1 A good name is better than precious ointment and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made whole.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.
6 The laughter of the fool is as the crackling of thorns under a pot, and this also (the laughter or prosperity of the fool) is vanity.
7 Surely oppression makes a wise man mad, and a gift destroys the heart.