7
1I have seen slaves 2on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves.
8
He who 3digs a pit will fall into it, and 4a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.
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5He who quarries stones is hurt by them, and he who 6splits logs is endangered by them.
10
If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed.
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If the serpent bites before it is 7charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer.
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The words of a wise man's mouth 8win him favor, but 9the lips of a fool consume him.
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The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is evil madness.
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10A fool multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him 11what will be after him?
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The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know 12the way to the city.
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13Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning!
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Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time, for strength, and not for 14drunkenness!
18
Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks.
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Bread is made for laughter, and 15wine gladdens life, and 16money answers everything.
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Even in your thoughts, 17do not curse the king, nor in your 18bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter.