Ecclesiastes 10

Matthew(i) 1 Dead flyes that corruppe swete oyntment and make it to stinke are somthyng more worth then the wysdome and honour of a foole. 2 A wyse mans hert is vpon the right hande, but a fooles hert is vpon the left. 3 A dotyng foole thynketh, that euery man doth as folishly as hym selfe. 4 If a principall sprete be geuen the to beare rule, be not negligente then in thine office: for so shall great wickednesse be put doun, as it were wt a medecine. 5 Another plage is there, which I haue sene vnder the sunne: namely, the ignoraunce that is commenly among princes: 6 in that a foole sitteth in great dignitie, and the ryche are set doune beneth: 7 I se seruauntes ryde vpon horses, & princes going vpon theyr fete as it were seruauntes. 8 But he that dyggeth vp a pyt, shal fal therin hym self: & who so breaketh doune the hedge, a serpente shall byte hym. 9 Who so remoueth stones, shall haue trauayl withal: & he that heweth wood shalbe hurt therwith. 10 When an yron is blont, and the poynt not sharpened, it muste be whet agayn, and that with might: Euen so doth wysdome folowe diligence. 11 A babler of his tonge is no better then a serpent that styngeth without hyssyng. 12 The wordes of out a wyse mans mouth are gracious, but the lippes of a fole wil destroy hym self. 13 The begynnyng of his talkynge is foolishnes, and the last worde of his mouth is great madnesse. 14 A foole is so full of woordes, that a man can not tell what ende he will make: who will then warne hym to make a conclusion? 15 The labour of the folish is greuous vnto them, whyle they know not how to go into the cytye. 16 Wo be vnto the (O thou realme & lande) whose kyng is but a chylde, & whose princes are early at their bankettes. 17 But well is the (O thou realme and lande) whose kynge is is come of nobles, and whose prynces eate in due seasou, for strength and not for luste. 18 Thorow slothfulnesse the balkes fal doune, and thorowe ydle handes it raineth in at the house. 19 Meate maketh men to laugh, and wine maketh them mery: but vnto money are all thynges obedyente. 20 Wyshe the kynge no euell in thy thoughte, and speake no hurte of the ryche in thy preuy chambre: for a byrde of the ayre shall betraye thy voyce, and wyth her fethers shall she bewraye thy wordes.