Job 3
Job expresseth his sense of the miseries of man's life, by cursing the day of his birth.
Post hæc aperuit Job os suum, et maledixit diei suo,
After this, Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day,
et locutus est:
And he said:
Pereat dies in qua natus sum, et nox in qua dictum est: Conceptus est homo.
Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said: A man child is conceived.
Dies ille vertatur in tenebras: non requirat eum Deus desuper, et non illustretur lumine.
Let that day be turned into darkness, let not God regard it from above, and let not the light shine upon it.
Obscurent eum tenebræ et umbra mortis; occupet eum caligo, et involvatur amaritudine.
Let darkness, and the shadow of death, cover it, let a mist overspread it, and let it be wrapped up in bitterness.
Noctem illam tenebrosus turbo possideat; non computetur in diebus anni, nec numeretur in mensibus.
Let a darksome whirlwind seize upon that night, let it not be counted in the days of the year, nor numbered in the months.
Sit nox illa solitaria, nec laude digna.
Let that night be solitary, and not worthy of praise.
Maledicant ei qui maledicunt diei, qui parati sunt suscitare Leviathan.
Let them curse it who curse the day, who are ready to raise up a leviathan:
Obtenebrentur stellæ caligine ejus; expectet lucem, et non videat, nec ortum surgentis auroræ.
Let the stars be darkened with the mist thereof: let it expect light, and not see it, nor the rising of the dawning of the day:
Quia non conclusit ostia ventris qui portavit me, nec abstulit mala ab oculis meis.
Because it shut not up the doors of the womb that bore me, nor took away evils from my eyes.
Quare non in vulva mortuus sum? egressus ex utero non statim perii?
Why did I not die in the womb? why did I not perish when I came out of the belly?
Quare exceptus genibus? cur lactatus uberibus?
Why received upon the knees? why suckled at the breasts?
Nunc enim dormiens silerem, et somno meo requiescerem
For now I should have been asleep and still, and should have rest in my sleep:
cum regibus et consulibus terræ, qui ædificant sibi solitudines;
With kings and consuls of the earth, who build themselves solitudes:
aut cum principibus qui possident aurum, et replent domos suas argento;
Or with princes, that possess gold, and fill their houses with silver:
aut sicut abortivum absconditum non subsisterem, vel qui concepti non viderunt lucem.
Or as a hidden untimely birth, I should not be; or as they that, being conceived, have not seen the light.
Ibi impii cessaverunt a tumultu, et ibi requieverunt fessi robore.
There the wicked cease from tumult, and there the wearied in strength are at rest.
Et quondam vincti pariter sine molestia, non audierunt vocem exactoris.
And they sometime bound together without disquiet, have not heard the voice of the oppressor.
Parvus et magnus ibi sunt, et servus liber a domino suo.
The small and great are there, and the servant is free from his master.
Quare misero data est lux, et vita his qui in amaritudine animæ sunt:
Why is light given to him that is in misery, and life to them that are in bitterness of soul?
qui expectant mortem, et non venit, quasi effodientes thesaurum;
That look for death, and it cometh not, as they that dig for a treasure:
gaudentque vehementer cum invenerint sepulchrum?
And they rejoice exceedingly when they have found the grave?
viro cujus abscondita est via et circumdedit eum Deus tenebris?
To a man whose way is hidden, and God hath surrounded him with darkness?
Antequam comedam, suspiro; et tamquam inundantes aquæ, sic rugitus meus:
Before I eat I sigh: and as overflowing waters, so is my roaring:
quia timor quem timebam evenit mihi, et quod verebar accidit.
For the fear which I feared, hath come upon me: and that which I was afraid of, hath befallen me.
Nonne dissimulavi? nonne silui? nonne quievi? et venit super me indignatio.
Have I not dissembled? have I not kept silence? have I not been quiet? and indignation is come upon me.