Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain:

But a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be

praised.

Give her of the fruit of her hands;

And let her works praise her in the gates.

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ii

An Epigram

Every word of God is tried;

He is a shield unto them that trust in him:

Add thou not unto his words,

Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

iii

The Golden Mean

A Number Sonnet

Two things have I asked of thee;
Deny me not three before I die:

Remove far from me vanity and lies;

Give me neither poverty nor riches;

Feed me with the food that is needful for me:

Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the
LORD?

Or lest I be poor, and steal,

And use profanely the name of my God.

iv

Slander not a servant unto his master,
Lest he curse thee, and thou be held guilty.

There is a generation

That are pure in their own eyes,

And yet are not washed from their filthiness

There is a generation —

Oh how lofty are their eyes!

And their eyelids are lifted up.

There is a generation

Whose teeth are as swords,

And their jaw teeth as knives,

To devour the poor from off the earth,
And the needy from among men.

Frir a spirant when he is king;

And a foul when he is filled with meat;

Frisk adipus Wolladh when she is married;
And ah handmand that & held to

there be four things which is, ugnen the earti.
but they are exceeding wise-

Amics are a people net sarung,
Ver pay provide their weds 11160

The Lion,

Which is mightiest among beasts,
And turneth not away for any;

The Greyhound;

The He-goat also;

And the King when his army is with him.

xiii

The Restraining of Wrath

An Epigram

If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself,
Or if thou hast thought evil,

Lay thine hand upon thy mouth:

For the churning of milk bringeth forth butter,
And the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood;
So the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.

155