Happy is the husband of a good wife: for the number of his years is double.

Mulieris bonæ beatus vir: numerus enim annorum illius duplex.

Happy the man that has a faithful wife; his span of days is doubled.

A virtuous woman rejoiceth her husband, and shall fulfil the years of his life in peace.

Mulier fortis oblectat virum suum, et annos vitæ illius in pace implebit.

A wife industrious is the joy of her husband, and crowns all his years with peace.

A good wife is a good portion, she shall be given in the portion of them that fear God, to a man for his good deeds.

Pars bona mulier bona, in parte timentium Deum dabitur viro pro factis bonis:

He best thrives that best wives; where men fear God, this is the reward of their service,

Rich or poor, if his heart is good, his countenance shall be cheerful at all times.

divitis autem et pauperis cor bonum, in omni tempore vultus illorum hilaris.

good cheer given to rich and poor alike; day in, day out, never a mournful look.

Of three things my heart hath been afraid, and at the fourth my face hath trembled:

A tribus timuit cor meum, et in quarto facies mea metuit:

Three things daunt me somewhat, a fourth I dare not face.

The accusation of a city, and the gathering together of the people:

delaturam civitatis, et collectionem populi:

Gossip of the streets, the judgement of the rabble,

And a false calumny, all are more grievous than death.

calumniam mendacem super mortem omnia gravia:

and the false charge preferred, all these make death itself seem a light thing.

A jealous woman is the grief and mourning of the heart.

dolor cordis et luctus, mulier zelotypa.

But there is no affliction wrings the heart like a woman’s jealousy;

With a jealous woman is a scourge of the tongue which communicateth with all.

In muliere zelotypa flagellum linguæ, omnibus communicans.

once a woman grows jealous, her tongue is a scourge to all alike.

As a yoke of oxen that is moved to and fro, so also is a wicked woman: he that hath hold of her, is as he that taketh hold of a scorpion.

Sicut boum jugum quod movetur, ita et mulier nequam: qui tenet illam quasi qui apprehendit scorpionem.

Easier to guide an unsteady team of oxen than an ill woman; easier to hold a snake than to manage her.

A drunken woman is a great wrath: and her reproach and shame shall not be hid.

Mulier ebriosa ira magna, et contumelia: et turpitudo illius non tegetur.

Woman that is a sot, vexation shall bring thee, and great dishonour; there is no hiding her shame.

The fornication of a woman shall be known by the haughtiness of her eyes, and by her eyelids.

Fornicatio mulieris in extollentia oculorum, et in palpebris illius agnoscetur.

Haughty gaze and lowered eye-lid, there goes a wanton.

On a daughter that turneth not away herself, set a strict watch: lest finding an opportunity she abuse herself.

In filia non avertente se, firma custodiam, ne inventa occasione utatur se.

Headstrong daughter must be held with a tight rein, or she will find opportunity to bestow her favours;

Take heed of the impudence of her eyes, and wonder not if she slight thee.

Ab omni irreverentia oculorum ejus cave, et ne mireris si te neglexerit.

beware of that shameless eye, nor think it strange if she defies thee.

She will open her mouth as a thirsty traveller to the fountain, and will drink of every water near her, and will sit down by every hedge, and open her quiver against every arrow, until she fail.

Sicut viator sitiens ad fontem os aperiet, et ab omni aqua proxima bibet, et contra omnem palum sedebit, et contra omnem sagittam aperiet pharetram donec deficiat.

Reckless thou wilt find her as thirsty traveller that puts his mouth to the spring and drinks what water he can get; no stake but she will make fast by it, no arrow comes amiss to her archery, till of dalliance she has had enough.

The grace of a diligent woman shall delight her husband, and shall fat his bones.

Gratia mulieris sedulæ delectabit virum suum, et ossa illius impinguabit.

Great content an industrious wife brings to her husband; health to every bone of his body

Her discipline is the gift of God.

Disciplina illius datum Dei est.

is that good sense of hers. No better gift of God to man

Such is a wise and silent woman, and there is nothing so much worth as a well instructed soul.

Mulier sensata et tacita, non est immutatio eruditæ animæ.

than a prudent woman that can hold her tongue; a soul well disciplined is beyond all price.

A holy and shamefaced woman is grace upon grace.

Gratia super gratiam mulier sancta et pudorata.

Grace so gracious is none as woman’s faithfulness and woman’s modesty;

And no price is worthy of a continent soul.

Omnis autem ponderatio non est digna continentis animæ.

woman’s continence there is no valuing.

As the sun when it riseth to the world in the high places of God, so is the beauty of a good wife for the ornament of her house.

Sicut sol oriens mundo in altissimis Dei, sic mulieris bonæ species in ornamentum domus ejus.

Sun dawning in heaven cannot match the lustre a good wife sheds on her home,

As the lamp shining upon the holy candlestick, so is the beauty of the face in a ripe age,

Lucerna splendens super candelabrum sanctum, et species faciei super ætatem stabilem.

and that beauty lasts into ripe age, like the glow of lights on the holy lamp-stand.

As golden pillars upon bases of silver, so are the firm feet upon the soles of a steady woman.

Columnæ aureæ super bases argenteas, et pedes firmi super plantas stabilis mulieris.

Firm as golden pillar in silver socket rest the feet of steadfast woman on the ground she treads;

As everlasting foundations upon a solid rock, so the commandments of God in the heart of a holy woman.

Fundamenta æterna supra petram solidam, et mandata Dei in corde mulieris sanctæ.

and firm as foundations built for all time on solid rock is holy woman’s loyalty to God’s commandments.

At two things my heart is grieved, and the third bringeth anger upon me.

In duobus contristatum est cor meum, et in tertio iracundia mihi advenit:

Two sad sights my heart knows, and one more that fills it with indignation;

A man of war fainting through poverty: and a man of sense despised:

vir bellator deficiens per inopiam; et vir sensatus contemptus;

warrior left to starve, and wise counsellor unregarded,

And he that passeth over from justice to sin, God hath prepared such an one for the sword.

et qui transgreditur a justitia ad peccatum: Deus paravit eum ad rhomphæam.

and a man that leaves right living for ill-doing, ripe for God’s vengeance.

Two sorts of callings have appeared to me hard and dangerous: a merchant is hardly free from negligence: and a huckster shall not be justified from the sins of the lips.

Duæ species difficiles et periculosæ mihi apparuerunt: difficile exuitur negotians a negligentia, et non justificabitur caupo a peccatis labiorum.

Two dangers I see that are hard to overcome. How shall a merchant be cured of careless dealing, or a huckster for his lying talk find pardon?