XVII

SYMBOLS OR MAXIMS

Now what he called his symbols were such as these:

"Do not poke the fire with a word."
"Do not sit down on a bushel."
"Do not devour your heart."
"Do not aid men in discarding a burden, but in increasing one."
"Always have your bed packed up."
"Do not bear the image of God on a ring."
"Efface the traces of a pot in the ashes."
"Do not wipe a seat with a lamp."
"Do not make water in the sunshine."
"Do not walk in the main street."
"Do not offer your hand lightly."
"Do not cherish swallows under your roof."
"Do not cherish birds with crooked talons."
"Do not defile; do not stand upon the parings of your nails, or the cuttings of your hair."
"Avoid a sharp sword."
"When traveling abroad, do not look back at your own borders."

Now the precept not to poke the fire with a sword meant, not to provoke the anger or swelling pride of powerful men; not to violate the beam of the balance meant, not to transgress fairness and justice; not to sit on a bushel is to have an equal care for the present and the future; for by the bushel is meant one's daily food. By devouring ones heart, he intended to show that we ought not to waste away our soul with grief and sorrow. In the precept that a man when traveling abroad should not turn his eyes back, he recommended those who were departing this life not to be desirous to live, and not to be too much attracted by the pleasures here on earth. And the other symbols may be explained in a similar manner, that we may not be too prolix here.