Chapter 22

What ill names shall we hurl at the sluggard? Stone from the sewers, that has no man’s good word;

dung from the midden, for all to wash their hands of him.

Spoilt son thou shalt beget to thy shame, spoilt daughter to thy great loss;

bring she to her husband no dower of modesty, her shame shall cost thee dear.

Shame the father shall have, shame the husband; fit company for sinners, she will have no good word from either of these.

Speech may be out of season, like music in time of mourning; not so the rod, not so chastisement; there lies ever wisdom.

Teach a fool, and mend a pot with glue;

better audience thou shalt have from the sleeper thou wouldst awake from a deep dream;

thy wise speech ended, Why, what’s to do?2 ask fool and dreamer alike.

For the dead that lacks light, for the fool that lacks wit, never cease to mourn;

yet not for the dead overmuch, since rest is his,

but the fool’s life is empty beyond the emptiness of death;

seven days the dead are mourned, but the fool, the godless fool, all his life long.

Linger never with a fool in talk, nor cast in thy lot with his;

keep clear of him, as thou wouldst keep clear of mischief, and of sin’s pollution;

go thy way, and let him go his; thou shalt sleep the sounder, for having no folly of his to cloud thy spirits.

Nought like lead for heaviness? Ay, but its name is fool.

With sand or salt or iron bars burden thyself, not with rash and godless company, not with a fool.

Underpin the foundations with timber balks, thy house shall withstand all shock; nor less shall he, whose heart stands resolved in the counsels of prudence;

no hour of peril can daunt that steadfast heart.

Palisade set on high ground, with no better protection against the wind’s fury than cheap rubble, is but of short endurance;

faint heart that thinks a fool’s thoughts will not be proof against sudden terror.

Faint heart that thinks a fool’s thoughts … … shall never be afraid; no more shall he, that still keeps true to God’s commandments.

Chafed eye will weep, chafed heart will shew resentment.

One stone flung, and the birds are all on the wing; one taunt uttered, and the friendship is past repair.

Hast thou drawn sword against thy friend? Be comforted; all may be as it was.

Hast thou assailed him with angry words? Thou mayst yet be reconciled. But the taunt, the contemptuous reproach, the secret betrayed, the covert attack, all these mean a friend lost.

Keep faith with a friend when his purse is empty, thou shalt have joy of his good fortune;

stand by him when he falls upon evil times, thou shalt be partner in his prosperity.

Chimney-fumes and smoke rising, of fire forewarn thee; curse uttered, and threat, and insult, of bloodshed.

Never will I be ashamed to greet friend of mine, never deny myself to him; let harm befall me for his sake, I care not.

… All that hear of it will keep their distance from him.

Oh for a sentry to guard this mouth of mine, a seal to keep these lips inviolate! From that snare may I be safe, nor ever let my tongue betray me!