Hebraic Literature; Translations from the Talmud, Midrashim and Kabbala Part 64

Be yielding to thy superior; be affable toward the young; be friendly with all mankind.

Silence is the fence round wisdom.

Without law, civilization perishes.

Every man will surely have his hour.

Rather be the tail among lions than the head among foxes.

Into the well which supplies thee with water cast no stones.

Many a colt's skin is fashioned to the saddle which its mother bears.

Truth is heavy, therefore few care to carry it.

Say little and do much.

He who multiplieth words will likely come to sin.

Sacrifice thy will for others, that they may be disposed to sacrifice their wills for thee.

Study to-day, delay not.

Look not upon thy prayers as on a task; let thy supplications be sincere.

He who is loved by man is loved by G.o.d.

Honor the sons of the poor; they give to science its splendor.

Do not live near a pious fool.

A small coin in a large jar makes a great noise.

Use thy n.o.ble vase to-day; to-morrow it may break.

The cat and the rat make peace over a carca.s.s.

He who walks each day over his estate finds a coin daily.

The dog follows thee for the crumbs in thy pocket.

The soldiers fight, and the kings are heroes.

When the ox is down many are the butchers.

Descend a step in choosing thy wife; ascend a step in choosing thy friend.

Beat the G.o.ds and their priests will tremble.

The sun will set without thy a.s.sistance.

Hold no man responsible for his utterances in times of grief.

One man eats, another says grace.

He who curbs his wrath merits forgiveness for his sins.

Commit a sin twice and it will not seem to thee a crime.

While our love was strong we lay on the edge of a sword, now a couch sixty yards wide is too narrow for us.

Study is more meritorious than sacrifice.

Jerusalem was destroyed because the instruction of the young was neglected.

The world is saved by the breath of school children. Even to rebuild the Temple, the schools must not be closed.

Blessed is the son who has studied with his father, and blessed the father who has instructed his son.

Avoid wrath and thou wilt avoid sin; avoid intemperance and thou wilt not provoke Providence.

When others gather, do thou disperse; when others disperse, gather.

When thou art the only purchaser, then buy; when other buyers are present, be thou n.o.body.

The foolish man knows not an insult, neither does a dead man feel the cutting of a knife.

Three shall not enter Paradise--the scoffer, the hypocrite, and the slanderer.

Rabbi Gamaliel ordered his servant Tobi to bring something good from the market, and he brought a tongue. At another time he told him to bring something bad, and he also returned with a tongue. "Why did you on both occasions fetch a tongue?" the Rabbi asked. "It is the source of good and evil," Tobi replied. "If it is good, there is nothing better; if it is bad, there is nothing worse."

The forest trees once asked the fruit trees: "Why is the rustling of your leaves not heard in the distance?" The fruit trees replied: "We can dispense with the rustling to manifest our presence; our fruits testify for us." The fruit trees then inquired of the forest trees; "Why do your leaves rustle almost continually?" "We are forced to call the attention of man to our existence."

Too many Captains sink the ship.

An old man is a trouble in the house; an old woman is a treasure in the house.

Two pieces of coin in one bag make more noise than a hundred.

When the flood came over the earth and everything was threatened with destruction, and every kind of beast came in pairs to Noah, the Lie, too, asked admittance into the ark. Noah, however, refused. "Only pairs may enter here," he said. The Lie went in search of a companion, and at last met Vice, whom it invited to go to the ark. "I am willing to keep company with thee, if thou wilt promise to give me all thy earnings,"

said Vice. The Lie agreed, and they were both admitted into the ark.

After they left the ark, the Lie regretted her agreement, and wished to dissolve partnership with Vice, but it was too late, and thus it is current that "what Lie earneth, Vice consumeth."

Support the aged without reference to religion; respect the learned without reference to age.

Repent the day before thy death.

Ten measures of wisdom came into the world; the law of Israel received nine measures, and the balance of the world one. Ten measures of beauty came into the world; Jerusalem received nine measures, and the rest of the world one.