A weak man who tries his courage against the strong leagues with the foe to his own destruction:—Nurtured in a shade, what strength can he have that he should engage with the warlike in battle; impotent of arm, he was falling the victim of folly when he set his wrist in opposition to a wrist of iron.
L
Whoever will not listen to admonition harbors the fancy of hearing reprehension:—When advice gains not an admission into the ear, if I give thee reproof, hear it in silence.
LI
The idle cannot endure the industrious any more than the curs of the market-place, who, on meeting dogs employed for sporting, will snarl at and prevent them passing.
LII
A mean wretch that cannot vie with another in virtue will assail him with malignity:—The narrow-minded envier will somehow manage to revile thee, who in thy presence might have the tongue of his utterance struck dumb.
* * * * *
LV
To hold counsel with women is bad, and to deal generously with prodigals a fault:—Showing mercy upon the sharp-fanged pard must prove an injustice to the harmless sheep.