Today’s reading from Proverbs 1: Already in 1:18, I see the principle Jim illustrated with the block of salt. Pursuing selfish gain does more harm than good: “it takes the lives of those who get it.” I can hear the echo of Jesus’ paradox that “he who seeks to gain his life will lose it, but he who loses it for My sake will gain it.” Lady Wisdom enters the scene. Just like the statuesque symbols of Lady Liberty and Lady Blind Justice, this abstract concept is personified as a feminine form that the young male listener would and should find attractive.