Stolid Farmer to His Son

Choose your wife for straight legs and an honest tongue.
Take to market no more than you have to sell.
Be cautious with strangers and cover the top of your well
And teach your children virtue while they are young.
And when you are old be glad if you’ve learned to keep
Your wife’s affection and memories of neighbors and friends
And had the sense to know that your comfort depends
On the money you saved and the grief you have put to sleep.