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Chapter 32NeagoeInvataturi.1.32

VII. IAR A LUI NEAGOE VOEVODUL ÎNVĂȚĂTURĂ CĂTRĂ FIE-SĂU THEODOSIE ȘI CĂTRĂ ALȚI DOMNI, CĂTRĂ TOȚI. CUM SĂ CADE DOMNILOR SĂ ȘAZĂ LA MASĂ ȘI CUM VOR MÂNCA ȘI VOR BEA (Slovo 14)

Ruler's Conduct at Table

The ruler must balance merriment with sobriety, choosing worthy companions and pleasing God rather than men.

My son, I've been thinking about how a ruler should sit at table with his boyars, both the great ones and the lesser ones.1 When a ruler sits down at table, the first thing his body wants is to eat and drink. Then it wants plenty of merriment as well. But you, my son, must never let your mind go completely loose into merriment, because in this world a person sits between life and death. That's why you need to weigh yourself very carefully, so you don't let your mind go completely loose into merriment — nor, on the other hand, into gloom. For if you fall into deep gloom, then everyone in your household and all your servants will also grow gloomy and anxious; but if you choose to do what they want and give yourself over entirely to merriment, that unmeasured merriment will anger God and will cut a person's soul off from him.2 Instead, at times like that, let your merriment be pleasing to God rather than to people. People didn't choose you or anoint you to rule; God chose you and anointed you, and it's his pleasure you're to serve.3 So when you sit down at the table, make sure all your celebrating is pleasing to God. And beside you, in the higher seats, let none sit but good and worthy boyars and counselors; as for reckless, rebellious men, don't keep them near you at all.45 For the prophet says: "With the holy you will be holy; with the chosen you will be chosen; and with the crooked you will be twisted."6 That's why, my son, following the prophet's word, I remind you and teach you this: if you spend all your days with the worthy, then every day and every hour you'll profit from their counsel and their good instruction; but if you spend them with the reckless and the twisted, it will fall to you as well to become reckless and twisted.7

Moderation in Merriment and Drink

Princes should provide celebration for their troops but maintain inner discipline, avoiding drunkenness and excessive revelry.

And again, it's fitting for a ruler to have at his table many kinds of drums, fiddles, and horns for celebration.8 You do the same before your armies, and whatever greater celebration you know how to put on, put it on, so that those who love you may rejoice. But you—when you hear such sounds ringing around you, you must not let your mind be carried off toward them, or toward the many kinds of performances that are staged and come from other countries for the sake of your name. Because anyone who gives his whole mind over to songs and entertainments like these hasn't sense enough. But how can you be a ruler, and be called salt and a spring for your people—the spring everyone drinks from—and still hand your mind over completely to music and entertainments like those?9 Because when others see what you do, they'll want to do the very same; and since you're the ruler, they'll want to watch whatever you watch. So however you guide them and however you teach them, that's exactly what you'll have to answer for.10 That's why I too am teaching you, my son: if you want to be God's anointed, you have to set all the revelry and dancing aside.11 It's right for a ruler to give his troops their merriment; but don't bend your own mind toward it, if you want to be whole and undivided.12 Let that music ring out in front of you, and go ahead and satisfy what your troops want—but make every effort to satisfy the will of your God as well, the God who anointed you. And don't weigh your body down with drunkenness, even though plenty of people say, "Heavy drinking is a fine thing." But how is it fine? Because once a man gets drunk: if he has a good mind, he loses it; if he has brave hands, they're no use to him at all; if his feet were quick, they get him nowhere; and if he has a sweet tongue that speaks beautifully, he can't even speak with that. So how is drunkenness not an evil, when none of a man's limbs are of any use to his own body? And how will he manage to do anything worthwhile for God or for people? And still another evil wells up and flows out of drunkenness, because the drunkard first makes his own body sick, then beggars his household, and then loses his mind. And then, once he's lost his mind, he loses his soul as well. Or come, let's consider what useful thing we've ever done or gained by drinking—nothing, except that we've made our bodies sick, beggared our households, and lost our minds! And then, once we've lost our minds, we've driven God away from us too.13 And the person who loves heavy drinking won't be called a follower of Christ; he'll be called an animal. So then, my son, which is better—to love heavy drinking and be called an animal, or to be called a follower of Christ? As for your servants, give them plenty to drink—as much as they want. You drink too, but in moderation, so that your mind can master the wine and the wine never masters your mind; and so that your mind can read your servants' minds, and their minds never read yours.1415

The Dangers of Drunkenness

Drunkenness leads to poor judgment, loss of wealth, damaged reputation, and ultimately spiritual ruin, as illustrated by biblical examples.

When you're drunk, don't hand out gifts to anyone, no matter how dear that servant may be to you. And if you're angry at someone from when you were sober, don't take it out on your servant once you've been drinking, and don't punish him then.16 And if someone wants to bring an accusation against others before you while the drinking is going on, make them wait until everyone is sober. And if some servant of yours does wrong while he's drunk, bear with him—because you're the one who got him drunk; so just as you got him drunk, so bear with him. That's why I tell you: don't hand out gifts to anyone when you're drunk, because for one thing you'll lose part of your wealth, and for another you'll earn yourself a bad name. Because they'll talk like this: “Let's go to that worthless lord now, while he's drunk—as long as he's sober he won't give us anything, but once he's drunk he loses his head and doesn't know who he's giving what to.”17 So there are two evils here: first, you lose part of your wealth, and second, you earn yourself a name people mock. And I'll tell you one more thing: don't get angry when you're drunk, and don't condemn anyone, because that too is an evil thing, and people will make a story out of it.18 Because they'll all say: "Let's not go and wait on that prince, because once he's drunk he loses his head and turns quarrelsome — he'll humiliate us, and he might even destroy us."19 So, my child, here's what I teach you: while drinking, don't hand out gifts to anyone and don't sentence anyone either. If you want to give someone a gift, give it to him in the morning, sober, with kind words — that is, if you want the man you've given to be grateful and to kiss your hand.2021 And if you want to show your anger, or condemn someone, or put him on trial, then try him in the morning, sober, with all your boyars there, and look carefully into his case. Then deal with him exactly as the verdict falls on him. Because when you're sitting at table, the rule isn't to pass judgment or to hand out gifts; the table has its own custom, and that custom is gladness — so that all your troops and your servants may take joy in you.22 Similarly, when you're seating your high-ranking boyars, your second-tier nobles, your lesser officials, and everyone else at table, you should fix their places from the start. Then, at the next meal, don't change their order. Because if you seat one of your servants in a certain spot one time, and then seat him lower down the next time, he'll be hurt and take it badly right then and there.✦23 He was hoping to move up from the place he sat the first time, but instead, you demote him for someone you happen to favor more. That's why his heart is grieved and wounded, as if by an injury. A person's heart is like glass; once it's broken, how can you possibly fix it? So, my son, when you're arranging your boyars and servants at table, and some of the people you're fondest of come in and stop to talk with you, don't move anyone already seated further down just to make room for these others higher up. Let those already at the table stay seated, because you're the one who arranged them and gave them their places. As for the others, the ones you favor who are standing there talking, take bread, food, and wine from in front of you and give it to them with your own hand to eat and drink. Then, when you give them food, offer them kind words from your own mouth as well. Holy Scripture itself confirms this, saying: 'Some find more joy and gratitude, and give more thanks, for kind words' than others do for banquets and drinks.✦✦24 With a wise person, the more you extend your kind words and draw them out, the more good they'll gain from them and the more grateful they'll be. But if you push them hard with drink and food, you'll stir up something far worse within them.25 So it is with you, my son: if you keep on doing your servants good with kind words, you'll gain something by it too; but if you turn your body loose to drunkenness and idleness, you'll go badly astray, because heavy drinking breeds great evils.26 That's why great sobriety is needed, since you hear what God says: "Be on your guard, so that your heart is never weighed down with too much food and drink."27 And again he speaks through his prophet, saying: "Wake up, you wine-drinkers, and weep over your drunkenness, for gladness and joy have been taken away from among you!" .28 And it's a good thing for a person to keep clear of heavy drinking, for it is written again, as Scripture says: "Where there's plenty of wood, a big fire gets going, and where there's plenty of rich food, lust flares up." And: "just as oil catches and bursts into flame, so wine stirs up the desires of lust."29 And: "just as a drunken workman will never grow rich, so the souls that love drunkenness will never increase what is good — they'll even lose what they already have." My son, "when you drink wine, don't brag about it or play the strong man, because wine has ruined many" — and it has done a great deal of harm.30 Wine stripped Noah's body bare, to his shame.✦31 Wine drove Lot to sleep with both of his own daughters.✦ Wine ultimately brought down Samson — that strong and valiant man, born of a promise and a barren woman — and there has never been another man as powerful as he was, nor will there ever be.✦32 For Scripture says: "There was a man from the tribe of Dan whose name was Manoah, and his wife was barren and bore no children. But the angel of God appeared to the woman and said to her: 'Look, you are barren and have borne no children, but from now on know that you will conceive; you'll be pregnant and give birth to a son. So be careful: don't drink wine or strong drink, and don't eat anything unclean, because that child will be consecrated to God from his mother's womb.'"33 Then the woman went and told her husband everything the angel had said to her, and Manoah prayed to God and said: "Lord, you who sent the man of God to us, send him again now, so he'll come and teach us what we're to do for the boy once he's born." And God heard Manoah's prayer, and the angel of God came to the woman a second time; but Manoah, her husband, wasn't with her, because she was out in the field. So the woman ran and told her husband: "Look, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me again." And Manoah got up and followed his wife, and when he reached the place, he said to that man: "Are you the one who spoke with my wife?" And the angel said: "I am." Manoah said, "Let it happen now, just as you've said. But what work will the boy have, and what is he to become?"34 The angel said, "She must keep to everything I told your wife.35 She's not to eat anything that comes from the vine, she's not to drink wine, and she's not to eat anything unclean. And this child who is to be born by promise will kill a lion as easily as a young goat, and after some time he'll give his parents honey out of the lion's head to eat.36 And he'll judge Israel for twenty years, and with the jawbone of a donkey he'll kill a thousand37 men.38 And he'll lift the city gate off both its hinges, locks and all, and carry it to the top of the hill facing Hebron. He'll grab the pillars of the house with his hands and shake them, and he'll bring down the houses and every stronghold built on them.✦39 And the three40 thousand people inside them, he will destroy.”✦41 And then this man, wretched as he was, was killed by that faithless and treacherous whore Delilah, and he died saying, "Let my soul die with these pagans."4243

The Consequences of Vice

The chapter concludes with a call to repentance, emphasizing God's justice and mercy, and the need for a life of righteousness to attain salvation.

But what will you say, my soul, when you're weaker and frailer than he was?44 Delilah, you treacherous woman—how did you bring down such a great and remarkable man as Samson?45 Truly, in this world, there's nothing worse or more bitter than a treacherous woman.46 Listen a little longer, my son, and let me tell you one more story, again from Holy Scripture: Holofernes, the vizier of King Nebuchadnezzar, perished because of drunkenness — and all his armies with him.47 For he said to Bagoas, his eunuch: “Go to that Hebrew woman and tell her to come and feast with us, because the Assyrians will laugh at us if we let her go without my having taken her to bed.”48 For that woman was very beautiful and striking; she was a Hebrew, and her name was Judith. So Bagoas left Holofernes, went and spoke to Judith, and said: “My lady, don't be shy — come to my master Holofernes, eat with him and drink your wine in good cheer.” She answered: “And who am I, to refuse my lord?49 Whatever he wants, I'll do, and whatever pleases him to do with me will be my delight and my joy as long as I live.” Then Judith got up and made herself beautiful: she put on fine clothes and decked herself out with every other ornament a woman wears, took her maid along, and went and stood before Holofernes. And when he saw her, his heart was struck through with her; he wanted her badly, and kept watching for the moment to take her to bed.50 And Holofernes said to her, "Now drink, eat, and enjoy yourself, for you've found favor with me."51 Judith replied, "I'll eat and drink, my lord and master, because today my soul is lifted higher than on any day of my life." So she ate and drank with him from the food her maid had prepared, while Holofernes' heart was still wounded with desire for her. Holofernes was in high spirits, and out of his passion for her, he drank more wine than he had drunk on any day since the day he was born.52 When evening came, all his servants went off to their own quarters, and Bagoas shut the tent doors and left too, because they were all weighed down and overcome by the wine. Judith was left alone in the innermost chamber. Holofernes, meanwhile, lay sprawled on his bed, drunk, and fell dead asleep. Then Judith said to her maid, "Go outside, stand in front of the tent, and keep watch." And she did just that. And Judith prayed to God through her tears, saying: "Lord, God of Israel, look in this hour on the work of my hands, and lift up Jerusalem, your city, as you promised, and let me finish what I've resolved, trusting in you that I will accomplish this deed."53 And when she had said this, she went up to Holofernes' bed and took his sword from the headboard. Once she had drawn it from its sheath, she seized him by the hair with one hand, lifted her eyes to heaven, and said: "Lord, God of Israel, strengthen me in this hour." And she struck him twice across the neck and cut off his head. She put it in her bag, the one she had carried the food in, and handed it to her servant. And the two of them went out of the camp together, as was their custom, at the hour of prayer.54 Do you see, my son, what a bitter wage drunkenness pays out?55 So don't linger over drink; instead, as far as you can, run from drunkenness the way you'd run from the fire of a furnace. It was the same with Herod: because of drunkenness he beheaded the godly John the Baptist—the very man whose way of life and goodness he himself had marveled at—but once he was overcome by his own treachery, he killed him like a madman, like someone gone rabid.56 And it's the same with you, you miserable soul: hemmed in and pulled down by heavy eating and drinking, you'll slide back into filth and do things that end in ruin. So at the very least, from now on run from these things and work at it, so you don't bring God's bitter judgment down on yourself.57 For the prophet says: "Woe to those who get up in the morning and go looking for strong drink, and in the evening drink their wine to lutes and drums and pipes—but the works of God they do not know, and they pay no attention to what his hands have made." And woe to you too, you miserable, shameless soul, because you're forever doing disgraceful, degrading things just like these—and you feel no shame and no fear! Instead you've taken on the look and the face of a prostitute, staring at everyone without any shame, and day after day you provoke God with wicked deeds and treacherous thoughts—and you're not afraid, you don't tremble at all, you fool, just because he's been patient with you so long!58 But how do you expect to escape his anger once nothing holds it back, and the sentence that's going to fall on you? So don't be careless, and don't shrug off your own salvation. While you still have time to repent, do good and do everything that pleases God.59 Even though God loves humankind, and his mercy sustains the entire human race, he is also a just judge. So don't fool yourself, and don't let your heart or your own nature mislead you in any way. Because no one who does evil can win the kingdom of heaven or enter the dwelling place of the righteous—only the one who does God's will and keeps his teachings and his commandments.✦✦ For the prophet says as well: “Lord, who will live in your dwelling place, or who will make his home on your holy mountain?✦ The one who walks without blame, and who does what is right, and who speaks the truth in his heart; who has told no lies with his tongue and has done his neighbor no harm, and has not taken up a reproach against the one closest to him; who swore an oath to his neighbor and did not go back on it, who did not even lend out his money at interest, and did not sell the innocent.✦60 Whoever does these things will never be put to shame.”✦ You've heard all of this, soul, every single day, from the holy Scriptures—and still you, you fool, refused to understand; instead you slipped away into cravings that bring disgrace and shame. So then, at the judgment, what do you think you'll do, you senseless one, stripped bare of every good work?61

Doxology

A concluding prayer and affirmation of faith in the Trinity and God's eternal kingdom.

So from now on, at the very least, watch yourself, and quit and let go of your filthy doings, and draw near to repentance, and do good in the sight of your God, so that you too may receive from him the good that is heavenly, and be promised the gladness of the angels.62 Then, together with them, you will be counted worthy of the glory of the God who is in Trinity, for to him belong the kingdom and the power and the glory, through ages that never pass and never end. Amen.63

Read the original Romanian

Fătul mieu, eu am gândit că așa să cade domnului să șază la masă cu boiarii săi cei mari și cu cei mici. Cându șade domnul la masă, întâi pohtește trupul lui să mănânce și să bea. Apoi pohtește și veselie multă. Iar tu, fătul mieu, să nu cumva să-ți slobozești mintea de tot spre veselie, că omul în lumea aceasta șade între viață și între moarte. Pentr-acéia să cade să te socotești foarte bine, să nu-ți slobozești mintea de tot spre veselie, nici iar spre întristăciune. Că dă te vei întrista foarte, deacii toți den casa ta și toate slugile tale să vor întrista și să vor îngrija; iar de vei vrea să faci voia lor și să te veselești cu totul, acea veselie făr’ de măsură va mâniia pre Dumnezeu și va osebi sufletul omului de la dânsul. Ci în vrémea acéia, mai bine să fie plăcută veseliia ta lui Dumnezeu, decât oamenilor.

Că nu te-au ales, nici te-au unsu oamenii spre domnie, ci Dumnezeu te-au ales și te-au unsu și a aceluia plăcére să faci. Deci când vei șădea la masă, te socotéște să fie toate veseliile tale plăcute lui Dumnezeu. Și lângă tine, mai sus, să șază tot boiari și sfétnici buni și aleși; iar oameni nebuni și răzvrătiți nicicum să nu ții lângă tine. Că zice prorocul: „Cu cuvioșii, cuvios vei fi; și cu aleșii, ales vei fi; și cu cei strâmbi te vei răzvrăti”. Dreptu acéia, fătul mieu, și eu după cuvântul prorocului îți aduc aminte și te învăț, că de vei fi în toate zilele cu cei aleși, în toate zilele și în toate ceasurile te vei folosi de sfaturile și de învățăturile lor céle bune; iar de vei fi cu cei nebuni și izvrătiți, deacii și ție îți cade a fi nebun și izvrătit.

Și iarăși să cade domnului să aibă la masa sa multe feluri de tobe și de vioare și de surle de veselie. Așa faceți și voi înaintea oștilor voastre și ce veselie veți ști mai mare, faceți, ca să să veselească cei ce vă iubescu. Iar voi, deaca auziți răsunânduvă glasuri ca acéstea, nu să cade să vă ducă mintea spre dânsele, sau cătră jocurile céle de multe feliuri, care să fac și vin pentru numele vostru dentr-alte țărâi. Că omul cela ce-și duce tot gândul spre cântece și spre jocuri ca acéstea, acela n-are minte de-ajunsu. Dar cum vei putea fi tu domn și să te chemi oamenilor sare și izvor, den care să să adape toți oamenii, și să-ți dai mintea cu totul spre scopote și spre jocuri ca acélea? Că deaca vor vedea alții cum faci tu, și acéia vor vrea iar așa să facă, și fiind tu domn, vor vrea să privească la célea ce și tu vei privi. Deci, cum îi vei îndrepta și-i vei învăța, așa vei să le dai și seama.

Pentu-acéia te învăț și eu, fătul mieu, de ț-e voia să fii unsul lui Dumnezeu, ți să cade toate scopotele și jocurile să le lași jos. Că așa să cade domnului să-și veselească oștile; iar mintea să nu ți-o pleci cătră dânsele, deaca ți-e voia să fii desăvârșit și întreg. Ci acéle scopote să răsune înaintea ta și voia oștilor tale încă să o umpli, ci însă te nevoiaște să umpli și voia Dumnezeului tău, carele te-au unsu. Și să nu-ți îngreuezi trupul cu beții, că mulți zic: „Bună iaste băutura cea multă“. Dar cum iaste bună? Că omul, deaca să îmbată, de are și minte multă, el o piiarde; de are mâini vitéze, nici de un folos nu-i suntu; de i-ar fi picioaréle répede, nimic nu-i sporescu, și de are și limbă dulce și vorbitoare frumos, nici cu acéia nu poate grăi. Deci cum nu iaste rea beția, când toate mădularéle omului nici de un folos nu sunt trupului său? Dar lui Dumnezeu și oamenilor cum va putea să facă vreun lucru de treabă?

Încă ș-altă răutate izvoraște și iase de la beție, că omul bețiv întâi trupul și-l bolnăvéște și-și sărăcéște casa și-și piiarde mintea. Deacii, deaca-și piiarde mintea, el își piiarde și sufletul. Sau iani să vedem cu bețiia, ce lucru de folos am făcut sau am dobândit, făr’ decât ne-am bolnăvit trupurile, și ne-am sărăcit casele și ne-am pierdut mintea! Deacii deaca ne-am pierdut mintea, noi am dăzlupit și pre Dumnezeu de la noi. Și cel ce iubéște băutura multă, acela nu să va chema următoriu lui Hristos, ci va fi chemat ca un dobitoc. Pentr-acéia, fătul mieu, mai bine iaste să iubești băutura cea multă și să te chemi dobitoc, au mai bine iaste să te chemi următoriu lui Hristos?

Iar slugilor tale le dă să bea din dăstul și cât vor vrea. Și tu încă să béi, ce cu măsură, ca să poată birui mintea ta pe vin, iar să nu biruiască vinul pre minte; și să cunoască mintea ta pre mințile slugilor tale, iar să nu cunoască mintea slugilor pre mintea ta.

La beție pre nimeni să nu dăruești, măcar de țe-ar fi sluga cât de dragă. Sau de veți avea vreo mânie pre cineva de la trezvie, tu să nu o arăți pre sluga ta la beție și să-l urgisești. Sau de vor vrea să pârască cineva pre alții la tine la beție, iar tu să-i îngăduești pân’ la trezvie. Sau de-ți va greși vreo slugă, fiind beat, tu-i îngădue, pentru că tu l-ai îmbătat, deci cum l-ai îmbătat, așa-i și îngădue. Dreptu acéia-ți zic: să nu dăruești pre nimeni la beție, pentru că una-ți vei piiarde den avuție, alta-ți vei pune nume rău. Că vor zice așa: „Blăm acum la cel domn neharnic, că iaste beat, deci până iaste treaz el nu va să ne dăruiască, iar deaca să îmbată, el își piiarde mintea și nu știe cui ce dă“. Iată că suntu 2 răutăți: că întâi îți pierzi din avuția ta, iar a doao tu-ți dobândești și nume de hulă. Și încă-ți mai zic: la beție să nu te mânii, nici să osândești pre nimeni, că și aceasta iaste alt lucru rău și de povéste.

Că vor zice toți: „Să nu mérgem să stăm să dvorim la cel domn, că deaca să îmbată, el își piiarde mintea și are arțag, ci ne va înfrunta și încă de nu ne va și piiarde”. Pentr-acéia, fătul mieu, te învăț: la beție nici să dăruești pre nimeni, nici să urgisești, ci de ți-e voia să dăruești pre cineva, tu îl dăruiaște dimineața la trezvie cu cuvinte dulci, deaca ți-e voia să-ți mulțumească cel ce i-ai dat drumul și să-ți sărute și mâna. Iar deaca ți-e voia să te mânii sau să urgisești pre cineva sau să-l judeci, iar dimineața la trezvie îl judecă, cu toți boierii tăi, și-i ia seama. Deacii cum îl va ajunge judecata, așa-i fă. Căci că, deaca șăzi la masă, nu iaste légea să judeci nici să dăruești, ci are masa obiceaiul său de veselie, să să veselească toate oștile tale și slugile de tine.

Așijderea când șăzi la masă și vei să-ți așezi la masă boiarii cei mari și cei al doilea și cei mai mici și pre alții pre toți, iar tu de atuncea să le păzești locurile, ca la a doao șădére să nu le schimbi rândurile, căci că deaca pui sluga ta la masă într-un loc, iar al doilea rându tu-l pui mai jos, décii într-acel ceas i să întristează inima și să scârbéște. Căci că el să nădăjduia dentracel loc ce au șăzut întâi să câștige alt loc mai sus, iar tu, pentru unul carele-ți iaste ție mai drag, tu-l dai mai jos. Pentru-acéia i să întristează inima și să vatămă ca cu o rană, că inima omului iaste ca sticla, décii sticla, deaca să sparge, cu ce o vei mai cârpi? Drept acéia, fătul mieu, când vei tocmi boiarii și slugileți la masă și-ți vor veni cineva din cei ce-ți vor fi mai dragi și vor sta în vorbă, să nu cumva să muți pre vreunii din cei șăzuți mai jos și pre céialalți să-i pui să șază mai sus. Cei ce sunt la masă, acéia să șază; că pre acéia i-ai tocmit și i-ai așăzat. Iar celoralalți care sunt ție dragi și stau în vorbă, tu ia pâine și bucate den naintea ta și vin, și le dă cu mâna ta să mănânce și să bea. Deacii, deaca le vei da bucate, tu le dă și cuvinte bune den gura ta, că și Sfânta Scriptură mărturisește și zice: „Unii mai bine să bucură și să veselescu și mai bine mulțumescu de cuvintele céle bune”, decât cum mulțumescu alții de ospéțe și de băuturi. Căci că omul înțeleptu, cât îi vei adaoge și vei lungi cuvintele céle bune, atâta mai mult să va folosi și va mulțumi; iar de-l vei sili cu băutura și cu mâncarea, mai rea răutate vei ațâța într-însul.

Așa și tu, fătul mieu, de-ți vei înfolosi slugile pururea cu cuvinte dulci, tu încă vei dobândi folos; iar de-ți vei slobozi trupul spre beții, făr’ de lucru, foarte rău te vei zminti, că băutura cea multă mari răutăți face. Pentru acéia trebue multă trezvie, că auzi că zice Dumnezeu-:”Păziți-vă, să nu cumva să să îngreuiaze inima cu mâncări multe și cu băuturi”. Și iar grăiaște cu prorocul său, de zice: „Treziți-vă, céia ce béți vin, de vă îmbătați și plângeți, că s-au luat din mijlocul vostru veseliia și bucuriia!” . Și bun lucru iaste a să feri omul de băutura cea multă, că iar iaste scris, de zice Scriptura: „În lémnele céle multe să face foc mare și în bucatele céle multe să ațâță curviia”. Și „cum ațâță și face untul văpae, așa și vinul rădică pohte de curvie”. Și „cum nu să va îmbogăți lucrătoriul bețiv, așa și sufletele care iubescu bețiia nu vor înmulți bunătățile, ce și céle ce vor avea, le vor piiarde”.

Fătul mieu, „deaca béi vin, nu te lăuda nici te face bărbat, că pre mulți au pierdut vinul” și multe răutăți au făcut. Vinul au golit trupul cel de rușine al lui Noe. Vinul făcu pre Lot de să împreună cu amândoao fétele sale trupéște. Vinul provăli pre bărbatul și viteazul Sampson până în sfârșit, care să născuse den făgăduință și den muiare stearpă, și n-au mai fost alt om niciodată vârtos ca dânsul, nici va mai fi.

Că zice Scriptura: „Era un om den semențiia lui Dan, pre care-l chema Manoe, și muiarea lui era stearpă și feciori nu făcea. Iar îngerul lui Dumnezeu să arătă muerii și zise cătră dânsa: „Iată, tu ești stearpă și feciori n-ai făcut, iar de acum să știi că vei încépe rod și vei îngreca și vei naște fiiu. Și să te păzești, să nu béi vin, nici rachiu și nimic spurcat să nu mănânci, că acel cocon va fi sfințit lui Dumnezeu din pântecéle mânesa”. Décii muiarea mérse și spuse bărbatului său toate câte-i zisése îngerul, iar Manoe să rugă lui Dumnezeu și zise: „O, Doamne, cela ce ai trimis pre umul lui Dumnezeu la noi, trimitel și acum să vie să ne învéțe ce vom face coconului, deaca să va naște”. Și ascultă Dumnezeu rugăciunea lui Manoe și iar veni a doao oară îngerul lui Dumnezeu la muiare, iar Manoe, bărbatul ei, nu era cu dânsa, că muiarea era la câmpu. Déacii muiarea alergă și spuse bărbatului ei, zicând: „Iată, iar mi să arătă bărbatul cela ce venise în cutare zi la mine”. Și să sculă Manoe și mérse după muiarea lui și, deacă ajunse, zise cătră acel bărbat: „Au doar ești tu bărbatul cela ce ai grăit cu muiarea mea?” Iar îngerul zise: „Eu suntu”.

Manoe zise: „Fie acum după cuvântul tău. Dar coconul ce lucru va avea și ce i să va cădea a fi?” Îngerul zise: „De toate câte am zis muerii tale, să să păzească. Și ce să va face în vie să nu mănânce, și vin să nu bea, nici ce va fi spurcat să nu mănânce. Iar acesta carele să va naște den făgăduință, acesta va ucide pre leu, ca pre un ed și, după câtăva vréme, den capul leului va da părinților lui miiare de va mânca. Și va judeca Israilul în 20 de ani, și cu o falcă de măgariu va ucide 1. 000 de oameni. Și va lua poarta cetății dintr-amândoao țâțânele și cu toate încuetorile, și o va duce în vârful muntelui înaintea Hevronului.

Și stâlpii casei încă-i va lua în mâini și-i va clăti, și va surpa casele, și toate tăriile ce vor fi făcute, pre dânșii. Și pre 3. 000 de oameni ce vor fi într-însele îi va prăpădi”.

Iar apoi și acesta, ocaianicul, de necredincioasa și hicleana curvă Dalida fu ucis și peri zicând: „Să moară și sufletul mieu cu păgânii aceștea”.

Dar tu, o, suflete, fiind mai neputincios și mai slab, ce vei zice? O, hicleană muiare Dalido, cum uciseși pre minunatul și marele bărbat, pre Sampson? Cu adevărat, într-această lume nu iaste mai rea și mai amară decât muiarea vicleană.

Incă mai ascultă, fătul mieu, să-ți mai spuiu ș-altă povéste, iar din Sfânta Scriptură: Olofer, viziriul lui Navohodonosor împărat, pentru bețiia peri și cu toate oștile lui. Că zise cătră Vagav, hadâmul său: „Pasă la cea ovréică și-i zi să vie să să ospetéze cu noi, că ne vor râde asiriianii deaca o vom lăsa să să ducă și să nu ne împreunăm cu dânsa trupéște”. Că era acea muiare foarte frumoasă și chipeșă, și era o ovréică și numele ei Iuditha. Deacii Vagav eși de la Olofer și mérse de grăi cătră Iuditha și zise: „O, jupâneasă, nu-ți fie rușine, ci pasă la stăpânămieu Olofer, de mănâncă cu dânsul și bea vin cu veselie”. Iar ea zise: „Dar eu ce sunt să stau împotriva stăpânului mieu? Eu tot ce va pohti el voiu face, și ce va fi lui drag a face mie, încă va fi de veselie și de bucurie în toată viața mea”. Și să sculă Iuditha și să împodobi frumos și să îmbrăcă în haine bune și cu alte podoabe muerești cu toate să împodobi și-și luo slujnica cu dânsa și mérse de stătu înaintea lui Olofer. Iar el, deaca o văzu, i să răni inima de dânsa și o pohti foarte și tot aștepta vréme să să împreune cu dânsa.

Și-i zise Olofer: „Acum bea, mănâncă și te veseléște, că ai găsit milă înaintea mea”. Iar Iuditha zise: „Mânca-voi și voi bea, domnul și stăpânul mieu, că astăzi să înălță sufletul mieu mai mult decât în toate zilele vieții méle”. Și luo de mâncă și bău cu dânsul din bucatele care-i gătise slujnica ei, iar inima lui Olofer tot era rănită de pohta ei. Și să veseli Olofer și bău vin mult pentru dragostea ei, atâta cât nu băuse niciodată den nașterea lui. Iar deaca înseră, să duseră toate slugile lui cineși pre la conac, și Vagav închise ușile cortului și să duse și el, că era toți îngreuiați și biruiți de vin. Iar Iuditha rămase singură în căsuța cea mai din năântru. Iar Olofer zăcea în pat, beat, și adormi foarte tare. Deacii zise Iuditha cătră slujnica ei: „Pasă afară, de stai înaintea cortului și păzește”.

Și făcu așa. Iar Iuditha să ruga lui Dumnezeu cu lacrămi zicând: „Doamne, Dumnezeul lui Israil, caută într-acest ceas lucru mâinilor méle și să înalți Ierusalimul, cetatea ta, cum te-ai făgăduit, și să săvârșăscu ce am cugetat, nădăjduindu-mă spre tine că voi face lucrul acesta”. Și deaca zise așa, să apropie de patul lui Olofer și-i luo sabiia lui de la căpătâi și, deaca o scoase den teacă, îl apucă cu o mână de păr și-și rădică ochii la cer și zise: „Doamne, Dumnezeul lui Israil, întăréște-mă într-acest ceas”. Și-l lovi de 2 ori preste grumazi și-i tăe capul și-l băgă în traista ei, în care purtase bucate, și-l déde slujnicii. Și eșiră amândoao din tabără, cum le era obiceiul și la vréme de rugăciune.

Vezi, fătul mieu, cum plătéște de rău bețiia? Drept acéia, să nu zăbovești la beție, ci, cât poți, fugi de beție ca de focul unui cuptor.

Așijderea și Irod, pentru beție tăie pre dumneziescul Ioan Botezătorul, de al căruia trai și bunătăți și el să mira, iar fiind biruit de hicleșugu-i, ucise-l ca un nebun și ca un turbat. Așa și tu, ticăloase suflete, fiind împresurat și surpat de mâncări multe și de băuturi, te vei întoarce în necurății și vei face lucruri de periciune. Pentr-acéia, încai de acum fugi de acéstea cu nevoință, ca să nu urmezi amărăciunilor de la Dumnezeu. Că zice prorocul: „Amar celora ce, deaca să scoală dimineața, ei caută rachiul, iar seara ei beau vinul cu alăute și cu tobe și cu surle, iar lucrurile lui Dumnezeu ei nu știu, nici caută de lucrurile mâinilor sale”. Amar și ție, ticăloase suflete și făr’ de rușine, că tu totdeauna faci lucruri de ocară și de batjocură, ca acéstea, și nu-ți iaste rușine nici frică! Ci ai dobândit chip și obraz de curvă și la toți cauți făr’ de rușine și în toate zilele mânii pre Dumnezeu cu lucruri réle și cu cugete hicléne și nu-ți iaste frică, nici te temi, o, nebune, pentru îndelungata răbdarea lui! Dar cum vei să poți scăpa de mâniia lui cea neoprită și de osânda ce va să-ți cază asupră? Drept acéia, să nu cumva să nu grijășți sau să nu bagi seama de mântuirea ta, ci până ai vréme de pocăință, fă bine și tot ce place lui Dumnezeu.

Că măcar de iaste iubitor de oameni și mila lui întăréște toată firea omenească, iar iaste și judecător drept. Ci să nu te amăgești sau să te înșale inima sau firea cumva. Că nu iaste nimenea din cei ce fac rău, carii să poată dobândi împărățiia ceriului și să între în lăcașul drepților, ci numai cel ce face voia lui Dumnezeu și va păzi învățăturile lui și poruncile lui. Că zice și prorocul: „Doamne, cine va lăcui în lăcașul tău, sau cine să va sălășui în muntele tău cel sfânt? Cel ce umblă făr’ de prihană și cel ce face dreptate și cel ce grăiaște adeverință în inima lui, carele n-au înșălat cu limba lui și n-au făcut rău vecinului său, nici au avut împutăciune dăspre aproapele lui; cel ce s-au jurat vecinului său și nu s-au lepădat, și încai nu ș-au dat banii în camătă, și pre cei nevinovați nu i-au vândut. Cel ce va face acéstea, nu să va rușina în veacu”. Acéstéa toate auzindu-le, o, suflete, în toate zilele, din sfintele scripturi, iar tu, nebune, nu vruseși să înțelegi, ci te-ai alunecat spre pohte de ocară și de rușine. Dar atuncea, la judecată, ce gândești a face, o, neînțelépte, fiind gol de toate bunătățile?

Deci de acum încai te păzéște și te părăséște și te lasă de lucrurile tale céle spurcate și te apropie cătră pocăință și fă lucruri bune înaintea Dumnezeului tău, ca să iai și tu de la dânsul binele cel cerescu și să fii făgăduit veseliei cei îngerești. Deacii cu dânșii te vei învrédnici slavei Dumnezeului celui ce iaste în troiță, că aceluia iaste toată împărățiia și putérea și slava în veci netrecuți și nesfârșiți, amin.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Luke.14.8-Luke.14.10 — When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not recline at the table in the place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you has been invited by him; Luke.14.9 — and the one who invited you and him will come and say to you, 'Give this one your place,' and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. Luke.14.10 — But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher.' Then you will have glory before all who are reclining at table with you.
  2. ↩Prov.15.17 — Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.
  3. ↩Prov.16.24 — Gracious words are honey—sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
  4. ↩Gen.9.20-Gen.9.23 — And Noah, a man of the ground, began by planting a vineyard. Gen.9.21 — He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. Gen.9.22 — And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. Gen.9.23 — Shem and Japheth took the garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered their father's nakedness; their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father's nakedness.
  5. ↩Gen.19.30-Gen.19.38 — Lot went up from Zoar and settled in the mountain, he and his two daughters with him, for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar; so he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. Gen.19.31 — And the firstborn said to the younger, 'Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to come in to us as is the way of all the earth.' Gen.19.32 — Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, so that we may preserve offspring through our father. Gen.19.33 — And they gave their father wine that night. And the firstborn came and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she rose. Gen.19.34 — The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, "I lay with my father last night. Let us give him wine again tonight as well, and go in and lie with him, so that we may preserve offspring through our father." Gen.19.35 — And they made their father drink wine that night also; and the younger rose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she rose. Gen.19.36 — Thus both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father. Gen.19.37 — The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; he is the father of Moab to this day. Gen.19.38 — And the younger also bore a son, and she called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites to this day.
  6. ↩Judg.13.2-Judg.13.5;Judg.16.4-Judg.16.21 — There was a certain man from Zorah, from the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had borne no children. Judg.13.3 — And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, 'Behold, you are barren and have not borne a child; but you shall conceive and bear a son.' Judg.13.4 — Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat anything unclean. Judg.13.5 — For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb. And he will begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines. Judg.16.4 — After these things, he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, and her name was Delilah. Judg.16.5 — The lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, 'Entice him, and see in what way his strength is great, and in what way we may overpower him, so that we may bind him to subdue him; and we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.' Judg.16.6 — Then Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me now, wherein your great strength lies, and how you may be bound in order to subdue you." Judg.16.7 — And Samson said to her, 'If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I will become weak and be like any other man.' Judg.16.8 — And the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Judg.16.9 — The one lying in wait was sitting for her in the inner room. She said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And he snapped the bowstrings as a twisted cord snaps when it is touched by fire — and his strength was not known. Judg.16.10 — And Delilah said to Samson, "Behold, you have mocked me and spoken lies to me. Now please tell me how you can be bound." Judg.16.11 — And he said to her, "If they bind me with new ropes that have not been worked, then I will become weak and be like any other man." Judg.16.12 — So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, 'The Philistines are upon you, Samson!' And the ambush was sitting in the inner room. But he snapped them from his arms like a thread. Judg.16.13 — Then Delilah said to Samson, "Until now you have deceived me and spoken lies to me. Tell me how you can be bound." And he said to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web." Judg.16.14 — She drove it into the peg and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" He awoke from his sleep and pulled out the peg of the loom and the warp threads. Judg.16.15 — And she said to him, 'How can you say, "I love you," when your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have mocked me, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.' Judg.16.16 — And it came to pass, when she pressed him with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed unto death. Judg.16.17 — So he told her all his heart, and said to her, 'No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become weak and be like any other man.' Judg.16.18 — When Delilah saw that he had told her all her heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up this time, for he has told me all his heart." So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the silver in their hands. Judg.16.19 — She made him sleep on her knees, and she called for a man and shaved off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength left him. Judg.16.20 — And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And he awoke from his sleep and said, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. Judg.16.21 — And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes, and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles, and he became a grinder in the prison house.
  7. ↩Judg.16.29-Judg.16.30 — Then Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested and braced himself against them, one with his right hand and one with his left. Judg.16.30 — And Samson said, "Let my soul die with the Philistines!" And he pushed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. And the dead whom he killed at his death were many more than those he had killed in his life.
  8. ↩Judg.16.27 — The house was full of men and women, and there were all the lords of the Philistines, and on the roof about three thousand men and women watching Samson's sport.
  9. ↩1Cor.6.9-1Cor.6.10 — Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1Cor.6.10 — Neither thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
  10. ↩Matt.7.21 — Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
  11. ↩Ps.15.1;Ps.15.1 — A Psalm of David. LORD, who may sojourn in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? Ps.15.1 — A Psalm of David. LORD, who may sojourn in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill?
  12. ↩Ps.15.2-Ps.15.5;Ps.15.2-Ps.15.5 — He who walks blamelessly and does righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart. Ps.15.3 — He does not slander with his tongue, does no harm to his neighbor, and takes no reproach against his friend. Ps.15.4 — The one despised in his own eyes is rejected, but those who fear the LORD he honors. He swears to his own hurt and does not change. Ps.15.5 — He does not lend his money at interest, and does not take a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken. Ps.15.2 — He who walks blamelessly and does righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart. Ps.15.3 — He does not slander with his tongue, does no harm to his neighbor, and takes no reproach against his friend. Ps.15.4 — The one despised in his own eyes is rejected, but those who fear the LORD he honors. He swears to his own hurt and does not change. Ps.15.5 — He does not lend his money at interest, and does not take a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken.
  13. ↩Ps.15.5;Ps.15.5 — He does not lend his money at interest, and does not take a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken. Ps.15.5 — He does not lend his money at interest, and does not take a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩"Boyars" (boiari) is kept rather than flattened to "nobles": the term names the specific Wallachian council-nobility whose ranking at the prince's table is the whole subject of the chapter.
  2. 2 ↩"From him" (de la dânsul) most plausibly means from God, who is the nearest named subject; on a weaker reading it could mean that such merriment separates the soul from the person himself. The God-reading is taken here, and s7's appeal to what pleases God supports it.
  3. 3 ↩The source builds on the pair 'nu... ci' (not... but). The rendering keeps that contrast as the sentence's whole force: the source of the prince's office is God, not popular choice, and the duty follows from it.
  4. 4 ↩'boiari' (boyars) are the Wallachian nobility who held rank at the prince's court; the term is kept rather than flattened to 'nobles' because the seating order at the prince's table is a formal matter of rank.
  5. 5 ↩'nebuni' here means foolish or senseless rather than clinically mad; 'reckless' keeps the moral force. 'aleși' — literally 'chosen' — carries the sense of 'select, of proven worth', and it deliberately echoes the same word used of God's choosing in s1 and of the 'chosen' in the prophet's saying below.
  6. 6 ↩'cuvios' is the standard Romanian rendering of the Greek hosios — devout, reverent, set apart — and is the title given to monastic saints; 'holy' preserves both the cadence of the psalm and the link to the counselors' character.
  7. 7 ↩'izvrătiți' / 'izvrătit' is an older form of 'răzvrătit' — twisted, turned aside, perverse — and is translated to match 'te vei răzvrăti' in the prophetic quotation just cited, since the whole point of the sentence is that the psalm's warning applies to the son.
  8. 8 ↩"surle" are loud double-reed wind instruments (shawms) of the Ottoman-Balkan military band; rendered "horns" for readability rather than the technical "shawms".
  9. 9 ↩"scopote" (elsewhere in this chapter "scopotele") denotes instrumental music/minstrelsy at court; rendered "music" for sense.
  10. 10 ↩"vei să le dai și seama" is the idiom for rendering an account (before God) on their behalf; "cum... așa" is kept as the correlative "however... that's exactly what."
  11. 11 ↩The printed "Pentu-acéia" is read as "Pentru acéia" ("for that reason / that's why"); the causal force is carried over from the preceding section's argument.
  12. 12 ↩"desăvârșit și întreg" carries both moral completeness (perfect) and interior undividedness; "whole and undivided" keeps both without importing monastic "perfection".
  13. 13 ↩"dăzlupit" is a rare form; the sense adopted is "stripped away / drove off," i.e. we have separated God from ourselves. Rendered as "driven God away from us" to keep the loss active and self-inflicted.
  14. 14 ↩Romanian minte carries both "mind" and "good sense, self-possession" here; the section turns on the ruler keeping his judgment clear while his servants lose theirs.
  15. 15 ↩Literally "know" (cunoască): the point is discernment gained by staying sober — the prince sees through his servants while remaining unread himself.
  16. 16 ↩The Romanian shifts between plural 'de veți avea' and singular 'tu să nu o arăți'; rendered consistently in the singular for readability. 'Urgisi' here carries the sense of a lord's displeasure falling on a servant — punish, come down hard on.
  17. 17 ↩“Blăm” is an old contracted form of 'let's go' (haidem/să mergem); rendered accordingly.
  18. 18 ↩“De povéste” literally 'fit for a tale' — that is, something that becomes gossip or a byword; rendered by its sense.
  19. 19 ↩"dvorim" is the old court term for waiting in attendance on a lord; rendered "wait on" to keep the concrete sense of courtly service. "are arțag" means he becomes picking-a-fight quarrelsome, not merely irritable.
  20. 20 ↩"cel ce i-ai dat drumul" reads oddly; in context of gift-giving the intended sense is almost certainly "cel ce i-ai dat darul" — the one you gave the gift to. Translated on that reading.
  21. 21 ↩"urgisești" here carries the ruler's act of condemning/laying disgrace on a subject, not mere dislike.
  22. 22 ↩"légea" here means the settled rule or proper order of the occasion rather than law in the juridical sense; "să să veselească ... de tine" means to find their gladness in you, their lord.
  23. 23 ↩"să scârbéște" in this older Romanian usage means to be grieved or offended rather than modern "to be disgusted"; rendered as taking it bitterly.
  24. 24 ↩The quoted saying is attributed to "Holy Scripture" but reads as a loose sapiential paraphrase (compare Sirach 31:23–24 and Proverbs 15:17, 16:24); the comparison clause "decât cum mulțumescu alții..." falls outside the closing quotation mark in the source and is rendered as the author's own continuation.
  25. 25 ↩"cât ... atâta" is a correlative comparative ("the more ... the more"); "mai rea răutate" is a superlative-by-comparison, rendered "something far worse" to keep the natural comparative force without inventing a specific vice.
  26. 26 ↩"făr' de lucru" is read here as "with nothing to do / idleness" rather than "for no reason"; both senses are available in the Romanian, and idleness fits the table-discipline context of the chapter.
  27. 27 ↩"trezvie" is the ascetic term for watchful sobriety (Greek nēpsis); rendered "sobriety" here, which the drinking context also supports, without losing the interior sense of vigilance.
  28. 28 ↩This sentence unit contains only a stray period in the source, most likely a segmentation artifact from the closing punctuation of the preceding quotation. Nothing is translated here; no content is invented.
  29. 29 ↩"untul" literally means butter; the image is of a fatty substance feeding a blaze, so "oil" is used for the sense a modern reader will recognize.
  30. 30 ↩"nu te face bărbat" is literally "don't make yourself a man"; the sense is boasting of one's capacity to hold drink, so "play the strong man" is chosen over a flat "be a man."
  31. 31 ↩"au golit trupul cel de rușine" literally "emptied/uncovered the body of shame"; the reference is to Noah lying uncovered in his tent after drinking, so "stripped bare to his shame" preserves both the exposure and the disgrace.
  32. 32 ↩"provăli" (to topple, overthrow) is rendered "brought down"; "vârtos" here means physically strong rather than merely brave.
  33. 33 ↩The source says rachiu, a distilled spirit unknown in the biblical period; the underlying sense is the scriptural 'strong drink' (sicera), and it is rendered that way here.
  34. 34 ↩"ce i să va cădea a fi" is literally "what will fall to him to be" — i.e. what role or destiny is appointed for him. Rendered as "what is he to become" to keep the sense of an appointed calling.
  35. 35 ↩"De toate câte am zis... să să păzească" can mean either "let her guard herself against all these things" or "let her keep all that I said." Since what follows is a list of prohibitions given to the mother, "keep to everything I told your wife" preserves both the obligation and its restrictive content.
  36. 36 ↩"den făgăduință" — "of/by the promise": the child is born as the fulfillment of the angel's pledge, not merely announced beforehand.
  37. 37 ↩The printed numeral "1.000" is split across sentence boundaries by the source segmentation: "1." ends this sentence and "000 de oameni" opens the next. Translated as the intended figure of one thousand, carried across the two refs without merging them.
  38. 38 ↩This fragment is the second half of the numeral begun in s6 ("1." + "000 de oameni" = one thousand men). Kept as its own ref per the input segmentation.
  39. 39 ↩"tăriile ce vor fi făcute, pre dânșii" is rendered "every stronghold built on them" — "pre dânșii" most plausibly points back to the pillars as what the structures rest on; it could alternatively mean the structures collapse "upon them," i.e. on the people inside, which the next sentences describe.
  40. 40 ↩The source numeral "3.000" was split across sentence boundaries by the segmenter ("Și pre 3." / "000 de oameni..."). This sentence carries only the first half of the number; it is translated as a fragment so the ref count and alignment are preserved. Read s2+s3 together as "And he will destroy the three thousand people who are inside them."
  41. 41 ↩Continues the numeral broken at s2. Full sense: "And he will destroy the three thousand people who are inside them." The closing quotation mark ends the angel's speech to Manoah.
  42. 42 ↩The text says Samson was "killed by" Delilah, though in Judges he dies by pulling down the temple himself; the sense is that her treachery brought about his death. Kept as written rather than harmonized with the biblical narrative.
  43. 43 ↩"sufletul mieu" is rendered "my soul" per the anima/soul policy; the underlying scriptural idiom (Judges 16:30) means simply "let me die."
  44. 44 ↩"Dar" is adversative and pivots from Samson's fate to the reader's own soul; rendered "But" to keep that turn explicit. "Suflete" is a vocative — the writer addresses his own soul directly.
  45. 45 ↩"Uciseși" is literally "you killed"; since Delilah did not kill Samson with her own hand but delivered him to his ruin, "brought down" carries the sense without overstating the source. "Muiare" is the older colloquial word for woman/wife, kept as plain "woman".
  46. 46 ↩The Romanian has no explicit subject for "nu iaste mai rea și mai amară" — the feminine adjectives agree with the implied "nimic/nimeni" understood from "muiarea". Rendered with "nothing" as the most plausible intended sense.
  47. 47 ↩"viziriul" is the Romanian author's own Ottoman-era term for Holofernes's office (in Judith he is Nebuchadnezzar's commander-in-chief). Kept as "vizier" to preserve the text's period coloring rather than normalized to "general".
  48. 48 ↩"să nu ne împreunăm cu dânsa trupéște" is literally "that we not join with her bodily"; rendered with the plain modern idiom to keep the blunt sense without coarseness.
  49. 49 ↩"să stau împotriva" is literally "to stand against"; "to refuse" carries the sense of the deferential rhetorical question without archaic stiffness.
  50. 50 ↩"i să răni inima" is literally "his heart was wounded"; kept as a wound image because the text is building the contrast between wounded desire and the wound Judith will actually deal him.
  51. 51 ↩Romanian "milă" normally means mercy, but here it renders the biblical idiom "to find favor before someone" (Judith 12:13). Rendered "favor" since human goodwill, not divine mercy, is in view; the mercy lexeme policy applies to divine mercy.
  52. 52 ↩"pentru dragostea ei" is rendered "out of his passion for her" rather than "love": the context is the disordered appetite of s3 ("rănită de pohta ei"), not covenantal love.
  53. 53 ↩"să înalți Ierusalimul" — literally "that you raise up Jerusalem"; rendered "lift up Jerusalem" to keep the sense of exalting/restoring the city rather than physically raising it.
  54. 54 ↩"cum le era obiceiul și la vréme de rugăciune" is read as two joined circumstances — their established habit and the customary prayer time — rather than as a single clause; the sense is that their departure raised no suspicion.
  55. 55 ↩"Plătéște de rău" literally means "pays badly" — the image is of drunkenness settling accounts with its servant. Rendered as "what a bitter wage ... pays out" to keep the transactional force in natural English.
  56. 56 ↩"hicleșugu-i" can mean either Herod's own duplicity or the trickery worked on him (Herodias and her daughter, per the Gospel account). Rendered as "his own treachery" to keep the responsibility with Herod, which the sentence's following clause assumes.
  57. 57 ↩"să nu urmezi amărăciunilor de la Dumnezeu" is literally "so you don't follow after / come in for the bitternesses from God" — the bitterness is the punishment God sends, not a bitterness of temperament; rendered as "bitter judgment" to keep that force.
  58. 58 ↩"pentru îndelungata răbdarea lui" names God's long-suffering forbearance; the sentence's force is that the soul mistakes that patience for safety. "just because" makes the causal link explicit rather than leaving it as bare "for".
  59. 59 ↩The Romanian piles up negatives ("să nu cumva să nu grijășți sau să nu bagi seama"); this is emphatic prohibition, not a double negative that cancels itself. Rendered as a straight warning against carelessness.
  60. 60 ↩Literally 'reproach concerning his neighbor' — i.e. did not level accusations or slander at those near him.
  61. 61 ↩'bunătăți' here means good deeds or virtues rather than material goods; the image is of standing at judgment with nothing to show.
  62. 62 ↩The opening "Deci... încai" carries both consequence and concession — "so, from now on, at the very least" — closing the previous section's rebuke by conceding that late repentance is still worth something.
  63. 63 ↩"cu dânșii" — "with them" — refers back to the angels named at the close of the previous sentence, so the closing doxology places the repentant reader in their company.

Teachings of Neagoe Basarab to His Son Theodosios companion

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