Second Saying
There be three things which are never satisfied,
Yea, four exclaim: “It is not enough!”
The Ghoul hath two daughters:
“Give, give!”—the grave and the womb.[313]
The earth is not filled with water,
And the fire sayeth not, “It is enough!”
Third Saying of Agur
On Four Inscrutable Things
There be three things too wonderful for me,
Yea, four which I fathom not:
The way of the eagle in the air,
The way of the serpent upon a rock,
The way of a ship amidst the ocean,
And the way of a man with a maid.[314]
Fourth Saying
Four Insupportable Things
Under three things the earth quakes,
And under four it cannot stand.
Under a slave when he seeks to reign,
And under a fool when he is filled with meat;
Under an odious woman when she gets a husband,
And under a handmaid who is heir to her mistress.[315]
Fifth Saying
Four who stride majestically
There be three things which go well,
Yea, four are comely in going:
A lion—the hero among beasts,
Who turneth not aside for any one;
A greyhound and a bell-goat,
And a king who riseth up for his people’s sake.