To be too fond of this world and of that which is therein, provoketh the wrath of Heaven. If thou sacrifice this fondness, thou shalt be sure of the glory and grace of thy God.

All man's striving in this world is but for honour, riches, and ease; and yet he who loveth this life too much is often far removed from them, and more closely bound to sorrow and sighing.

Fret not for the store laid up, for the riches heaped of yore, fearing lest men rob thee of them, when they steal thy substance and wealth. Leave that which thou requirest not, seize but that which thou dost need; then shall the glory of God be thy rereward, and good fortune shall be thy meed.

In the day of happiness, think of sorrow, and in the day of evil, hope in God, that He may deliver thee from the oppression of anguish and sickness.

See the advantage of poverty over riches! Be wise, and feel thyself abashed and ashamed; for no man rebels against God's Word in attempting to get poor, but he doth so in the endeavour to grow rich.

Say unto the man who hath much provision: "Have sufficient years been granted thee wherein to spend thy hoard?"

Enquire of the man who hath gotten himself wealth, if he hath also assured himself of the years of his life.

There are four causes of sorrow which affect men in this world: When poverty cannot extricate itself, so as to become strong by reason of wealth; when occupation leaveth no time for leisure, and is ever engaging a man; when there is no end to a man's longing for a thing which he can never obtain; and when there is unceasing care, which goeth on to the very end and finish.

A man of understanding who esteemeth himself will think little of this world's splendour.

Man in this world may be likened to the fruit of a tree; whilst ripening, it is gathered by those who find it; when matured, it is longed for, and enjoyed by thsoe who see it; while if it be not gathered, it falleth, and the beasts trample it underfoot.

In the days of youth fear the day of death, and depart from sin; for upon old camels the skins of young sheep are borne. When the lambs and the rams are in grazing, many of the young ones perish, and so on the shoulders of the old are the caskets of many young lives carried to the grave.

When a mortal passeth from this world, men of worth will ask, What life did he lead? But they who only think of earth enquire, How much did he bequeath to his children?

Is not man in this world, by accident and birth, as a creature e'er surrounded by serpents at every turn? Where'er he goeth, whene'er he cometh, they endanger his every path; in constant fear, he dreadeth lest now, by this one or by that, he be suddenly attacked.

He who mortifieth himself, ever thinking with delight of his latter end, will preserve his life unto eternity; while if he keepeth it alive for the pleasure of this world alone, let him know and understand that in this way he killeth the life that is within him.

Have a care and weep for man's mortality, and rejoice not at life's pleasantries!

Proclaim unto people day after day the message; there they sit in silence, they answer not, nor give ear…. But when the Day of Judgment cometh, they will perforce rise up and stand in the presence of their Maker, called upon to give account of their wrong-doings.

The man whose sole delight is in this world, may be likened to a dog sucking bones; thinking that it is sucking blood from the bone, it sucketh the blood of its own lips.

The man who doteth on this life, and serveth not his God, will ever be the loser, though he think that he doth gain. Indeed, he will be stripped of all that he hath done in the day when he doth change his garb, and putteth other raiment on.

When thou dwellest upon this thy world, think that thou wilt live for aye; when thou thinkest of this life's end, think that to-morrow it may slip from thee.

Righteousness is, in truth, the health of the soul; wickedness is its death.

Whosoever pineth at his fortune in life showeth he is angry with his Maker who formed him.

The man who can laugh away a single care may be said to have had life's desire accomplished by Heaven.

The man who, though the world esteem him highly, thinketh very little of himself, is sure to be delivered and released from the grasp of that which harmeth and hindereth.

Pride thyself upon the gain which thou hast already obtained; have remorse for those things which thou hast wilfully neglected.

Leave all gain that diminisheth and ceaseth, and take thou hold of the kind that goeth on and increaseth.

Let man in life, while in health and at ease, recognise and know that the breach may come great as the sea; for how can man remain whole and strong, seeing that Death is ever hanging at his neck?

A Sage, on observing a man full of care, enquired of him thus: "Why in such deep thought? If thou art concerned with earthly things, thou hast little to hope, for at death thou shalt be parted from them. But if thou art anxious concerning thy latter end, then I say, may God increase thy care!"

If, in true wisdom, thou dost test the world in which thou livest, reflecting on it, proving it, and searching it, thou wilt indeed find it like unto an enemy, wearing the mask and cloak of a friend.

Shouldst thou not fear, O man forewarned, when, without due provision, thou settest forth for the distant country, and lacking all things, thou descendest into the pit of destruction—the place of trouble and affliction, doomed to stand before thy Creator on the Judgment Day, to answer for the transgression of precept and command?

Covet not the wealth of men and their possessions, filled as their vessels are through oppression and violence. How many men gather riches that goeth to their foes, even to the lovers of their wives!

He who his freewill offerings doth reduce, and giveth ever less in charity, is but gathering and collecting wealth to swell the treasures of another.

Fear lest thou heap up for thyself the sins, and bequeath unto thy heirs the monies.

As for the worries and calamities which Time bringeth with it, and all the occurrences of life, regard thou them as dreams, and think of them as though they had never been; but fail thou not to prepare food for the soul and some provision for the spirit.

No man is sure of his livelihood, and he is therefore never free from concern.

If in all his days here pursuing vain toil, man doth not obtain his will and desire, how can he attain his will in that world for which he had no feeling, and after which he never did run?

The man who revealeth his blemish to all forgetteth the honour of his own soul; but he who turneth from the love of this world, may truly be said to glorify the spirit within him.

Let man but establish his secret things, and his Creator will regulate the things revealed. If he attend to his latter end, He on high will lengthen the years of his life.

He who would preserve his life should call to mind the hour of death; and while he be yet in his day, let him fear the coming of *his night.*¹"=76, the number of lines in this section.]

footnotes: ¹ ["His night