me,
And the years draw nigh,
When thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them:

Or ever the sun.
And the light,
And the moon,
And the stars,
Be darkened,
And the clouds return after the rain:
In the days when the keepers of the house shall tremble,
And the strong men shall bow themselves,
And the grinders cease because they are few,
And those that look out of the windows be darkened,
And the doors shall be shut in the street;

When the sound of the grinding is low,
And one shall rise up at the voice of a bird,
And all the daughters of music shall be brought low;

Yea, they shall be afraid of that which is high.
And terrors shall be in the way;

And the almond tree shall blossom,
And the grasshopper shall be a burden,
And the caperberry shall burst:

Because man goeth to his long home,
And the mourners go about the streets:

Or ever the silver cord be loosed,
Or the golden bowl be broken,
Or the pitcher be broken at the fountain,
Or the wheel broken at the cistern:

And the dust return to the earth,
As it was;
And the spirit return unto God
Who gave it.

SONNETS[5]

[Footnote 5: For the difference of form between the Hebrew and the
modern sonnet see Notes, page 255.]

i

The Sluggard

Go to the ant, thou Sluggard;
Consider her ways, and be wise:
Which having no chief,
Overseer,
Or ruler,
Provideth her meat in the summer,
And gathereth her food in the harvest.

How long wilt thou sleep, O Sluggard?
When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
"Yet a little sleep,
A little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep"--
So shall thy poverty come as a robber,
And thy want as an armed man!

ii

The Mourning for the Fool

Weep for the dead,
For light hath failed him;
And weep for a fool,
For understanding hath failed him:

Weep more sweetly for the dead,
Because he hath found rest;
But the life of the fool
Is worse than death.

Seven days are the days of mourning for the dead: But for a fool and an
ungodly man, all the days of his life.

iii

The Two Paths

Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings;
And the years of thy life shall be many.
I have taught thee in the way of wisdom;
I have led thee in paths of uprightness.
When thou goest, thy steps shall not be str