Ecclesiastes 7:2-8

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

² It is better to go to the house of mourning
    than to go to the house of feasting;
for this is the end of all men,
    and the living will lay it to heart.
³ Sorrow is better than laughter,
    for by sadness of countenance the heart is made glad.
⁴ The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning;
    but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
⁵ It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise
    than to hear the song of fools.
⁶ For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,
    so is the laughter of the fools;
    this also is vanity.
⁷ Surely oppression makes the wise man foolish,
    and a bribe corrupts the mind.
⁸ Better is the end of a thing than its beginning;
    and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.