The laughable stories collected by Mâr Gregory John Bar Hebræ

32 THE LAUGHABLE STORIES OF BAR-HEBRJEUS.
that he might eat it, and He—Glory be to His goodness!
— shewed him a grasshopper, saying, "Behold
"flesh wherein is no blood."
CXXXIII. Another sage said, "He who looseth any
"jot of the Law and doeth some other good work in
"its place, this good work is not imputed unto him for
"a reward, inasmuch as a gift doth not redeem a
"thing which is obligatory."
CXXXIV. Another sage said, "Overabundance of
"food
"[ruineth]
poisoneth the heart even as a superfluity of water
seed."
CXXXV. It is said that when Joseph put his
brother Benjamin into prison straightway Jacob wrote
to him, saying, "Prophets do not steal, neither do
"they beget thieves."
CXXXVI. It is said that God said unto Abraham,
"Knowest thou why I have chosen thee to be My
"friend?" And Abraham replied, "Tell me, O Lord."
And the Lord made answer to him, saying, "It is be-
"cause thou hast taken upon thyself to be injured and
"not to do injury; therefore let him that would increase
"friends
do likewise."
CXXXVII. Another sage said,
"The man who work-
"eth guile is like unto a drawn sword; it is fair in
"its appearance, but when it is in action heed must be
"paid to
it."
CXXXVIII. Another sage commanded his son, saying,
"Divide thy time into three seasons. A season for thy
"prayer, a season for thy trafficking, and a season for
"thy bodily recreation and for thy ordinary meat and
"drink; for if thou dost not take thy [season of] recrea-
"tion thou wilt not be able to fulfil the other two of
"prayer and trafficking."