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10:1  Dead flies can make a whole bottle of perfume stink, and a little stupidity can cancel out the greatest wisdom.
10:2  It is natural for the wise to do the right thing and for fools to do the wrong thing.
10:3  Their stupidity will be evident even to strangers they meet along the way; they let everyone know that they are fools.
10:4  If your ruler becomes angry with you, do not hand in your resignation; serious wrongs may be pardoned if you keep calm.
10:5  Here is an injustice I have seen in the world—an injustice caused by rulers.
10:6  Stupid people are given positions of authority while the rich are ignored.
10:7  I have seen slaves on horseback while noblemen go on foot like slaves.
10:8  If you dig a pit, you fall in it; if you break through a wall, a snake bites you.
10:9  If you work in a stone quarry, you get hurt by stones. If you split wood, you get hurt doing it.
10:10  If your ax is dull and you don't sharpen it, you have to work harder to use it. It is smarter to plan ahead.
10:11  Knowing how to charm a snake is of no use if you let the snake bite first.
10:12  What the wise say brings them honor, but fools are destroyed by their own words.
10:13  They start out with silly talk and end up with pure madness.
10:14  A fool talks on and on. No one knows what is going to happen next, and no one can tell us what will happen after we die.
10:15  Only someone too stupid to find his way home would wear himself out with work.
10:16  A country is in trouble when its king is a youth and its leaders feast all night long.
10:17  But a country is fortunate to have a king who makes his own decisions and leaders who eat at the proper time, who control themselves and don't get drunk.
10:18  When you are too lazy to repair your roof, it will leak, and the house will fall in.
10:19  Feasting makes you happy and wine cheers you up, but you can't have either without money.
10:20  Don't criticize the king, even silently, and don't criticize the rich, even in the privacy of your bedroom. A bird might carry the message and tell them what you said.