Short and sorrowful is our life,

and there is no remedy when a man comes to his end,

and no one has been known to return from Hades.

Because we were born by mere chance,

and hereafter we shall be as though we had never been;

because the breath in our nostrils is smoke,

and reason is a spark

kindled by the beating of our hearts.

When it is extinguished, the body will turn to ash,

and the spirit will dissolve like empty air.

Our name will be forgotten in time,

and no one will remember our works. (2:1-4)