When the righteous prosper the city rejoices,
But when the wicked perish there is shouting.
By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
But by the counsel of the wicked it is overthrown.
Where there is no wise guidance a people falls,
But in much counsel there is safety.

THE ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD

339.

CITIZEN

TEMPERANCE IN EATING AND DRINKING

If you find honey, eat what is sufficient

That you may not be surfeited and vomit it up.

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is turbulent,
And whoever is misled by it is not wise.
Who cries, 'Woe'? who, 'Alas'?

Who has contentions? Who complains?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?

They who linger long over wine,

They who go in to taste mixed wine.

So look not on wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
And glides down smoothly.
At last it bites like a snake,
And stings like an adder.

Then you will see strange things,
And your mind utter distorted ideas.
You will be like one sleeping at sea,
Like one asleep in a violent storm.
'I have been struck, but I feel no pain;

I have been beaten, I am not conscious of it.
When shall I awake from my wine?

I will seek it yet again.'

340. RESTRAINT IN SPEAKING

Do you see a man who speaks before he thinks?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.

He who answers before he hears

Covers himself with confusion.

He who is sparing of words has knowledge,
And he who has a cool spirit is a man of sense.
Even a fool, if he keeps still, is considered wise;
Prudent, if he keeps his lips shut.

He who guards his mouth and tongue
Guards himself against trouble.

Life and death are in the power of the tongue;
They who are fond of using it must eat its fruit.

A man has joy from the utterance of his mouth,
And a word in season, how good it is!
A word fitly spoken

Is like golden fruit in silver settings.

Pleasant words are like honeycomb,

Sweet to the taste and healing to the body.

341. THE RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARD TEMPTATION

Happy is the man who is ever on his guard,

But he who is obdurate falls into misfortune.
A prudent man sees evil and hides,
Simpletons go on and are punished.

Let your eyes look right ahead,

And let your gaze be straight before you.
Let the path for your feet be level,

And let all your ways be stable.
Turn not to right nor to left,

Keep your foot far from evil.

Eat not the bread of him who is inhospitable,

Nor desire to share his dainties;

For he is like one who keeps his thoughts to himself.

'Eat and drink,' he says to you,

But his heart is not with you.

The morsel you have eaten you shall spit out,

And you shall lose your sweet words,

As a troubled fountain and a ruined spring,

So is a just man who gives way before the wicked.

342. CONTROL OF THE SENSUAL PASSIONS

He who loves wisdom rejoices his father,

But he who associates with harlots wastes his wealth.

Give not your strength to women,

Nor your morals to those who slay kings.

My son, give me your attention,

And pay careful heed to my guidance;

For a harlot is a deep pit,

And an adulteress a narrow well.

She lies in wait as a robber,

And increases the faithless among men.

For the lips of a harlot drop honey,
And her speech is smoother than oil,
But at the last she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.

Her feet lead down to death,

And her steps reach the abode of the dead.
She does not make level the way of life:
Her paths are unstable, though she knows it not.

Now therefore, my son, give heed,

And do not depart from my words.

Keep the course of your life far from her,
And go not near the door of her house;

Lest you give your honor to others,
And the toil of your years to the cruel;
Lest strangers enjoy your wealth,
And your labors pass to an alien.

Lest you groan when your end shall come,
When your flesh and bone are consumed,
And say, 'Alas! I have hated instruction,
And my mind has despised reproof;

I have disregarded the voice of my teachers,
Nor given heed to my instructors!'

Can a man take fire in his bosom
And his clothes not be burned?
Or can one walk on hot coals

And his feet not be scorched?

So with him who goes in to his neighbor's wife;
Whoever touches her shall not go unpunished.

He who commits adultery is devoid of sense.
He destroys himself who does so.

Wounds and dishonor shall he receive,
And his disgrace shall not be wiped away.

343. CONTROL OF THE TEMPER

A mild answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger.

A man without self-control

Is a ruined city whose wall is broken.
A fool gives vent to his wrath,
But a wise man restrains his anger.
A fool's anger is known at once,
But a sensible man ignores an insult.
A man's wisdom makes him patient,
It is his glory to overlook faults.

The quick-tempered man acts foolishly,
And a malicious plotter is hated.
The patient man shows great wisdom,
But the quick-tempered man acts like a fool!

An irascible man stirs up contention,
But one who is patient allays strife.

He who is patient is better than a warrior,

And he who rules his temper than he who takes a city.