Boast not for to morrow, for thou knowest not what the day to come may bring forth.

Ne glorieris in crastinum, ignorans quid superventura pariat dies.

Do not flatter thyself with hopes of to-morrow; what lies in the womb of the future thou canst not tell.

Let another praise thee, and not thy own mouth: a stranger, and not thy own lips.

Laudet te alienus, et non os tuum; extraneus, et non labia tua.

Seek praise, but not of thy own bestowing; another’s lips, not thine, must sound it.

A stone is heavy, and sand weighty: but the anger of a fool is heavier than them both.

Grave est saxum, et onerosa arena, sed ira stulti utroque gravior.

What is more crushing than stone, more burdensome than sand? A fool’s ill humour.

Anger hath no mercy, nor fury when it breaketh forth: and who can bear the violence of one provoked?

Ira non habet misericordiam nec erumpens furor, et impetum concitati ferre quis poterit?

Fierce, fierce is rage, and indignation mounts like a flood, but the pangs of jealousy, these there is no resisting.

Open rebuke is better than hidden love.

Melior est manifesta correptio quam amor absconditus.

Better open reproof than the love that gives no sign.

Better are the wounds of a friend, than the deceitful kisses of an enemy.

Meliora sunt vulnera diligentis quam fraudulenta oscula odientis.

Better the love that scourges, than hate’s false kiss.

A soul that is full shall tread upon the honeycomb: and a soul that is hungry shall take even bitter for sweet.

Anima saturata calcabit favum, et anima esuriens etiam amarum pro dulci sumet.

Full-fed spurns the honeycomb; to Hunger’s lips, bitter is sweet.

As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that leaveth his place.

Sicut avis transmigrans de nido suo, sic vir qui derelinquit locum suum.

When bird leaves nest, let a man leave his home.

Ointment and perfumes rejoice the heart: and the good counsels of a friend are sweet to the soul.

Unguento et variis odoribus delectatur cor, et bonis amici consiliis anima dulcoratur.

Sweeter than ointment, sweeter than any perfume, when man’s heart talks to heart of friend.

Thy own friend, and thy father’s friend forsake not: and go not into thy brother’s house in the day of thy affliction. Better is a neighbour that is near, than a brother afar off.

Amicum tuum et amicum patris tui ne dimiseris, et domum fratris tui ne ingrediaris in die afflictionis tuæ. Melior est vicinus juxta quam frater procul.

Friend of thine, and friend that was thy father’s, never forsake; so, in thy sore need, no kinsman’s door thou shalt need to enter.Neighbour over the way is better than kinsman at a distance.

Study wisdom, my son, and make my heart joyful, that thou mayst give an answer to him that reproacheth.

Stude sapientiæ, fili mi, et lætifica cor meum, ut possis exprobranti respondere sermonem.

My son, wouldst thou be thy father’s pride? Court wisdom, and silence thy detractors.

The prudent man seeing evil hideth himself: little ones passing on have suffered losses.

Astutus videns malum, absconditus est: parvuli transeuntes sustinuerunt dispendia.

When ill times come, prudence is on its guard, and takes refuge; the unwary march on, and pay the penalty.

Take away his garment that hath been surety for a stranger: and take from him a pledge for strangers.

Tolle vestimentum ejus qui spopondit pro extraneo, et pro alienis aufer ei pignus.

Does a man go bail for a stranger? Without more ado, take his garment from him; who trusts without knowledge, forfeits the pledge.

He that blesseth his neighbour with a loud voice, rising in the night, shall be like to him that curseth.

Qui benedicit proximo suo voce grandi, de nocte consurgens maledicenti similis erit.

So early abroad, so loudly wishing thy neighbour well? This is curse, not blessing.

Roofs dropping through in a cold day, and a contentious woman are alike.

Tecta perstillantia in die frigoris et litigiosa mulier comparantur.

Between a scold and a roof that drips in winter there is nothing to choose.

He that retaineth her, is as he that would hold the wind, and shall call in the oil of his right hand.

Qui retinet eam quasi qui ventum teneat, et oleum dexteræ suæ vocabit.

As well store up the wind in thy house, though thou call her the marrow of thy right hand.

Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

Ferrum ferro exacuitur, et homo exacuit faciem amici sui.

Iron whets iron, friend shapes friend.

He that keepeth the fig tree, shall eat the fruit thereof: and he that is the keeper of his master, shall be glorified.

Qui servat ficum comedet fructus ejus, et qui custos est domini sui glorificabitur.

If figs thou wouldst eat, tend thy fig-tree well; if honour thou wouldst have, wait well on thy master.

As the faces of them that look therein, shine in the water, so the hearts of men are laid open to the wise.

Quomodo in aquis resplendent vultus prospicientium, sic corda hominum manifesta sunt prudentibus.

Clear as a face mirrored in water, the wise see men’s hearts.

Hell and destruction are never filled: so the eyes of men are never satisfied.

Infernus et perditio numquam implentur: similiter et oculi hominum insatiabiles.

Death and the grave were never yet content, nor man’s eyes with gazing.

As silver is tried in the fining-pot and gold in the furnace: so a man is tried by the mouth of him that praiseth. The heart of the wicked seeketh after evils, but the righteous heart seeketh after knowledge.

Quomodo probatur in conflatorio argentum et in fornace aurum, sic probatur homo ore laudantis. Cor iniqui inquirit mala, cor autem rectum inquirit scientiam.

Silver and gold are judged by furnace and crucible, man by his repute. (Heart of knave is ever set on mischief, heart of true man on wisdom.)

Though thou shouldst bray a fool in the mortar, as when a pestle striketh upon sodden barley, his folly would not be taken from him.

Si contuderis stultum in pila quasi ptisanas feriente desuper pilo, non auferetur ab eo stultitia ejus.

Bray a fool like corn, with pestle and mortar, he will be a fool still.

Be diligent to know the countenance of thy cattle, and consider thy own flocks:

Diligenter agnosce vultum pecoris tui, tuosque greges considera:

Spent be thy care, thy eyes watchful, over flock and herd of thine;

For thou shalt not always have power: but a crown shall be given to generation and generation.

non enim habebis jugiter potestatem, sed corona tribuetur in generationem et generationem.

riches will slip from thy grasp, and crowns, will they last for ever?

The meadows are open, and the green herbs have appeared, and the hay is gathered out of the mountains.

Aperta sunt prata, et apparuerunt herbæ virentes, et collecta sunt fœna de montibus.

See, where the meadows are laid bare, and the aftermath is springing, the hay all carried, now, from the hill-slopes!

Lambs are for thy clothing: and kids for the price of the field.

Agni ad vestimentum tuum, et hædi ad agri pretium.

Pasture for the lambs that shall clothe thee, for the goats that shall be the price of more fields yet;

Let the milk of the goats be enough for thy food, and for the necessities of thy house, and for maintenance for thy handmaids.

Sufficiat tibi lac caprarum in cibos tuos, et in necessaria domus tuæ, et ad victum ancillis tuis.

goat’s milk, too, shall suffice to feed thee, give life and strength to thy men and thy serving-maids.