Do no evils, and no evils shall lay hold of thee.

Noli facere mala, et non te apprehendent:

Harm if thou do none, harm shall none befall thee;

Depart from the unjust, and evils shall depart from thee.

discede ab iniquo, et deficient mala abs te.

clear of wrong is clear of mishap.

My son, sow not evils in the furrows of injustice, and thou shalt not reap them sevenfold.

Fili, non semines mala in sulcis injustitiæ, et non metes ea in septuplum.

What avails it, my son, to sow in the furrow of mischief, and reap a sevenfold harvest?

Seek not of the Lord a pre-eminence, nor of the king the seat of honour.

Noli quærere a Domino ducatum, neque a rege cathedram honoris.

Never ask of God high station, or of the king preferment.

Justify not thyself before God, for he knoweth the heart: and desire not to appear wise before the king.

Non te justifices ante Deum, quoniam agnitor cordis ipse est: et penes regem noli velle videri sapiens.

Never try to prove thy innocence before God, who knows all, nor thy subtlety before the king.

Seek not to be made a judge, unless thou have strength enough to extirpate iniquities: lest thou fear the person of the powerful, and lay a stumblingblock for thy integrity.

Noli quærere fieri judex, nisi valeas virtute irrumpere iniquitates: ne forte extimescas faciem potentis, et ponas scandalum in æquitate tua.

Do not sit in judgement, unless thou art able to crush the wrong; if thou favour the rich, what else is thy award but a snare for thy own virtue?

Offend not against the multitude of a city, neither cast thyself in upon the people,

Non pecces in multitudinem civitatis, nec te immittas in populum:

Hurt never the public weal; no need to embroil thyself with thy own neighbours.

Nor bind sin to sin: for even in one thou shalt not be unpunished.

neque alliges duplicia peccata, nec enim in uno eris immunis.

Never tack sin to sin; for the first thou art in arrears.

Be not fainthearted in thy mind:

Noli esse pusillanimis in animo tuo:

Do not lose confidence

Neglect not to pray, and to give alms.

exorare et facere eleemosynam ne despicias.

in thy praying, or leave almsgiving undone.

Say not: God will have respect to the multitude of my gifts, and when I offer to the most high God, he will accept my offerings.

Ne dicas: In multitudine munerum meorum respiciet Deus, et offerente me Deo altissimo, munera mea suscipiet.

Do not flatter thyself that God will look favourably on thy many offerings, as if he, the most High, could not refuse thy gifts.

Laugh no man to scorn in the bitterness of his soul: for there is one that humbleth and exalteth, God who seeth all.

Non irrideas hominem in amaritudine animæ: est enim qui humiliat et exaltat circumspector Deus.

Taunt never the disconsolate; God, who sees all, casts men down and lifts them up.

Devise not a lie against thy brother: neither do the like against thy friend.

Noli amare mendacium adversus fratrem tuum, neque in amicum similiter facias.

Not against thy own brother trump up the charge; nor thy neighbour either.

Be not willing to make any manner of lie: for the custom thereof is not good.

Noli velle mentiri omne mendacium: assiduitas enim illius non est bona.

Every breath of falsehood avoid in thy speech; so ill grows the habit of it.

Be not full of words in a multitude of ancients, and repeat not the word in thy prayer.

Noli verbosus esse in multitudine presbyterorum, et non iteres verbum in oratione tua.

Idle talk becomes thee not, when thou sittest with the elders in council, nor, when thou prayest, repetition of thy prayer.

Hate not laborious works, nor husbandry ordained by the most High.

Non oderis laboriosa opera, et rusticationem creatam ab Altissimo.

At toil repine not; the farmer’s trade is of divine appointment.

Number not thyself among the multitude of the disorderly.

Non te reputes in multitudine indisciplinatorum.

When sinners abound, be not thou of their company;

Remember wrath, for it will not tarry long.

Memento iræ, quoniam non tardabit.

bethink thee rather, how swiftly comes vengeance,

Humble thy spirit very much: for the vengeance on the flesh of the ungodly is fire and worms.

Humilia valde spiritum tuum, quoniam vindicta carnis impii ignis et vermis.

and so curb thy unruly spirits; for sinful flesh, fire and worm.

Do not transgress against thy friend deferring money, nor despise thy dear brother for the sake of gold.

Noli prævaricari in amicum pecuniam differentem, neque fratrem carissimum auro spreveris.

Thou hast a friend who is over-long in thy debt; use no cruelty with him; dear to thee as a brother, and shall gold count more?

Depart not from a wise and good wife, whom thou hast gotten in the fear of the Lord: for the grace of her modesty is above gold.

Noli discedere a muliere sensata et bona, quam sortitus es in timore Domini: gratia enim verecundiæ illius super aurum.

Thou hast a good wife, a thrifty woman that has thrown in her lot, in the fear of the Lord, with thine; do not leave her; that modesty of hers is a grace gold cannot buy.

Hurt not the servant that worketh faithfully, nor the hired man that giveth thee his life.

Non lædas servum in veritate operantem, neque mercenarium dantem animam suam.

The slave that works for thee faithfully, the hireling that is pledged to thy service, injure not;

Let a wise servant be dear to thee as thy own soul, defraud him not of liberty, nor leave him needy.

Servus sensatus sit tibi dilectus quasi anima tua: non defraudes illum libertate, neque inopem derelinquas illum.

a thrifty slave thou shouldst love as thy own self, not baulking him of liberty or leaving him to starve.

Hast thou cattle? have an eye to them: and if they be for thy profit, keep them with thee.

Pecora tibi sunt, attende illis: et si sunt utilia, perseverent apud te.

Cattle thou hast; tend them well, nor part with them while they do thee good service.

Hast thou children? instruct them, and bow down their neck from their childhood.

Filii tibi sunt? erudi illos, et curva illos a pueritia illorum.

Thou hast sons; train them to bear the yoke from their youth up.

Hast thou daughters? have a care of their body, and shew not thy countenance gay towards them.

Filiæ tibi sunt? serva corpus illarum, et non ostendas hilarem faciem tuam ad illas.

Thou hast daughters; keep them chaste, and do not spoil them with thy smile;

Marry thy daughter well, and thou shalt do a great work, and give her to a wise man.

Trade filiam, et grande opus feceris: et homini sensato da illam.

a daughter wed is great good done, if a thrifty husband thou find her.

If thou hast a wife according to thy soul, cast her not off: and to her that is hateful, trust not thyself. With thy whole heart,

Mulier si est tibi secundum animam tuam, non projicias illam: et odibili non credas te. In toto corde tuo

And thy own wife, if thou lovest her, never do thou forsake, nor trust thy happiness to one who is little to thy mind. And oh, with thy whole heart

Honour thy father, and forget not the groanings of thy mother:

honora patrem tuum, et gemitus matris tuæ ne obliviscaris:

honour thy father, nor forget thy mother’s pangs;

Remember that thou hadst not been born but through them: and make a return to them as they have done for thee.

memento quoniam nisi per illos natus non fuisses: et retribue illis, quomodo et illi tibi.

bethink thee, that without them thou hadst had no being, and repay the service they have done thee.

With all thy soul fear the Lord, and reverence his priests.

In tota anima tua time Dominum, et sacerdotes illius sanctifica.

With all thy soul fear God, and reverence his priests.

With all thy strength love him that made thee: and forsake not his ministers.

In omni virtute tua dilige eum qui te fecit, et ministros ejus ne derelinquas.

He made thee; wilt thou not devote all thy powers to his love? Wilt thou leave his ministers unbefriended?

Honour God with all thy soul, and give honour to the priests, and purify thyself with thy arms.

Honora Deum ex tota anima tua, et honorifica sacerdotes, et propurga te cum brachiis.

Rather, with all thy soul fear God, and to his priests give their due; with gift of the consecrated shoulder clear thyself of what is owing.

Give them their portion, as it is commanded thee, of the firstfruits and of purifications: and for thy negligences purify thyself with a few.

Da illis partem, sicut mandatum est tibi, primitiarum et purgationis, et de negligentia tua purga te cum paucis.

The priests must have their share, by law prescribed, of first-fruits and of offering for transgression; even if thou hast committed a fault in ignorance, a little is claimed for thy cleansing.

Offer to the Lord the gift of thy shoulders, and the sacrifice of sanctification, and the firstfruits of the holy things:

Datum brachiorum tuorum, et sacrificium sanctificationis offeres Domino, et initia sanctorum.

The gift of the consecrated shoulder thou must make to the Lord, and the offering of all that is dedicated, and the holy first-fruits;

And stretch out thy hand to the poor, that thy expiation and thy blessing may be perfected.

Et pauperi porrige manum tuam, ut perficiatur propitiatio et benedictio tua.

moreover, thou must open thy hand to the poor; so thy atonement shall be perfect, and perfect thy blessing.

A gift hath grace in the sight of all the living, and restrain not grace from the dead.

Gratia dati in conspectu omnis viventis, et mortuo non prohibeas gratiam.

No living man but is thankful for the gift given; and it is ill done to withhold thy favours even from the dead.

Be not wanting in comforting them that weep, and walk with them that mourn.

Non desis plorantibus in consolatione, et cum lugentibus ambula.

Fail not to comfort the distressed, let the mourner have thee for his escort.

Be not slow to visit the sick: for by these things thou shalt be confirmed in love.

Non te pigeat visitare infirmum: ex his enim in dilectione firmaberis.

Never tire of visiting the sick; no surer way of winning thy neighbour’s love.

In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin.

In omnibus operibus tuis memorare novissima tua, et in æternum non peccabis.

Remember at all times what thou must come to at the last, and thou shalt never do amiss.