Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 31

¹ The sleeplessness brought by wealth makes a man lose weight, the worry it causes drives away sleep.

² The worries of the daytime interfere with slumber, as a serious illness drives away sleep.

³ The rich man toils, piling up money, and when he leaves off, he stuffs himself with luxuries;

⁴ the poor man toils, his livelihood dwindling, and when he leaves off, is destitute.

⁵ The man who loves gold will not be reckoned virtuous, the man who chases after profit will be caught out by it.

⁶ Many have gone to their ruin for the sake of gold, though their destruction stared them in the face;

⁷ it is a snare for those who sacrifice to it, and every fool will be caught in it.

⁸ Happy the rich man who is found to be blameless and does not go chasing after gold.

⁹ Who is he, for us to congratulate him, since he has achieved wonders among his kind?

¹⁰ Who has been through this test and emerged perfect? He may well be proud of that! Who has had the power to sin and has not sinned, to wrong another and not done it?

¹¹ His fortune will be firmly based and the assembly will acclaim his generosity.

¹² Have you sat down at a lavish table? Do not gape at it, do not say, ‘What a feast!’

¹³ Remember how bad it is to have a greedy eye; is anything in creation greedier than the eye? That is why it waters on every occasion.

¹⁴ Do not reach out for anything your host has his eye on, do not jostle him at the dish.

¹⁵ Judge your fellow guest’s needs by your own, be thoughtful in every way.

¹⁶ Eat what is offered you like a well brought-up person, do not wolf your food or you will earn dislike.

¹⁷ For politeness’ sake be the first to stop; do not act the glutton, or you will give offence,

¹⁸ and if you are sitting with a large party, do not help yourself before the others do.

¹⁹ A little is quite enough for a well-bred person; his breathing is easy when he gets to bed.

²⁰ A moderate diet ensures sound sleep, a man gets up early, in the best of spirits. Sleeplessness, biliousness and gripe are what the glutton has to endure.

²¹ If you are forced to eat too much, get up, go and be sick, and you will feel better.

²² Listen to me my son, do not disregard me, eventually you will see the force of my words. Be moderate in all your activities and illness will never overtake you.

²³ People praise the man who keeps a splendid table, and their opinion of his munificence is sound;

²⁴ similarly, the man who keeps a mean table will be notorious throughout the town, and their opinion of his meanness is not doubtful either.

²⁵ Do not play the valiant at your wine, for wine has been the undoing of many.

²⁶ The furnace proves the temper of steel, and wine proves hearts in the drinking bouts of braggarts.

²⁷ Wine is life for man if drunk in moderation. What is life worth without wine? It was created to make men happy.

²⁸ Drunk at the right time and in the right amount, wine makes for a glad heart and a cheerful mind.

²⁹ Bitterness of soul comes of wine drunk to excess out of temper or bravado.

³⁰ Drunkenness excites the stupid man to a fury to his own harm, it reduces his strength while leading to blows.

³¹ Do not rebuke your neighbour at a wine feast, do not slight him when he is enjoying himself, do not speak reproachfully to him, or annoy him by reclaiming money owing.