1-2. Lazy people are no better than dung; they are repulsive, and no one wants to get near them.
3. It is a disgrace to a father to have an undisciplined child, especially if it is a daughter.
4. A sensible daughter will get a husband, but a shameless daughter brings her father grief.
5. A girl with no sense of propriety will disgrace both her husband and her father; neither will have any respect for her.
6. Lecturing your children can sometimes be as out of place as singing to people in mourning, but a whipping is a wise choice of discipline at any time.
7. Trying to teach a fool is like gluing a broken pot together again, like waking someone out of a deep sleep.
8. Explaining something to a fool is like explaining it to a sleepy person; when you have finished, he'll say, “What was that again?”
11. We mourn for the dead because they have no access to light. We ought to mourn for fools, because they have no access to intelligence. In fact, we should go into deeper mourning for fools, because the life they lead is worse than death. The dead are at least at rest.
12. For seven days we mourn the dead, but a foolish or ungodly person causes a lifetime of grief.
13. Don't visit stupid people or spend a lot of time talking with them. Avoid them; then they can't contaminate you, and you can live in peace without being troubled or worn down by their foolishness.