nds of increase: the lowing of a cow in milk; the din of a
smithy; the swish of a plough.
Three steadinesses of good womanhood: keeping a steady tongue; a steady
chastity; a steady housewifery.
Three excellences of dress: elegance, comfort, lastingness.
Three candles that illume every darkness: truth, nature, knowledge.
Three keys that unlock thoughts: drunkenness, trustfulness, love.
Three youthful sisters: desire, beauty, generosity.
Three aged sisters: groaning, chastity, ugliness.
Three nurses of high spirits: pride, wooing, drunkenness.
Three coffers whose depth is not known: the coffers of a chieftain, of the
Church, of a privileged poet.
Three things that ruin wisdom: ignorance, inaccurate knowledge,
forgetfulness.
Three things that are best for a chief: justice, peace, an army.
Three things that are worst for a chief: sloth, treachery, evil counsel.
Three services, the worst that a man can serve: serving a bad woman, a bad
lord, and bad land.
Three lawful handbreadths: a handbreadth between shoes and hose, between
ear and hair, and between the fringe of the tunic and the knee.
Three angry sisters: blasphemy, strife, foul-mouthedness.
Three disrespectful sisters: importunity, frivolity, flightiness.
Three signs of a bad man: bitterness, hatred, cowardice.
FROM THE INSTRUCTIONS OF KING CORMAC
'O Cormac, grandson of Conn,' said Carbery, 'what are the dues of a chief
and of an ale-house?'
'Not hard to tell,' said Cormac.
'Good behaviour around a good chief,
Lights to lamps,
Exerting oneself for the company,
A proper settlement of seats,
Liberality of dispensers,
A nimble hand at distributing,
Attentive service,
Music in moderation,
Short story-telling,
A joyous countenance,
Welcome to guests,
Silence during recitals,
Harmonious choruses.'
'O Cormac, grandson of Conn,' said Carbery, 'what were your habits when
you were a lad?'
'Not hard to tell,' said Cormac.
'I was a listener in woods,
I was a gazer at stars,
I was blind where secrets were concerned,
I was silent in a wilderness,
I was talkative among many,
I was mild in the mead-hall,
I was stern in battle,
I was gentle towards allies,
I was a physician of the sick,
I was weak towards the feeble,
I was strong towards the powerful,
I was not close lest I should be burdensome,
I was not arrogant though I was wise,
I
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