“Be no frequenter of the drinking-house, nor given to carping at the old; meddle not with a man of mean estate.
“Dispense thy meat freely; have no niggard for thy familiar.
“Force not thyself upon a chief, nor give him cause to speak ill of thee.
“Stick to thy gear; hold fast to thy arms till the stern fight with its weapon-glitter be ended.
“Be more apt to give than to deny, and follow after gentleness, O son of Luga.”
And the son of Luga, it is written, heeded these counsels, and gave up his bad ways, and he became one of the best of Finn's men.
Character of Finn
Suchlike things also Finn taught to all his followers, and the best of them became like himself in valour and gentleness and generosity. Each of them loved the repute of his comrades more than his own, and each would say that for all noble qualities there was no man in the breadth of the world worthy to be thought of beside Finn.
It was said of him that “he gave away gold as if it were the leaves of the woodland, and silver as if it were the foam of the sea”; and that whatever he had bestowed upon any man, if he fell out with him afterwards, he was never known to bring it against him.
The poet Oisīn once sang of him to St. Patrick: