Tests in Life

4 When a sieve is shaken, the refuse appears;

so do a person’s faults when he speaks.

5 The kiln tests the potter’s vessels;

so the test of a person is in his conversation.

6 Its fruit discloses the cultivation of a tree;

so a person’s speech discloses the cultivation of his mind.

7 Do not praise anyone before he speaks,

for this is the way people are tested.