Iudex Sibi
Cum te aliquis laudat, iudex tuus esse memento;
Plus aliis de te quam tu tibi credere noli.
When someone praises you, be judge alone:
Trust not men's judgment of you, but your own.
(Duff)
When praised, thou of thyself the judge must be;
Accept no praise not spoken truthfully.
(Chase)
(Duff)
When praised, thou of thyself the judge must be;
Accept no praise not spoken truthfully.
(Chase)
Source: The Distichs of Cato (4th century), 1.14. Meter: Dactylic Hexameter. Note the use of the future imperative, memento, "remember!" The syntax of the second line is also a bit confusing; here it is written out in an easier-to-understand word order: Tu noli credere de te plus aliis quam tibi (the dative is the complement to credere: to trust in somebody, dative).
The vocabulary is keyed to the DCC Latin Vocabulary list. All the words in this poem are on that list:
When someone praises you (cum aliquis te laudat), remember to be (memento esse) your own judge (tuus iudex); don't put more trust in what others (noli plus credere aliis) judge about you (de te) than what you judge about yourself(quam tu tibi).
aliquis -quae -quod: some, any; si quis, si quid: anyone who, anything that
alius -a -um: other, another
crēdo -ere crēdidī crēditum: believe
cum: with (prep. + abl.); when, since, although (conjunction + subj.)
dē: down from, about, concerning (+ abl.)
iūdex iūdicis m.: judge, juror
laudo -āre: praise
meminī meminisse: remember, recollect
nōlo nōlle, nōluī: be unwilling
plūs plūris n.: a greater amount or number, more
quam: how?; (after comparative) than
sum, esse, fuī: be, exist
tū tuī tibi tē: you (sing.)
tuus -a -um: your
