1 Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly.⁠a They said three things: Be patient in the administration of justice, raise many disciples, and make a fence round the Torah. 2 Shimon the Righteous was one of the last of the men of the Great Assembly. He used to say: the world stands upon three things: the Torah, the Temple service, and the practice of acts of piety. 3 Antigonus a man of Socho received the oral tradition from Shimon the Righteous. He used to say: do not be like servants who serve the master in the expectation of receiving a reward, but be like servants who serve the master without the expectation of receiving a reward,⁠b and let the fear of Heaven be upon you. 4 Yose ben Yoezer of Zeredah and Yose ben Yohanan of Jerusalem received the oral tradition from them. Yose ben Yoezer used to say: let your house be a house of meeting for the Sages, sit in the very dust of their feet, and drink in their words with thirst. 5 Yose ben Yochanan of Jerusalem used to say: Let your house be wide open, and let the poor be members of your household. Do not engage in too much conversation with women. They said this about one's own wife; how much more does the rule apply to another man's wife. From here the Sages said: as long as a man engages in too much conversation with women, he causes evil to himself, he neglects the study of the Torah, and in the end he will inherit Gehinnom. 6 Joshua ben Perahiah and Nittai the Arbelite received the oral tradition from them. Joshua ben Perahiah used to say: appoint a teacher for yourself, acquire a companion for yourself, and judge every person with the scale weighted in his favor. 7 Nittai the Arbelite used to say: keep a distance from an evil neighbor, do not become attached to the wicked, and do not abandon faith in divine retribution.⁠c 8 Judah ben Tabbai and Shimon ben Shetach received the oral tradition from them. Judah ben Tabbai said: as a judge, do not play the part of an advocate. When the litigants are standing before you, look upon them both as guilty; and when they leave your presence, having accepted the judgment, look upon them both as innocent. 9 Shimon ben Shetach used to say: be thorough in the interrogation of witnesses, and be careful with your words, or they may learn from your words how to lie. 10 Shemaiah and Abtalion received the oral tradition from them. Shemaiah used to say: love work, hate lording it over others, and do not seek the attention of the ruling authority.⁠d 11 Abtalion used to say: Sages, be careful with your words, or you may incur the penalty of exile and be carried off to a place of evil waters, and the disciples who follow you will drink and die, and thus the name of Heaven will be profaned. 12 Hillel and Shammai received the oral tradition from them. Hillel used to say: be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace,⁠e loving mankind and drawing them close to the Torah.⁠f 13 He also used to say: one who makes his name great causes his name to be destroyed;⁠g one who does not add to his knowledge causes it to cease; one who does not study the Torah deserves death; and one who makes unworthy use of the crown of learning will pass away. 14 He also used to say: If I am not for myself, who is for me? But if I am for my own self only, what am I? And if not now, when? 15 Shammai used to say: make your study of the Torah a fixed practice; say little, but do much;⁠h and receive every person with a pleasant countenance.⁠i 16 Rabban Gamaliel used to say: appoint a teacher for yourself, avoid doubt, and do not make a habit of tithing by guesswork. 17 Shimon, his son, used to say: all my days I grew up among the sages, and I have found nothing better for a person than silence. Study is not the most important thing, but actions; whoever indulges in too many words brings about sin. 18 Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel used to say: the world stands on three things: on justice, on truth, and on peace, as it is said: "execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates" (Zechariah 8:16).