he prologe his dayes: but euen as a shadowe, so shall he be that feareth not God.

Therfore I commende gladnesse, because a man hath no better thinge vnder the Sonne, then to eate and drynke, and to be mery: for that shal he haue of his laboure all the daies of his life, which God geueth him vnder the Sonne.+

I vnderstode of all ye workes of God, that it is not possible for a man, to attayne vnto ye workes that are done vnder ye Sonne: and though he bestowe his laboure to seke them out, yet can he not reach vnto the: yee though a wyse man wolde vndertake to knowe them, yet might he not fynde them.

For a man knoweth not his tyme, but like as the fyshe are take with the angle, and as the byrdes are catched wt the snare: Eue so are men taken in the perilous tyme, when it commeth sodenly vpon them.

And in the cite there was founde a poore man (but he was wyse) which wt his wy?dome delyuered the cite: yet was there no body, yt had eny respecte vnto soch a symple man.

Then sayde I: wy?dome is better then strength. Neuertheles, a symple mans wy?dome is despysed, & his wordes are not herde.