Then I was by him, as one brought up with him:

And I was daily his delight,

Rejoicing always before him;

Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth;
And my delights were with the sons of men.
Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children:
For blessed are they that keep my ways.
Hear instruction, and be wise,

And refuse it not.

Blessed is the man that heareth me,

Watching daily at my gates,

Waiting at the posts of my doors.
For whoso findeth me findeth life,
And shall obtain favour of the Lord.

But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul:

All they that hate me love death.

CXI

THE PRIMROSE PATH

Proverbs vii.

Y son, keep my words,

And lay up my commandments with

M

thee.

Keep my commandments, and live;
And my law as the apple of thine eye.
Bind them upon thy fingers,

Write them upon the table of thine heart.
Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister;
And call understanding thy kinswoman:

That they may keep thee from the strange woman,
From the stranger which flattereth with her words.
For at the window of my house

I looked through my casement,
And beheld among the simple ones,

I discerned among the youths,

A young man void of understanding,
Passing through the street near her corner;
And he went the way to her house,

In the twilight, in the evening,

In the black and dark night:

And, behold, there met him a woman

With the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.

(She is loud and stubborn;

Her feet abide not in her house:

Now is she without, now in the streets,
And lieth in wait at every corner.)

So she caught him, and kissed him,

And with an impudent face said unto him,
I have peace offerings with me;

This day have I paid my vows.

Therefore came I forth to meet thee,

Diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry,
With carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.
I have perfumed my bed

With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: Let us solace ourselves with loves.

For the goodman is not at home,

He is gone a long journey:

He hath taken a bag of money with him,

And will come home at the day appointed.

With her much fair speech she caused him to yield,

With the flattering of her lips she forced him.

He goeth after her straightway,

As an ox goeth to the slaughter,

Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
Till a dart strike through his liver;

As a bird hasteth to the snare,

And knoweth not that it is for his life.

Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children,

And attend to the words of my mouth.

Let not thine heart decline to her ways,
Go not astray in her paths.

For she hath cast down many wounded:

Yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
Her house is the way to hell,

Going down to the chambers of death.

CXII

THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN

Proverbs xxxi. 10-31.

HO can find a virtuous woman?
For her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband doth safely
trust in her,

So that he shall have no need of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil
All the days of her life.

She seeketh wool and flax,

And worketh willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchants' ships;
She bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night,
And giveth meat to her household,

And a portion to her maidens.

She considereth a field, and buyeth it:

With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. She girdeth her loins with strength,

And strengtheneth her arms.

She perceiveth that her merchandise is good:

Her candle goeth not out by night.

She layeth her hands to the spindle,

And her hands hold the distaff.

She stretcheth out her hand to the poor;

Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

She is not afraid of the snow for her household:
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry;
Her clothing is silk and purple.

Her husband is known in the gates,

When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it;
And delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and honour are her clothing;
And she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom;
And in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of her household,
And eateth not the bread of idleness.

Her children arise up, and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Many daughters have done virtuously,
But thou excellest them all.

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain :

But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.

Give her of the fruit of her hands;

And let her own works praise her in the gates.

CXIII

THE FIELD OF THE SLOTHFUL

Proverbs xxiv. 30-34.

WENT by the field of the slothful, And by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;

And, lo, it was all grown over with

thorns,

And nettles had covered the face

thereof,

And the stone wall thereof was broken down.

Then I saw, and considered it well:

I looked upon it, and received instruction.
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,

A little folding of the hands to sleep:

So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth ; And thy want as an armed man.

CXIV

VANITY OF VANITIES

Ecclesiastes i.

HE words of the Preacher, the son of
David, king of Jerusalem.

Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his

labour which he taketh under the

sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before

There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.