Concerning three things that hide: an open bag hides nothing, an
open door hides little, an open person hides something.
Three errors not acknowledged: fear of an enemy, torment of
love, and a jealous persons' evil suspicion of their mate.
Three possessions we value most take away pride from us: our
money, our time, and our conscience.
Three things by nature cause their possessor to err: youth,
prosperity, and ignorance.
Three things resemble each other: a bright sword which rusts
from long staying in the scabbard, bright water which stinks
from long standing, and wisdom which is dead from long disuse.
Three things not easy to check: the stream of a cataract, an
arrow from a bow, and a rash tongue.
Three things hard to catch: a stag on the mountain, a fox in the
wood, and the coin of the miserly scrooge.
There are three things each very like the other: an old blind
horse playing the harp with his hoofs, a pig in a silk dress,
and a merciless person prating about piety.
Three things as good as the best: bread and milk against hunger,
a white coat against the cold, and a yeoman's son in a breach.
Three things which are not hidden: a straw in the shoe, a awl in
a bag, and a harlot in a crowd.
Three sweet things in the world: power, prosperity, and error in
action.
Three strong things in the world: a lord, a fool, and the Void.
There are three things which move together as quickly the one as
the other: lightning , thought , and the help of the Mighty Ones.
Three things not loved without each one it's companion: day
without night, idleness without hunger, and wisdom without
reverence.
There are three whose full reward can never be given to them:
parents, a good teacher, and the Shining Ones.
Three glories of a gathering: a comely mate, a good horse, and a
swift hound.
Three things which constitute a healer: a complete cure, leaving
no blemish behind, and a painless examination.
Three false sisters: "perhaps", "maybe", and "I dare say".
Three timid brothers: "Hush!" "Stop!" "Listen!"
Three youthful sisters: desire, beauty, and generosity.
Three aged sisters: groaning, chastity, and ugliness.
Three slender things that best support the world: the slender
stream of milk from the cows dug into the pail; the slender
blade of green corn upon the ground; the slender thread over the
hand of a skilled woman.
Three keys that unlock thoughts: drunkenness; trustfulness; love.
Three sounds of increase: the lowing of a cow in milk; the din
of a smithy; the swish of a plow.
Three unbreathing things paid for only with breathing things: An
apple tree, a hazel bush, a sacred grove.
Three things by which excellence is established: Taking all
things in moderation with nothing in excess; abidance to oaths;
and acceptance of responsibility.
It is easier to determine the truth when these three prime
evidences are existent: physical items which tell a story;
trustworthy witnesses which tell their story; and concurrence
with known truths. .
Three things from which never to be moved: one's oaths; one's
Gods; and the truth.
Three things which strengthen a person to stand against the
whole world: Seeing the quality and beauty of truth; seeing
beneath the cloak of falsehood; and seeing to what ends truth
and falsehood come.
There are three things excellent among worldly affairs: hating
folly; loving excellence; and endeavoring constantly to learn.
Three manifestations of humanity: Affectionate bounty; loving
manner; and praiseworthy knowledge.
Three things which spring from following lawful goodness:
universal love from the Wise; worldly sufficiency, and better
place in the life to come.
Three things without which there can be nothing good: truth;
peace; and generosity.
Three beautiful beings of the world: the upright, the skillful,
and the reasonable.
Three tendencies of a persons lifetime: hope, love, and joy.
Three things excellent for anyone: valor, learning, and
discretion.
Three things must be united before good can come of them:
thinking well, speaking well, and acting well.
Three things are becoming a person: knowledge, good deeds, and
gentleness.
Three things it is everyone's duty to do: listen humbly, answer
discreetly, and judge kindly.
Three things one should keep always before them: their worldly
duty, their conscience, and the Laws of Nature.
Three sureties of happiness: good habits, amiability, and
forbearance.
Three things without which there can be nothing good: truth,
valor, and generosity.
Three marvelous deeds: to forgive a wrong done, to amend
everything possible, and to refrain from injustice.
Three joys of the happy: avoidance of excess, peace, and loyalty.
Three antagonists of goodness: arrogance, passion, and
covetousness.
Three rewards of those who learn to temper their emotions:
experience, strength, and introspection.
Three things beside which the baneful cannot be: conformity to
law, knowledge, and love.
Three things must wait long before they are attained: honesty
from covetousness, wisdom from arrogance , and wealth from sloth.
Three things hard to obtain: cold fire, dry water, and lawful
covetousness.
Three duties of the excellent person: to cherish their mate and
children, to love their country, and to obey the laws of their
people.
Three manifestations of excellence : the honoring of parents,
the respecting of the aged, and instructing the young; and to
this a fourth, defending of infancy and innocence.
Three reasons for supplicating to the Shining Ones: because it
is a pleasure to you, that you may be a friend of those who are
wise, and because your soul is immortal.
Three reasons to war against fault: to not do to others as you
would not have them do to you , that you not be arrogant , that
you might always let the light of wisdom shine.
Three ways to lose excellence: to become a servant to one's
passions, to not learn from the examples set by others, to
indulge to excess.
Three fair things that hide ugliness: good manners in the ill
favored; skill in a common person; wisdom in misshapen.
Three candles that illume every darkness: truth, nature, and
knowledge.
There are three kingdoms of the happy: the world's good word, a
cheerful conscience, and firm hope of the life to come.
Three leaderships of the happy: being good in service, good in
disposition, and good in secrecy; and these are found united
only in those with a noble heart.
In three things a person may be as the Divine: justice ,
knowledge , and mercy.
Three things lovable in a person: tranquillity, wisdom, and
kindness.
Three things excellent in a person: diligence, sincerity, and
humility.
Three things which show a true human: a silent mouth, an
incurious eye, and a fearless face.
Three companions on the high road to Union with the Void: a
patient poor person, a reflective wise person, and a tolerant
reformer.
Three who are loved by the Shining Ones: the strong just person,
the brave merciful person, the person generous without regret.
Three things without which the protection of the Shining Ones
cannot be: forgiving an enemy and a wrong done, wisdom in
judgment and act; and cleaving to what is just, come what may.
There are three things to be commended in those that possess
them: wisdom in talk, justice in actions, and excess in nothing.
There are three things which the happy will gain: prosperity,
honor, and the ease of conscience.
Three things which the humble will gain: plenty, happiness ,
and the love of their neighbors.
Three things which the sincere will gain: favor, respect, and
prosperity.
Three things which the patient will gain: love, tranquillity,
and succor .
Three things which the merciful will gain: favor, love, and the
protection of the Shining Ones.
Three things which the upright will gain: worldly sufficiency,
peace of conscience, and unending happiness.
Three things which the industrious will gain: precedence ,
wealth , and praise from the Wise.
Three things which the law-abiding will gain: health, success,
and honor.
Three things which the careful will gain: respect, plenty, and
content.
Three things which the generous of heart will gain: joy from
their profit, felicity in giving, and a better life to come.
Three things which the early riser will gain: health, wealth,
and happiness.
There are three companions of lawlessness: pride, envy, and
rapine.
Three things hateful to the Shining Ones and to human kind: a
weak look, a deceitful tongue, and a mischievous spirit.
Three roots of every evil: covetousness, falsehood, and
arrogance.
Three joys of the lawless: gluttony, fighting, and fickleness.
Three things which end ill: falsehood, envy, and guile.
Three bad tendencies in a person: pride without generosity,
covetousness without justice, and anger without mercy.
Three chief evil qualities of people: sloth, deceit, and
arrogance.
Three things pleasant to see: an unhappy person becoming happy,
a miser becoming generous, and the lawless submitting to
authority .
Three chief things which deceive people: fair words, desire of
gain, and ignorance.
Three things it is no worse to lose than to keep: wealth,
youth, and love of the world.
There are three things: counsel , loss , shame; and they who
have not the first will get the other two.
Three nourishment's of arrogance: recklessness, wealth, and
excess.
Three things which attack the weakest: enemies, wealth, and
pride.
Three things better forsaken by those who love them: sport,
carousal, and strife.
Three things of which only the happy and wise beware: the
breaking of oaths, drunkenness, and vanity.
Three things whose deficiency is not worse than their excess:
festivity, wealth, and pleasure.
Three things which follow sloth: evil deeds, evil report, and
evil end.
Three things odious in a person: ignorance, bad deeds, and
perversity.
Three things unseemly for a person: to think themselves wise,
to think another foolish, and to think their appearance what
they desire.
Three chief corruption's of the world: sloth, pride, and
extravagance.
Three things which afflict the world: envy, anger, and
covetousness.
Three strange things in the world: loving war more than peace,
loving excess more than sufficiency, and loving falsehood more
than truth.
There are three people accursed: they who work against the Laws
of Nature without concern, they who know nothing of the Shining
Ones and do not seek to learn, and they who know much and do not
share their knowledge with any other.
Three kinds of evil people: the traitor, the conspirator, and
the slanderer.
Three people hateful to the Shining Ones and to human kind: the
liar, the thief, and the miserly scrooge.
Three kinds of people worthless to they who are just and honest:
the drunkard, the perjurer, and the traitor.
Three kinds of people without the fear of the Shining Ones: the
traitor, the ravisher, and the miser.
Three chief attributes of a person likely to do wrong: an angry
countenance, an arrogant spirit, and an insatiable covetousness.
Three marks of a thief: an inquisitive tongue, a curious eye
and a fearful face.
Three things needful to one who has done wrong: to acknowledge
their wrong, to seek to be upright, and to make restitution.
From three people keep yourself: the joyless, the mocker, and
the one who laughs at lawless doings.
Three people easy to do without: they who do no benefit to any,
they who bring no joy to any, and they who keep not peace with
any.
Three who are best when they are farthest off: the fulsome
flatterer, the contentious slanderer, and the lying tale-bearer.
Three things which gain daily and seek continually: the sea, a
drunkard, and a miser.
Three rude ones in the world: a youngster mocking an old person;
a robust person mocking an invalid; a wise man mocking a fool.
Three signs of a fop: the track of his comb in his hair; the
tract of his teeth in his food; the track of his stick behind
him.
There are three things which those who do ill will gain:
poverty, bad report, and a bad conscience.
Three things which the insincere will gain: evil life, evil
report, and evil end.
Three things which the quarrelsome will gain: strife, shame,
and neglect in their necessity.
Three things which the cruel obtain: torturing conscience,
dispraise of the wise, and the wrath of the Shining Ones.
Three things which the ill minded gain: hatred, strife, and
sorrow.
Three things which the negligent will gain: shame, loss, and
derision.
Three things which the miser obtains through their wealth: pain
in gathering, care in keeping, and fear of losing.
Three things which the sluggard will gain: shame, disease, and
misery.
There are three things a person will gain from acquiring wealth:
hate between themselves and others, hate between they and
themselves, and hate between themselves and the Mighty Ones.
Three things that are the portion of the wealthy: more and more
covetousness, more and more care, and less and less pleasure.
Three things which can come from just wealth: worldly
abundance, brotherly charity, and national goodness; and from
these the favor of the Shining Ones.
Three ways leading to poverty: gambling , gluttony , and
harlotry.
Three things better than riches: health, freedom, and
discretion.
Three things which a person will obtain from poverty: health ,
learning , and the protection of the Shining Ones.
Three things which most profit a person: poverty, sickness, and
children; for by possessing them they gain knowledge of much
truth that cannot be without them.
Three things as good to lose as to gain: extreme prosperity,
extreme praise, and extreme dignity.
Three earthly losses which bring gain to the soul: loss of a
friend, loss of health, and loss of riches.
There are three kinds of people: the average person, who does
good for good and evil for evil ; the good person, who does good
for evil ; and the evil doer, who does evil for good.
Three things gained by the endurance of the Cailleach:
cleansing, purity, and renewal.
Three littles which do much harm: a little of bad disposition, a
little of injustice, a little of negligence.
Three things , little of which shows much wisdom: little
conceit, little covetousness, and little gossip.
Three littles which make great profit at the time: little of
eating and drinking, little of care, and little of tongue.
Three things to be commended in anyone: their face proud, their
discourse discreet, and their ways kind.
Three things which make a person wanton: beauty in their form,
folly in their head, and conceit in their heart.
Three wrongful contentions: war for war, law for law, and
reproach for reproach.
Three upright contentions: prudence for imprudence, favor for
disfavor, and love for hatred.
In three things one will be an wrong doer: putting a snare in
the way, frightening a little child, and laughing at wrongs done.
There are three falsehoods: a falsehood of speech, falsehood of
silence, and falsehood of demeanor; for each one of these will
make another believe what they ought not.
Three losses which will bring gain in the end: loss of what is
more than life needs, loss of bodily health, and loss of what
one prizes the most and above all.
Three gains which will turn to loss in the end: gaining fame
for a harmful act, gaining wealth from injustice, and gaining
the upperhand in an evil strife.
There are three levels of society, and they who fill them
are: the Fili' who are Aes Dana, the Ruada, who are the
warriors, and the Aire who are the free people who work
husbandry.
The three degrees of Royalty: Righ, Ruiri, Ri' Ruirech
The three seats of the Ri' Ruirech are: Tara, Cruachain, Emain.
Three things which a kings Brughaid must provide without pay:
lodging, food, and entertainment.
There are three foundations of law and custom: order, justice,
and peace.
Three things which come from peace: increase of possessions,
improvement of manners, and enlargement of knowledge.
There are three things which lay waste the world: a king
without counsel, a judge without conscience, and a son without
reverence.
Three monstrous things in the world: a youth without civility ,
a woman without dignity , and a man without conscience.
Three things which war against peace: a bad mate, bad soil,
and a bad over-lord.
Three things which turn the world upside-down: a mates'
dominance, a daughter's intemperance, and a son's ignorance.
There are three beauties of a land: the granary, the smithy,
and the school.
Three other beauties of the land: intelligent tillage,
neighbors who agree, and conscientious rule.
Three things which make plenty in a land: planting trees,
tilling the soil, and carding and spinning.
Three sustenance's of human kind: hunting, ploughing the land,
and merchandise.
Three discontents of a husbandmen: a lazy servant, degenerate
seed, and soil over-rich.
There are three things, and any who move them are accursed: the
boundary of land, the course of water, and the sign of a road or
track.
There are three things which will make a person leader among
their neighbors: wisdom, generosity , and wealth.
Three things which bring a person the love of their neighbors:
to be a peacemaker, to be a helper, and to be a guide.
Three things which bring a person respect among their neighbors:
supporting themselves, being wise in their counsel, and being
kind.
Three exertions becoming and praiseworthy for any person :
tilling their soil, increasing their knowledge, and growing in
excellence.
Three who will be pleasing to the Shining Ones: a faithful
teacher, a good husbandmen, and a mediator in disputes.
Three goodly things among people: handicraft, husbandry, and
scholarship.
Three things which follow every lawful person of exceeding
excellence: a good name and report for themselves, good
instruction for the children where they are, and good progress
in everything they undertake in act and deed.
Three for whom when they are alive only hatred is seen, and
praise when they are dead: the peaceful wise person, the
truthful teacher, and the sincere friend who rebukes.
Three chief obligations of a person to their country and family:
to gain possessions by diligence and integrity, to profit their
country and their kindred in all they do, and to seek lawful
learning wherever they go.
Three things which the good poet preserves for posterity:
memory of the praiseworthy, delight in thought, and instruction
in knowledge.
There are three who are never profitable: they who marry by the
counsel of their flesh, they who feast by the counsel of their
craving, and they who fight by the counsel of their rage.
Three things of less worth than all else: a woman without
dignity, a man without knowledge, and a teacher without patience.
Three things better than riches which happy people keep for
their children and heirs: Instruction by reason, instruction
by example, and exhortation to act as he does because of the
respect and praise it brings him.
Three things which will not benefit heirs: a miser's wealth,
the praise of tavern companions, and feats of sport.
Three things which prolong the lifetime of a person: the soil
which rears a child, the food which nourishes a child, and play
which diverts a child.
Three worldly honors, each one superior to every other:
ploughing the family homestead, asserting a claim successfully,
and rearing children.
Three aims to the future: planting trees, improving handicraft,
and rearing lawful children.
There are three things which mislead the world: the promises of
masters, the garments of priests, and the seemliness of a
daughter.
Three things which deceive those who trust them: a paramour's
promise, a serfs fidelity, and the season of youth.
Three things from which there is nothing but deceit: the love
of the wanton, the innocence of dominion, and the piety of one
ill in bed.
Three things which ought not to be believed: an old persons
dream, a paramour's oath, and a tale without authority.
Three things not easy to trust: a drover's oath, a paramour's
promises, and a hunter's word about his dog.
People notable in three things: a miller in thieving, a
preacher in begging, and a boaster in telling lies.
Three things hard to obtain: a grave tailor, an honest miller,
and an ale-wife not covetous.
Three persons who desire their portion rich and savory: a cook,
a concubine, and a kept priest.
Three things which do not profit the world by anything they do,
whatever their fame for wisdom, art, and piety: a grasping
miser, a arrogant poet, and a kept priest.
Three chicks from one nest: a loquacious farmer, a logical
poet, and a half-hearted divine.
Three kinds of contenders on the death of a powerful rich
person: their detractors for their reputation, kinsmen for
their goods, and worms for their carcass.
Three things good in a miser's eyes: a brass-handled knife,
much-patched shoes, and defaming the generous.
Three ways to know a person: by their discourse, their conduct,
and their companions.
Three measuring-rods of every person: their dreams, their fears, and their unconcern.
Three hatreds which last for ever: between a mate and their
step-children, between dogs and swine, and between Cymry and
Saxon.
Three things wrong for any to meddle with: the office of a
lord, usury, and war.
Three things hard for any to do: cool the fire, dry the water
and please the world.
Three things not easy to obtain when sought: a loan of money
from a usurer, without interest; the pleading of a case in
court, without fee; and a dinner of rich food in a miser's house.
Three things which pervert just judgment: the love of friends,
fear of the mighty, and desire of worldly goods.
Three things not easily found: an arrogant person generous, a
young person wise, and an old person mannerly.
Three diversions which will surely bring trouble: hunting ,
war, and dallying with one who is younger.
Three things necessary to one who enters an inn: a strong head,
a tough stomach, and a heavy purse.
Three things one gains in an Inn: entertainment which makes
them poor, mirth which makes them do wrongly, and joy which
makes them sad.
Three kinds of liar, and there is none other like them: a lord
lying for privilege, a priest for office, and a woman for a son
whom she loves.
Three blessings that do not bring on any either hunger or
nakedness: the blessing of their spiritual counselor, the
blessing of their rightful lord, and the blessing of a poet of
hereditary art.
Three other blessings better than all: the blessing of father
and mother, the blessing of the sick and wounded, and the
blessing of one in adversity.
Three to whom it is right to give food: the stranger, the
solitary, and the orphan.
Three things which cannot be obtained: poverty from
alms-giving, wealth from robbery, and wisdom from prosperity.
Three occasions for one to speak falsehood without excuse: to
save the life of one who is innocent, to keep the peace among
neighbors, and to preserve the Wise and their crafts.
Three things one is loath to leave: the land where they were
born and nurtured, the friends whom they have proved true, and
the wealth which they have amassed through the labors of their
own hands.
Three people who win easily in their lawsuits: the generous,
the wise, and the healthy.
Three improprieties of one who is Fili' : To claim as their own
work, what the Gods have done through them; to demand gain or
pleasure as a servant of the Shining Ones; to allow themselves to
be kept by labor that is not their own.
Three things which dazzle the world: deceit, supremacy, and
excessive love for man and human beings.
