“Food gained by fraud tastes sweet, but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel.” Food here may stand for any kind of material possession. You can get a real smug satisfaction pulling one over on someone. You feel superior and extra clever. But it’s only a short-term reward. In the long run, the joke is on you. You’ll eventually be caught and either despised or punished. Ultimately you’ll get no enrichment from it, except maybe in your own self-delusion. A wise person will live with honesty and integrity. Ideally, there is no punishment for that—only success.
