Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call understanding a close relative,
If I cry to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My Mother,’ or ‘My sister,’
Bind them on your forearm; write them on the tablet of your heart.
so that they may keep you from the adulterous woman, from the loose woman who flatters you with her words.
Oh, how I wish you were my little brother, nursing at my mother’s breasts; if I saw you outside, I could kiss you – surely no one would despise me!