Cormac further has said this: ‘
A docile, humble, obedient young man of a nice conscience and confession, his youth will be lovable, his old age venerable, his word
- Every one is wise till he comes to sell his heritage,
every one is foolish till he buys land,
every one is a friend till it comes to debts,
5] every one is a law-giver till it comes to children,
every one is sleepy till it comes to marrying,
every one is ferocious till it comes to piety,
every one is fair-famed till he is satirised,
every one is a hospitaller till he refuses (to entertain),
10] every one is a roving warrior till he takes up husbandry,
every one is a mercenary till he settles in a dwelling,
every one is compos mentis till he becomes drunk,
every one is reasonable till he gets angry,
every one is decorous till he commits adultery,
15] every one is tranquil till he has foster-children,
every one is a counsellor till he begins to quarrel,
every one is a citizen till he is proclaimed,
every one is joyful till he meets with ill-luck,
every one is bold till he meets with a refusal,
20] every one is a pedestrian till he drives a chariot,
all music is holy till it comes to the harp,
every fortunate creature is fair,
every unfortunate creature is foul,
the sweetest part of sleep is cohabitation,
25] the sweetest part of ale is the first draught,
music is sweetest in the dark,
the sweetest part of a meal is the honorific portion.