Disticha Catonis, Book IV

Whoever you are, if you wish to lead a safe life, 

Do not fix your mind on faults which are contrary to character. 

Always remember to read these precepts over and over; 

You will find a teacher through whom you can change. 

1. Spurn riches, if you wish to be happy in mind, 

For those who chase after them, always beg as misers. 

2. Necessities from nature will never be lacking to you, 

If you are content with what needs demand. 

3. If you are careless and do not steer your affairs with reason, 

Do not say that fortune blind, which she is not. 

4. Love money, but do not love it too much for its own sake, 

Which no one good and honest seeks to gain. 

5. When you get rich, remember to take care of your body; 

A sick rich man has wealth, but he does not have himself. 

6. Just as you bear blows in school now and again from the teacher, 

Accept your father’s overlordship when he breaks out in anger in words. 

7. Do things which are worthwhile, but remember to avoid 

Those in which there is fault and no sure hope for travail. 

8. What you can give, give freely to the asker; 

To have done right with goods is to be considered as gain. 

9. Whatever is suspect to you, immediately test what it is; 

For those things which are at first ignored often harm. 

10. When the cursed pleasure of Venus holds you in its grasp, 

Do not indulge in gluttony, which is pleasant to the stomach. 

11. When you take it upon yourself to fear all living beings, 

One above all is to be feared most by you: man. 

12. If your strength in body is great for you, 

See to it that you are wise; thus you will be considered to be a strong man. (sapientia et fortitudo) 

13. Ask for aid from your associates when you are in travail; 

No one is a better doctor than a faithful friend. 

14. When you yourself are a killer, why should the victim die for you? 

It is foolish to hope for salvation in the death of another. 

15. If you are looking for an associate or a faithful friend, 

It is for you to look not at the fortune but the life of the man. 

16. Make use of riches you have gained, avoid the name of miser; 

What use are riches to you, if you live like a poor man? 

17. If you want to keep a good reputation while you are alive, 

Make sure to avoid those things which are evil joys of life. 

18. Since you are wise in mind, do not mock old age; 

For whoever is growing old, there is a childish mind in him (anacoluthon). 

19. Learn something; for when fortune suddenly leaves, 

Art (a trade?) remains and never leaves the life of a man.