Lat. Odi puerulos præcoci sapientiâIng. Soon ripe soon rottenEsp. Buey viejo, sulco derechoEsp. Diablo sabe mucho por que es viejoBeing young and inexperienced do you set yourself up for a teacher? This among the ancients would have been looked upon as a preposterous attempt, and perhaps our manners are not much mended by our departing from their practice on this subject. Odi puerulos præcoci sapientiâ, I hate these forward wits, or to see young men thrusting themselves into concerns that require rather strength of heads than of hands. The most early wits were supposed to be least lasting, and never to attain to perfection; soon ripe soon rotten, is a very old maxim. Buey viejo, sulco derecho, an old ox makes a straight furrow ; and diablo sabe mucho, por que es viejo, the devil knows much, the Spaniards say, because he is old.
Fuente: Erasmo, 2210.