15. A shiftless sluggard puts his fork in the pie,but is too lazy to lift it to his mouth.
16. Dreamers fantasize their self-importance;they think they are smarterthan a whole college faculty.
17. You grab a mad dog by the earswhen you butt into a quarrel that’s none of your business.
18-19. People who shrug off deliberate deceptions,saying, “I didn’t mean it, I was only joking,”Are worse than careless camperswho walk away from smoldering campfires.
20. When you run out of wood, the fire goes out;when the gossip ends, the quarrel dies down.
21. A quarrelsome person in a disputeis like kerosene thrown on a fire.
22. Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy;do you want junk like that in your belly?
23. Smooth talk from an evil heartis like glaze on cracked pottery.
24-26. Your enemy shakes hands and greets you like an old friend,all the while conniving against you.When he speaks warmly to you, don’t believe him for a minute;he’s just waiting for the chance to rip you off.No matter how cunningly he conceals his malice,eventually his evil will be exposed in public.
27. Malice backfires;spite boomerangs.
28. Liars hate their victims;flatterers sabotage trust.