He that toucheth pitch, shall be defiled with it: and he that hath fellowship with the proud, shall put on pride.

Qui tetigerit picem inquinabitur ab ea: et qui communicaverit superbo induet superbiam.

Who handles pitch, with pitch is defiled; who throws in his lot with insolence, of insolence shall have his fill.

He shall take a burden upon him that hath fellowship with one more honourable than himself. And have no fellowship with one that is richer than thyself.

Pondus super se tollat qui honestiori se communicat, et ditiori te ne socius fueris.

A heavy burden thou art shouldering, if thou wouldst consort with thy betters; not for thee the company of the rich.

What agreement shall the earthen pot have with the kettle? for if they knock one against the other, it shall be broken.

Quid communicabit cacabus ad ollam? quando enim se colliserint, confringetur.

Pot and kettle are ill matched; it is the pot breaks when they come together;

The rich man hath done wrong, and yet he will fume: but the poor is wronged and must hold his peace.

Dives injuste egit, et fremet: pauper autem læsus tacebit.

rich man, that has seized all he can, frets and fumes for more; poor man robbed may not so much as speak.

If thou give, he will make use of thee: and if thou have nothing, he will forsake thee.

Si largitus fueris, assumet te: et si non habueris, derelinquet te.

If thou hast favours to bestow, thy rich friend will make use of thee; if none, he bids thee farewell;

If thou have any thing, he will live with thee, and will make thee bare, and he will not be sorry for thee.

Si habes, convivet tecum, et evacuabit te: et ipse non dolebit super te.

thy guest, he will eat up all thou canst give, and have no pity to waste on thee.

If he have need of thee he will deceive thee, and smiling upon thee will put thee in hope; he will speak thee fair, and will say: What wantest thou?

Si necessarius illi fueris, supplantabit te, et subridens spem dabit, narrans tibi bona, et dicet: Quid opus est tibi?

Has he need of thee? Then, to be sure, he will ply his arts, all smiles and fair speeches, and eagerness to know what thy need is;

And he will shame thee by his meats, till he have drawn thee dry twice or thrice, and at last he will laugh at thee: and afterward when he seeth thee, he will forsake thee, and shake his head at thee.

Et confundet te in cibis suis, donec te exinaniat bis et ter: et in novissimo deridebit te, et postea videns derelinquet te, et caput suum movebit ad te.

he encumbers thee, now, with hospitality. So, twice and three times, he will drain thee dry; then he will turn on thee with a laugh, and if he meets thee again, it will be to pass thee by with a toss of the head.

Humble thyself to God, and wait for his hands.

Humiliare Deo, et exspecta manus ejus.

Learn to abase thyself before God, and wait for his hand to beckon thee,

Beware that thou be not deceived into folly, and be humbled.

Attende ne seductus in stultitiam humilieris.

instead of courting false hopes, that bring their own abasement.

Be not lowly in thy wisdom, lest being humbled thou be deceived into folly.

Noli esse humilis in sapientia tua, ne humiliatus in stultitiam seducaris.

For all thy wisdom, do not hold thyself too cheap, or thou wilt lower thyself to folly.

If thou be invited by one that is mightier, withdraw thyself: for so he will invite thee the more.

Advocatus a potentiore, discede: ex hoc enim magis te advocabit.

If a great man bids thee come close, keep thy distance; he will but bid thee the more;

Be not troublesome to him, lest thou be put back: and keep not far from him, lest thou be forgotten.

Ne improbus sis, ne impingaris: et ne longe sis ab eo, ne eas in oblivionem.

do not court a rebuff by wearying him, nor yet withdraw altogether, and be forgotten.

Affect not to speak with him as an equal: and believe not his many words: for by much talk he will sift thee, and smiling will examine thee concerning thy secrets.

Ne retineas ex æquo loqui cum illo, nec credas multis verbis illius: ex multa enim loquela tentabit te, et subridens interrogabit te de absconditis tuis.

Affable though he should be, treat him never familiarly; all his friendly talk is but a lure to drag thy secrets out of thee.

His cruel mind will lay up thy words: and he will not spare to do thee hurt, and to cast thee into prison.

Immitis animus illius conservabit verba tua: et non parcet de malitia, et de vinculis.

All that thou sayest his pitiless heart will hold against thee; never a blow, never a chain the less.

Take heed to thyself, and attend diligently to what thou hearest: for thou walkest in danger of thy ruin.

Cave tibi, et attende diligenter auditui tuo, quoniam cum subversione tua ambulas:

Have a care of thyself, give good heed to this warning, thou that walkest with ruin ever at thy side;

When thou hearest those things, see as it were in sleep, and thou shalt awake.

audiens vero illa, quasi in somnis vide, et vigilabis.

wake from sleep at the hearing of it, and see thy peril.

Love God all thy life, and call upon him for thy salvation.

Omni vita tua dilige Deum, et invoca illum in salute tua.

Love God all thy days, and pray that he will send thee good deliverance.

Every beast loveth its like: so also every man him that is nearest to himself.

Omne animal diligit simile sibi, sic et omnis homo proximum sibi.

Every beast consorts with its own kind, and shall not man with his fellow?

All flesh shall consort with the like to itself, and every man shall associate himself to his like.

Omnis caro ad similem sibi conjungetur, et omnis homo simili sui sociabitur.

Like to like is nature’s rule, and for man like to like is still the best partnership;

If the wolf shall at any time have fellowship with the lamb, so the sinner with the just.

Si communicabit lupus agno aliquando, sic peccator justo.

as well match wolf with lamb as rogue with honest liver.

What fellowship hath a holy man with a dog, or what part hath the rich with the poor?

Quæ communicatio sancto homini ad canem? aut quæ pars diviti ad pauperem?

Consecrated person and prowling dog, what have they in common? And what fellowship can there be between rich man and poor?

The wild ass is the lion’s prey in the desert: so also the poor are devoured by the rich.

Venatio leonis onager in eremo: sic et pascua divitum sunt pauperes.

Poor man is to rich as wild ass is to lion out in the desert, his prey;

And as humility is an abomination to the proud: so also the rich man abhorreth the poor.

Et sicut abominatio est superbo humilitas, sic et execratio divitis pauper.

wealth hates poverty, as the proud heart scorns humble rank.

When a rich man is shaken, he is kept up by his friends: but when a poor man is fallen down, he is thrust away even by his acquaintance.

Dives commotus confirmatur ab amicis suis: humilis autem cum ceciderit, expelletur et a notis.

Totters the lordly house, it has friends to sustain it; the poor man in his ruin is driven from familiar doors.

When a rich man hath been deceived, he hath many helpers: he hath spoken proud things, and they have justified him.

Diviti decepto multi recuperatores: locutus est superbia, et justificaverunt illum.

Trips the rich man, he has many to keep him in countenance; his insolent talk finds acquittal;

The poor man was deceived, and he is rebuked also: he hath spoken wisely, and could have no place.

Humilis deceptus est, insuper et arguitur: locutus est sensate, et non est datus ei locus.

trips the poor man, he is called to account for it; even for what he said to the purpose, no allowance is made him.

The rich man spoke, and all held their peace, and what he said they extol even to the clouds.

Dives locutus est, et omnes tacuerunt, et verbum illius usque ad nubes perducent.

Speaks the rich man, all must listen in silence, and afterwards extol his utterance to the skies;

The poor man spoke, and they say: Who is this? and if he stumble, they will overthrow him.

Pauper locutus est, et dicunt: Quis est hic? et si offenderit, subvertent illum.

speaks the poor man, Why, say all, who is this? And if his words offend, it is the undoing of him.

Riches are good to him that hath no sin in his conscience: and poverty is very wicked in the mouth of the ungodly.

Bona est substantia cui non est peccatum in conscientia: et nequissima paupertas in ore impii.

Yet, where there is no sin to smite a man’s conscience, a full purse is a blessing, and poverty itself is a great evil when it goes with a blasphemer’s tongue.

The heart of a man changeth his countenance, either for good, or for evil.

Cor hominis immutat faciem illius, sive in bona, sive in mala.

Heart of man changes his mien, for good or ill,

The token of a good heart, and a good countenance thou shalt hardly find, and with labour.

Vestigium cordis boni et faciem bonam difficile invenies, et cum labore.

but where that pleasant mien is, that comes of a generous heart, no short or easy way there is to discover.