Sirach 27:4–7
4 When a sieve is shaken, the refuse remains;
so a man’s filth remains in his thoughts.
5 The kiln tests the potter’s vessels;
so the test of a man is in his reasoning.
6 The fruit discloses the cultivation of a tree;
so the expression of a thought discloses the cultivation of a man’s mind.
7 Do not praise a man before you hear him reason,
for this is the test of men.
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