birds will resort unto their like; so will truth return unto them who practise in her.

From the same.

Honour a physician with the honour due unto him for the uses which ye may have of him: for the Lord hath created him. For of the Most High cometh healing, and he shall receive honour of the king. The skill of the physician shall lift up his head: and in the sight of great men he shall be in admiration. The Lord hath created medicines out of the earth; and he that

Was not the water

is wise will not abhor them. made sweet with wood, that the virtue thereof might be known? And he hath given men skill, that he might be honoured in his marvellous works. With such doth he heal men, and taketh away their pains. My son, in thy sickness be not negligent: but pray unto the Lord, and he will make thee whole. Leave off from sin, and order thine hands aright, and cleanse thy heart from all wickedness. Then give place to the physician, for the Lord hath created him: let him not go from thee, for thou hast need of him. There is a time when in their hands there is good

success.

For they shall also pray unto the Lord,

that he would prosper that, which they give for ease and remedy to prolong life.

From the same.

Burden not thyself above thy power while thou livest; and have no fellowship with one that is mightier and richer than thyself: for how agree the kettle and the earthen pot together? for if the one be smitten against the other, it shall be broken. The rich man hath done wrong, and yet he threateneth withal: the poor is wronged, and he must intreat also. If thou be for his profit, he will use thee: but if thou have nothing, he will forsake thee. If thou have any thing, he will live with thee: yea, he will make thee bare, and will not be sorry for it. If he have need of thee, he will deceive thee, and smile upon thee, and put thee in hope: he will speak thee fair, and say, What wantest thou? And he will shame thee by his meats, until he have drawn thee dry twice or thrice, and at the last he will laugh thee to scorn: afterward, when he seeth thee, he will forsake thee, and shake his head at thee. Beware that thou be not deceived, and

brought down in thy jollity. If thou be invited of a mighty man, withdraw thyself, and so much the more will he invite thee. Better is the life of a poor man in a mean cottage, than delicate fare in another man's house. Be it little or much, hold thee contented, that thou hear not the reproach of thy house. For it is a miserable life to go from house to house: for where thou art a stranger, thou darest not open thy mouth. Thou shalt entertain, and feast, and have no thanks: moreover thou shalt hear bitter words: Come, thou stranger, and furnish a table, and feed me of that thou hast ready. Give place, thou stranger, to an honourable man; my brother cometh to be lodged, and I have need of mine house. These things are grievous to a man of understanding; the upbraiding of house room, and reproaching of the lender. Make not thy. self an underling to a foolish man; neither accept the person of the mighty. Strive not with a mighty man, lest thou fall into his hands. Lend not unto him that is mightier than thyself; for if thou lendest him, count it but lost. Be not surety above thy power: for if thou be surety, take care to pay it. Forget not the friend.. ship of thy surety, for he hath given his life for thee. A sinner will overthrow the good estate of his surety; and he that is of an unthinking

mind, will leave him in danger that delivered him. Suretiship hath undone many of good estate, and shaken them as a wave of the sea: mighty men hath it driven from their houses, so that they wandered among strange nations. Hear me, O ye great men of the people, and hearken with your ears, ye rulers of the congregation. Give not thy son and wife, thy brother and friend, power over thee while thou livest, and give not thy goods to another: lest it repent thee, and thou intreat for the same again. As long as thou livest and hast breath in thee, give not thyself over to any. For better it is that thy children should seek to thee, than that thou shouldest stand to their courtesy. In all thy works keep to thyself the preeminence; leave not a stain in thine honour. At the time when thou shalt end thy days, and finish thy life, distribute thine inheritance. Have regard to thy name; for that shall continue with thee above a thousand great treasures of gold.

Hast thou cattle? have an eye to them: and if they be for thy profit keep them with thee.

Hast thou children? instruct them, and bow down their neck from their youth. An horse not broken becometh headstrong and a child left to himself will be wilful. Give him no liberty in his youth, and wink not at his follies. Marry thy daughter, and so shalt thou have performed a weighty matter: but give her to a man of understanding. Honour thy father with thy whole heart, and forget not the sorrows of thy mother. Remember that thou wast begotten of them; and how canst thou recompense them the things that they have done for thee? If their understanding fail, have patience with them; and despise them not when thou art in thy full strength. In the day of thine affliction it shall be remembered; thy sins also shall melt away, as the ice in the fair warm weather. Lend to thy neighbour in time of his need, and pay thou thy neighbour again in due season. Keep thy word, and deal faithfully with him, and thou shalt always find the thing that is necessary for thee. Let not thine hand be stretched out to receive, and shut when thou shouldest repay. Many, when a thing was lent them, reckoned it to be found, and put them to trouble that helped them. Till he hath received, he will kiss a man's hand; and for his neighbour's money he wil! speak submissively: but when he should repay,