1. If a man lacks the means to ascend
To where all noble game come to an end,

2. There are, below the hovering of hawks, abodes
Wherein the bustard's chick freely struts and feeds.

3. Leave off the lower stage of glory; verily
It is a mere splash for fledglings trying out their wings.

4. A youth whose ambition encompasses all of youth but falls
Short of the heights is not praiseworthy; heights are for the elect.

5. And so one who aspires to the middle way remains
Cut off from the ultimate station of peerless eminence;

6. Would that, below it, there were no homes, dwelling places
Where people congregate-only places to alight and move on!

7. I see that, short of death's steep path, you stand still,
At every allure that calls you to wait in ambush.