Section 1e

Hotter than fire | between false friends Does friendship five days burn; When the sixth day comes | the fire cools, And ended is all the love. 52. No great thing needs | a man to give, Oft little will purchase praise; With half a loaf | and a half-filled cup A friend full fast I made. 53. A little sand | has a little sea, And small are the minds of men; Though all men are not | equal in wisdom, Yet half-wise only are all. 54. A measure of wisdom | each man shall have, But never too much let him know; The fairest lives | do those men live Whose wisdom wide has grown. 55. A measure of wisdom | each man shall have, But never too much let him know; For the wise man's heart | is seldom happy, If wisdom too great he has won. 56. A measure of wisdom | each man shall have, But never too much let him know; [55-56. The first pairs of lines are abbreviated in the manuscript.] p. 40 Let no man the fate | before him see, For so is he freest from sorrow. 57. A brand from a brand | is kindled and burned, And fire from fire begotten; And man by his speech | is known to men, And the stupid by their stillness. 58. He must early go forth | who fain the blood Or the goods of another would get; The wolf that lies idle | shall win little meat, Or the sleeping man success. 59. He must early go forth | whose workers are few, Himself his work to seek; Much remains undone | for the morning-sleeper, For the swift is wealth half won. 60. Of seasoned shingles | and strips of bark For the thatch let one know his need, And how much of wood | he must have for a month, Or in half a year he will use. 61. Washed and fed | to the council fare, But care not too much for thy clothes; Let none be ashamed | of his shoes and hose, Less still of the steed he rides, (Though poor be the horse he has.) [61. The fifth line is probably a spurious addition.] p. 41 62. When the eagle comes | to the ancient sea, He snaps and hangs his head; So is a man | in the midst of a throng, Who few to speak for him finds. 63. To question and answer | must all be ready Who wish to be known as wise; Tell one thy thoughts, | but beware of two,-- All know what is known to three. 64. The man who is prudent | a measured use Of the might he has will make; He finds when among | the brave he fares That the boldest he may not be. 65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oft for the words | that to others one speaks He will get but an evil gift. 66. Too early to many | a meeting I came, And some too late have I sought; The beer was all drunk, | or not yet brewed; Little the loathed man finds. [62. This stanza follows stanza 63 in the manuscript, but there are marks therein indicating the transposition. 65. The manuscript indicates no lacuna (lines I and 2). Many editors have filled out the stanza with two lines from late paper manuscripts, the passage running: "A man must be watchful | and wary as well, And fearful of trusting a friend." ] p. 42 67. To their homes men would bid | me hither and yon, If at meal-time I needed no meat, Or would hang two hams | in my true friend's house, Where only one I had eaten. 68.