My son, hast thou sinned? do so no more: but for thy former sins also pray that they may be forgiven thee.

Sinned if thou hast, my son, be not emboldened to sin further; to prayer be-take thee, and efface the memory of sins past.

Fili, peccasti, non adjicias iterum: sed et de pristinis deprecare, ut tibi dimittantur.

Flee from sins as from the face of a serpent: for if thou comest near them, they will take hold of thee.

Sin dread thou not less than the serpent’s encounter; its fangs will not miss thee, if once thou come close.

Quasi a facie colubri fuge peccata: et si accesseris ad illa, suscipient te.

The teeth thereof are the teeth of a lion, killing the souls of men.

Teeth so sharp no lion ever had, to catch human prey,

Dentes leonis dentes ejus, interficientes animas hominum.

All iniquity is like a two-edged sword, there is no remedy for the wound thereof.

nor ever two-edged sword gave wound so incurable as the law’s defiance.

Quasi rhomphæa bis acuta omnis iniquitas: plagæ illius non est sanitas.

Injuries and wrongs will waste riches: and the house that is very rich shall be brought to nothing by pride: so the substance of the proud shall be rooted out.

Browbeat and oppress the poor, thy own wealth shall dwindle; riches that are grown too great the proud cannot long enjoy; pride shrivels wealth.

Objurgatio et injuriæ annullabunt substantiam, et domus quæ nimis locuples est annullabitur superbia: sic substantia superbi eradicabitur.

The prayer out of the mouth of the poor shall reach the ears of God, and judgment shall come for him speedily.

Swiftly comes their doom, because the poor man’s plea reached their ears, but never their hearts.

Deprecatio pauperis ex ore usque ad aures ejus perveniet, et judicium festinato adveniet illi.

He that hateth to be reproved walketh in the trace of a sinner: and he that feareth God will turn to his own heart.

Where reproof is unregarded, there goes the sinner; no God-fearing man but will come to a better mind.

Qui odit correptionem vestigium est peccatoris, et qui timet Deum convertetur ad cor suum.

He that is mighty by a bold tongue is known afar off, but a wise man knoweth to slip by him.

To the glib speaker, fame comes from far and wide; only the wise man knows the slips of his own heart.

Notus a longe potens lingua audaci, et sensatus scit labi se ab ipso.

He that buildeth his house at other men’s charges, is as he that gathereth himself stones to build in the winter.

Wouldst thou build thy fortunes on earnings that are none of thine? As well mightest thou lay in stones for winter fuel.

Qui ædificat domum suam impendiis alienis, quasi qui colligat lapides suos in hieme.

The congregation of sinners is like tow heaped together, and the end of them is a flame of fire.

When knaves come together, it is like heaping up tow; the flame burns all the brighter.

Stupa collecta synagoga peccantium, et consummatio illorum flamma ignis.

The way of sinners is made plain with stones, and in their end is hell, and darkness, and pains.

How smoothly paved is the path of sinners! Yet death lies at the end of it, and darkness, and doom.

Via peccatorum complanata lapidibus: et in fine illorum inferi, et tenebræ, et pœnæ.

He that keepeth justice shall get the understanding thereof.

If thou wouldst be master of thy own thought, first keep the law;

Qui custodit justitiam, continebit sensum ejus.

The perfection of the fear of God is wisdom and understanding.

no wisdom or discernment but is the fruit of God’s fear.

Consummatio timoris Dei, sapientia et sensus.

He that is not wise in good, will not be taught.

Without shrewdness thou wilt never advance in the school of virtue;

Non erudietur qui non est sapiens in bono.

But there is a wisdom that aboundeth in evil: and there is no understanding where there is bitterness.

yet shrewdness there is that breeds abundance of mischief; where the stream runs foul, there can be no rightness of mind.

Est autem sapientia quæ abundat in malo, et non est sensus ubi est amaritudo.

The knowledge of a wise man shall abound like a flood, and his counsel continueth like a fountain of life.

Where true wisdom is, there discernment flows in full tide, there prudence springs up, an inexhaustible fountain of life.

Scientia sapientis tamquam inundatio abundabit, et consilium illius sicut fons vitæ permanet.

The heart of a fool is like a broken vessel, and no wisdom at all shall it hold.

Heart of fool is leaking bucket, that loses all the wisdom it learns.

Cor fatui quasi vas confractum, et omnem sapientiam non tenebit.

A man of sense will praise every wise word he shall hear, and will apply it to himself: the luxurious man hath heard it, and it shall displease him, and he will cast it behind his back.

Truths that wisdom will prize and cherish, the profligate hears no less, but hearing despises, and casts them to the winds.

Verbum sapiens quodcumque audierit scius, laudabit, et ad se adjiciet: audivit luxuriosus, et displicebit illi, et projiciet illud post dorsum suum.

The talking of a fool is like a burden in the way: but in the lips of the wise, grace shall be found.

Listening to a fool is like journeying with a heavy pack; there is no pleasing the ear, where sense is none.

Narratio fatui quasi sarcina in via: nam in labiis sensati invenietur gratia.

The mouth of the prudent is sought after in the church, and they will think upon his words in their hearts.

How they hang on the lips of a wise man, the folk assembled, ay, and ponder in their hearts over the word said!

Os prudentis quæritur in ecclesia, et verba illius cogitabunt in cordibus suis.

As a house that is destroyed, so is wisdom to a fool: and the knowledge of the unwise is as words without sense.

A fool takes refuge in wise talk as a man takes shelter in a ruin; learning without sense, that cannot abide scrutiny.

Tamquam domus exterminata, sic fatuo sapientia: et scientia insensati inenarrabilia verba.

Doctrine to a fool is as fetters on the feet, and like manacles on the right hand.

To the fool, instruction seems but a fetter to clog him, gyves that cramp his wrist.

Compedes in pedibus, stulto doctrina: et quasi vincula manuum super manum dextram.

A fool lifteth up his voice in laughter: but a wise man will scarce laugh low to himself.

A fool laughs loud; smiling, the wise compress their lips.

Fatuus in risu exaltat vocem suam: vir autem sapiens vix tacite ridebit.

Learning to the prudent is as an ornament of gold, and like a bracelet upon his right arm.

Precious as an ornament of gold, close-fitting as a bracelet to the right arm, is instruction to a wise man.

Ornamentum aureum prudenti doctrina, et quasi brachiale in brachio dextro.

The foot of a fool is soon in his neighbour’s house: but a man of experience will be abashed at the person of the mighty.

Folly sets foot over every threshold, where the experienced mind stands, as in a royal presence, abashed;

Pes fatui facilis in domum proximi: et homo peritus confundetur a persona potentis.

A fool will peep through the window into the house: but he that is well taught will stand without.

folly peeps in at windows, where experience waits patiently without;

Stultus a fenestra respiciet in domum: vir autem eruditus foris stabit.

It is the folly of a man to hearken at the door: and a wise man will be grieved with the disgrace.

listens thoughtlessly behind open doors, where prudence hangs back for very shame.

Stultitia hominis auscultare per ostium: et prudens gravabitur contumelia.

The lips of the unwise will be telling foolish things: but the words of the wise shall be weighed in a balance.

Fools break out into rash utterance, where the prudent are at pains to weigh their words;

Labia imprudentium stulta narrabunt; verba autem prudentium statera ponderabuntur.

The heart of fools is in their mouth: and the mouth of wise men is in their heart.

with the one, to think is to speak, with the other, to speak is to think.

In ore fatuorum cor illorum, et in corde sapientium os illorum.

While the ungodly curseth the devil, he curseth his own soul.

Let the sinner curse the foul fiend that spites him, on his own head the curse shall recoil.

Dum maledicit impius diabolum, maledicit ipse animam suam.

The talebearer shall defile his own soul, and shall be hated by all: and he that shall abide with him shall be hateful: the silent and wise man shall be honoured.

The tale-bearer is his own enemy, shunned by all; court his friendship, and thou wilt court hatred; shut lips and calm judgement shall bring thee a good name.

Susurro coinquinabit animam suam, et in omnibus odietur, et qui cum eo manserit odiosus erit: tacitus et sensatus honorabitur.