Kupićby cię mądrości za drogie pieniądze,
Która (jeśli prawdziwie mienią) wszystkie żądze,
Wszystkie ludzkie frasunki umiesz wykorzenić.

Thou shouldst be purchased, Wisdom, for much gold If all they say of thee is truly told: That thou canst root out from the mind the host Of longings. | (tr. Dorothea Prall, 1920) | I'd buy you, Wisdom, with all of the world's gold— But is there any truth in what we're told About your power to purge our human thought Of all its dread? | (tr. Barańczak and Heaney, 1995)