The laughable stories collected by Mâr Gregory John Bar Hebræ

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68 THE LAUGHABLE STORIES OF BAR-HEBR^US.
"are the foolish ones?" And he replied, "Those who do
"not know either how to praise or to blame."
CCLXIV. Another learned man said, "Smite no man
"for his folly, for if thou dost so he will make profit
"by thee as from a friend, or he will hate, thee as an
"enemy,"
CCLXV. Another learned man was asked, "Who is
"the wise man? Is it he of whom a man hath said,
"Send a wise man and command him not?" And he
replied, "He that hearkeneth."
CCLXVI. Another teacher pretended to learn the
answer to a certain question from his disciple, and it
was said to him [by a certain man], "Dost thou learn
"from such an one as this?" And he replied, "I know
"the answer to this question much better than he, but
"I wish him to taste the pleasure of teaching, in order
"that he may be incited the more to learn."
CCLXVII. Another teacher said, "The commentary
"on the Books of Scripture is like the earrings in the
"ears of a virgin."
CCLXVIII. Another teacher said, "Let the counsels
"which are mingled with the Scriptures be thy principal,
"and let those which are in thy heart be the interest
"thereof."
CCLXIX. Another teacher while writing a certain
discourse upon a tablet, found that the tablet was filled
before he had finished this discourse, and he began to
rub out the beginning of his discourse from the top of
the tablet, and then wrote the remainder of it. And
when he was asked why he did this, he answered,
"I am doing this in order that I may have my dis-
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Read pi^asax.."!.