Part 35 (1/2)

SECOND SAYING

_On Four Insatiable Things_

There be three things which are never satisfied, Yea, four exclaim: ”It is not enough!”

The Ghoul hath two daughters: ”Give, give!”--the grave and the womb.[313]

The earth is not filled with water, And the fire sayeth not, ”It is enough!”

THIRD SAYING OF AGUR

_On Four Inscrutable Things_

There be three things too wonderful for me, Yea, four which I fathom not: The way of the eagle in the air, The way of the serpent upon a rock, The way of a s.h.i.+p amidst the ocean, And the way of a man with a maid.[314]

FOURTH SAYING

_Four Insupportable Things_

Under three things the earth quakes, And under four it cannot stand.

Under a slave when he seeks to reign, And under a fool when he is filled with meat; Under an odious woman when she gets a husband, And under a handmaid who is heir to her mistress.[315]

FIFTH SAYING

_Four who stride majestically_

There be three things which go well, Yea, four are comely in going: A lion--the hero among beasts, Who turneth not aside for any one; A greyhound and a bell-goat, And a king who riseth up for his people's sake.

SIXTH SENTENCE

_Exhortation to denounce ambition_

Whether thou hast acted foolishly in exalting thyself, Or whether thou hast done wisely, lay thy hand upon thy lips![316]

For pressure of milk produces b.u.t.ter, And pressure of vanity produces anger; Pressure of the nose[317] produces blood, And pressure of wrath produces strife.

Footnotes:

[312] To this and the following Sayings, Agur's orthodox opponent replies thus:

Every word of G.o.d is purified: He is a s.h.i.+eld to them that put their trust in him.

Add thou not unto his words, Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

Two things have I demanded of thee, O Jahveh, Deny me them not before I die: