ngs that are best for a chief: justice, peace, an army.

243. Three things that are worst for a chief: sloth, treachery, evil
counsel.

244. The four deaths of judgment: to give it in falsehood, to give it
without forfeiture, to give it without precedent, to give it without
knowledge.

245. Three things that ruin wisdom: ignorance, inaccurate knowledge,
forgetfulness.

246. Three nurses of dignity: a fine figure, a good memory, piety.

247. Three nurses of high spirits: pride, wooing, drunkenness.

248. Four hatreds of a chief: a silly flighty man, a slavish useless
man, a lying dishonourable man, a talkative man who has no story to
tell.[121] For a chief does not grant speech save to four: a poet for
satire and praise, a chronicler of good memory for narration and
story-telling, a judge for giving judgments, an historian for ancient
lore.[122]

[121] _i.e._, who has nothing worth hearing to say.

[122] See a similar passage in Ancient Laws i., p. 18, and in the tale
called, 'The Conversion of Loegaire to the Faith' (Rev. Celt. iv., p.
165).

249. Three dark[123] things of the world: giving a thing into keeping,
guaranteeing, fostering.

[123] _i.e._, uncertain what will come of them.

250. Tri urgarta bid: a chaithem cen altugud, a chaithem d'eis oiged, a
chaithem rena thrath coir.

[Note 250: haurgartho N^1 hurgairt HM hurghairrthe H^2 d'aithli
aidead H coir om. NH^2 iarna coir M]

251. Cetheora aipgitre gaise: ainmne, sonmathe, sobraid[e], sothnges; ar
is gaeth cach ainmnetach [et] sai cach somnath, fairsing cach sobraid,
sochoisc cach sothengtha.

[Note 251: somna sobraicch H^2 sobes N soingthes H^2 somnoigh H^2
farsigh [_leg._ farsing] .i. sgaoiltech H^2]

252. Cetheora aipgitre baise: baithe, condailbe, imresan, doingthe.

253. Teora sirechta flatha: cuirmthech cen aisneis, buiden cen erdonail,
dirim cen chona.

[Note 253: airdanail N erdanail N^1]

254. Tri indchoisc ordain do duine: .i. sodelb, saire, sulbaire.

[Note 254: a tri ina coisceadh ordan M suirbire H]

255. Tri guala dona fess fudomain: guala flatha, guala ecalse, guala
nemid filed.

[Note 255: dana H fodhomain M]

256. Tri feich nach dlegar faill: feich thire, duilgine achaid, argius
aiste.

[Note 256: nat eple faill M aichid M argui_us_ H]

250. Three prohibitions of food: to eat it without giving thanks, to eat
it before its proper time, to eat it after a guest.

251. Four elements[124] of wisdom: p