² You have as little to fear from an undeserved curse
    as from the dart of a wren or the swoop of a swallow.

³ A whip for the racehorse, a tiller for the sailboat—
    and a stick for the back of fools!

⁴ Don’t respond to the stupidity of a fool;
    you’ll only look foolish yourself.

⁵ Answer a fool in simple terms
    so he doesn’t get a swelled head.

⁶ You’re only asking for trouble
    when you send a message by a fool.

⁷ A proverb quoted by fools
    is limp as a wet noodle.

⁸ Putting a fool in a place of honor
    is like setting a mud brick on a marble column.

⁹ To ask a moron to quote a proverb
    is like putting a scalpel in the hands of a drunk.

¹⁰ Hire a fool or a drunk
    and you shoot yourself in the foot.

¹¹ As a dog eats its own vomit,
    so fools recycle silliness.

¹² See that man who thinks he’s so smart?
    You can expect far more from a fool than from him.

¹³ Loafers say, “It’s dangerous out there!
    Tigers are prowling the streets!”
    and then pull the covers back over their heads.

¹⁴ Just as a door turns on its hinges,
    so a lazybones turns back over in bed.

¹⁵ A shiftless sluggard puts his fork in the pie,
    but is too lazy to lift it to his mouth.