Page 424 - Wisdom and Sound Advice from the Torah
P. 424
WISDOM AND SOUND ADVICE FROM THE TORAH
tongue... Arrogant lips are un suit ed to a fool—how much worse
ly ing lips to a rul er!... An evil man is bent on ly on re bel lion... Bet-
ter to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his fol ly. If a
man pays back evil for good, evil will nev er leave his house.
Starting a quar rel is like breach ing a dam; so drop the mat ter be -
fore a dis pute breaks out. Acquitting the guilty and con demn ing
the in no cent—the Lord dislikes them both. Why is there mon ey
in the hand of a fool to buy wis dom, seeing he has no un der -
stand ing? A friend loves at all times, and a broth er is born for
ad ver si ty... He who loves dis o be di ence loves strife. He whose
tongue is de ceit ful falls in to troub le. To have a fool for a son
brings grief... A cheer ful heart is good med i cine, but a crushed
spir it dries up the bones. A wick ed man ac cepts a bribe in se cret
to per vert the course of jus tice. A dis cern ing man keeps wis dom
in view, but a fool's eyes wan der to the ends of the earth... A man
of knowl edge us es words with re straint, and a man of un der -
stand ing is even-tem pered. (Proverbs, 17:1-28)
An un friend ly man pur sues self ish ends; he de fies all sound judg -
ment. A fool finds no pleas ure in un der stand ing but de lights in
air ing his own opin ions. When wick ed ness comes, so does con -
tempt, and with shame comes dis grace. The words of a man's
mouth are deep wa ters, but the foun tain of wis dom is a bub -
bling brook. It is not good to be par tial to the wick ed or to de -
prive the in no cent of jus tice. A fool's lips bring him strife... A
fool's mouth is his un do ing, and his lips are a snare to his soul...
The wealth of the rich is their for ti fied city; they im ag ine it an un -
scal a ble wall. Before his down fall a man's heart is proud, but
hu mil i ty comes be fore hon or. He who an swers be fore lis ten -
ing—that is his fol ly and his shame... The heart of the dis cern ing
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