The Contrast of Wisdom and Folly

¹A good name is better than precious ointment,

and the day of death than the day of birth.

²It is better to go to the house of mourning

than to go to the house of feasting,

for this is the end of all mankind,

and the living will lay it to heart.

³Sorrow is better than laughter,

for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.

⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

⁵It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise

than to hear the song of fools.

⁶For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,

so is the laughter of the fools;

this also is vanity.1

⁷Surely oppression drives the wise into madness,

and a bribe corrupts the heart.

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