Proverbiorum 26
1 Quomodo nix in æstate, et pluviæ in messe: sic indecens est stulto gloria.
Like snow in summer and rain when the grain is being cut, so honour is not natural for the foolish.
2 Sicut avis ad alia transvolans, et passer quo libet vadens: sic maledictum frustra prolatum in quempiam superveniet.
As the sparrow in her wandering and the swallow in her flight, so the curse does not come without a cause.
3 Flagellum equo, et camus asino, et virga in dorso imprudentium.
A whip for the horse, a mouth-bit for the ass, and a rod for the back of the foolish.
4 Ne respondeas stulto iuxta stultitiam suam, ne efficiaris ei similis.
Do not give to the foolish man a foolish answer, or you will be like him.
5 Responde stulto iuxta stultitiam suam, ne sibi sapiens esse videatur.
Give a foolish man a foolish answer, or he will seem wise to himself.
6 Claudus pedibus, et iniquitatem bibens, qui mittit verba per nuncium stultum.
He who sends news by the hand of a foolish man is cutting off his feet and drinking in damage.
7 Quomodo pulchras frustra habet claudus tibias: sic indecens est in ore stultorum parabola.
The legs of one who has no power of walking are hanging loose; so is a wise saying in the mouth of the foolish.
8 Sicut qui mittit lapidem in acervum Mercurii: ita qui tribuit insipienti honorem.
Giving honour to a foolish man is like attempting to keep a stone fixed in a cord.
9 Quomodo si spina nascatur in manu temulenti: sic parabola in ore stultorum.
Like a thorn which goes up into the hand of a man overcome by drink, so is a wise saying in the mouth of a foolish man.
10 Iudicium determinat causas: et qui imponit stulto silentium, iras mitigat.
Like an archer wounding all who go by, is a foolish man overcome by drink.
11 Sicut canis, qui revertitur ad vomitum suum, sic imprudens, qui iterat stultitiam suam.
Like a dog going back to the food which he has not been able to keep down, is the foolish man doing his foolish acts over again.
12 Vidisti hominem sapientem sibi videri? magis illo spem habebit insipiens.
Have you seen a man who seems to himself to be wise? There is more hope for the foolish than for him.
13 Dicit piger: Leo est in via, et leæna in itineribus:
The hater of work says, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
14 sicut ostium vertitur in cardine suo, ita piger in lectulo suo.
A door is turned on its pillar, and the hater of work on his bed.
15 Abscondit piger manum sub ascella sua, et laborat si ad os suum eam converterit.
The hater of work puts his hand deep into the basin: lifting it again to his mouth is a weariness to him.
16 Sapientior sibi piger videtur septem viris loquentibus sententias.
The hater of work seems to himself wiser than seven men who are able to give an answer with good sense.
17 Sicut qui apprehendit auribus canem, sic qui transit impatiens, et commiscetur rixæ alterius.
He who gets mixed up in a fight which is not his business, is like one who takes a dog by the ears while it is going by.
18 Sicut noxius est qui mittit sagittas, et lanceas in mortem:
As one who is off his head sends about flaming sticks and arrows of death,
19 ita vir, fraudulenter nocet amico suo: et cum fuerit deprehensus, dicit: Ludens feci.
So is the man who gets the better of his neighbour by deceit, and says, Am I not doing so in sport?
20 Cum defecerint ligna, extinguetur ignis: et susurrone subtracto, iurgia conquiescent.
Without wood, the fire goes out; and where there is no secret talk, argument is ended.
21 Sicut carbones ad prunas, et ligna ad ignem, sic homo iracundus suscitat rixas.
Like breath on coals and wood on fire, so a man given to argument gets a fight started.
22 Verba susurronis quasi simplicia, et ipsa perveniunt ad intima ventris.
The words of one who says evil of his neighbour secretly are like sweet food, they go down into the inner parts of the stomach.
23 Quomodo si argento sordido ornare velis vas fictile, sic labia tumentia cum pessimo corde sociata.
Smooth lips and an evil heart are like a vessel of earth plated with silver waste.
24 Labiis suis intelligitur inimicus, cum in corde tractaverit dolos.
With his lips the hater makes things seem what they are not, but deceit is stored up inside him;
25 Quando submiserit vocem suam, ne credideris ei: quoniam septem nequitiæ sunt in corde illius.
When he says fair words, have no belief in him; for in his heart are seven evils:
26 Qui operit odium fraudulenter, revelabitur malitia eius in consilio.
Though his hate is covered with deceit, his sin will be seen openly before the meeting of the people.
27 Qui fodit foveam, incidet in eam: et qui volvit lapidem, revertetur ad eum.
He who makes a hole in the earth will himself go falling into it: and on him by whom a stone is rolled the stone will come back again.
28 Lingua fallax non amat veritatem: et os lubricum operatur ruinas.
A false tongue has hate for those who have clean hearts, and a smooth mouth is a cause of falling.
