1 Ben Zoma said: Who is wise? He who learns from every man,⁠a as it is said: "I have gained understanding from all who taught me" (Psalms 119:99). Who is mighty? He who subdues his evil inclination,⁠b as it is said: "One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and one who rules his spirit than one who takes a city" (Proverbs 16:32). Who is rich? He who rejoices in his lot,⁠c as it is said: "You shall enjoy the fruit of your labors, you shall be happy and you shall prosper" (Psalms 128:2). "You shall be happy" in this world, "and you shall prosper" in the world to come. Who is honored? He who honors his fellow human beings,⁠d as it is said: "For I honor those that honor Me, but those who spurn Me shall be dishonored" (I Samuel 2:30). 2 Ben Azzai said: Be as quick in performing a minor commandment as a major one, and flee from transgression; for one commandment leads to another commandment, and transgression leads to another transgression; for the reward for performing a commandment is another commandment, and the reward for committing a transgression is a transgression. 3 He used to say: do not despise any man, and do not discriminate against anything, for there is no man who does not have his hour, and no thing that does not have its place. 4 Rabbi Levitas a man of Yavneh said: be exceedingly humble in spirit, for the end of man is the worm.⁠e Rabbi Yohanan ben Berokah said: whoever profanes the name of Heaven in secret will be punished in the open. Unwittingly or wittingly, it is all one in profaning the name. 5 Rabbi Ishmael his son said: He who learns in order to teach, it is granted to him to study and to teach; but he who learns in order to practice, it is granted to him to learn and to teach and to practice. Rabbi Zadok said: Do not separate yourself from the community.⁠f Do not act as an advocate while serving as a judge. Do not make the Torah a crown for self-exaltation, nor a spade with which to dig. So too Hillel used to say: "Whoever puts the crown to his own use will perish." Thus you have learned: anyone who derives worldly benefit from the words of the Torah removes his life from the world.⁠g 6 Rabbi Yose said: whoever honors the Torah is himself honored by others, and whoever dishonors the Torah is himself dishonored by others. 7 Rabbi Ishmael his son said: he who refrains from judgment rids himself of enmity, robbery, and false swearing; but he whose heart is presumptuous in giving a judicial decision is foolish, wicked, and arrogant. 8 He used to say: do not judge alone, for no one may judge alone except One. And do not say "accept my view," for the choice is theirs, not yours. 9 Rabbi Jonathan said: whoever fulfills the Torah out of a state of poverty, his end will be to fulfill it out of a state of wealth; and whoever discards the Torah out of a state of wealth, his end will be to discard it out of a state of poverty.⁠h 10 Rabbi Meir said: Engage little in business, and busy yourself with the Torah. Be of humble spirit before all men.⁠i If you have neglected the Torah, you will have many who bring you to neglect it; but if you have labored at the study of Torah, there is much reward to be given to you. 11 Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob said: he who performs one commandment acquires for himself one advocate, and he who commits one transgression acquires for himself one accuser. Repentance and good deeds are a shield against punishment. Rabbi Yochanan Hasandlar said: every assembly which is for the sake of Heaven will endure in the end, and every assembly which is not for the sake of Heaven will not endure in the end. 12 Rabbi Elazar ben Shammua said: let the honor of your student be as dear to you as your own, and the honor of your colleague as the reverence for your teacher, and the reverence for your teacher as the reverence of Heaven. 13 Rabbi Judah said: be careful in study, for an error in study counts as deliberate sin. Rabbi Shimon said: There are three crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood, and the crown of royalty; but the crown of a good name supersedes them all. 14 Rabbi Nehorai said: go as a voluntary exile to a place of Torah, and do not say that it will come after you, for it is your fellow students who will make it permanent in your hand; "and do not rely on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5). 15 Rabbi Yannai said: it is not in our hands to explain either the security of the wicked or the afflictions of the righteous. Rabbi Mathia ben Harash said: Upon meeting people, be the first to extend greetings; and be a tail to lions rather than a head to foxes. 16 Rabbi Jacob said: this world is like a vestibule before the world to come; prepare yourself in the vestibule, so that you may enter the banqueting hall. 17 He used to say: more precious is one hour in repentance and good deeds in this world than all the life of the world to come; and more precious is one hour of the tranquility of the world to come than all the life of this world. 18 Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar said: Do not try to appease your friend during his hour of anger; do not comfort him in the hour while his dead still lies before him; do not question him in the hour of his vow; and do not strive to see him in the hour of his disgrace. 19 Shmuel Hakatan said: "If your enemy falls, do not exult; if he trips, let your heart not rejoice, or the Lord will see it and be displeased and turn His wrath away from him" (Proverbs 24:17). 20 Elisha ben Abuyah said: He who learns as a child, to what is he compared? To ink written on a new writing sheet. And he who learns as an old man, to what is he compared? To ink written on a rubbed writing sheet. Rabbi Yose ben Judah a man of Kfar Ha-babli said: He who learns from the young, to what is he compared? To one who eats unripe grapes and drinks wine from his vat. And he who learns from the old, to what is he compared? To one who eats ripe grapes and drinks old wine. Rabbi said: do not look at the container but at what is in it; there is a new container full of old wine, and an old container in which there is not even new wine.⁠j 21 Rabbi Elazar Ha-kappar said: envy, lust, and the desire for honor put a man out of the world.⁠k 22 He used to say: the ones who were born are to die, and the ones who have died are to be brought to life, and the ones brought to life are to be judged; so that one may know, make known, and have the knowledge that He is God, He is the designer, He is the creator, He is the discerner, He is the judge, He is the witness, He is the complainant, and He will summon to judgment. Blessed be He, before whom there is no injustice, no forgetting, no favoritism, and no taking of bribes, for all is His. Know that all is according to the reckoning. And do not let your impulse assure you that the grave is a place of refuge for you; for against your will you were formed, against your will you were born, against your will you live, against your will you die, and against your will you are destined to give an account and reckoning before the King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.