A   For all these th&ibar;ges purposed, I in my mynde to seke out. The ryghteous and wyse, yee and theyr seruauntes also, are in þe; h&abar;de of God: and &club; &rhand; there is no man þt; knoweth ether loue or hate, but all thynges are before th&ebar;. It happeneth vnto one as vnto another: it goeth with þe; ryghteous as with þt; the vngodly: ^note with the good and cleane as wyth the vncleane: wyth hym that offereth as with him that offereth not: lyke as it goeth wyth þe; vertuous, so goeth it also with the synner: As it happeneth vnto the periured, so happeneth it also vnto him that is afrayed to be forsworne. Amonge all thynges that come to passe vnder the Sunne, thys is a misery þt; it happeneth vnto all a lyke. This is the cause also that the hertes of m&ebar; are full of wyckednesse, ∧ madd foolishnesse is in their hertes as longe as they lyue, vntyll they dye.

B   And why? As l&obar;ge as a m&abar; lyueth, he hath a hope: for a quyck dogg (saye they) is better th&ebar; a deed li&obar;: for they þt; be lyu&ibar;g, knowe þt; they shall dye: but they þt; be deed: knowe nothing, nether deserue they eny more. For their memorial is forgott&ebar;, so that they be nether loued, hated ner enuyed: nether haue they enymore parte in the world, &ibar; all that is done vnder þe; Sunne. Go thou thy waye then, eate thy bred wyth ioye, and dryncke thy wyne with a glad hart, for thy workes please God. Let thy garmentes be allwaye whyte, ∧ ^note let thy head lack none oyntm&ebar;t. ^noteUse thy self to liue ioyfully with thy wife whom thou louest, all the dayes of thy lyfe which is but vayne, þt; God geueth the vnder the Sunne, all the dayes of thy vanite: for that is thy porcion in this lyfe, of al thy laboure and trauyle that thou takest vnder the Sunne. C   Whatsoeuer thou takest in hande to do, that do with all thy power, for in the graue that þu; goest vnto, there is nether worcke, councell, knowledge ner wysdome.

So I turned me vnto other thinges vnder the Sunne, ∧ I sawe, that in runnyng, it helpeth not to be swyft: in batayle, it helpeth not to be str&obar;ge: to fedynge, it helpeth not to be wyse, so riches, it helpeth not to be suttell: to be had &ibar; fauoure, it helpeth not to be c&obar;nyng: but that all lyeth in tyme ∧ fortune. For ^note a man knoweth not hys tyme, but lyke as the fyshe are tak&ebar; with the angle, and as the byrdes are catched with the snare: Euen so are men tak&ebar; in the perlous tyme, when it c&obar;meth sodenly vpon them.

D   Thys wysdome haue I sene also vnder the Sunne, ∧ me thought it a greate th&ibar;g. There was a lytle citie, ∧ a fewe m&ebar; with&ibar; it: so there came a greate kyng and beseged it, and made greate bulwarkes agaynst it.

And in þe; citie there was fo&ubar;de a poore m&abar;, (but he was wyse) which with hys wysdome delyuered the citye: yet was there no body, that had eny respect vnto soch a simple man. Then sayde I: wysdome is better th&ebar; str&ebar;gth. Neuertheles, a symple mans wysdome is despised, ∧ hys wordes are not herde. A wyse mans co&ubar;cell that is folowed in sylence, is farre aboue the cryenge of a captayne am&obar;ge fooles. ^noteFor wysdome is better th&ebar; harnesse: but one vnthryst alone destroyeth moch good.

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