Wisdom and Folly

1Deed flyes yt corruppe swete oyntment & make it to styncke, are somthinge more worth then the wysdome & honor of a foole. 2A wyse mans hert is vpon the right hande, but a fooles hert is vpon the left. 3A dotinge foole thinketh, yt euery ma doth as foolishly as himself. 4Yf a principall sprete be geue the to beare rule, be not negliget the in thine office: for so shal greate wickednesse be put downe, as it were wt a medecyne.

5Another plage is there, which I haue sene vnder the Sonne: namely, ye ignoraunce yt is comonly amonge prynces: 6in yt a foole sytteth in greate dignite, & the rich are sett downe beneth: 7I se seruauntes ryde vpon horses, & prynces goinge vpon their fete as it were seruauntes.

8But he yt dyggeth vp a pytt, shall fall therin himself: & who so breaketh downe the hedge, a serpent shal byte him. 9Who so remoueth stones, shall haue trauayle withall: and he that heweth wod, shalbe hurt therwith. 10When an yron is blont, and ye poynt not sharpened, it must be whett againe, and that with might: Euen so doth wisdome folowe diligence. 11A babler of his tonge is no better, then a serpent that styngeth without hyssynge. 12The wordes out of a wyse mans mouth are gracious, but the lippes of a foole wil destroye himself. 13The begynnynge of his talkynge is foolishnes, and the last worde of his mouth is greate madnesse. 14A foole is so full of wordes, that a man can not tell what ende he wyll make: who wyl then warne him to make a conclucion? 15The laboure of ye foolish is greuous vnto the, while they knowe not how to go in to the cite. 16Wo be vnto the (O thou realme and londe) whose kynge is but a childe, and whose prynces are early at their banckettes. 17But well is the (O thou realme and londe) whose kinge is come of nobles, and whose prynces eate in due season, for strength and not for lust. 18Thorow slouthfulnesse the balkes fall downe, and thorow ydle hades it rayneth in at the house. 19Meate maketh men to laugh, and wyne maketh them mery: but vnto money are all thinges obedient. 20Wysh the kynge no euell in yi thought, and speake no hurte of ye ryche in thy preuy chambre: for a byrde of the ayre shal betraye thy voyce, and wt hir fethers shal she bewraye thy wordes.