1. Praise for a fool is out of place, like snow in summer or rain at harvest time.
2. Curses cannot hurt you unless you deserve them. They are like birds that fly by and never settle.
3. You have to whip a horse, you have to bridle a donkey, and you have to beat a fool.
18-19. Someone who misleads someone else and then claims that he was only joking is like a mad person playing with a deadly weapon.