Wisdom 2

¹Forsothe wickid men seiden, thenkynge anentis hem silf not riytfuli, The tyme of oure lijf is litil, and with anoye; no refreisching is in the ende of a man, and noon is, that is knowun, that turnede ayen fro hellis.

²For we weren borun of nouyt, and aftir this tyme we schulen be, as if we hadden not be; forwhi smoke is blowun out in oure nose thirlis, and a word of sparcle to stire oure herte.

³For oure bodi schal be quenchid aische, and the spirit schal be scaterid abrood as soft eir; and oure lijf schal passe as the step of a cloude, and it schal be departid as a myst, which is dryuun awey of the beemys of the sunne, and is greued of the heete therof.

⁴And oure name schal take foryeting bi tyme; and no man schal haue mynde of oure werkis.

⁵Forwhi oure tyme is the passyng of a schadewe, and no turnyng ayen of oure ende is; for it is aseelid, and no man turneth ayen.

⁶Therfor come ye, and vse we the goodis that ben, and vse we a creature, as in yongthe, swiftli.

⁷Fille we vs with preciouse wyn and oynementis; and the flour of tyme passe not vs.

⁸Corowne we vs with roosis, bifor that tho welewen; no medewe be, `bi which oure letcherie passe not.

⁹No man of vs be with out part of oure letcherie; euery where leeue we the signes of gladnesse; for this is oure part, and this is oure eritage.

¹⁰Oppresse we a pore iust man, and spare we not a widewe, nether reuerence we hoor heeris of an old man of myche tyme.

¹¹But oure strengthe be the lawe of riytfulnesse; forwhi that that is feble, is foundun vnprofitable.

¹²Therfor disseyue we a iust man, for he is vnprofitable to vs, and he is contrarie to oure werkis; and he vpbreidith to vs the synnes of lawe, and he defameth on vs the synnes of oure techyng.

¹³He biheetith that he hath the kunnyng of God, and he nemeth hym silf the sone of God.

¹⁴He is maad to us in to schewyng of oure thouytis.

¹⁵He is greuouse to vs, yhe, to se; forwhi his lyf is vnlijk to other men, and hise weies ben chaungid.

¹⁶We ben gessid of hym to be triffleris, and he absteyneth hym silf fro oure weies, as fro vnclenessis; and he bifore settith the laste thingis of iust men, and he hath glorie, that he hath God a fadir.

¹⁷Therfor se we, if hise wordis ben trewe; and asaie we, what thingis schulen come to hym; and we schulen wite, what schulen be the laste thingis of hym.

¹⁸For if he is the very sone of God, he schal vp take hym, and schal delyuere hym fro the hondis of hem that ben contrarie.

¹⁹Axe we hym bi dispisyng and turment, that we knowe his reuerence, and that we preue his pacience.

²⁰Bi fouleste deth condempne we hym; for whi biholdyng schal be of hise wordis.

²¹Thei thouyten these thingis, and thei erriden; for whi her malice blyndide hem.

²²And thei knewen not the sacramentis of God, nethir thei hopiden the meede of riytfulnesse, nether thei demyden the onour of hooli soulis.

²³For whi God made man vnable to be distried, and God made man to the ymage of his licnesse.

²⁴But bi enuye of the deuel deth entride in to the world;

²⁵for sothe thei suen hym, that ben of his part.

Wisdom 2

¹For the ungodly said, reasoning with themselves, but not aright, Our life is short and tedious, and in the death of a man there is no remedy: neither was there any man known to have returned from the grave.

²For we are born at all adventure: and we shall be hereafter as though we had never been: for the breath in our nostrils is as smoke, and a little spark in the moving of our heart:

³Which being extinguished, our body shall be turned into ashes, and our spirit shall vanish as the soft air,

⁴And our name shall be forgotten in time, and no man shall have our works in remembrance, and our life shall pass away as the trace of a cloud, and shall be dispersed as a mist, that is driven away with the beams of the sun, and overcome with the heat thereof.

⁵For our time is a very shadow that passeth away; and after our end there is no returning: for it is fast sealed, so that no man cometh again.

⁶Come on therefore, let us enjoy the good things that are present: and let us speedily use the creatures like as in youth.

⁷Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointments: and let no flower of the spring pass by us:

⁸Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds, before they be withered:

⁹Let none of us go without his part of our voluptuousness: let us leave tokens of our joyfulness in every place: for this is our portion, and our lot is this.

¹⁰Let us oppress the poor righteous man, let us not spare the widow, nor reverence the ancient gray hairs of the aged.

¹¹Let our strength be the law of justice: for that which is feeble is found to be nothing worth.

¹²Therefore let us lie in wait for the righteous; because he is not for our turn, and he is clean contrary to our doings: he upbraideth us with our offending the law, and objecteth to our infamy the transgressings of our education.

¹³He professeth to have the knowledge of God: and he calleth himself the child of the Lord.

¹⁴He was made to reprove our thoughts.

¹⁵He is grievous unto us even to behold: for his life is not like other men’s, his ways are of another fashion.

¹⁶We are esteemed of him as counterfeits: he abstaineth from our ways as from filthiness: he pronounceth the end of the just to be blessed, and maketh his boast that God is his father.

¹⁷Let us see if his words be true: and let us prove what shall happen in the end of him.

¹⁸For if the just man be the son of God, he will help him, and deliver him from the hand of his enemies.

¹⁹Let us examine him with despitefulness and torture, that we may know his meekness, and prove his patience.

²⁰Let us condemn him with a shameful death: for by his own saying he shall be respected.

²¹Such things they did imagine, and were deceived: for their own wickedness hath blinded them.

²²As for the mysteries of God, they knew them not: neither hoped they for the wages of righteousness, nor discerned a reward for blameless souls.

²³For God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity.

²⁴Nevertheless through envy of the devil came death into the world: and they that do hold of his side do find it.