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.

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

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

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

Dentes leonis dentes ejus, interficientes animas hominum.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

Qui custodit justitiam, continebit sensum ejus.

He that keepeth justice shall get the understanding thereof.

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

Consummatio timoris Dei, sapientia et sensus.

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

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

Non erudietur qui non est sapiens in bono.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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 peeps in at windows, where experience waits patiently without;

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

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

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

Stultitia hominis auscultare per ostium: et prudens gravabitur contumelia.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.