As a father, what advice would you give to Laertes in Shakespeare's Hamlet, before you let him go to university? (Act 1, scene 3)

Ironically, in Shakespeare's Hamlet,
Polonius, who is the King's advisor, is a foolish old man who never takes his own
advice. However, his advice is actually quite sound.

In Act
One, scene three, (lines 59-85), Laertes prepares to go away to school. He has some
hypocritical advice to give Ophelia about Hamlet, which she reminds him
he had better be prepared to follow as well, and Polonius provides
these "pearls of wisdom:"

• keep your thoughts to
  yourself; think before you act; don't be overly friendly
  ("vulgar");


• keep your old friends who you know you can
  trust, close to you;


• spend your money
  wisely;


• don't get into fights easily, but once in, prove
  you are to be taken seriously;


• listen to the advice of
  others, but 'reserve your judgment;'


• buy clothes that are
  well made, but avoid buying showing garments to impress others—the 'clothes make the
  man.'


• don't borrow money or lend
  it;


• be true (honest) with yourself, for then you cannot
  lie to any other man.

I find that all of these
pieces of advice to Laertes from Polonius are valuable. The father encourages his son as
I would my own child to be wise, to be honest and to be honorable. Don't fight with
others easily; listen carefully, but be slow to speak. If this were today, I would add
that one should not put anything in writing; be careful to enter into contracts; be
mindful of what you say and to whom; and, be kind to others. I don't think that
Polonius's advice is out-of-date at all, which is why Shakespeare is so wonderful: his
writing is timeless.