| 1 αὕτη πρωτόπλαστον πατέρα κόσμου μόνον κτισθέντα διεφύλαξεν καὶ ἐξείλατο αὐτὸν ἐκ παραπτώματος ἰδίου 2 ἔδωκέν τε αὐτῷ ἰσχὺν κρατῆσαι ἁπάντων 3 ἀποστὰς δὲ ἀ{P'} αὐτῆς ἄδικος ἐν ὀργῇ αὐτοῦ ἀδελφοκτόνοις συναπώλετο θυμοῖς 4 δ{I'} ὃν κατακλυζομένην γῆν πάλιν ἔσωσεν σοφία δ{I'} εὐτελοῦς ξύλου τὸν δίκαιον κυβερνήσασα 5 αὕτη καὶ ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ πονηρίας ἐθνῶν συγχυθέντων ἔγνω τὸν δίκαιον καὶ ἐτήρησεν αὐτὸν ἄμεμπτον θεῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τέκνου σπλάγχνοις ἰσχυρὸν ἐφύλαξεν 6 αὕτη δίκαιον ἐξαπολλυμένων ἀσεβῶν ἐρρύσατο φυγόντα καταβάσιον πῦρ Πενταπόλεως 7 ἧς ἔτι μαρτύριον τῆς πονηρίας καπνιζομένη καθέστηκε χέρσος καὶ ἀτελέσιν ὥραις καρποφοροῦντα φυτά ἀπιστούσης ψυχῆς μνημεῖον ἑστηκυῖα στήλη ἁλός 8 σοφίαν γὰρ παροδεύσαντες οὐ μόνον ἐβλάβησαν τοῦ μὴ γνῶναι τὰ καλά ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς ἀφροσύνης ἀπέλιπον τῷ βίῳ μνημόσυνον ἵνα ἐν οἷς ἐσφάλησαν μηδὲ λαθεῖν δυνηθῶσιν |
1 When man was but newly made, the lonely father of this created world, she it was that watched over him, 2 and set him free from wrong-doing of his own,[1] and gave him the mastery over all things else. 3 Against her Cain rebelled,[2] when he did foul wrong, and by murderous spite against his brother compassed his own ruin. 4 Who but she, when the world was a-drowning for Cain’s fault,[3] gave it a second term of life, steering, on a paltry raft, one innocent man to safety? 5 And when the nations went their several ways,[4] banded in a single conspiracy of wickedness, of one man’s innocence she still took note; Abraham must be kept irreproachable in God’s service, and steeled against pity for his own child. 6 Here was another innocent man, Lot, that owed his preservation to Wisdom, when godless folk were perishing all around him. Escape he should, when fire came down upon the Cities of the Plain; 7 those five cities whose shame is yet unforgotten, while smoke issues from the barren soil, and never tree bears seasonable fruit, and the pillar of salt stands monument to an unbelieving soul. 8 Fatal neglect of Wisdom’s guidance, that could blind their eyes to the claims of honour, and leave the world such a memorial of their folly, as should make the record of their sins unmistakable! |
1
Hæc illum qui primus formatus est a Deo patre orbis terrarum,
cum solus esset creatus, custodivit, 2
et eduxit illum a delicto suo,
et dedit illi virtutem continendi omnia. 3
Ab hac ut recessit injustus in ira sua,
per iram homicidii fraterni deperiit. 4
Propter quem cum aqua deleret terram, sanavit iterum sapientia,
per contemptibile lignum justum gubernans. 5
Hæc et in consensu nequitiæ, cum se nationes contulissent,
scivit justum, et conservavit sine querela Deo,
et in filii misericordia fortem custodivit. 6
Hæc justum a pereuntibus impiis liberavit fugientem,
descendente igne in Pentapolim: 7
quibus in testimonium nequitiæ
fumigabunda constat deserta terra,
et incerto tempore fructus habentes arbores:
et incredibilis animæ memoria stans figmentum salis. 8
Sapientiam enim prætereuntes,
non tantum in hoc lapsi sunt ut ignorarent bona,
sed et insipientiæ suæ reliquerunt hominibus memoriam,
ut in his quæ peccaverunt nec latere potuissent. |