1: A good reputation is better than a fat bank account. Your death date tells more than your birth date.
2: You learn more at a funeral than at a feast--After all, that's where we'll end up. We might discover something from it.
3: Crying is better than laughing. It blotches the face but it scours the heart.
4: Sages invest themselves in hurt and grieving. Fools waste their lives in fun and games.
5: You'll get more from the rebuke of a sage Than from the song and dance of fools.
6: The giggles of fools are like the crackling of twigs Under the cooking pot. And like smoke.
7: Brutality stupefies even the wise And destroys the strongest heart.
8: Endings are better than beginnings. Sticking to it is better than standing out.
9: Don't be quick to fly off the handle. Anger boomerangs. You can spot a fool by the lumps on his head.
10: Don't always be asking, "Where are the good old days?" Wise folks don't ask questions like that.
11: Wisdom is better when it's paired with money, Especially if you get both while you're still living.
12: Double protection: wisdom and wealth! Plus this bonus: Wisdom energizes its owner.
13: Take a good look at God's work. Who could simplify and reduce Creation's curves and angles To a plain straight line?
14: On a good day, enjoy yourself; On a bad day, examine your conscience. God arranges for both kinds of days So that we won't take anything for granted.
15: I've seen it all in my brief and pointless life--here a good person cut down in the middle of doing good, there a bad person living a long life of sheer evil.
16: So don't knock yourself out being good, and don't go overboard being wise. Believe me, you won't get anything out of it.
17: But don't press your luck by being bad, either. And don't be reckless. Why die needlessly?
18: It's best to stay in touch with both sides of an issue. A person who fears God deals responsibly with all of reality, not just a piece of it.
19: Wisdom puts more strength in one wise person Than ten strong men give to a city.
20: There's not one totally good person on earth, Not one who is truly pure and sinless.
21: Don't eavesdrop on the conversation of others. What if the gossip's about you and you'd rather not hear it?
22: You've done that a few times, haven't you--said things Behind someone's back you wouldn't say to his face?
23: I tested everything in my search for wisdom. I set out to be wise, but it was beyond me,
24: far beyond me, and deep--oh so deep! Does anyone ever find it?
25: I concentrated with all my might, studying and exploring and seeking wisdom--the meaning of life. I also wanted to identify evil and stupidity, foolishness and craziness.
26: One discovery: A woman can be a bitter pill to swallow, full of seductive scheming and grasping. The lucky escape her; the undiscerning get caught.
27: At least this is my experience--what I, the Quester, have pieced together as I've tried to make sense of life.
28: But the wisdom I've looked for I haven't found. I didn't find one man or woman in a thousand worth my while.
29: Yet I did spot one ray of light in this murk: God made men and women true and upright; we're the ones who've made a mess of things.