CHAPTER XVII A Chapter of Good Advice

 Suppose A Lecture (subject, Good Advice) to be given in The Large Lecture Hall, to-night, by the Venerable Rabbi Wiseman. We go, but with mixed feelings, assuring ourselves we do not care a straw for his advice, but we have nothing much better to do, the man has a reputation, and we wonder whether the hall will really be full to hear him. Somewhat to our surprise, the hall does fill rapidly, is full! Extraordinary how a well-known name will draw: doubtless the man has got a “following” in every town, prepared to drink in every word he says. But that will not altogether account for it; there must also be a big number here to-night who have come, like ourselves, out of mere¹ curiosity. We wait the great man’s arrival with impatience², uncomfortably conscious that we are meant to be edified³, expectant that we shall be merely bored. (A lecture of “Good advice,” forsooth. As if we haven’t a right to our own opinions, and are not competent to advise ourselves: it will take him all his time to impress us!) The Rabbi arrives, to the usual clap-clapping of his admirers in the hall.... We are a little surprised at his appearance—a strong face, but his best friends would not call him handsome. At the same time, to give him his due, one could not call him pompous⁴.... Why doesn’t the Chairman stop talking? Who wants to listen to him? Seeing that we are “in for it,” let’s hear what the speaker has to say, and so get it over{262}—

At last the Rabbi rises, and proves wiser than we have expected; wise enough to be also wily. He begins with a touch of humour; we smile, are caught off our guard, and for a few moments (it was all he needed) he has captured our attention.

Here is the thread of his remarks:

Commend not a man for his beauty,

And abhor⁵ not a man for an ugly appearance.[129]

Be willing to listen to every godly discourse⁶,

And let not the proverbs of understanding escape thee.

If thou seest a man of Wisdom get thee betimes unto him,

And let thy foot wear out the steps of his doors.[130]

But, Let thy foot be seldom in thy neighbour’s house,

Lest he be weary of thee and hate thee.[131]

Answer not a fool according to his folly⁷,

Lest thou be like unto him.[132]

He that giveth answer before he heareth,

It is folly and shame unto him.[133]

Learn before thou speak; and have a care of thy health,

Or ever thou be sick.[134]

Prepare thy work without and make it ready for thee in the field; and afterwards build thine house.[135]

Hast spoiled thy work? Take a needle and sew.[136]

Boast not thyself of to-morrow;

For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth⁸.[137]{263}

Change not a friend for the sake of profit,

Neither a true brother for the gold of Ophir.[138]

Laugh not a man to scorn when he is in the bitterness of his soul; for there is one who humbleth and exalteth.[139]

Reproach not a man when he turneth from sin;

Remember we are all worthy⁹ of punishment.

Dishonour¹⁰ not a man in his old age;

For some of us also are waxing old.

Rejoice not over one that is dead;

Remember that we die all.[140]

Do no evil, so shall no evil overtake thee;

Depart from wrong, and it shall turn aside from thee.

My son, sow not the furrows¹¹ of unrighteousness,

And thou shalt not reap it sevenfold.[141]

Be not thou envious¹² of evil men, neither desire to be with them, for their heart studieth oppression and their lips talk of mischief¹³.[142]

Let not thine heart envy sinners, but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long; for surely there is a reward and thy hope shall not be cut off.[143]

Say not thou, “It is through the Lord that I fell away: for that which He hateth He made not.” Say not thou, “It is He that caused me to err¹⁴, for He hath no need of a sinful man.”[144]

Say not, He will look upon the multitude of my gifts, and when I offer to the Most High God He will accept it.[145]

{264}

Keep thy heart with all vigilance,

For that is the way to life.[146]

Be not faint-hearted in thy prayer,

And neglect not to give alms.[147]

Commit thy ways unto the Lord,

And thy purposes shall be established.[148]

A brief lecture, but none the worse for that. Much Wisdom in small compass. Depart, as you must, whether touched or ostensibly indifferent. However that may be, whatever your feelings now, you cannot forget all his words; some of them are fastened in the memory. One day you may act upon them and discover that they were wise indeed, and then you will want yourself to move a vote of thanks to the lecturer.

1 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

2 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

3 edified   

v.开导，启发( edify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He must be edified by what he sees. 他耳濡目染，一定也受到影响。 来自辞典例句
• For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified. 你感谢的固然是好，无奈不能造就别人。 来自互联网

4 pompous   

adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities.他有点自大，自视甚高。
• He is a good man underneath his pompous appearance. 他的外表虽傲慢，其实是个好人。

5 abhor   

v.憎恶；痛恨

参考例句：

• They abhor all forms of racial discrimination.他们憎恶任何形式的种族歧视。
• They abhor all the nations who have different ideology and regime.他们仇视所有意识形态和制度与他们不同的国家。

6 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

7 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

8 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

9 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

10 dishonour   

n./vt.拒付（支票、汇票、票据等）；vt.凌辱，使丢脸；n.不名誉，耻辱，不光彩

参考例句：

• There's no dishonour in losing.失败并不是耻辱。
• He would rather die than live in dishonour.他宁死不愿忍辱偷生。

11 furrows   

n.犁沟( furrow的名词复数 )；（脸上的）皱纹v.犁田，开沟( furrow的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• I could tell from the deep furrows in her forehead that she was very disturbed by the news. 从她额头深深的皱纹上，我可以看出她听了这个消息非常不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dirt bike trails crisscrossed the grassy furrows. 越野摩托车的轮迹纵横交错地布满条条草沟。 来自辞典例句

12 envious   

adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的

参考例句：

• I don't think I'm envious of your success.我想我并不嫉妒你的成功。
• She is envious of Jane's good looks and covetous of her car.她既忌妒简的美貌又垂涎她的汽车。

13 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

14 err   

vi.犯错误，出差错

参考例句：

• He did not err by a hair's breadth in his calculation.他的计算结果一丝不差。
• The arrows err not from their aim.箭无虚发。