Ben Zoma would say: Who is wise? One who learns from every person, as it says (Psalms 119:99), “From all my teachers I gained insight.” Who is the humblest of all? One who is humble like Moses our teacher, as it says (Numbers 12:33), “And the man Moses was exceedingly humble.” Who is the richest of all? One who is happy with what he has, as it says (Psalms 128:1), “You will eat from the work of your hands, and you will be happy and prosperous.” Who is the strongest of all? One who is able to conquer his desire, as it says (Proverbs 16:32), “Better to be forbearing than mighty, to have self-control than to conquer a city.” And one who conquers his desire is considered as if he had conquered a city full of warriors, as it says (Proverbs 21:22), “One wise man prevailed over a city of warriors.” The true warriors are warriors in Torah, as it says (Psalms 103:20), “Mighty warriors do His bidding.” Some say these are the angels who serve God,⁠a as it says, “Bless the Eternal, His angels, [mighty warriors.]” And some say: One who can turn an enemy into his friend. (Rabbi Nehorai would say: Exile yourself to a place of Torah [and do not say that it will come to you, or that your colleagues will do it for you. And do not rely on your own understanding.]) He would also say: Do not disparage any person ([and do not dismiss anything]), as it says (Proverbs 13:13), “One who disparages a principle will become injured through it; one who respects a command will be rewarded.”He would also say: One who studies Torah in his youth, what is he like? Like a calf which was tamed when it was still small, as it says (Hosea 10:11), “Ephraim became a trained calf, but still wanted to thresh.” One who studies Torah in his old age is like a cow that was never trained until it was too old, as it says (Hosea 4:18), “Israel turned away like a stubborn cow.”He would also say: One who studies Torah in his youth is like a woman who kneads dough when it is hot. One who studies Torah in his old age, what is he like? Like a woman who kneads dough when it is cold. Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov would say: One who studies Torah in his youth is like letters written on fresh paper. One who studies Torah in his old age is like letters written on withered paper. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel then added to what he said: One who studies Torah in his youth is like a young man who married a young woman. She was a good match for him, and he a good match for her. And she cast herself upon him, and he cast himself upon her. One who studies Torah in his old age, what is he like? Like an old man who married a young woman. She was a good match for him, but he was not a good match for her. She cast herself upon him, but he kept his distance from her, as it says (Psalms 127:4–5), “Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are children of youth.” And immediately afterward it says, “Happy is the man who fills his quiver with them.” One who learns and then forgets is like a woman who gives birth to children and then buries them, as it says (Hosea 9:12), “Even though they raise children, I will bereave people of them.” Do not read “bereave” (v’sikaltim), but rather, “cause them to forget” (v’shikhahtim). (Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar would say: One who studies Torah in his youth is like a doctor who is treating a wound, and has a scalpel to cut into it and medicine to heal it. One who studies Torah in his old age is like a doctor who is treating a wound, and has a scalpel to cut into it but no medicine to heal it. So it is with words of Torah: they) are marked [in order for an individual] to distinguish one from one another, and then arranged side by side, as it says (Proverbs 7:3), “Tie them to your fingers and write them on the tablet of your heart.” And also (Proverbs 6:21), “Tie them to your heart always, and fasten them around your throat.”