Counsels upon social behaviour
6   Many a man has come to ruin for the sake of gold
and found disaster staring him in the face.
7   Gold is a pitfall to those who are infatuated with it,
and every fool is caught by it.
8   Happy the rich man who has remained free of its taint
and has not made gold his aim!
9   Show us that man, and we will congratulate him;
he has performed a miracle among his people.
10   Has anyone ever come through this test unscathed?
Then he has good cause to be proud.
Has anyone ever had it in his power to sin and refrained,
or to do wrong and has not done it?
11   Then he shall be confirmed in his prosperity,
and the whole people will hail him as a benefactor.


12   If you are sitting at a grand table,
do not lick your lips and exclaim, ‘What a spread!’
13   Remember, it is a vice to have a greedy eye.
There is no greater evil in creation than the eye;
that is why it must shed tears at every turn.
14   Do not reach for everything you see,
or jostle your fellow-guest at the dish;
15   judge his feelings by your own
and always behave considerately.
16   Eat what is set before you like a gentleman;
do not munch and make yourself objectionable.
17   Be the first to stop for good manners' sake
and do not be insatiable, or you will give offence.
18   If you are dining in a large company,
do not reach out your hand before others.
19   A man of good upbringing is content with little,
and he is not short of breath when he goes to bed.
20   The moderate eater enjoys healthy sleep;
he rises early, feeling refreshed.
But sleeplessness, indigestion, and colic
are the lot of the glutton.
21   If you cannot avoid overeating at a feast,
leave the table and find relief by vomiting.

Counsels upon social behaviour
22   Listen to me, my son; do not disregard me,
and in the end my words will come home to you.
Whatever you do, do it shrewdly,
and no illness will come your way.
23   Everyone has a good word for a liberal host,
and the evidence of his generosity is convincing.
24   The whole town grumbles at a mean host,
and there is precise evidence of his meanness.


25   Do not try to prove your manhood by drinking,
for wine has been the ruin of many.
26   As the furnace tests iron when it is being tempered,
so wine tests character when boastful men are wrangling.
27   Wine puts life into a man,
if he drinks it in moderation.
What is life to a man deprived of wine?
Was it not created to warm men's hearts?
28   Wine brings gaiety and high spirits,
if a man knows when to drink and when to stop;
29   but wine in excess makes for bitter feelings
and leads to offence and retaliation.
30   Drunkenness inflames a fool's anger to his own hurt;
it saps his strength and exposes him to injury.
31   At a banquet do not rebuke your fellow-guest
or make him feel small while he is enjoying himself.
This is no time to take up a quarrel with him
or pester him to pay his debts.

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