¹A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one’s birth. ²It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: in that that is the end of all men, and the living taketh it to heart. ³Vexation is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. ⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools in the house of mirth. ⁵It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise, than to hear the song of fools. ⁶For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.

⁷Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad, and a gift destroyeth the heart. ⁸Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; better is a patient spirit than a proud spirit. ⁹Be not hasty in thy spirit to be vexed; for vexation resteth in the bosom of fools. ¹⁰Say not, How is it that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this.

¹¹Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, and profitable to them that see the sun. ¹²For wisdom is a defence as money is a defence; but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom maketh them that possess it to live.

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