Mulieris bonæ beatus vir: numerus enim annorum illius duplex.

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

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

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

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,

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

delaturam civitatis, et collectionem populi:

Gossip of the streets, the judgement of the rabble,

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

calumniam mendacem super mortem omnia gravia:

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

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

dolor cordis et luctus, mulier zelotypa.

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

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

In muliere zelotypa flagellum linguæ, omnibus communicans.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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;

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

Disciplina illius datum Dei est.

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

Her discipline is the gift of God.

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.

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

Gratia super gratiam mulier sancta et pudorata.

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

A holy and shamefaced woman is grace upon grace.

Omnis autem ponderatio non est digna continentis animæ.

woman’s continence there is no valuing.

And no price is worthy of a continent soul.

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 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.

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

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

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

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;

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

vir bellator deficiens per inopiam; et vir sensatus contemptus;

warrior left to starve, and wise counsellor unregarded,

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

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.

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

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?

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.