The stupid and foolish
1 There are rebukes which are inopportune; there is the silence of a
sensible man.
2 Better to rebuke than nurse a grudge.
3 He who recognizes his fault diminishes its consequences.
4 Like a eunuch desiring to violate a girl, such is he who uses force in
pretending to be just.
5 One keeps silent and is thought to be wise, the other makes himself hated
because of his gossiping.
6 One remains silent because he does not know how to reply; the other keeps
quiet, wait ing for the right moment.
7 The wise man keeps silent until the right moment; the chatterer and fool
speak out of turn.
8 He who speaks too much makes himself hated; he who wishes to impose
himself stirs up ill will.
9 Man can turn his troubles to his ad vantage; a lucky chance can turn to
loss.
10 There is a type of generosity which will not reward you and another which
will repay you double.
11 One is humiliated for having had honors; another is humiliated, and then
lifts up his head.
12 One buys much with little money; another pays seven times its value.
13 The wise man makes himself lovable through his words alone, while the
favors of the fool are lost.
14 The fool��s gift is not to your advantage; he gives with greedy eyes.
15 He gives little but puts on a great outward appearance and exclaims for
all to hear; he lends today and recovers the loan tomorrow; he is a
despicable man.
16 The fool says, ��I have no friends, no one welcomes my favors.
17 Those who eat my bread have evil tongues.�� How often they will mock him,
and by how many!
18 Better to stumble on the ground than to make a slip with the tongue; this
is how easily the wicked fall.
19 The rough-mannered man is like an indiscreet story that ill-mannered
people tell out of time.
20 The proverb told by a fool will fail, since he does not speak it at an
appropriate time.
21 One keeps himself from sin because he does not have the means to act;
when he gets the chance, he will have no remorse.
22 One loses his soul out of false shame; he loses himself for fear of what
a foolish man thinks.
23 Out of false shame he wants to win a friend; he gets an enemy, in fact,
for nothing.
24 Lying is a shameful defect in a man; fools are used to it.
25 Better to be a thief than a liar, yet both are heading for disaster.
26 Habitual lying is detestable; dis grace nev er leaves the liar.
27 The wise man��s words advance his cause; the shrewd man will gain favor
with the powerful.
28 He who tills the earth increases his produce; he who pleases the great is
forgiven his wickedness.
29 Presents and gifts blind a wise man��s eyes; like a muzzle they silence
the conscientious.
30 Concealed wisdom and hidden treasure: what good are these?
31 The man who conceals his stupidity is better than one who conceals his
wisdom.
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Comments Sirach, Chapter 20
• 20.1 We must avoid two errors: correction with anger, because we fall into
excesses, and being resentful in silence, without letting off steam.