Chapter XXXI
CHAPTER XXXI.
1. The thirty-first subject is this, that, every time they eat bread, it is necessary to withhold three morsels from their own bodies, and to give them to a dog. 2. And it is not desirable to beat a dog. 3. For, of the poor no one whatever is poorer than
a dog, and it is necessary to give a tethered animal bread, because the good work is great.
4. And in revelation it is declared in this manner, that, if a dog is asleep upon the road, it is not proper that they put a foot violently on the ground, so that he becomes awake. 5. And, in former times, an allowance (râtib) of bread would have been made every day for the sake of the dogs, three times in summer and twice in winter, on this account, that one wishes them to come to the assistance of his soul at the Kinvad bridge.
6. In the worldly existence they are the guard of men and cattle. 7. If there had not been a dog they would not have been able to keep a single sheep. 8. Every time that he barks, just as his bark goes forth, the demons and fiends run away from the place.