1. If a man has enough food and clothes,
And safety and true friends,

2. Though no great hopes or youthful joy remains,
And the days, though confined, are wholesome,

3. Then do not blame the times, for they
Pass on inevitably, and sustenance comes unasked.

4. For times are but cisterns, and their waters
Are sometimes bitter, sometimes sweet and salt.

5. Such is fate, and none can change its laws;
Some gain, while others lose, by its decree.