78

Boast not thyself of to-morrow;

For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; A stranger, and not thine own lips.

A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty;

But a fool's vexation is heavier than they both.
Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming;

But who is able to stand before jealousy?
Better is open rebuke

Than love that is hidden.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend;

But the kisses of an enemy are importunate.

The full soul loatheth a honeycomb;

But to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

As a bird that wandereth from her nest,

So is a man that wandereth from his place.

Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart;

So doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.

Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; Neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity;

Better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off. My son, be wise, and make my heart glad,

That I may answer him that taunteth me.

A prudent man seeth the evil, and hideth himself;
But the thoughtless pass on, and are punished.

Proverbs 27: 1-12

79

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every pur

pose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;

A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal;

A time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to seek, and a time to lose;

A time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew;

A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate;

A time for war, and a time for peace.

What profit hath he that worketh in that he laboureth? I have seen the task which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith. He hath made every thing beautiful in its time, also He hath set the world in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God hath done from the beginning even to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them, than to rejoice, and so get pleasure so long as they live. But also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy

pleasure for all his labour, is the gift of God. I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever; nothing can be added to it, nor any thing taken from it; and God hath so made it, that men should fear before Him. That which is hath been long ago, and that which is to be hath already been; and God seeketh that which is pursued. Ecclesiastes 3: 1-15

80

A good name is better than precious oil;

And the day of death than the day of one's birth.

It is better to go the house of mourning,

Than to go to the house of feasting;

For that is the end of all men.

And the living will lay it to his heart.

Vexation is better than laughter;

For by the sadness of the countenance the heart may be gladdened.

The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning;

But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise,

Than for a man to hear the song of fools.

For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,

So is the laughter of the fool;

This also is vanity.

Surely oppression turneth a wise man into a fool;

And a gift destroyeth the understanding.

Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof;

And the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry;
For anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
Ecclesiastes 7: 1-9

81

Cast thy bread upon the waters,

For thou shalt find it after many days.

Divide a portion into seven, yea, even into eight;

For thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds be full of rain,

They empty themselves upon the earth;

And if a tree fall in the south, or in the north,

In the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be.

He that observeth the wind shall not sow;

And he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

As thou knowest not what is the way of the wind,

Nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is

with child;

Even so thou knowest not the work of God

Who doeth all things.

In the morning sow thy seed,

And in the evening withhold not thy hand;

For thou knowest not which shall prosper, whether this or that,

Or whether they both shall be alike good.

And the light is sweet,

And a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun.

For if a man live many years,

Let him rejoice in them all.

And remember the days of darkness,

For they shall be many.

All that cometh is vanity.

Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth;

And let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth,

And walk in the ways of thy heart,

And in the sight of thine eyes;

But know thou, that for all these things

God will bring thee into judgment.

Therefore remove vexation from thy heart,

And put away evil from thy flesh;
For childhood and youth are vanity.

Ecclesiastes 11: 1-10

ISRAEL

82

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I commanded thee this day, shall be upon thy heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates.

Deuteronomy 6: 4-9