A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep—So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.

As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy man to those who send him.

He also who is slack in his work Is brother to him who destroys.

Because of laziness the building decays, And through idleness of hands the house leaks.