<p class="poetry">Do not say, &#8220;Why were the old days better than these days?&#8221;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">for it is not wise to ask that.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">One who quarries stones may be injured by them;p> <p class="poetry">one who splits logs may be endangered by them.p>

<p class="poetry">Banish<n id="1" /> emotional stress<n id="2" /> from your mind.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">and put away pain<n id="4" /> from your body;<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">for youth<n id="6" /> and the prime of life<n id="7" /> are fleeting.<n id="8" />p>

<p class="poetry">Everyone shares the same fate<n id="1" /> &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">the righteous and the wicked,p> <p class="poetry">the good and the bad,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">the ceremonially clean and unclean,p> <p class="poetry">those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.p> <p class="poetry">What happens to the good person, also happens to the sinner;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">what happens to those who make vows, also happens to those who are afraid to make vows.p>

<p class="poetry">All this<n id="1" /> monotony<n id="2" /> is tiresome; no one can bear<n id="3" /> to describe it:<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">The eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear ever content<n id="5" /> with hearing.p>

<p class="poetry">Just as he came forth from his mother's womb, naked will he return as he came,p> <p class="poetry">and he will take nothing in his hand that he may carry away from his toil.p>

<p class="poetry">It is best to take hold of one warning<n id="1" /> without letting go of the other warning;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">for the one who fears God will follow<n id="3" /> both warnings.<n id="4" />p>

<t /><p class="poetry">I thought to myself,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;I have become much wiser<n id="2" /> than any of my predecessors who ruled<n id="3" /> over Jerusalem;<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">I<n id="5" /> have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.&#8221;<n id="6" />p>

<p class="poetry">For the wise man, like<n id="1" /> the fool, will not be remembered for very long,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">because<n id="3" /> in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten.<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">Alas,<n id="5" /> the wise man dies &#8211; just like<n id="6" /> the fool!p>

<p class="poetry">In times of prosperity<n id="1" /> be joyful,p> <p class="poetry">but in times of adversity<n id="2" /> consider this:p> <p class="poetry">God has made one as well as the other,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">so that no one can discover what the future holds.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">Sow your seed in the morning,p> <p class="poetry">and do not stop working<n id="1" /> until the evening;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">for you do not know which activity<n id="3" /> will succeed<n id="4" /> &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">whether this one or that one, or whether both will prosper equally.<n id="5" />p>

<p class="poetry">I thought deeply<n id="1" /> about the effects of<n id="2" /> indulging<n id="3" /> myself<n id="4" /> with winep> <p class="poetry">(all the while<n id="5" /> my mind was guiding me<n id="6" /> with wisdom)<n id="7" />p> <p class="poetry">and the effects of<n id="8" /> behaving foolishly,<n id="9" />p> <p class="poetry">so that<n id="10" /> I might discover what is profitable<n id="11" />p> <p class="poetry">for people<n id="12" /> to do on earth<n id="13" /> during the few days<n id="14" /> of their lives.p>