Ecclesiasticus — Ecclesiasticus Jesu, filii Sirach
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Chapter 29
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Knox Bible><Douay-Rheims><Vulgate
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Heart full of kindness and hand full of comfort will keep the commandment, Lend to thy neighbour.
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He that sheweth mercy, lendeth to his neighbour: and he that is stronger in hand, keepeth the commandments.
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Qui facit misericordiam fœneratur proximo suo: et qui prævalet manu mandata servat.
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Neighbour must borrow easily when he needs, must repay readily when his need is over.
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Lend to thy neighbour in the time of his need, and pay thou thy neighbour again in due time.
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Fœnerare proximo tuo in tempore necessitatis illius: et iterum redde proximo in tempore suo.
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Keep thy bond, deal faithfully, and thou shalt never lack.
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Keep thy word, and deal faithfully with him: and thou shalt always find that which is necessary for thee.
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Confirma verbum, et fideliter age cum illo: et in omni tempore invenies quod tibi necessarium est.
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Out upon the man that treats loan as treasure trove, and is a burden to his benefactor!
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Many have looked upon a thing lent as a thing found, and have given trouble to them that helped them.
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Multi quasi inventionem æstimaverunt fœnus, et præstiterunt molestiam his qui se adjuverunt.
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What, kiss the hand that gives, and make humble promises of repayment;
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Till they receive, they kiss the hands of the lender, and in promises they humble their voice:
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Donec accipiant, osculantur manus dantis, et in promissionibus humiliant vocem suam:
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then, when the debt falls due, ask for grace, and complain peevishly of hard times?
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But when they should repay, they will ask time, and will return tedious and murmuring words, and will complain of the time:
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et in tempore redditionis postulabit tempus, et loquetur verba tædii et murmurationum, et tempus causabitur.
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Pay grudgingly when pay thou canst, offer but half the sum, and count it a windfall for the lender?
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And if he be able to pay, he will stand off, he will scarce pay one half, and will count it as if he had found it:
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Si autem potuerit reddere, adversabitur: solidi vix reddet dimidium, et computabit illud quasi inventionem:
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Or, if thou canst not, disown the debt and make an enemy of him,
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But if not, he will defraud him of his money, and he shall get him for an enemy without cause.
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sin autem, fraudabit illum pecunia sua, et possidebit illum inimicum gratis:
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rewarding thy benefactor not with due honour, but with angry curse and reproach?
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And he will pay him with reproaches and curses, and instead of honour and good turn will repay him injuries.
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et convitia et maledicta reddet illi, et pro honore et beneficio reddet illi contumeliam.
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What wonder if many refuse to lend, not churlishly but for fear of wilful wrong?
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Many have refused to lend, not out of wickedness, but they were afraid to be defrauded without cause.
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Multi non causa nequitiæ non fœnerati sunt, sed fraudari gratis timuerunt.
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Yet I would have thee patient with needy folk; do not keep them waiting for thy charity;
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But yet towards the poor be thou more hearty, and delay not to shew him mercy.
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Verumtamen super humilem animo fortior esto, et pro eleemosyna non trahas illum.
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befriend them, as the law commands, nor ever send them away in their misery empty-handed.
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Help the poor because of the commandment: and send him not away empty handed because of his poverty.
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Propter mandatum assume pauperem, et propter inopiam ejus ne dimittas eum vacuum.
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It is thy brother, thy friend that asks; better lose thy money than leave it to rust in a vault.
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Lose thy money for thy brother and thy friend: and hide it not under a stone to be lost.
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Perde pecuniam propter fratrem et amicum tuum, et non abscondas illam sub lapide in perditionem.
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Lay up store for thyself by obeying the commandments of the most High; more than gold it shall profit thee;
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Place thy treasure in the commandments of the most High, and it shall bring thee more profit than gold.
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Pone thesaurum tuum in præceptis Altissimi, et proderit tibi magis quam aurum.
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the good deed treasured in poor men’s hearts shall ransom thee from all harm,
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Shut up alms in the heart of the poor, and it shall obtain help for thee against all evil.
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Conclude eleemosynam in corde pauperis, et hæc pro te exorabit ab omni malo.
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shall more avail than stout shield or lance
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Better than the shield of the mighty, and better than the spear:
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17 18 Super scutum potentis et super lanceam adversus inimicum tuum pugnabit.
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to ward off thy enemies.
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It shall fight for thee against thy enemy.
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A good man is surety for his neighbour: and he that hath lost shame, will leave him to himself.
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Vir bonus fidem facit pro proximo suo: et qui perdiderit confusionem derelinquet sibi.
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Kindness bids thee go bail for thy neighbour; he has lost all shame if he plays thee false.
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Forget not the kindness of thy surety: for he hath given his life for thee.
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Gratiam fidejussoris ne obliviscaris: dedit enim pro te animam suam.
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And if another goes bail for thee, do not forget the benefit done thee; he gave his life for thine.
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The sinner and the unclean fleeth from his surety.
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Repromissorem fugit peccator et immundus.
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It is right foully done to play a surety false;
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A sinner attributeth to himself the goods of his surety: and he that is of an unthankful mind will leave him that delivered him.
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Bona repromissoris sibi ascribit peccator: et ingratus sensu derelinquet liberantem se.
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wouldst thou treat his goods as if they were thy own? Wouldst thou, ungrateful wretch, leave thy ransomer to suffer for it?
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A man is surety for his neighbour: and when he hath lost all shame, he shall forsake him.
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Vir repromittit de proximo suo: et cum perdiderit reverentiam, derelinquetur ab eo.
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Men have gone bail ere now for shameless friends that so abandoned them.
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Evil suretyship hath undone many of good estate, and hath tossed them as a wave of the sea.
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Repromissio nequissima multos perdidit dirigentes, et commovit illos quasi fluctus maris.
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By going bail for scoundrels, men of good fortune have fallen upon ruin and shipwreck;
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It hath made powerful men to go from place to place round about, and they have wandered in strange countries.
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Viros potentes gyrans migrare fecit, et vagati sunt in gentibus alienis.
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men that held their heads high must now wander far and wide, exiles in strange countries.
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A sinner that transgresseth the commandment of the Lord, shall fall into an evil suretyship: and he that undertaketh many things, shall fall into judgment.
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Peccator transgrediens mandatum Domini incidet in promissionem nequam: et qui conatur multa agere incidet in judicium.
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Leave godless sinners to become sureties to their ruin; men that take rash ventures to fall into the law’s clutches.
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Recover thy neighbour according to thy power, and take heed to thyself that thou fall not.
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Recupera proximum secundum virtutem tuam, et attende tibi ne incidas.
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For thyself, relieve thy neighbour as thy means allow, but never to thy own entanglement.
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The chief thing for man’s life is water and bread, and clothing, and a house to cover shame.
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Initium vitæ hominis, aqua et panis, et vestimentum, et domus protegens turpitudinem.
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What are man’s first needs? Water, and bread, and clothing, and the privacy of a home.
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Better is the poor man’s fare under a roof of boards, than sumptuous cheer abroad in another man’s house.
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Melior est victus pauperis sub tegmine asserum quam epulæ splendidæ in peregre sine domicilio.
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Better the poor man’s fare under his roof of bare boards, than to be guest at a splendid banquet, and home have none.
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Be contented with little instead of much, and thou shalt not hear the reproach of going abroad.
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Minimum pro magno placeat tibi, et improperium peregrinationis non audies.
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Make much of the little thou hast; never be it thine to bear the reproach of a wanderer.
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It is a miserable life to go as a guest from house to house: for where a man is a stranger, he shall not deal confidently, nor open his mouth.
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Vita nequam hospitandi de domo in domum: et ubi hospitabitur non fiducialiter aget, nec aperiet os.
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A wretched life it is, passing on from house to house to find a welcome; that welcome found, thou wilt lack all confidence, and sit there mumchance.
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He shall entertain and feed, and give drink to the unthankful, and moreover he shall hear bitter words.
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Hospitabitur, et pascet, et potabit ingratos, et ad hæc amara audiet:
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Then, when thou hast helped to entertain, with food and drink, the guests that owe thee no thanks, thou wilt have a poor reward for it:
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Go, stranger, and furnish the table, and give others to eat what thou hast in thy hand.
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transi, hospes, et orna mensam, et quæ in manu habes ciba ceteros.
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Up, wanderer! Lay me a fresh table, and what lies before thee hand to others;
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Give place to the honourable presence of my friends: for I want my house, my brother being to be lodged with me.
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Exi a facie honoris amicorum meorum: necessitudine domus meæ hospitio mihi factus est frater.
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I have honoured guests coming, and thou must make way for them; a kinsman of mine stands in need of my hospitality!
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These things are grievous to a man of understanding: the upbraiding of houseroom, and the reproaching of the lender.
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Gravia hæc homini habenti sensum: correptio domus, et improperium fœneratoris.
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Bitter words for an honest man to hear; shall he owe his bread to one that reviles him as homeless?