1. If sorrow becomes an illness by nightfall, endure it through the night.
You cannot dispel it, though you match it blow for blow.

2. Do not attempt the deeds of the mighty if,
when you are resolved on a grave matter, obstacles crowd in your way.

3. Not everything that is avoided by death is beyond it,
nor everything that escapes its snares and stratagems.

4. Do not boast about the mischief you have wrought in battle, nor name
the foe you claim you will vanquish.

5. Do not confide your secret to one unworthy to share it,
lest he argue with you disrespectfully when it is disclosed.

6. Do not ask a miser for wealth. You will see that,
after loss has made him wretched, his riches profit him nothing.

7. I see wealth as a fickle shade. Now
it sickens, now the wealth of the rich man crumbles.

8. By your life! Time has left me no brother,
no trusted friend, no companion with whom I can be intimate.

9. The worst brothers are those with many faults.
Beware the multitude of their sins.

10. Say to your heart, if passion tempts you
to a moment’s madness, empty your madness of most of its madness.

11. Watch over your secret self. Remember that
the man who reveals his secret to the crowd carries his belongings in his arms.

12. When you have mastered knowledge, proclaim it.
Do not speak of what you do not know.