New Proverbs for New Men ch. 11

New Proverbs for New Men

The god rewards cheating with guilt

but honesty with confidence and strength;
the god rewards false pride with shame

but true humility with insight.
Integrity is a reliable guide,

but hypocrisy leads to destruction;
he who harkens to the god knows which way to go,

but the closed-minded wander in darkness;
the love of the god will deliver you from the word of the fathers,

but the fearful are held captive by their lust.
Wealth cannot save you from disaster;

only wisdom and inner strength will bear you up.
The protection of riches is slender,

for it rests on the concealment of fear.
The god rescues good men from danger

while letting hypocrites fall into it.
Fearful words tear down;

loving words rebuild.
A good man's friends rejoice in his good fortune

and sorrow in his defeat;
but the fearful take pleasure in another's failure

and gnash their teeth at his success.
He who belittles his neighbor hates himself;

he who loves himself finds good in everyone.
He who spreads malicious gossip harbors secret rage;

he who has cleansed himself of anger tells delightful stories.
The cynic protects himself with a shield of disbelief;

the wise man trusts in the voice of the god.
Always trust a man who trusts others;

beware a man who sows suspicion.
The nation that seeks counsel from no one is doomed,

and the country that seeks counsel from many is blind;
that nation thrives in which the people are counseled by wisdom,

and that country triumphs where the god has the ear of the populace.
The violent amass wealth,

but those who love peace grow and are healed.
Kindness is repaid with kindness,

cruelty with cruelty;
the wages of violence rob their possessor,

but the wages of kindness increase manyfold.
The god is impatient with self-protection,

but delights in those who seek the truth;
be assured, self-protection is its own punishment,

and wisdom is its own reward.
The desire of the lover of wisdom leads only to good,

the expectation of the fearful to wrath.
One man gives freely, yet grows all the richer;

another withholds what he should give, and suffers want.
A liberal man will be enriched,

and one who waters will himself be watered.
He who trusts in his riches will wither;

he who trusts in his friends will flourish.
The people curse him who holds back his love,

but a blessing is on the head of him who gives it.
If you search for the good the god will bless you,

but if you shut out the good you will be cursed.
He who sows anger and discord will reap recrimination,

and the fool will be servant to the wise.
The gifts of the god grow like a tall shady tree,

but the gifts of the fathers wither on the vine.