“The hand of the industrious shall rule, but the slack hand shall be tributary” (xii. 24). “In all labour there is profit; but when there is only a word of lips it leads but to want” (xiv. 23). “Also he who is lazy in his work is a brother to the man that destroyeth” (xviii. 9). “I passed by the field of a slothful man, and the vineyard of a man wanting heart; and behold, thorns have come up over the whole of it; its surface is covered with thistles, and its stone-fence is pulled down. And I beheld, I turned my heart, I saw, I took instruction: a little of sleep, a little of slumber, a little of joining the hands to lie down; then thy poverty cometh like a traveller, and thy want like an armed man” (xxiv. 30–34). “The righteous eateth to the fulness of his soul, but the belly of the wicked shall want” (xiii. 25). “Wine is a mocker, strong drink roareth, and every one that erreth therein will not be wise” (xx. 1). “Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath complaining? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? Those who tarry long at the wine; those who come to search mixed drink. Do not look upon the wine though it be red, though it send forth its colour through the cup, though it flow smoothly; in the end it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an asp; thine eyes shall see strange things, and thy heart shall speak perverse things; and thou shalt be like one that lieth in the midst of the sea, and like one that lieth on the top of the mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick. They have beaten me; I felt it not. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again” (xxiii. 29–35). “He who is greedy after gain troubleth his house, but he who hateth gifts shall live” (xv. 27). “He whose desire is wide stirreth up strife, but he who trusteth in the Lord shall be fattened” (xxviii. 25). “There are who spend liberally, and there is an increase; and there are who withhold more than is right, and yet it leads to want” (xi. 24). “Know well the state of thy flock; set thy heart to the droves; for treasure is not for ever, nor a crown for generation and generation. When hay is gone, and grass is spoilt, and the herbs of the field are gathered in, there are lambs for thy clothing, and he-goats are the price of a field: and there will be goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy house, and maintenance for thy maidens’ (xxvii. 23–27). “Lust overcome is sweet to the soul; but to depart from evil is the abomination of fools” (xiii. 19). “Better is he who is long-suffering than a hero; and he who ruleth his spirit is better than he who conquereth a city” (xvi. 32). “Like an open town without a wall is the man whose spirit is without restraint” (xxv. 28).