Ben Sira - Chapter 22

22: 1-8, 11-27 (translated by Edgar Goodspeed)
A slothful man is like a filthy stone, and everybody hisses at his disgrace.  A slothful man is like the filth of a dunghill; anyone who picks it up shakes out his hand.  It is a disgrace to be the father of an ignorant son, and to have a daughter is a disadvantage.  A sensible daughter will get a husband of her own, but one who brings disgrace is a grief to her father.  She who is bold disgraces her father and her husband, and will be despised by both.  Unseasonable talk is music in a time of mourning; but blows and discipline are always in order.  The man who teaches a fool is gluing a potsherd together or rousing a sleeper out of a deep sleep.  The man who lectures to a fool lectures to one who is dozing, and at the conclusion he will say, "What was it?"
Weep for one who is dead, for light has failed him; and weep over a fool, for understanding has failed him.  Weep less bitterly over the dead, for they have gone to rest; for the fool's life is worse than death.  The mourning for the dead lasts seven days, but that for a fool or an ungodly person lasts all the days of his life.  Do not talk much with a senseless man, or go to see a man of no understanding; beware of him, or you may have trouble, and do not be dirtied when he shakes himself.  Avoid him, and you will find rest, and you will not be wearied by his senselessness.  What is heavier than lead?  What can you call it but Fool?  Sand and salt and a lump of iron are easier to bear than a man without understanding. A wooden girder fastened in a building is not loosened by an earthquake; so a mind established on well-considered thought will not be afraid in an emergency.  A mind fixed on understanding thought is like a plaster ornament on a smooth wall.  Fences set up in the air will not stand against the wind; so a cowardly heart with foolish toughts will not stand against any fear.  The man who pricks the eye makes tears fall; and the man who pricks the heart makes it show feeling.  The man who throws a stone at the birds scares them away, and the man who abuses a friend destroys a friendship.  Even if you draw the sword against your friend, do not despair, for there is a way to repent, if you open your mouth against your friend, do not be afraid, for there is such a thing as reconciliation; but when it comes to abuse and arrogance and telling a secret and a treacherous blow -- at such treatment any friend will take to flight.  Win your neighbor's confidence when he is poor, so that when he prospers you may be filled likewise.  Stand by him in time of trouble, so that you may share his inheritance with him.  The vapor and smoke from the furnace precede the fire; so abuse precedes bloodshed.  I will not shrink from giving shelter to a friend, and I will not hide myself from him, and if misfortune overtakes me on his account everyone who hears of it will beware of him.
Who will set a guard over my mouth and put a skillful seal upon my lips, so that I may not fall because of them, and my tongue may not destroy me?