ECCLESIASTICUS.
Chapter 37.
Each friend shall say, And I have coupled friendship; but that is a friend or but there is a friend, a friend by name alone. 
Whether sorrow is not till to death? Forsooth a fellow of table and a friend shall be turned to enmity. 
A! the worst presumption or O! most shrewd presumption, whereof art thou made to cover dry malice, and the guilefulness thereof? or the treachery of it? 
A fellow of table shall be merry with a friend in delightings, and in the day of tribulation he shall be adversary. 
A fellow of table shall have sorrow with a friend, for cause or because of the womb; and he shall take shield against an enemy. 
Forget thou not thy friend in thy soul, and be thou not unmindful of him in thy works. Do not thou take counsel with the father of thy wife; and hide thou counsel from them that have envy to thee. 
Each counsellor showeth counsel, but there is a counsellor to or in himself. 
Keep thy soul from an evil counsellor; first know thou, what is his need, and what he shall think in his soul; lest peradventure he send a stake or he put a pole or a pale into the earth, 
and say to thee, Thy way is good, and he stand again-ward, to see what shall befall to thee. 
With an unreligious man, treat thounot of holiness, and with an unjust man, not of rightfulness, With an unreligious man treat of holiness, and with the unrightwise man of rightwiseness, 
and with a woman, not of these things which she hateth or envieth. With a fearedful man, treat thou not of battle, with a merchant, not of carrying over of merchandises to chappingor exchanging; with a buyer, not of selling, with an envious man, not of graces to be done; with an unpiteous man, not of pity, with an unhonest man, not of honesty, with a workman of the field or the field worker, not of each work; with a workman hired by the year, not of the ending of the year or the annual worker, with a slow servant, not of much working. Give thou not atten-tion to these men in all counsel or Take thou not heed to these in all counsel, 
but be thou busy with an holy man, whomever thou knowest keeping God’s dread, whose soul is after thy soul. Whoever doubteth in darknesses, shall not have sorrow with thee. 
And stablish thou the heart of good counsel with thee; for why an-other thing is not more than it to thee. 
The soul of an holy man telleth out truths sometime; more than seven beholders or seven lookers about, sitting on high for to behold. 
And in all these things beseech thou the Highest, that he dress or right rule thy way in truth. 
Before all works a soothfast word go before thee; and a steadfast or stable counsel go before each deed. 
A wicked or shrewd word shall change the heart, 
of which heart four parts come forth or spring; good and evil, life and death; and a busy tongue is lord of those. 
A wise man hath taught many men, and he is not sweet to his soul. 
He that speaketh sophistically, either by sophism, is hateful; he shall be defrauded in each thing. 
For why grace is not given of the Lord to him, for he is defrauded of all wisdom. 
A wise man is wise to his soul, and the fruits of his wit be worthy to be praised. 
A wise man teacheth his people, and the fruits of his wit be faithful. 
A wise man shall be filled with blessings, and they that see him shall praise him. 
The life of a man is in the number of days; but the days of Israel be unnumberable. 
A wise man in the people shall inherit honour, and his name shall be living without end. 
Son, assay thy soul in thy life; and if it is wicked, give thou not power to it; 
for why not all things speed to all men, and not each kind pleaseth each soul. 
Do not thou be greedy in each eating, and shed thou not out thee or pour thee not out on each meat. 
For in many meats shall be sick-ness, and greediness shall nigh unto choler. 
Many men died for gluttony; but he that is abstinent, shall increase or add life. 
