Sirach 13

NEW JERUSALEM	VULGATA
1 Whoever touches pitch will be defiled, and anyone who associates with the proud wil come to be likethem.	1 Qui tetigerit picem inquinabitur ab ea : et qui communicaverit superbo induet superbiam.
2 Do not try to carry a burden too heavy for you, do not associate with someone more powerful andwealthy than yourself. Why put the clay pot next to the iron cauldron? It wil only break when they bang againsteach other.	2 Pondus super se tollat qui honestiori se communicat, et ditiori te ne socius fueris.
3 The rich does wrong and takes a high line; the poor is wronged and has to beg for pardon.	3 Quid communicabit cacabus ad ollam ? quando enim se colliserint, confringetur.
4 If you are useful the rich will exploit you, if you go bankrupt he wil desert you.	4 Dives injuste egit, et fremet : pauper autem læsus tacebit.
5 Are you well off? - he wil live with you, he will clean you out without a single qualm.	5 Si largitus fueris, assumet te : et si non habueris, derelinquet te.
6 Does he need you? - he will hoodwink you, smile at you and raise your hopes; he wil speak politely toyou and say, 'Is there anything you need?'	6 Si habes, convivet tecum, et evacuabit te : et ipse non dolebit super te.
7 He will make you feel smal at his dinner parties and, having cleaned you out two or three times over,wil end by laughing at you. Afterwards, when he sees you, he will avoid you and shake his head about you.	7 Si necessarius illi fueris, supplantabit te, et subridens spem dabit, narrans tibi bona, et dicet : Quid opus est tibi ?
8 Take care you are not hoodwinked and thus humiliated through your own stupidity.	8 Et confundet te in cibis suis, donec te exinaniat bis et ter : et in novissimo deridebit te, et postea videns derelinquet te, et caput suum movebit ad te.
9 When an influential person invites you, show reluctance, and he will press his invitation all the more.	9 Humiliare Deo, et exspecta manus ejus.
10 Do not thrust yourself forward, in case you are pushed aside, but do not stand aloof, or you will beoverlooked.	10 Attende ne seductus in stultitiam humilieris.
11 Do not affect to treat him as an equal, do not trust his flow of words; since all this talking is expresslymeant to test you, under cover of geniality he wil be weighing you up.	11 Noli esse humilis in sapientia tua, ne humiliatus in stultitiam seducaris.
12 Pitiless is anyone who retails gossip; he wil not spare you either blows or chains.	12 Advocatus a potentiore, discede : ex hoc enim magis te advocabit.
13 Be wary, take very great care, because you are walking with your own downfal .	13 Ne improbus sis, ne impingaris : et ne longe sis ab eo, ne eas in oblivionem.
14	14 Ne retineas ex æquo loqui cum illo, nec credas multis verbis illius : ex multa enim loquela tentabit te, et subridens interrogabit te de absconditis tuis.
15 Every living thing loves its own sort, and every man his fel ow.	15 Immitis animus illius conservabit verba tua : et non parcet de malitia, et de vinculis.
16 Every creature mixes with its kind, and human beings stick to their own sort.	16 Cave tibi, et attende diligenter auditui tuo, quoniam cum subversione tua ambulas :
17 How can wolf and lamb agree? - Just so with sinner and devout.	17 audiens vero illa, quasi in somnis vide, et vigilabis.
18 What peace can there be between hyena and dog? And what peace between rich and poor?	18 Omni vita tua dilige Deum, et invoca illum in salute tua.
19 Wild desert donkeys are the prey of lions; so too, the poor is the quarry of the rich.	19 Omne animal diligit simile sibi, sic et omnis homo proximum sibi.
20 The proud thinks humility abhorrent; so too, the rich abominates the poor.	20 Omnis caro ad similem sibi conjungetur, et omnis homo simili sui sociabitur.
21 When the rich stumbles he is supported by friends; when the poor fal s, his friends push him away.	21 Si communicabit lupus agno aliquando, sic peccator justo.
22 When the rich slips, there are many hands to catch him, if he talks nonsense he is congratulated. Thepoor slips, and is blamed for it, he may talk good sense, but no room is made for him.	22 Quæ communicatio sancto homini ad canem ? aut quæ pars diviti ad pauperem ?
23 The rich speaks and everyone stops talking, and then they praise his discourse to the skies. The poorspeaks and people say, 'Who is this?' and if he stumbles, they trip him up yet more.	23 Venatio leonis onager in eremo : sic et pascua divitum sunt pauperes.
24 Wealth is good where there is no sin, poverty is evil, the godless say.	24 Et sicut abominatio est superbo humilitas, sic et execratio divitis pauper.
25 The heart moulds a person's expression whether for better or worse.	25 Dives commotus confirmatur ab amicis suis : humilis autem cum ceciderit, expelletur et a notis.
26 Happy heart, cheerful expression; but wearisome work, inventing proverbs.	26 Diviti decepto multi recuperatores : locutus est superbia, et justificaverunt illum.
	27 Humilis deceptus est, insuper et arguitur : locutus est sensate, et non est datus ei locus.
	28 Dives locutus est, et omnes tacuerunt, et verbum illius usque ad nubes perducent.
	29 Pauper locutus est, et dicunt : Quis est hic ? et si offenderit, subvertent illum.
	30 Bona est substantia cui non est peccatum in conscientia : et nequissima paupertas in ore impii.
	31 Cor hominis immutat faciem illius, sive in bona, sive in mala.
	32 Vestigium cordis boni et faciem bonam difficile invenies, et cum labore.