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The Folly of a Simpleminded Fool

¹ Dead flies make a ^(C1)perfumer's oil stink, so a little simpleminded folly is weightier than wisdom and honor.² A wise man's heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish ^(C1)man's heart directs him toward the left.³ Even when the simpleminded fool walks along the road, his heart lacks wisdom, and he ^(C1)says to all that he is a simpleminded fool.⁴ If the ruler's ^(F1)temper rises against you, ^(C1)do not abandon your position, because ^(C2)calmness causes great offenses to be abandoned.

⁵ There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like a mistake which goes forth from the one in power—^6 (F1)(C1)folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places.⁷ I have seen ^(C1)slaves riding ^(C2)on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.

^8 (C1)He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a ^(C2)serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall.⁹ He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them.¹⁰ If the ^(F1)axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must ^(F2)exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success.¹¹ If the serpent bites ^(F1)(C1)before being charmed, there is no advantage for the charmer.^12 (C1)Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, but the lips of a ^(C2)fool swallow him up;¹³ the beginning of the words of his mouth is simpleminded folly, and the end of what comes from his mouth is evil ^(C1)madness.¹⁴ Yet the ^(C1)simpleminded fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him ^(C2)what will come after him?¹⁵ The labor of ^(F1)a fool so wearies him that he does not even know how to go to a city.¹⁶ Woe to you, O land, whose ^(C1)king is a young man and whose princes ^(F1)eat in the morning.¹⁷ Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for might and not for ^(C1)drinking.¹⁸ Through ^(C1)indolence the beams sag, and through slack hands the house leaks.¹⁹ Men prepare bread for laughter, and ^(C1)wine makes life glad, and ^(C2)money ^(F1)is the answer to everything.²⁰ Furthermore, ^(C1)in your bedchamber do not ^(C2)curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the sky will bring the sound and the winged creature will tell the matter.