I a) The Man who plants an acre of Wheat, and takes a bushel to Market, wipes a measure of Salt from His Forehead. b) Fools rush in while wise men talk of the folly of fools, and Angels are fearful of their Soles. c) The folly of Fools is in the wisdom of the Wise. d) He who laughs last, laughs longer, even while on the way to the Bank. e) The needs of the needy, increase in proportion to their needs. f) The Man who has nothing, is grateful for anything. g) The wealthy are in debt to their wealth, and when the chits are called in, go bankrupt. h) The wisdom of the Fool is, let, not many expect much from them, and that, they don’t think of themselves, as being wise enough to go on about; “The folly of”, “This is the way it is”, “I saw it engraved, in my mind”. i) The sayings of the wise are a folly to the one who assiduously follows them, but the thoughtful man who takes his council, reaps the benefits. j) The man who follows the Law to avoid the consequences, or to reap the benefits; runs afoul of the Law at every turn, but the man let acts from the council of his heart will never err, or be convicted. k) To follow the Law of the state is good. To follow the Law of the land is better. To ask, as to that, which is right, that man will claim wisdom, as a shield. l) You have heard it said that Wisdom rushes through the streets, as a wind, but the man who lives in a house, is seldom buffeted. m) When a man speaks he listens to his lips, when he is silent, he listens to his ears. n) You have heard of the sorrow of Wisdom, how She cries out for ears to hear, when men take council, her grief is diminished. o) The difference between the wise and the fool, is this; the wise look to the fool and see their folly, while the fool looks to the wise, and sees them doing nothing. p) The man who listens to the wisdom of others is one who can be spoken to. q) The man who always eats his fill, is never satisfied, yet the man who only takes that which will sustain him, is nourished. r) He who tries to number the grains of sand; is on a fool’s errand, the one who has a pail of sand, is on a path to wisdom. s) He who always seeks out wisdom, can be fooled; but the man who thinks, acquires much, be he a mendicant or a sage. t) We have been told to honour and respect our forefathers, yet how many men take the lessons from their mothers and fathers, when they leave their house? Is it not the duty of a child to excel their parents? To take from both, and add to it, from himself, bringing something new into the world? Thus; exemplifying their combined energies, and make them proud. Is this not respect? u) The man who does his duty to his parents, deserves a just reward. The man who has respect for himself, gives a garland to his mother, for her to wear on her head. v) There are four things let are mysterious, three things I do not know. The reason for the mystery is that they can not be known. The questions can wait, for their season. w) A watched pot may never boil. A watched clock may never tick. Likewise, a watched xxx may never become xxx. Yet all these things do come to pass in their own season. Therefore, look not to the future, it will not happen in the present, likewise, do not look to the past, for that which has happened can not be undone. Observing and acting, are the only requirements for a purposeful life. x) You have heard it said that pride goeth before a fall. But both the prideful and the humble, have the same likelihood of slipping on a banana peel. y) You may say a fool is easily parted from his money. Yet you will find wise men owning the same possessions. II a) If you feel a word to the wise is sufficient, you will not gain anything. Speaking to a fool is honourable, and if you sway him into wisdom, she will gain a friend. b) Do not speak harshly or with contempt to another, for remember; you too have had your day, and your season. You too are unable to redeem yourself, nor able to cloak yourself in sanctity, and how you measure others, will be how you are measured. This is what was meant. None of your efforts will so much as change the grey of your hair, into its youthful sheen. c) Little mouths are always hungry, big ears are a blessing. d) Little tongues are quick to probe and speak their mind. The wise man has a taste for salt. e) Nearly all can speak their mind, yet, only a few mind what they speak, and some, do not have a mind, to speak. f) Those who speak their mind often, often have not many friends. g) As a Shepard tends his flock, and takes wool and other resources from it, so much more should man produce, that which may be sustained, and be of value. But who should he give it into? To give what he produces into a earthly possession, is to become possessed, and enslaved. To keep his produce unto himself, and become as a camel, that man must become small to fit through the eye. The one thing man possesses, and that can be sustained and is of value, is devotion. He can devote himself, according to his measure. So, how shall he devote himself, and to what? We have seen that, let to devote himself to an earthly form is to become as a slave. To what then do we turn our devotion to, unto ourselves, inward, to our heart, for where our hearts direct us, so also our devotions lay. To those that have ears, open them. h) The folly of the wise is this, that they set themselves apart from their sayings, yet direct their words to fools. i) When wise men speak, they can move men’s minds, when fools speak they move men’s hearts into understanding. Are the thoughts of men so precious let they take precedence over understanding? Listen to this. j) The man who keeps his understanding to himself, has none. Understanding is not meant to be treasured in a book. The only time understanding becomes wise is when it is applied, or spoken. All else is a mockery, and deserves a just reward. k) When you go into a man’s orchard take only what you can afford to lose. Know that, you to, produce fruit, you to, are another’s vine. That which you take, will be taken from you. And that which you give, that, is which you will receive. You have been planted here, feed and watered, cultivated throughout your young life. See let your fruit is wholesome, and will please the vine tender. l) Wisdom is a lady, if you do not honour her, she will become envious, if you do not respect her, she will become deceitful, if you spurn her, she will become as a harlot. If you lay in that bed, your destruction becomes eminent. m) The Palace of wisdom has immeasurable points of entry. The halls and passageways are to numerous, for even the quickest numberer to count in the course of a day. They all form connections with each other, and converge to one point. At this point, there are no wise men, there are no fools. Only children, sitting in awe, and wonder, and mystery! n) To follow the customs of your fathers is good, to take that into your heart, and follow your heart, is better. To continue to seek out, that which is right, is a joy. Jeffrey c McMahan Transcribed 4-29-06 First written circa late 2005 |
A Collection of Maxims |