Some of Ahiqar's wills to his adopted son Naden.
1 - My son, do not untie a knot that has been tied, nor tie a knot that has been untied.
2 - My son, it is better for a person to move stones with a wise man than to drink wine with an ignorant person.
3 - My son, you will not go astray if you associate with a wise man, and with a misguided person you will not learn wisdom.
4 - My son, if a rich person eats a snake, they say he ate it well, and if a poor person eats it they say he ate it out of hunger.
5 - Oh my son, do not even eat bread without shame.
6 - My son, do not be tempted by a woman’s beauty and do not desire her in your heart, because a woman’s beauty is her taste and her splendor is her speech.
7 - Do not walk on the road without a weapon, because you do not know when your enemy will meet you.
8 - My son, do not think of yourself as wise and sensible if people do not think of you as wise and sensible.
9 - My son, I carried salt and carried lead, but I did not find it heavier than the debt.
10 - Blind in eyes is better than blind in heart, because the blind in eyes learns a quick path, but the blind in heart deviates from the right path and wanders astray.
11 - My son, a close friend is better than a distant brother, and a good name is better than dazzling beauty, because a good name lasts forever, but beauty fades and disappears.
12 - My son, do not leave a word out of your mouth before you consult your mind, for it is better for a man to stumble in his heart than to stumble on his tongue.
13 - My son, if you hear an evil word, bury it in the ground seven cubits deep.
14 - My son, if the water stops without land, or the bird flies without a wing, or the crow becomes white as snow, or myrrh becomes sweet as honey, then the ignorant will become wise.
Wisdom literature in Mesopotamia / Dr. Salah Salman Ramid.
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