Ancient Wisdom: Timeless Proverbs & Moral Tales

Posted on Nov 4, 2024 in English

Ancient Wisdom

Timeless Proverbs and Moral Tales

Part 1: Senex-Door Introduction

1. Do not be deceived, believing that any human action causes no harm. 2. For fear of others, provided it is not evil, give benefit of mind and do no harm. 4. Do not provoke those who feel bad. 5. Beware of those who praise you excessively; they may want what you have. 6. One must avoid causing harm, so it will not reach you. 7. Accept certain things and turn away from false hopes. 8. If you know an action may cause great harm, change it. 9. Beware of being conquered by strangers who would keep your good from you. 10. Never be dismayed by poverty, for there are poorer people than you. 11. Help many, and do not diminish your help to those who are less grateful, even when they rise to great honor. 12. Do not be frightened by things without reason. 13. Defend yourself, but show great sorrow to those who wrong you, and they will take care in how they treat you. 14. Gain true treasure and guard against the perishable. 17. Do not hesitate to pursue your advantage. 18. Do not complain about what God does; it will be for your own good in due time. 19. Never wish your enemy to grow stronger. 23. Do not always consume all you’ve earned; live such a life as to die honorably. 24. By works and ways, you can know which of the boys is best. 26. Follow the truth and flee from lies, for evil grows in lying. 29. Suffer things as payment to prevent what you could suffer later. 30. Do not allow those who forget your good deeds to profit greatly from you. 31. If you can do a great good, do not forget to do it, even if it means covering up for a loss. 32. Know that those who advise you against your friends want to deceive you. 34. Never interfere where you have difficulty, even for the safety of your friend. 36. If you offer hastily, you have done much good if you think twice. 37. Be sure of this truth: honor and great service do not dwell together. 38. He who is greedy will have adventure, but it is a wonder how long it lasts. 39. If you have undertaken a task, see it through, even if it requires more power. 40. Act well and with good intentions in life if you want to win true glory. 41. If someone does good, however small, it is great if it endures. 42. Think of good works and not greed, as if you have saved yourself from misfortune. 43. Good always overcomes evil; a little bad is always worth bearing. 46. Act and guard against suspicion, and your reputation will always be righteous. 47. Do not allow those who do not want what you should do to cause you to lose yours. 49. Do not miss the enduring world for this perishable one.

Themes and Structure

Themes: Honor, wealth, friendship, vanity, justice, hunting, hypocrisy.

Structure: 5 parts: Part / Senex-Door / Introduction / Approach/Situation (solved indirectly) / Example / 3rd person / Moral. The book contains examples, a hundred proverbs, and a treatise on the salvation of the soul.

Examples from the Book
  1. What happened to a king and a private citizen.
  2. To a good man with a child.
  3. What a Genoese said when his soul had to die.
  4. What happened to a crow with a piece of cheese in its beak.
  5. To a swallow when it saw other birds with linen.
  6. What happened to a woman called a rogue.
  7. To a man that had to clean the liver.
  8. Two horses with a lion.
  9. A man in poverty eating lupines.
  10. A dean of Santiago ate with a Yllan Don, the Grand Master of Toledo.
  11. A rooster and a dog.
  12. A man who chased a partridge.
  13. A miracle that happened when Santo preached on Sunday.
  14. To a hungry and very loose man who invited others to eat.
  15. Don Pedro Melendez Valdes when he broke his leg.
  16. Crows with owls.
  17. A king with a man that said he would practice alchemy.
  18. What ants do to survive.
  19. A king who wanted to test his three children.
  20. The tree of lies.
  21. A fox stretched out in the street playing dead.
  22. King Abenabet of Seville with Ramiquia, his wife.
  23. A trial given by a cardinal in Paris between clergy and friars.
  24. A king with a notable cloth scoffer.
  25. A blind man who trains the blind.
  26. A young man who married a very strong and very angry woman.
  27. To a merchant who found his wife and son together.
  28. The answer Count Fernando Gonzalez gave after his people were defeated in battle.
  29. A man carrying precious stones who drowned in the river.
  30. The man with the swallow and the sparrow.
  31. The reasons why the soul of a steward of Carcassonne was lost.
  32. A king of Cordoba called Alhaquem.
  33. A false beguine.
  34. The good and the bad, and the agreement with the crazy.
  35. A philosopher who entered a street where bad women lived.
  36. A Muslim with a sister that implied he was very frightened.
  37. The cast of the island when they had the manor.