Not for thee to emulate wrong-doers, and aspire to be of their company;

Ne æmuleris viros malos, nec desideres esse cum eis:

Seek not to be like evil men, neither desire to be with them:

what minds are theirs, who think only of men’s undoing, what talk, whose every word is treachery!

quia rapinas meditatur mens eorum, et fraudes labia eorum loquuntur.

Because their mind studieth robberies, and their lips speak deceits.

No foundation for a house like wisdom, no buttress like discernment;

Sapientia ædificabitur domus, et prudentia roborabitur.

By wisdom the house shall be built, and by prudence it shall be strengthened.

no furnishing may be found for the rooms of it so rare and so pleasant, as true knowledge.

In doctrina replebuntur cellaria, universa substantia pretiosa et pulcherrima.

By instruction the storerooms shall be filled with all precious and most beautiful wealth.

Only the wise are strong; well taught is firm of sinew.

Vir sapiens fortis est, et vir doctus robustus et validus:

A wise man is strong: and a knowing man, stout and valiant.

War must be planned first, before thou wage it, and he will prosper best who most takes counsel;

quia cum dispositione initur bellum, et erit salus ubi multa consilia sunt.

Because war is managed by due ordering: and there shall be safety where there are many counsels.

wisdom hangs high beyond the fool’s reach; tongue-tied he stands when there are consultations at the gate.

Excelsa stulto sapientia; in porta non aperiet os suum.

Wisdom is too high for a fool, in the gate he shall not open his mouth.

Consecrate close thought to evil ends, and thou wilt earn no better name than mischief-maker.

Qui cogitat mala facere stultus vocabitur:

He that deviseth to do evils, shall be called a fool.

Craft of his own the fool has, but all used amiss; the insidious rogue no man can stomach.

cogitatio stulti peccatum est, et abominatio hominum detractor.

The thought of a fool is sin: and the detracter is the abomination of men.

What, hang thy hands down in time of peril? Little shalt thou avail.

Si desperaveris lassus in die angustiæ, imminuetur fortitudo tua.

If thou lose hope being weary in the day of distress, thy strength shall be diminished.

Thine to rescue the doomed, to cheat the gallows of its prey;

Erue eos qui ducuntur ad mortem, et qui trahuntur ad interitum, liberare ne cesses.

Deliver them that are led to death: and those that are drawn to death forbear not to deliver.

not plead thy lack of strength, when he, the Searcher of all hearts, the Saviour of thy life, knows all, sees all, and requites the actions of men.

Si dixeris: Vires non suppetunt; qui inspector est cordis ipse intelligit: et servatorem animæ tuæ nihil fallit, reddetque homini juxta opera sua.

If thou say: I have not strength enough: he that seeth into the heart, he understandeth, and nothing deceiveth the keeper of thy soul, and he shall render to a man according to his works.

Sweet to thy palate, my son, is honey from the comb; why then, eat;

Comede, fili mi, mel, quia bonum est, et favum dulcissimum gutturi tuo.

Eat honey, my son, because it is good, and the honeycomb most sweet to thy throat:

but wise teaching is no less thy soul’s food, tomorrow’s resource, and a resource unfailing.

Sic et doctrina sapientiæ animæ tuæ: quam cum inveneris, habebis in novissimis spem, et spes tua non peribit.

So also is the doctrine of wisdom to thy soul: which when thou hast found, thou shalt have hope in the end, and thy hope shall not perish.

Lie not in wait, treacherously, to despoil the homes where honest men take their ease;

Ne insidieris, et quæras impietatem in domo justi, neque vastes requiem ejus.

Lie not in wait, nor seek after wickedness in the house of the just, nor spoil his rest.

seven times the just may stumble, and rise to their feet again, it is the wicked fall headlong into ruin.

Septies enim cadet justus, et resurget: impii autem corruent in malum.

For a just man shall fall seven times and shall rise again: but the wicked shall fall down into evil.

Not thine to triumph over a fallen foe; that thrill of rejoicing in thy heart over his calamity

Cum ceciderit inimicus tuus ne gaudeas, et in ruina ejus ne exsultet cor tuum:

When thy enemy shall fall, be not glad, and in his ruin let not thy heart rejoice:

the Lord will see, and little love; his vengeance may yet change its course.

ne forte videat Dominus, et displiceat ei, et auferat ab eo iram suam.

Lest the Lord see, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

Do not be impatient when the wicked thrive, do not envy the lot of evil-doers;

Ne contendas cum pessimis, nec æmuleris impios:

Contend not with the wicked, nor seek to be like the ungodly:

villainy has no hope in store, its light flickers and is gone.

quoniam non habent futurorum spem mali, et lucerna impiorum extinguetur.

For evil men have no hope of things to come, and the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.

Fear God, my son, and fear the king; have nothing to do with malcontents.

Time Dominum, fili mi, et regem, et cum detractoribus non commiscearis:

My son, fear the Lord and the king: and have nothing to do with detractors.

How sudden their ruin, how swift falls, from either hand, the blow!

quoniam repente consurget perditio eorum, et ruinam utriusque quis novit?

For their destruction shall rise suddenly: and who knoweth the ruin of both?

More maxims of the wise. It is ill done, to let partiality sway thy judgement;

Hæc quoque sapientibus. Cognoscere personam in judicio non est bonum.

These things also to the wise: It is not good to have respect to persons in judgment.

if thou acquit the guilty, what race will have a good word for thee, what people will love thee?

Qui dicunt impio: Justus es: maledicent eis populi, et detestabuntur eos tribus.

They that say to the wicked man: Thou art just: shall be cursed by the people, and the tribes shall abhor them.

Condemn him, and thou shalt have renown, blessings shall fall on thy head.

Qui arguunt eum laudabuntur, et super ipsos veniet benedictio.

They that rebuke him, shall be praised: and a blessing shall come upon them.

The right word spoken seals all like a kiss on the lips.

Labia deosculabitur qui recta verba respondet.

He shall kiss the lips, who answereth right words.

Be thy first care what lies without; till thy lands first with all diligence; then build up thy home.

Præpara foris opus tuum, et diligenter exerce agrum tuum, ut postea ædifices domum tuam.

Prepare thy work without, and diligently till thy ground: that afterward thou mayst build thy house.

Do not come forward as a witness against thy neighbour; wouldst thou spread lying tales?

Ne sis testis frustra contra proximum tuum, nec lactes quemquam labiis tuis.

Be not witness without cause against thy neighbour: and deceive not any man with thy lips.

Nor be content to say, I am but serving him as he served me; I pay off old scores.

Ne dicas: Quomodo fecit mihi, sic faciam ei; reddam unicuique secundum opus suum.

Say not: I will do to him as he hath done to me: I will render to every one according to his work.

Passing by field or vineyard where idleness reigned and improvidence, what sights I have seen!

Per agrum hominis pigri transivi, et per vineam viri stulti:

I passed by the field of the slothful man, and by the vineyard of the foolish man:

Nettles were everywhere, briers had covered the ground, the stone wall was ruinous.

et ecce totum repleverant urticæ, et operuerant superficiem ejus spinæ, et maceria lapidum destructa erat.

And behold it was all filled with nettles, and thorns had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall was broken down.

That sight I took to heart, found a warning in that ill example.

Quod cum vidissem, posui in corde meo, et exemplo didici disciplinam.

Which when I had seen, I laid it up in my heart, and by the example I received instruction.

Sleep on (thought I) a little longer, yawn a little longer, a little longer pillow head on hand;

Parum, inquam, dormies, modicum dormitabis; pauxillum manus conseres ut quiescas:

Thou wilt sleep a little, said I, thou wilt slumber a little, thou wilt fold thy hands a little to rest:

ay, but poverty will not wait, the day of distress will not wait; like an armed vagabond it will fall upon thee!

et veniet tibi quasi cursor egestas, et mendicitas quasi vir armatus.

And poverty shall come to thee as a runner, and beggary as an armed man.