72. It is better to have a son late than never. One seldom sees sepulchral stones raised over the graves of the dead by any other hands but those of their own offspring.
77. Riches pass away like the twinkling of an eye; of all friends, they are the most inconstant. Flocks perish; relations die; friends are not immortal; you will die yourself; but I know one thing alone that is out of the reach of fate; and that is the judgment which is passed upon the dead.
81. Praise the fineness of the day when it is ended; praise a woman when she is buried; a sword when you have proved it; a maiden after she is married; the ice when once you have crossed it; and the liquor after it is drunk.
84. Trust not to the words of a girl, neither to those which a woman utters; for their hearts have been made like the wheel that turns round; levity was put into their bosoms.
86–87. Trust not to the ice of one day’s freezing; neither to the serpent that lies asleep; nor to the caresses of her you are going to marry; nor to a sword that is cracked or broken; nor to the son of a powerful man; nor to a field that is newly sown.
90. Peace between malicious women is compared to a horse that is made to walk over the ice not properly shod; or to a vessel in a storm without a rudder; or to a lame man who should attempt to follow the mountain goats with a young foal, or yearling mule.
92. He who would make himself beloved by a maiden, must entertain her with fine discourses, and offer her engaging presents; he must also incessantly praise her beauty. It requires good sense to be a skillful lover.
95. The heart alone knows what passes within the heart, and that which betrays the soul, is the soul itself. There is no malady or sickness more severe than not to be content with one’s lot.
119. Never discover your uneasiness to an evil person, for he will afford you no comfort.
121. Know that if you have a friend, you ought to visit him often. The road is grown over with grass, the bushes quickly spread over it, if it is not constantly traveled.