‘O grandson of Conn, Cormac,’ said Carpre, ‘I desire to know how I shall behave among the wise and the foolish, among friends and strangers, among the old and the young, among the innocent and the wicked.’ ‘Not hard to tell,’ said Cormac.
- 5] Be not too wise, be not too foolish,
be not too conceited, be not too diffident,
be not too haughty, be not too humble,
be not too talkative, be not too silent,
be not too harsh, be not too feeble.
If you be too wise, one will expect (too much) of you;
10] if you be too foolish, you will be deceived;
if you be too conceited, you will be thought vexatious;
if you be too humble, you will be without honour;
if you be too talkative, you will not be heeded;
15] if you be too silent, you will not be regarded;
if you be too harsh, you will be broken;
if you be too feeble, you will be crushed.