finde or stablishe any firme peace with all their deuises But when one enemy was slayne there arose diuers other And when they were wythout warres abroad they had ciuile commotions till the commō weale was destroyed Euen so fareth it with all men Let euery man marke the course of hys owne lyfe and if all thinges succéede according to his mynde all his lyfe long let him reprooue this booke of lying Wherefore it shall be best to commit all things vnto God and to follow those which say let it goe as it goeth because it will goe as it goeth Which thing also the Dutch prouerbe teacheth vs Thou art yet a great deale too Greene to make of an olde Knaue an honest man. Hereof wee sée Princes which would best refourme and amende all things many tymes doe much hurt In this worlde nothyng can be so well ordered the all thinges can be well done no imperfection remayne Therefore it is best to walke in faith which letteth God reigne alone prayeth that Gods kingdome may come Enē as Christ did not commit himselfe to men but bare with all mens defaultes and iniquities When it was sayde that Iohn Baptist was killed an horrible offence he sayd nothyng but went into the wildernes and fedde the people he makes no accompt of it preached the worde onely and did his duety Therfore this a Christian wisdome for a man to commit him selfe to the kingdome of God and all his matters to him that iudgeth iustly A Christian man may iudge of offences by the worde of God but he may not set his hand to the punishing of them vnlesse God vrge him thereto or that he be appointed by his worde Therefore where thou art but one man and art not able to correcte and amēde all that is amisse leaue it to him that is of more power then thou which alone is able to bryng all thinges to passe I communed with mine owne hart saying loe I am come to great estate and haue gotten more wisedome then all they that haue been before me in Hierusalem yea my hart had great experience of wysdome knowledge for therunto I applyed my mynde that I might know what were wisdome and vnderstanding what errour and foolishnes and I perceaued that this also was but a vexation of mynde for where much wisdome is there is also great trauell and disquietnes and the more knowledge a mā hath the more is his care THese wordes are euen the same almost which he sayde before I sayth hee haue mused oftētimes how it commeth to passe that my deuises and enterprises could come no better forwarde considering I am a man of such authoritie and excell all other in wisdome c. For besides that diuine wysdome wherewyth God had endued hym he also wonderfully excelled in worldly wysdome and pollicie in so much that the order that was among his seruauntes séemed wonderfull to the Quéene of Arabia Wisdome and knowledge BY knowledge he meaneth not speculation but a kinde of practise and experience discretion in doing of things which we call sight perfect vnderstanding in matters as is spokē of in the Psal. Wisedome is that knowledge wherby I perceaue how a common weale is to bee set vp and gouerned which afterward is to be moderated and ordered by knowledge and experience accordyng to circumstances fallyng out and according to reason and moderation as tyme and matter shall beare it Errour and foolishnes VErely euē to put them out from me and my kyngdome and to enhaunce and set vpon those other But what happened I founde that this also was but a vexation of the mynde and fruteles care without end Therefore the wisest way is for a man to frame him selfe to take all thing in good part why For where much wisdome is there is also great trauell He that seeth much and knoweth how thynges will go It can not be but he must be wrath and thinke Ah howe vngodly and how shamefully doth it passe ouer whēce commeth this stomakyng and indignatiō but of much wisedome For hee that hath knowledge in many thinges hath many causes to anger him as seyng euery day many vnworthy thynges committed He whose eyes are shut knoweth nothing therfore nothing offendeth him Wherfore learne to be still to commit the kingdome vnto God and to pray Lord let thy will bee done Otherwise thou wearyest thy hart and thy body doest but lose thy tyme and thy life The second Chapter Then sayd I thus in my hart go to I will take myne ease haue good dayes But loe that is vanitie also BEcause in the Chapiter before he shewed that care thought and mens forecastes specially such as we prouide for our selues by are vaine of no force teachyng vs to be content with the word of God and his working so that we should presume to do nothing but that the word of God prescribeth vs or his working enforceth vs to doe which yet many tymes is contrary to his word as when hee oppresseth vs with some euill euen when we haue done accordyng to his worde wherein we haue néede of faith and patience that in these cases we yeld not to our owne deuises séeke to escape thereby but cōmit our selues vnto him to suffer his hand in his owne worke now he turneth him to an other deuise I sayd in my hart I will take myne ease AS though he should say Seyng carefulnes and myne owne deuises profite not I will refraine from them and and turne me to the right hand and take to me a quiete and easie life and delight in pleasures I will let all go as they come and take my pleasure But this was also a vayne deuise and prospered no more then that first deuise of mans wisedome and carefulnes For euē herein also dyd God withstād me For quyetnes commeth not but of Gods word and working And this doth experiēce it selfe teach vs Many tymes banquetes and feastes are appointed to prouoke mirth Fine iunkets enterludes games are deuised to cheare the ghestes but most times the contrary falleth out And seldome doth any good collatiō or pittaunce come of it For either there are present some sad seuere countenaūces or els some other thing disturbeth all the feast and specially when men deliberate to make such mirth and pastime long before Many tymes it commeth to passe that some casualtie falleth out euen in the meriest banquet by Gods appointement And so commeth it to passe also in other matters Some man séeketh his pleasure in loue but by and by he féeleth the bitternes therof which thing S. Augustine also complayneth of in his bookes of confessions how he was miserably scourged in the middle of his loues Euen so when we take our pleasures by and by the sauce therof is bitter Therfore there is no better thing then to abide in Gods word and working so to frame our hart that it may
vexe thēselues with care of things absent Or if they haue any vse of their goods it is but bitter vnpleasaunt Cicero that great eloquent man had beene maruelous happy if he had knowen well how to haue vsed this quietnes but the miserable man desirous still of higher aduauncement to set forward his owne wayes deuises depriued himselfe of many great bēnefites and was the cause of his owne calamitie and destruction Well therfore doth S. Augustine say Thou hast appointed O lord that that man which is not contented with his owne estate and cōdition shal haue a vexed troubled minde for his punishment And if a man would compare the goodes that he hath with the euils that he hath not he should at length perceaue what a treasure of goodes he possessed He that hath his eye sight cleare and good maketh no great accompt therof nor is not much delighted with Gods benefits but if he wanted eyes he would giue all the goodes he had to haue them Thus fare we in health all other lyke thynges If God would giue me the eloquēce that Cicero had the power of Cesar the wisedome of Salomon yet should I not be contented Bycause we alwayes seeke after that we haue not If we lack a wife we seeke for one When we haue her we lothe and despise her We be all together lyke vnto quickesiluer which in no place can stand still in rest So inconstant is the mynde of mā being therfore vnworthy to enioy any one of Gods benefites Agaynst this wretched affections of mā doth Salomon in this booke inuey reprouyng the inconstancie vanitie of mās hart which enioyeth neither his goodes present nor yet them to come bycause he doth not acknowledge the benefites he hath receaued nor geeueth thankes to God for them and vaynely seeketh after the thyngs he hath not which is as one should hang betwene heauen and earth The first Chapter ¶ The Preacher or oration of the son of Dauid King of Hierusalem THe tytle of Ecclesiastes or Preacher I thinke is rather to bée referred to the name of the booke then to the authour therof because we must vnderstand that these wordes were openly pronounced by Salomon in some assembly of his Lordes and others For where he was a kyng it was not his dutie or office to preach but the Priestes Leuites Wherfore I iudge these things were spoken by Salomon in some company and hearing of his counsellers and Courtyers eyther at some banquet or after the banquet when diuers of his nobles and men of honour were present hauing long tyme before mused and studyed of the state and condition of these wordly affayres or rather vayne affections and so as it fell out when they were all present spake and vttered the same And that afterward some of the rulers of the Cōminaltie or clergie noted them and gathered them togither In so much that in the end of the booke they confesse they receaued these things of one Shepherd or Pastor and digested them in this order As if some one of vs sitting at a table should discourse of mans affaires other being present writing what were sayd So that this booke is a publike Oration which they heard Salomō make of the which Oration they thought good to call this booke Coheleth that is to say the Preacher Not that Salomon was any Preacher but for that the booke maketh as it were a publicke Sermon ¶ All is but most vaine vanitie sayth the Preacher HEtherto after a sort we haue vnderstand the summe end of this booke Now the greatest difficultie hereafter will be in the Hebrew wordes and figures wherwith Salomōs bookes of all others doe chiefly abounde For Salomon hath a singular kynde of speakyng séeking to sence more elegant then his father Dauid as hauing his communication more beutified with flowers and figures then hys He speaketh not lyke the common sorte but like a Courtyer Dauids talke is more playne and yet wanteth not all maner of vsuall figures But Salomon vseth none but a Courtly kinde of talke And as Courteours vse to corrupt the natiue speach of their predecessours specially in writing so Salomon because he would not seeme to speake as the cōmon sorte vse differeth far from his fathers plainnes of speach and from Moses who of all others is most plaine and yet hath many notable figures in him as hath also Dauid but they are common and vsed figures Most vayne vanitie THis an Hebrew phrase For where the Hebrues haue no superlatiue nor comparatiue degrée they are constrained by way of compounding to make their superlatiue and comparatiue degrées So they vse to call a most excellent and singular song the song of songes as Salomon hath done A vanitie of vanities that is the greatest vanitie that can bée that is nothing els but vanitie All this he speaketh not against the creatures thēselues but against the hart of man that abuseth the creatures to his owne hinderaunce And this repetition vanitie of vanities and all thinges are vayne is Salomons peculiar copiousnes In this beginning he placeth the Theeme as it were an argument of hys whole booke wherof he meaneth to intreat saying that he wyll speake of the greatest vanitie that is how mē are most vaine in all their deuises because they be not satisfied with thinges present which they vse not nor can not enioy thynges absent They turne euen the best things into misery and vanitie through their owne default and not through fault of the thinges What hath a man of all the labour he taketh vnder the Sunne BVt vanitie That is to say men are led and drowned with their owne deuises and in all their enterprises what get they naught els but vanitie because their labour is vayne It auayleth nothing For they neyther enioy things present nor absent because their mynde is not quiet so they are caryed betwéene heauen and earth and preuaile nothing For this word vanitie properly signifieth that that we cal nothing They heape vp treasures riches and séeke to be of power c. And all these are nothing Golde in deede is a thyng but to thée that canst not vse it it is nothyng That he saith of all his labour must be vnderstoode as spoken with a kinde of vehemēcie For hereby he declareth that he will not intreate of Gods workes which are holy and wholesome as are all his creatures but of mans workes which are led and borne about with their owne wayes and deuises meaning hereby to represse their calamitie and toylefull trauels Neyther speaketh he of the labour of our handes commaunded by God Gen. 3. In toyle and labour shalt thou eate thy bread but of our owne wayes and deuises whereby we goe about to bring to passe that séemeth good in our eyes For the word Amal signifieth misery and calamitie rather then labouring euen such a kinde a labour as men afflicte
dayly runne into the Sea. The Sea againe by certaine secrete conduites and vaines in the mountaines soketh droppeth as it were into springes Riuers and the earth is a very strainer through the which the water is clarified Thus we sée that Salomon in fewe wordes comprehendeth the meruelous disposition and motion of the fower elementes within themselues naming the earth the Sunne the wâ—â—de flouds I suppose Salomon meaneth by the allegory of these naturall alterations to bring vs to the matter that he treateth of and frameth this similitude vnto vs As if he shoulde say Euen as all these thinges abide in their chaungeable courses so doe all our affayres likewise The sunne is neuer wearied notwithstaÌ„ding his continuall course the waters runne into the Sea and yet are not spent and consumed c. EueÌ„ so fareth it wyth meÌ„ They still doe as their elders haue done which gaue themselues vnto vanitie EueÌ„ as they nothing preuailed no more doe we No man amendeth by an others example or taketh euer the more héede by an others dainger Iulius was most vainely occupyed Cicero sought to bee eloquent But what was the end of their trauell most vaine because they atteyned not to that they desired If he had vsed his eloquence not after his owne deuise but as tyme and place had serued him doubtles he shoulde haue béene a most happy man These mens examples doe we follow c. Therefore all mens deuises rise fall goe forward come backeward and continue as they alway haue done So there is in these wordes not onely a description of the kingdome of vanitie but also a similitude and comparison of mans deuises All thinges are hard to be knowen neither is any man able to expresse them THis text the Sophisters haue corrupted while they thinke the study of Philosophie is here repreheÌ„ded whereby meÌ„ search out the nature causes of things as though this were an euill thyng not able to be declared But it is not euill to search out the nature and properties of thynges Moreouer the causes of all things are most manifest so farre of is it that they be hard and difficult This therfore he meaneth that he wil speake of the vanitie of maÌ„ but that the same is so much and so great that he thinketh he can not sufficiently expresse the same It can not be vttered he sayth how great the vanitie of man is which thyng Persius the Poete declareth saying O what great vanitie is in the world And an other writer sayth No man lyueth content with his estate And euery man ought to lyue within his boundes and coÌ„passe vanitie stretcheth farther than can be rekoned in all mens affaires Therfore it is but litle that I can say of vanitie if a man consider the greatnes therof It is to grosse and to much For so great is this worldes vanity that I can not with any wordes expresse it The thyng is greater then either men can conceaue or I am able to vtter It is an hard matter to declare the varietie of mens deuises and desires what it is that Iulius coueteth what AlexaÌ„der what Salomon what Cato what Scipio what Pompey The affections of men are alwayes more then the toung of man can expresse And now he prooueth that he sayd by an example The eye is not satisfied with seyng nor the eare with hearyng THat is to say mans eyes and senses haue neuer any rest If I should goe about to declare but onely the pleasures we conceaue by seeyng and hearyng I should take an endles labour in hand If the eye be not satisfied with seyng how shall I be able to vtter all the vanitie of man To be short naught and vnsearcheable is the hart of maÌ„ Such is the diuersitie of mans affections and desires that that the eyes haue neuer seene ynough Now they desire to sée one thyng now an other wheÌ„ they haue their wish yet is not their mynde contented The hart is a gulfe alwayes gaping it coueteth all things and though it haue all it desireth yet stil séeketh it for more CoÌ„sider Alexander Magnus who being Lord almost of the whole world yet wheÌ„ he heard there were innumerable worldes sighed saying and I haue not yet vanquished one world Thus in his hart hee coueted infinite worldes What man is so eloquent that he can expresse this most vayne affectioÌ„ of the hart This vanitie and gréedynes of mans hart can not be expressed That whiche hee hath doth not like hym and wisheth for that which hee hath not The eye is not satisfied with seeing vnderstand this generally not as they haue expounded it It is not satisfied with beholdyng of heauen What thing is that that hath been euen the same that is to come What is that that hath been done euen the same that shall be done And there is no new thyng vnder the sonne Is there any thyng wherof it may be sayd Loe this is new for the lyke hath been in the times that haue been before vs There is no remembraunce of thinges past no more shall there be any remembraunce of thynges to come hereafter HEre do the Sophisters trifle agayne vnderstandyng these wordes of the Creatures their selues where Salomon playnely signifieth he speaketh of mens affections and desires saying The eye is not satisfied c. Bycause hearyng and seyng are such senses as soonest perceaue things are most delighted with them And thus he meaneth What is that that hath been THat is to say after thou hast prepared that thou desirest yet is not thy mynde quyeted the same affection abydeth still after thy desire that thou haddest before The mynde is neuer contented Alexander when he had ouercome the world had no more then he had before For his mynde was neuer the more satisfied Iulius thought to establish a common weale so thought Brutus too but neither of them brought it to effect This is it that hee sayth What is that that hath been Verely euen the same that hath been downe afore that is to say the same affection still remaineth which will neuer bee satisfied That that hee desireth or studyeth to haue or bryng to passe is euen the same hee hath all ready To bee short What a man hath to day of the same will he couet more to morow For here is signified the restles and insatiable appetite and vanitie of mans hart that caÌ„ not be satisfied with things present whatsoeuer they bee That I haue done this day is nothing although I haue had my purpose I am not content I will still prooue other wayes Thus doe all meÌ„ so did Iulius so Pompey so Alexander And euen as they did doe all other They desier things to come and lothe thinges present RemeÌ„ber therfore that SalomoÌ„ speaketh here of mans doings and not of Gods either already done or to be done For he speaketh alway of the thynges which are done vnder the sunne in this kingdome of the
it suffise thée to kéepe lawes so farforth as all thinges be not trod vnder foote For this is the greatest wisedome not to know what lawe and equitie is but to know that wisedome is not followed nor obeyed in this worlde This lyfe will not abyde to haue all thynges done right The summe therefore of this place is not to put any trust in our strength but to rule by wisedome which oftentymes kéepeth all things vpright in a kyngdome where force and violence marreth all Why so Because there is no mā on the earth that doth good and sinneth not MArke this alway the Salomon speaketh of things vnder the sunne and of such thinges as may be donne Neyther informeth he here mens consciences chieflie but teacheth quietnes of mynde in difficulte matters of this world Therfore he addeth expressely on the earth vnderstanding worldly iustice and such offēces as we make one against the other as if he should say Why goest thou about to haue all thinges donne straightly according to lawe It shall neuer be that all thinges shall be aright If thou wilt lyue in the common weale thou muste winke at many thinges thou must not knowe many thinges to the ende thou mayst obserue some iustice Looke vpon thy selfe and thou shalt sée how many tymes thy selfe doost vniustly so not without a cause offendest many Therfore séeme not too iust because thou sinnest and offendest in many ihinges So Christ in the seuenth of Mathew sayth Thou seest a mote in thy neighbours eye and considerest not the beame in thine owne although there he speaketh of heauenly iustice If we would looke on our selues at home thē surely we should fynde these defectes that iustly offende others This thing surely ought to admonish vs not to be so seuere Iudges towarde others nor to iust exactours of others Iustice For hereof it commeth that such rigorous exactours are manye tymes most vitious men They haue no affection of mercy and compassion they are greuous and intollerable both toward them selues and others Salomon therefore meaneth that we should not be angrie though we sée things donne that offende vs For we our selues alwayes doe not that we ought At many thinges we must winke and beare with them For as it is the propertie of the righteousnes of fayth and spirituall Iustice to beare with the weake and gently to enfourme them so it belōgeth to ciuile iustice wherof he speaketh in this place to beare with others defaultes so that there ought to be a mutuall bearing and suffring one with an other Cicero in his booke of frendship will haue nothing dissembled in frendeship And Erasmus in his Moria will haue all the faultes of our frendes corrected There be also speculations of most passionate men Fooles will gouerne the worlde with bookes not perceauing how no man is able to perfourme that is prescribed So the Stoikes fayned most foolishly a wyse man without sence being themselues greuous to all men It remayneth therefore that we winke and beare one with an other For there is no man but offendeth and doth that that greueth an other Take not heede vnto euery worde that is spoken least thou heare thy seuaūt curse thee For thine owne hart knoweth that thou thy selfe also hast often tymes spoken euill by other men EVen as I sayd to thée touching the experience of thine owne sight so say I also touching the hearing of other men In déede thy familye must be gouerned and the wicked must be punished If thou canst amend or redresse no farther let it alone The wicked shall not goe vnpunished For this is a true prouerbe or saying thou doest not clerely runne from the hangman for God is the hangeman him selfe Least thou perhappes here thy Seruaunt cursse thee THere are some so curiouse in them selues that they will hunte out all mens sayings and signes in so much that they will harken at the windowes and péepe in at the creuesses of the walles to heare what euery body speaketh of them To whom it iustly falleth out to heare that of their owne familye that gréeueth them Therefore if thou wilte geue eare to euery bodyes taulke looke to heare euen thine owne householde to speake euill of thée Yea perhappes when thou thinkest not of it For as thou shalt trye and proue many thinges so shalt thou heare many thinges that thou wouldest not so that thou shalt not néede curiously to harken what euery body sayth Neyther be thou therfore by and by angry take weapon in hand but make light of them cosidering that thy selfe also hast offended others in many thinges If Iupiter shoulde throw foorth his thunderboltes as often as men deserue them he would in short space be left weapōles as Horace sayth Therefore these two thinges are necessary in the gouernaunce of the world The lawe maker and the Qualifier of the lawe The lawe maker to order and gouerne the comon weale by wholsome lawes The Qualifier of the lawe to applye them rightly and to vse them prudently according to tyme place and persons c. And a Moderator of the lawe is more necessary in the comon weale then a lawe maker as we may sée by the example of our owne howses A wyse housholder appointeth euery seruaunt his dutie his tyme and place to doe it in moreouer he appoynteth meate drynke and clothing for men seruaunts and mayde seruauntes But it chaunceth that his seruaunt falleth sicke Here the lawe must be broken and tyme must be serued He will not require his taske of the sicke body He prepareth for him better meate drynke and more handsome lodging then for the rest c. And he is discharged of his taske For els his maister shoulde be a foolyshe man and an vngodly So here the appointment of the lawe is dashed because the person is chaunged Therfore if we many tymes depare frō the lawe and offende in our sayinges doinges let vs beare with the same in others All these thinges haue I proued by wysedome for I thought I would be wise but it wēt the farther from me It is farre of What may it be And it is a profounde deepenes Who can finde it HE alleadgeth his owne experience declaring what heretofore hath happened vnto him while he wente aboute to search these things I instruct thée saith he by myne owne example I teach y to leaue of this precise wisdome that wisdome a wise man be not all one I was cōpelled to learne these things by experience when I would go about to be wise and bring all the worlde to be ruled by my straight lawes But nothing succeded lesse Therefore these two as I sayde are necessary for the lyfe of man a lawemaker and a moderator of lawe this one aswel as that other Euen as it is not inough for a wagener to haue good horses and to knowe what waye to goe vnlesse he gouerne well his wagen in the way as he goeth