Liber parabolarum

The moon takes its light from Phoebus; the fool takes

His sense from the wise man, by which he shines as if by light.

Burning Etna has power only to consume itself;

So the envious man cooks himself, not others, with his fire.

The pig rises from filth, at least while gathering its food;

Why does man, wallowed in filth, never rise at all?

Do not entrust wine to old wineskins, I say,

Nor sense to old men who will not keep it.

The sea strains toward the forbidden, to flow onto the fields;

So quickly does man enter into what is not allowed, so quickly does he sin.

More foolish than a fool is he who strains balm through a sieve,

Or gives words that should be kept silent to a man full of words.

Often a new path, not the old one, deceives the traveler;

So a companion, not old but new, deceives his fellow.

The thing seen in the mirror is not what stands in it;

It stands forth, and there is no faith in a woman.

In barren soil the plow makes barren furrows in the ridge;

And labor in wretched schools is without fruit.

From the smallest grains a great sum comes for horses;

From small faults, no evil is venial.

Not for himself but for others the ram bears his fleece;

So the miser always joins wealth for others.

What that hook holds cannot easily be plucked away;

Nor coin from the purse that a tight hand holds.

One cupbearer can offer wine to a thousand men;

One man can offer the cups of learning to many.

Scylla receives the sea and never gives back what she has taken;

So the wicked debtor takes and holds onto money.

Not easily is the greased hide pulled away from the dog;

Nor the scoundrel from his game, while he is satisfied by it.

Under a soft shepherd the wolf fouls the wool, and the flock,

Left unguarded, is torn apart by him.

Brighter than usual is Phoebus, after many clouds;

After enmities, love too is brighter.

Arrows can pierce a hard coat of mail,

And scorn and evil words can pierce my heart.

Firmly the anchor's bite holds the ship in port;

So hope, once fixed, holds hearts steady in their purpose.

Take the wood from the hearth, if you wish to quench the flames;

If it is the motion of the flesh, quench it with fasting, not leisure, wine, and feasts.

The shore holds back the sea's waters, lest they invade the fields,

And a modest hand holds the reins of an angry hand.

Often scars return to old wounds;

A people sick in mind returns to its evil deeds.

The nettle nearby scorches the fragrant roses;

So the unjust man always disturbs the just.

While lying among the chaff, the grains seem unclean too,

And so does he who dwells among the wicked.

Against the blows of the waves the unmoved rock stands firm,

And so does the good man against the ceaseless waves of the world.

A leaf torn from the tree flies free with the wind;

So does the unstable mind, like a breeze, always fly.

Foolish is he who takes a ship out to sea without an oarsman;

And he who takes up a heavy load without help.

Through wide cracks the shining sun enters the house;

Through the ears the teacher's doctrine enters the heart.

Often the hook draws up the fish caught from the sea;

But no one draws good words from an evil mouth.

The dice both impoverish and enrich by their fall;

But they punish more, so that a man grows still more destitute.

Extinguished ashes will live again if you touch them with sulfur;

So old love grows warm again when the mind applies itself.

Dire Charybdis drinks in the waters and spews them out every hour;

So fortune gives, so she takes away her gifts to men.

The sharp spur forces the horse to run under the soldier,

And the rod forces the boy to give his time to study.

Not everyone who sails by his own wind always perishes,

Nor the man who ought to live by his own means.

The strait cannot be calm while plague stirs it;

Nor can a man be gentle while anger stirs his liver.

Why does he open the door, who cannot shut it again?

Why does he promise me a thing that he does not then give?

A woman conceives so that she may give birth when her time comes;

You too, once you have received, should in time give something to me.

No wave can quench the thirst of those who burn;

Nor can abundance satisfy the heart of a greedy man.

The viper holds its venom; while it is warm, it spews it out;

Close your bosom; keep it from growing warm there.

A cracked vessel spills, but the sound one holds the wine;

So a good mind holds what it hears, the dull mind spills it.

From a nut comes the hazel tree; from an acorn the towering oak;

From a small boy often comes a skilled man.

Deep snow melts into nothing, if rain falls from above;

And fame destroyed by vice perishes utterly.

The vine-branch lying on the ground needs elms to climb upon;

Every poor man needs the help of the rich.

I cannot stop the dog from barking everywhere;

Nor can I close the lips of a lying man.

The chimney casts smoke, not fire, from the house;

Envy can harm through talk, not through deeds.

Not the house, but the master should be praised, if he is good;

But if not, we scorn both the master and the house.

The ibis does not leave the beak, the heron does not leave the river;

Not easily does the vice a man makes his own depart.

Often the black cloud takes the sun's light from the ground,

And a cruel stepmother takes a father's help from me.

Not always do the birds die at which the bow

Aims; nor are there weapons or a spear in my threats.

The stars cannot add any splendor to the sun,

Since its rays surpass all their light.

If you would be Cato, and wish to turn white things black,

Let the court be your concern; there too you can be rich.

The fowler draws the birds to the birdlime with his song,

As a man's smooth speech draws nations into deceit.

Fierce is the rage and vast the wrath of tawny lions,

And yet among themselves they keep a social law.

After night hope for day, after clouds for the sun,

After tears for laughter, and you may hope for joy.

Caesar was once everything, but Caesar's glory

Ceased to be; and his tomb was scarcely eight feet wide.

The ship does not rush upon the rocks, nor into the sea's deep perils,

When a skilled hand guides it with the oar through its motions.