23. The barkless dog bites ill.
24. Be wise of word and wary of speech, then all shall love you.
25. We may outride, but not outwit, the old man.
26. Be not so mad as to tell your friend all your thoughts.
27. If you and your friend fall out, then your enemy will know what your friend knew before.
28. Don't choose a deceitful man as a friend, for he will do you harm.
29. The false one will betray you when you least expect it.
30. Don't choose a scornful false friend, for he will steal your goods and deny the theft.
31. Take to yourself a steadfast man who is wise in word and deed; he will prove a true friend in need.
To restore education and religion, Alfred disseminated the Anglo- Saxon Chronicles; the Venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation; the "Consolidation of Philosophy" by Roman philosopher Boethius, which related the use of adversity to develop the soul, and described the goodness of God and how the highest happiness comes from spiritual values and the soul, which are eternal, rather than from material or earthly pursuits, which are temporal; and Pope Gregory's Pastoral Care, which he had translated into English and was the fundamental book on the duty of a bishop, which included a duty to teach laymen; and Orosius' History of the World, which he had translated into English. Alfred's advice to pastors was to live as they had been taught from books and to teach this manner of life to others. To be avoided was pride, the mind's deception of seeking glory in the name of doing good works, and the corruption of high office. Bede was England's first scholar, first theologian, and first historian. He wrote poetry, theological books, homilies, and textbooks on grammar, rhetoric [public speaking and debating], arithmetic, and astronomy. He adhered to the doctrine that death entered the world by the sin of Adam, the first man. He began the practice of dating years from the birth of Christ and believed that the earth was round. Over the earth was a fiery spherical firmament. Above this were the waters of the heavens. Above this were the upper heavens, which contained the angels and was tempered with ice. He declared that comets portend downfalls of kingdoms, pestilence, war, winds, or heat. This reflected the church's view that a comet was a ball of fire flung from the right hand of an angry God as a warning to mankind, usually for disbelief. Storms were begun by the devil.