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Lunedi, 29 aprile 2024 - Santa Caterina da Siena ( Letture di oggi)

Ecclesiasticus 20


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VULGATANEW JERUSALEM
1 Quam bonum est arguere, quam irasci,
et confitentem in oratione non prohibere !
1 There is the rebuke that is untimely, and there is the person who keeps quiet, and he is the shrewd one.
2 Concupiscentia spadonis devirginabit juvenculam :
2 But how much better to rebuke than to fume!
3 sic qui facit per vim judicium iniquum.
3 The person who acknowledges a fault wards off punishment.
4 Quam bonum est correptum manifestare p?nitentiam !
sic enim effugies voluntarium peccatum.
4 Like a eunuch trying to take a girl's virginity is someone who tries to impose justice by force.
5 Est tacens qui invenitur sapiens :
et est odibilis qui procax est ad loquendum.
5 There is the person who keeps quiet and is considered wise, another incurs hatred for talking too much.
6 Est tacens non habens sensum loquelæ :
et est tacens sciens tempus aptum.
6 There is the person who keeps quiet, not knowing how to answer, another keeps quiet, knowing whento speak.
7 Homo sapiens tacebit usque ad tempus :
lascivus autem et imprudens non servabunt tempus.
7 The wise wil keep quiet til the right moment, but a garrulous fool wil always misjudge it.
8 Qui multis utitur verbis lædet animam suam :
et qui potestatem sibi sumit injuste, odietur.
8 Someone who talks too much wil earn dislike, and someone who usurps authority wil earn hatred.
9 Est processio in malis viro indisciplinato,
et est inventio in detrimentum.
9 There is the person who finds misfortune a boon, and the piece of luck that turns to loss.
10 Est datum quod non est utile,
et est datum cujus retributio duplex.
10 There is the gift that affords you no profit, and the gift that repays you double.
11 Est propter gloriam minoratio,
et est qui ab humilitate levabit caput.
11 There is the honour that leads to humiliation, and there are people in a low state who raise theirheads.
12 Est qui multa redimat modico pretio,
et restituens ea in septuplum.
12 There is the person who buys much for little, yet pays for it seven times over.
13 Sapiens in verbis seipsum amabilem facit :
gratiæ autem fatuorum effundentur.
13 The wise wins love with words, while fools may shower favours in vain.
14 Datus insipientis non erit utilis tibi :
oculi enim illius septemplices sunt.
14 The gift of the stupid wil bring you no advantage, his eyes look for seven times as much in return.
15 Exigua dabit, et multa improperabit :
et apertio oris illius inflammatio est.
15 He gives little and reviles much, he opens his mouth like the town crier, he lends today and demandspayment tomorrow; he is a detestable fellow.
16 Hodie f?neratur quis, et cras expetit :
odibilis est homo hujusmodi.
16 The fool will say, 'I have no friends, I get no gratitude for my good deeds;
17 Fatuo non erit amicus,
et non erit gratia bonis illius :
17 those who eat my bread have malicious tongues.' How often he wil be laughed at, and by how many!
18 qui enim edunt panem illius, falsæ linguæ sunt.
Quoties et quanti irridebunt eum !
18 Better a slip on the pavement than a slip of the tongue; this is how ruin takes the wicked by surprise.
19 neque enim quod habendum erat directo sensu distribuit ;
similiter et quod non erat habendum.
19 A coarse-grained person is like an indiscreet story endlessly retold by the ignorant.
20 Lapsus falsæ linguæ quasi qui in pavimento cadens :
sic casus malorum festinanter veniet.
20 A maxim is rejected when coming from a fool, since the fool does not utter it on the apt occasion.
21 Homo acharis quasi fabula vana,
in ore indisciplinatorum assidua erit.
21 There is a person who is prevented from sinning by poverty; no qualms of conscience disturb thatperson's rest.
22 Ex ore fatui reprobabitur parabola :
non enim dicit illam in tempore suo.
22 There is a person who courts destruction out of false shame, courts destruction for the sake of a fool'sopinion.
23 Est qui vetatur peccare præ inopia,
et in requie sua stimulabitur.
23 There is a person who out of false shame makes promises to a friend, and so makes an enemy fornothing.
24 Est qui perdet animam suam præ confusione,
et ab imprudenti persona perdet eam :
personæ autem acceptione perdet se.
24 Lying is an ugly blot on anyone, and ever on the lips of the undisciplined.
25 Est qui præ confusione promittit amico,
et lucratus est eum inimicum gratis.
25 A thief is preferable to an inveterate liar, but both are heading for ruin.
26 Opprobrium nequam in homine mendacium :
et in ore indisciplinatorum assidue erit.
26 Lying is an abominable habit, the liar's disgrace lasts for ever.
27 Potior fur quam assiduitas viri mendacis :
perditionem autem ambo hæreditabunt.
27 The wise gains advancement by words, the shrewd wins favour from the great.
28 Mores hominum mendacium sine honore,
et confusio illorum cum ipsis sine intermissione.
28 Whoever til s the soil wil have a full harvest, whoever wins favour from the great wil secure pardon foroffences.
29 Sapiens in verbis producet seipsum,
et homo prudens placebit magnatis.
29 Presents and gifts blind the eyes of the wise and stifle rebukes like a muzzle on the mouth.
30 Qui operatur terram suam inaltabit acervum frugum,
et qui operatur justitiam, ipse exaltabitur :
qui vero placet magnatis effugiet iniquitatem.
30 Wisdom concealed, and treasure undiscovered, what use is either of these?
31 Xenia et dona excæcant oculos judicum,
et quasi mutus, in ore avertit correptiones eorum.
31 Better one who conceals his fol y than one who conceals his wisdom.
32 Sapientia absconsa, et thesaurus invisus,
quæ utilitas in utrisque ?
33 Melior est qui celat insipientiam suam,
quam homo qui abscondit sapientiam suam.