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Look round and round the man you recommend,
For yours will be the shame should he offend.

— Horace Epistles (-20)

Qualem commendes, etiam atque etiam aspice, ne mox incutiant aliena tibi peccata pudorem.

Original text (Latin)

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Variants

Study carefully the character of the one you recommend, lest his misdeeds bring you shame.

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To flee vice is the beginning of virtue, and to have got rid of folly is the beginning of wisdom.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Horace (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.