[1] A government that taxes its citizens is incompetent; a competent government attracts all the resources it needs to sustain itself, without having to force its citizens to support it through their work.
[2] A true and just judge pardons those who commit iniquity without realizing it, and, who upon discovering they have done wrong, are filled with guilt and regret; but a vindictive judge condemns those who commit iniquity, regardless of whether they were aware of what they were doing or not, and regardless of whether or not they felt remorse upon discovering the truth.
[3] A disloyal woman who expects love and then gets angry when she does not find it is like an idiot farmer who refuses to plant the seeds but still expects to produce a crop, and then gets angry when he has nothing to plow come harvest time; even the unlearned will say: “You fool! First plant the damn seeds!”
[4] Those whom approach love as commanders approach war are but dogs chasing after their own tails, or fools trying to catch the wind.
[5] The only reason people seek after multiple partners, and to its extent, is to compensate for the degree to which they secretly feel unloved and unworthy; but those who feel most loved and worthy seek after but one.
[6] Wise are those who seek first after knowledge and understanding, for wealth and love shall also be added unto them, and in exact relation to the stock of the resulting wisdom; but foolish are those who chase after money and sex as a substitute for the pursuit of knowledge, for poverty and loneliness shall surely come to be their closed ally.
[7] The wicked love to bestow great honors on those who practice evildoing, that they may be encouraged to continue in their follies; they also love to punish those who do good, that the righteous might turn from what is right and true and be converted into workers of iniquity. For the wicked feel foolish, unless those surrounding them act as stupid as they do.
[8] The ignorant man tries to win the love of his beloved by showering her with luxuries and pleasures, which, if she accepts them, work a penalty against her; but the wise man simply loves her to the inclusion of no other, and then there is no dissatisfaction left in her heart. Only in this way may he become her champion.
[9] Those who seek to put a wedge between their king and his queen destroy nations and peoples, and take peace and prosperity from them; for the state of the relationship between a king and queen is reflected in their entire kingdom.
[10] Only a man who rules over himself is fit to rule over others; otherwise he will oppress rather than serve.
[11] The advent of the Kingdom of God is like waiting to wed the fairest of maidens; it is both frustratingly painstaking, and yet gloriously exciting at the same time!
[12] There is no greater ecstasy than direct communion with God; if even the most debauched heathen had but a small taste of its bliss, he would instantly seek to abandon the pleasures of the flesh and the love of money, glory and power, and commit himself to vanquishing these evils forevermore.
[13] He who knows and understands the causes and effects of the natural laws can predict the future as surely as the sun rises; wise men give him their ears that they may not fall into calamity, but that they may prosper. But fools deride him, and scoff at his every word; thus, they are rewarded for their deafness and stupidity with the fruits of their transgressions.
[14] The man who masters the focus and direction of his attention masters the use and function of his body, and the man who masters his body masters his environment; nothing is accepted within it without his consent.
[15] The fool who today confesses his foolishness is tomorrow’s wise man, for who would willingly continue to live in his follies after becoming aware of how they harm him?
[16] Those who envy the strong or wise man his abilities prevent themselves from developing that which he possesses within themselves, for what is possible for one is possible for all.
[17] The wicked seek for themselves that which the righteous seek for others.
[18] The prideful woman boasts in her many suitors, but the humble woman simply smiles, because she knows she is truly loved.
[19] A man only becomes great when even the worst injustice may be inflicted upon him and yet he has the power to refrain from reacting to it in anger; for it is a sign that he has already succeeded in completely mastering himself.
[20] The wicked use the proverbs of scripture to justify and excuse the practice of their own cruelty and injustice, but the righteous recognize that when punishments are spoken of, they are but natural consequences of the law, and that they come upon transgressors without men having to make of themselves judges and executioners.
[21] When a wise man offends his neighbor and his neighbor becomes cross with him, he holds his tongue and listens to his neighbor’s rage with an understanding ear, for he knows that he deserves the contempt he is receiving.
[22] The ignorant blame those whom they offend for getting upset with them, for they lack the awareness to see and acknowledge that the fault lay first with themselves.
[23] The wicked mistake wrong for right and right for wrong; they are delusional, and their delusions are as a noose that slowly tightens around their necks.
[24] The wisest of men will be the first to admit that his stock of knowledge and the length of his understanding are as a grain of sand on a long stretch of beach; but the most foolish is he who boasts that he has fully cured his own ignorance.
[25] The proud consider themselves teachers, that they may be exalted in the eyes of others; but the humble consider themselves students, that they may be exalted within themselves.
[26] Out of injured pride comes forth life’s greatest lessons; a horse must be broken before a rider may mount and command it.
[27] The man who truly knows himself often finds that he knows others better than they know themselves, for he understands why they do what they do while they often remain ignorant to their own motives.
[28] Sometimes the best way to become truly convicted in what is right is to first experience the penalties of that which must always follow what is wrong.
[29] Continual study of the works of the learned and wise, constant observation of their revelations made manifest on the stage of life, and solemn meditation in the aforementioned pair is the way by which hopeless paupers may turn themselves into enduring kings.
[30] The fallacious belief that there is no right and wrong is in itself wrong.
[31] Isolation and deprivation force a man to reflect, and in his reflection he comes to discover that which is denied those who merely eat, drink, and make merry.
[32] The depth of a man’s sorrow will later become the exact height of his ecstasy, if he but thirst after righteousness, and seek all that is good and true.
[33] Kings who endure are those who seek to serve the people, instead of using the people to serve themselves.
[34] World peace is only possible when everyone refrains from causing others to feel that which they do not wish to feel.
[35] The husband who seeks to satisfy his wife, not that he may gain her approval to validate his manhood (for how does that serve her), but so that her soul knows no dissatisfaction is the man who will not go without love and favor.
[36] The man who truly loves humanity is the one who treats his enemies with the same respect and courtesy as he does his truest and most loyal friends.
[37] The Lord uses the wicked to discipline His servants when they commit iniquity, that they may repent and correct themselves; He also uses the evil works of the wicked to test and refine those of His servants who are already exalted in their righteousness, that they may be made known and further prepared to receive their just reward.
[38] Those born of woman are made subject to those born not of the womb.
[39] People are most willing to serve those who serve them best.
[41] The greatest of men perform even the lowest of tasks, if they be necessary; but the lowliest of men, in their arrogance and haughtiness, demand others do it for them, that they may gloat over their servant’s reluctant and resentful obedience.
[42] Truth is as a bright light that dispels the darkness of lies and deceit; for in darkness people stumble and come to injury, but in the light their path is made known to them and no blemish comes to mark their skin.
[43] A good king establishes his kingdom for the glory of his people, but a wretched king establishes his kingdom for the glory of himself.
[44] The lusty and deceitful admonish men to be chaste, so that by their abstinence the former’s pleasure of the flesh may be better indulged in.
[45] A proverb is but a revelation of which seed bears what fruit.
[46] Fools love to condemn most in others that which they fail to see is most prevalent in themselves.
[47] When a foolish man is rebuked for his faults and errors, he fumbles to present any flimsy evidence he can find that may justify himself in clinging to his foolishness, rather than seeking to confront and remove it.
[48] Wicked kings deceive the people into accepting their evil designs by presenting them in such a way as to appear to benefit the people; but when the truth reveals the true intents and purposes of such vile schemes, the people finally realize it comes to their chagrin instead.
[49] People of wisdom place their trust in a righteous king, even when they do not understand the reasons for his actions and instructions; for they know that his wisdom extends far beyond their own, and that everything he does is not for his own benefit but for theirs.
[50] Ignorant men waste their efforts attempting to add things to themselves in hopes of becoming worthy of woman’s love, when all they need do is subtract the thoughts that prevent them from receiving it.
[51] He who becomes wise often first partakes in much foolishness, for often only in this way does he discover the penalties of his errors and thus the reasons for why his follies require correction.
[52] The hallmark of a wise man is that he knows what he knows and also knows what he knows not; but a foolish man thinks he knows everything and, in this, confines his knowledge to a small portion.
[53] Only when a bride has made herself ready does her bridegroom come.
[54] Nobody but fools punish themselves to punish others, for not one jot and tittle of good comes of it, to either the fool or their victims.
[55] If a husband but even thinks of another woman with desire, he has wronged his wife, and his marriage will suffer for his having harbored that secret thought.
[56] Just as joy is found in the delight of the Lord, so is happiness found in the delight of a spouse.
[57] Adhering to the means-whereby, with a thirst for righteousness as its motive, is the most practical way by which the chains of sin may be broken and shattered.
[58] When the secret evils of the wicked are revealed, instead of admitting their iniquities and correcting them, they seek vengeance by punishing those who make their sins known.
[59] To those who have conformed themselves to the moral law, and have observed the affairs of men through its lens, all proverbs are self-evident.
[60] What a man cannot refuse is his master, and he its slave.
[61] Wisdom is useless without humility.
[62] After a righteous man comes to expect unfairness and injustice from the wicked, it no longer stirs his wrath.
[63] When a man becomes too familiar with his sin, he often loses the capacity to recognize it as wrong; thus, he seeks to deny its immorality and excuse and justify its practice.
[64] A foolish woman attempts to force love by arousing jealousy; thus, she fails to find what she seeks, and her suitors’ unrequited love turns to wrath and vengeance against her life.
[65] The intellectually vain study to think themselves learned; but the learned study to remove their ignorance.
[66] The ignorant seek to mask symptoms; the learned seek to remove their causes.
[67] A foolish wife fakes her husband’s pleasure, and thus trains him to be unsatisfactory to her; for why would he stop doing that which he thinks is pleasing to her?
[68] Love surfaces to the degree to which the desire to control one another vanishes; mastery over sin makes this condition manifest.
[69] A wife who takes not her husband’s seed into her mouth is a disappointment to him.
[70] A sincere apology is made not of mere words but in refraining to do in the future that which injured in the past.
[71] Fools waste time in pleasure; but the wise invest it in the pursuit of knowledge and the development of talent, that they may better serve others.
[72] A selfish, jealous lover turns into a wild beast who will destroy his beloved when it is made clear he cannot keep her; but as long as hope remains, he will wag his tail whenever she comes round.
[73] To the puritan healthy sexual practices appear to be shameful and abominable, but to the libertine they seem dull and boring.
[74] Backsides were made for defecation, and nothing else; those who use it otherwise sin against their own lives.
[75] What’s good for a righteous king is also good for his people.
[76] The way of a wicked king is simple: he oppresses the people through deception, and when his schemes are revealed and the people object to his injustice, he punishes them for their protests; thus, he earns their contempt and hatred.
[77] The seducer and seductress become such as a result of a broken heart; their conquests are as a sling around a broken arm that never heals.
[78] Wise is he indeed who rejects the advances of a boisterous woman, for should he submit to her charms, it will bring much trouble and distress into his life.
[79] A husband whose highest aim is the fulfillment of his wife’s needs finds his needs also met; but those who place their needs above their spouse’s soon finds both go unsatisfied.
[80] He who keeps a record of wrongs lives in the past, and thus his future will become a replica of it; but if he abandon that record and instead thinks on the means whereby harmony may abide, his future will come to reflect those thoughts instead.
[81] A deceptive person with a secret to hide will reveal unnecessary information in hopes of removing any doubt before it arises; but in so doing, he only succeeds at arousing suspicion, and thereby betrays his attempt to conceal the truth.
[82] To please his wife, a husband must first cultivate the ability to be aware of what she thinks and how she feels in response to everything he does.
[83] The limit of drink is before that boundary where those things shamefully done would not be so if sober.
[84] He who looks at what everyone else is doing and follows suit often falls off a cliff; a flock without a shepherd comes to ruin.
[85] Until a man sees the shame in his ways, he will not change them; therefore, he who desires change must seek out his own shame – else he is at the mercy of others revelations of it.
[86] He who states the obvious in hopes of garnering praise arouses contempt; but he who reveals an unknown truth for their edification earns for himself honor among them.
[87] How wise is a man who fails to follow his own wisdom; therefore, it is wiser to ask for humility than it is for wisdom, for the latter may corrupt what the former cannot shatter.
[88] Rejection from a righteous king is far worse than a thousand bee stings; those who receive it have justly earned it.
[89] A man who puts his own pleasure above his wife and children cannot rightly be called a man, for as a slave unto himself a servant unto them can he not be.
[90] Love without loyalty is dead.
[91] Those who hate money envy those who have it, but those who love it lust for the power they think it gives them over others; therefore, desire money but be indifferent to its coming and going.
[92] A woman only initiates with a man she gives not a damn about, for it she truly cared she wouldn’t risk rejection.
[93] The wicked revile at rebuke, but the righteous bow their heads.
[94] Fools justify their sin because their insecurity outweighs their ability to admit they could be wrong.
[95] A person who approaches their beloved as a conquest to be subjugated practices hatred, not love.
[96] A jealous love is nothing but an obsession; it is selfish and considers not the interests of the beloved.
[97] Self-righteous are those who seek revenge against the indignation of those whom they’ve provoked or offended.
[98] A man is remembered not for who he once was but for who he became.
[99] The greatness of a man is measured by his sacrifice to others.
[100] Heap coals of kindness on a prideful and boastful man who attempts to subject you and he will scoff at your seeming weakness; but judge him righteously and he will not only see his shame but also respect you.
[101] Jealousy and lust are the enemies of love; patience and kindness are its emissaries.
[102] Talent may take a lifetime to develop but then it may be called upon at a moment’s notice.
[103] It is pleasure to think and joy to form thoughts into words.
[104] Uncover the shame of a fool, and he will curse you; but do so of the wise, and he will give you gratitude.
[105] A king’s position is more an obligation than it is a privilege.
[106] Forced morality is itself immoral; he who executes a murderer becomes one.
[107] Better a little wisdom fully followed than a lot unheeded.
[108] Cowards make for false friends; they flatter with their lips and even give gifts, but then strike the back of the head when it is turned away.
[109] Selfish are those who expect that which they are unwilling to give in return; an unfaithful woman who demands loyalty is filled with doublespeak.
[110] Contrite is he not who fears the wages of sin instead of the rewards of righteousness.
[111] A king serves his kingdom, but a queen serves her husband; she either makes or breaks him, and he in turn either makes or breaks their kingdom.
[112] A husband and wife are each others’ possessions; they belong one to another; therefore, an adulterer gives away what is not his to give, and a fornicator takes that which belongs to another – he is a thief of the flesh, and in his wife’s debt.
[113] The bolder a man becomes in the truth, the greater grows the desire of the wicked to silence him.
[114] He who is always loyal in his acts and always honest in his words makes for a true friend; but he who is neither will be false: he is an enemy in disguise, for his heart is filled with selfishness, and he will seek to conceal it with lies and deceit.
[115] A person who lets their body deny or defy their heart throws their life into chaos, strife and distress; peace and poise are granted only to those who subject their flesh to the heart.
[116] A contentious wife manipulates her husband’s emotions to motivate him to do what she wants; thus, he resents her for it. But a good wife serves her husband in all things and he then eagerly does what she wants with joy and lovingkindness.
[117] Man’s greatest error is intimidation; woman’s, manipulation.
[118] Call a coward a coward, and he will deny it every time; for if he does not, he is already on the sure path to manhood.
[119] A man who speaks of truth, justice and righteousness in the congregation is not only deprived of his honest reward, he is crucified for it.
[120] A husband’s lingum belongs to his wife, and her yanni belongs to him; in marriage, each is given, one to the other, until death do them part. Those who violate this law are thieves and traitors of the flesh.
[121] When wisdom is melded with simplicity, wonder ensues.
[122] World peace begins not with harmony between nations but fidelity between husbands and wives; therefore, an adulterer who preaches peace is a hypocrite and a fraud.
[123] A husband and wife who welcome an intruder into their bed is like freezing water in a cracked stone; it will be split apart.
[124] Unreceived compensation for service rendered is repaid with compound interest, just as short-changing masters are taxed on their thefts.
[125] A slave-owner guarantees his own bankruptcy; for when his slaves are freed, the debt-collector comes calling, and then how shall he pay?
[126] He who observes the affects of his thoughts upon his behavior, and his behavior upon his circumstances, soon becomes the master of his life.
[127] Cursed is the man who steals from his brother’s bag of gold in secret, then considers himself charitable by giving back one bronze coin in public.
[128] More deaf are those who hear but do not understand than those who hear not a single word.
[129] What is said with little and without sacrificing its meaning is that which is most accurately told.
[130] Traitors soon find the person they have betrayed most are themselves.
[131] To evade any suspicion of guilt, hypocrites publicly condemn the very things they do in private.
[132] When wonderment becomes familiar it seems ordinary.
[133] He who places his trust quickly often has it betrayed.
[134] The intellectually vain preach what little knowledge they have in the company of the learned, and yet know not that they consider him a fool and a fraud; only the ignorant listen, and the fool falsely believes this justifies his superior intelligence.
[135] In their indolence, fools scoff at that which they do not understand; but the wise investigate the unknown before drawing conclusions.
[136] He who can have many yet chooses and commits to but one demonstrates true love; but fornicators and adulterers betray its habitation.
[137] The great sign of compassion is the capacity to forgive even the worst of wrongs.
[138] Anger and revenge are the rotten fruits produced from the seed of disappointment; sympathy and forgiveness are its good fruits.
[139] It is better to have none than even one unfit.
[140] To respond to injury with forgiveness instead of wrath is to become divine.
[141] Penitent is he not who plans his plea for absolution before he even commits the offense.
[142] Due to the desire to cling to what is familiar, the truth is often offensive.
[143] Pleasure becomes burdensome when often indulged; but joy and happiness increase the further prolonged in.
[144] A woman who believes she deserves not love will punish those who try to give it, lest her belief be proven false.
[145] The boy who seeks his manhood in women fails to recognize it resides within himself.
[146] A wife loves most a husband who remains poised in the midst of her chaos.
[147] Ability and skill come quickly to him who first invests in the coordination between his mind and body.
[148] A man who attempts to assert his dominance only succeeds at revealing he submits to his own conceit.
[149] Jealousy and lust are the offspring of the fear of rejection.
[150] In his journey from ideal to its realization, every man is bound to fall into some hypocrisy; only fools remain in it while the wise pass over to the other side.
[151] Everything that causes bodily ill is wrong; thus, when the body goes amiss it attempts to reveal a vile cause in need of correction.
[152] A promiscuous woman is desired by many but respected by none.
[153] Compassion is the result of the recognition that those who do evil are but slaves to their own sin; therefore, why add more injury to their self-affliction?
[154] The husband who anticipates and satisfies his wife’s needs before she even recognizes them goes not without love and favor.
[155] What is beautiful in wedlock is despicable out of it.
[156] A town often preserves in a person that which a city corrupts.
[157] A wife who fornicates with another man is as painful to her husband as if he fell in love with another woman is to her.
[158] When a husband and wife no longer bear one another’s sins, a perfect love relation is obtained.
[159] Authenticity cannot be mimicked; it must be developed from within, not engineered from without.
[160] Those who know not their place come to shame and ruin.
[161] A man who idolizes his wife receives as his reward her contempt, for even she knows she is unworthy of such high praise.
[162] He who would be happy values a loyal and honest wife far above riches, honor, youth and pleasure.
[163] A good king questions and instructs in place of commands, for do not men revere their own choice?
[164] Until a person changes how they do what they do, they will not truly change what they do.
[165] A good student teaches her teacher as much as she learns from him.
[166] Cursed are those who fail to acknowledge their indebtedness, for the longer and deeper their denial, the greater their debt increases.
[167] The pinnacle of morality is the foundation of happiness.
[168] The measure of a man’s humility is in relation to the speed to which he can admit his faults and errors.
[169] Accursed is the woman who rewards a boy as if he were a man, for he then falsely believes he deserves that which he receives and loses his desire to grow into manhood.
[170] There is nothing to polygamy but lusty vanity and conceit; many partners is false evidence of moral ascendency.
[171] A man who proclaims his title to inspire cooperation soon loses both.
[172] Those who approach love as a game ensure their loss, but those who seek in it a mutually loyal union both win.
[173] It requires desire and persistence to attain a thing, but to retain that thing once possessed, an adherence to the law must be effectively observed; if it is not, the thing acquired will be lost.
[174] All obstacles melt to those who believe; nothing can come between desire mixed with persistence and an adherence to the law. Time is but the only variable, which demands patience.
[175] Fools seek attention through abominable displays to compensate for rejection and to hide their loneliness; but wise men endure loneliness and learn from the circumstances that led to it.
[176] Ignoramuses rage when their arguments are revealed to be but masks by which to conceal their ignorance of their ignorance.
[177] Foolish are those who mistake attention for love, for contempt and loneliness are their rewards.
[178] A good king rewards the confession of a penitent sinner, for he know their courage outweighed their shame; but a bad king punishes all sin, and thus increases it, for who will admit their iniquities when it bears a penalty?
[179] The best gift is one which daily reminds the receiver of the giver.
[180] Only after a person has sought after knowledge, wisdom and understanding are they prepared to receive true love; for without these, they know not the conditions upon which its foundation rests.
[181] The measure of a man is found not so much in what he does as in what he refrains from doing.
[182] A jealous man will belittle his beloved before his competition, hoping they will perceive little value in her and pass by, so that he may claim her for himself; but his insults only succeed at winning her contempt.
[183] A scorned woman is like a tornado; her wake is made of destruction.
[184] Whatever is hurtful to a spouse is a crime against love.
[185] Fools attempt to display knowledge to appear wise, because they court and covet praise; but a wise man recognizes the increase of knowledge but only furthers his awareness of the boundaries of his own ignorance.
[186] As a man treats others, so do they tend to treat him; what he gives, he often receives.
[187] Better is a peasant with love than a king without it.
[188] Wrath is a response to pain; therefore, the greatness and length of it is in exact relation to the size of the wound opened.
[189] Cursed are the guilty who blame the innocent for their own crimes; the man who curses the person he assailed for bleeding on him is an idiot.
[190] When a people come to govern themselves, they no longer require a government over them.
[191] He who lacks control over himself compensates for this weakness by trying to control others.
[192] The wicked propose what is harmful as if helpful to get the people to consent to their evil schemes.
[193] When the wicked deprive the people of freedom and the latter seek to exercise their liberty in rebellion, the former respond by adding even more limitations.
[194] No one rightfully deserves to demand in a spouse that which they do no first have to offer in return.
[195] When they know they are favored, the self-abased harm themselves to hurt those who love them.
[196] Point out a proud man’s wicked ways, and instead of acknowledging and changing them, he will become hostile, refute them and retaliate.
[197] Disputes go unresolved because of the ignorance or unwillingness of those involved to hold themselves accountable for who instigated and who retaliated, then confess their roles in the disagreement to make peace.
[198] Loving each other is the greatest boon a husband and wife can give their children.
[199] He who courts praise hates reproof and correction; but he who loves them is praised.
[200] A man who is blind to his character is a reproach to many.
[201] A wretched servant will seek to conceal his shortcomings by proclaiming only his virtues.