Trust to the winds thy barque, but to a girl
Never thy heart's affections; for the swirl
Of ocean wave is less to be eschewed
Than woman's faith. No woman can be good,
Or if a good one comes, then freakish fate
Good out of ill has managed to create.
Crede ratem ventis, animum ne crede puellis;
namque est feminea tutior unda fide.
femina nulla bona est, vel, si bona contigit una,
nescio quo fato est res mala facta bona.
namque est feminea tutior unda fide.
femina nulla bona est, vel, si bona contigit una,
nescio quo fato est res mala facta bona.
Original text (Latin)
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Source, in full
De femina (Tr. J. W. Duff). Variously ascribed to Marcus Tullius Cicero, Quintus Tullius Cicero, Ausonius and other poets besides Pentadius. See James Stinchcomb, "Literary Interests of a Roman Magnate: Quintus Tullius Cicero", The Classical Weekly, vol. 26, no. 1 (1932), p. 5