My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, thou hast engaged fast thy hand to a stranger.

Fili mi, si spoponderis pro amico tuo, defixisti apud extraneum manum tuam:

My son, has some friend persuaded thee to be his surety? Hast thou pledged thyself for a bond which is none of thine?

Thou art ensnared with the words of thy mouth, and caught with thy own words.

illaqueatus es verbis oris tui, et captus propriis sermonibus.

Believe me, that word of assent has caught thee in a snare, thou art the prisoner of thy own promise made.

Do therefore, my son, what I say, and deliver thyself: because thou art fallen into the hand of thy neighbour. Run about, make haste, stir up thy friend:

Fac ergo quod dico, fili mi, et temetipsum libera, quia incidisti in manum proximi tui. Discurre, festina, suscita amicum tuum.

Do then, my son, as I bid thee; obtain thy freedom; it is ill done to fall into another man’s power. Quick, no time to lose; wake up this neighbour of thine from his bed,

Give not sleep to thy eyes, neither let thy eyelids slumber.

Ne dederis somnum oculis tuis, nec dormitent palpebræ tuæ.

ere thou thyself close an eye-lid in sleep;

Deliver thyself as a doe from the hand, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

Eruere quasi damula de manu, et quasi avis de manu aucupis.

deer from captivity nor bird from fowler’s hand so swift to escape!

Go to the ant, O sluggard, and consider her ways, and learn wisdom:

Vade ad formicam, o piger, et considera vias ejus, et disce sapientiam.

Up with thee, idleness, go to school with the ant, and learn the lesson of her ways!

Which, although she hath no guide, nor master, nor captain,

Quæ cum non habeat ducem, nec præceptorem, nec principem,

Chief or ruler she has none to give her commands;

Provideth her meat for herself in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

parat in æstate cibum sibi, et congregat in messe quod comedat.

yet in summer hours, when the harvest is a-gathering, she ever lays up food for her own nourishment.

How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou rise out of thy sleep?

Usquequo, piger, dormies? quando consurges e somno tuo?

And thou, idleness, art still a-bed; wilt thou never wake?

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

Paululum dormies, paululum dormitabis, paululum conseres manus ut dormias;

What, thou wouldst sleep a little longer, yawn a little longer; a little longer thou must pillow head on hand?

And want shall come upon thee, as a traveller, and poverty as a man armed. But if thou be diligent, thy harvest shall come as a fountain, and want shall flee far from thee.

et veniet tibi quasi viator egestas, et pauperies quasi vir armatus. Si vero impiger fueris, veniet ut fons messis tua, et egestas longe fugiet a te.

Ay, but poverty will not wait, the day of distress will not wait, like an armed vagabond it will fall upon thee! (Wouldst thou see the good grain flow like water, wouldst thou see poverty take wing, thou must be up and doing. )

A man that is an apostate, an unprofitable man, walketh with a perverse mouth,

Homo apostata, vir inutilis, graditur ore perverso;

Worthless men there be, sinners there be, that go ever with a cunning smile on their lips;

He winketh with the eyes, presseth with the foot, speaketh with the finger.

annuit oculis, terit pede, digito loquitur,

a wink here, there a pressure of the foot, there a beckoning finger;

With a wicked heart he deviseth evil, and at all times he soweth discord.

pravo corde machinatur malum, et omni tempore jurgia seminat.

all the while their wicked hearts are plotting mischief, are sowing the causes of strife.

To such a one his destruction shall presently come, and he shall suddenly be destroyed, and shall no longer have any remedy.

Huic extemplo veniet perditio sua, et subito conteretur, nec habebit ultra medicinam.

Such men will be overtaken by their doom ere long, crushed all of a sudden beyond hope of remedy.

Six things there are, which the Lord hateth, and the seventh his soul detesteth:

Sex sunt quæ odit Dominus, et septimum detestatur anima ejus:

Six things I will tell thee, and name a seventh for good measure, the Lord hates and will never abide;

Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,

oculos sublimes, linguam mendacem, manus effundentes innoxium sanguinem,

the haughty look, the lying tongue, the hands that take innocent life,

A heart that deviseth wicked plots, feet that are swift to run into mischief,

cor machinans cogitationes pessimas, pedes veloces ad currendum in malum,

the heart that ever devises thoughts of mischief, the feet that hasten upon an ill errand,

A deceitful witness that uttereth lies, and him that soweth discord among brethren.

proferentem mendacia testem fallacem, et eum qui seminat inter fratres discordias.

the false witness whose every breath is perjury, and the sower of strife among brethren.

My son, keep the commandments of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.

Conserva, fili mi, præcepta patris tui, et ne dimittas legem matris tuæ.

Keep true, my son, to the charge thy father gives thee, nor make light of thy mother’s teaching;

Bind them in thy heart continually, and put them about thy neck.

Liga ea in corde tuo jugiter, et circumda gutturi tuo.

wear them ever close to thy heart, hang them like a locket upon thy breast;

When thou walkest, let them go with thee: when thou sleepest, let them keep thee; and when thou awakest, talk with them.

Cum ambulaveris, gradiantur tecum; cum dormieris, custodiant te: et evigilans loquere cum eis.

be these, when thou walkest abroad, thy company, when thou liest asleep, thy safeguard, in waking hours, thy counsellors.

Because the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light, and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

Quia mandatum lucerna est, et lex lux, et via vitæ increpatio disciplinæ:

That charge is a lamp to guide thee, that teaching a light to beckon thee; the warnings correction gave thee are a road leading to life.

That they may keep thee from the evil woman, and from the flattering tongue of the stranger.

ut custodiant te a muliere mala, et a blanda lingua extraneæ.

Here is protection for thee against the temptress that would lure thee away with her seductions.

Let not thy heart covet her beauty, be not caught with her winks:

Non concupiscat pulchritudinem ejus cor tuum, nec capiaris nutibus illius:

Never let her beauty win thy heart, never let her bold glance deceive thee.

For the price of a harlot is scarce one loaf: but the woman catcheth the precious soul of a man.

pretium enim scorti vix est unius panis, mulier autem viri pretiosam animam capit.

A harlot’s pay is but the price of a meal; the adulteress costs dearer, her price is a man’s whole life.

Can a man hide fire in his bosom, and his garments not burn?

Numquid potest homo abscondere ignem in sinu suo, ut vestimenta illius non ardeant?

Who can carry fire in his bosom, without singeing the clothes he wears,

Or can he walk upon hot coals, and his feet not be burnt?

aut ambulare super prunas, ut non comburantur plantæ ejus?

or walk on hot coals without burning his feet?

So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife, shall not be clean when he shall touch her.

sic qui ingreditur ad mulierem proximi sui, non erit mundus cum tetigerit eam.

No more can a man mate with his neighbour’s wife, and not be defiled by her touch.

The fault is not so great when a man hath stolen: for he stealeth to fill his hungry soul:

Non grandis est culpa cum quis furatus fuerit: furatur enim ut esurientem impleat animam;

Small blame to the thief, when he steals to fill his hungry belly,

And if he be taken he shall restore sevenfold, and shall give up all the substance of his house.

deprehensus quoque reddet septuplum, et omnem substantiam domus suæ tradet.

and if he be caught, why, he can pay sevenfold, or yield up all that he has;

But he that is an adulterer, for the folly of his heart shall destroy his own soul:

Qui autem adulter est, propter cordis inopiam perdet animam suam;

the adulterer, in the hunger of his heart, must risk losing life itself.

He gathereth to himself shame and dishonour, and his reproach shall not be blotted out:

turpitudinem et ignominiam congregat sibi, et opprobrium illius non delebitur:

Scathe and scorn he wins for himself, and shame there is no blotting out;

Because the jealousy and rage of the husband will not spare in the day of revenge,

quia zelus et furor viri non parcet in die vindictæ,

no mercy for him, when the day of reckoning comes, from the anger of a jealous husband

Nor will he yield to any man’s prayers, nor will he accept for satisfaction ever so many gifts.

nec acquiescet cujusquam precibus, nec suscipiet pro redemptione dona plurima.

that will listen to no man’s entreaties, will refuse ransom never so abundant.