1. Strive if you wish for sustenance or become greedy,
For you will only take from the hand of fate.

2. Whatever befalls you while the fates watch over,
That it befalls you - do not try to avoid it with caution.

3. I have seen that which melts hearts with it,
Had I not a heart forged from stone.

4. Think with your heart about what you witness,
For the earth is filled with lessons in every region.

5. Do not spend nights frightened by something abandoned,
That misfortune has intentionally and unceasingly left upon you.

6. And do not say dangers have passed if they are delayed,
For no danger passes except to another danger.

7. How can there be rest for one who rises and sleeps
Unsure of what tomorrow holds uncertainly?

8. He retires either on the thorns of adversity,
His side pierced, or on a bed of needles.

9. Set your sights among all people,
For you see only to the limit of your vision.

10. Do you not see their faults that I see
For which they have no excuse to defend themselves?

11. Each day you see me among them
Scheming for the benefit of those who plot my harm.

12. They said: be patient. I said: You have not
Drunk cups of patience like I have before you.

13. I have not benefitted from the prolonged worry that accompanies me
Throughout the long years of my life.

14. I have planted seeds that did not fruit,
And he who was unlucky with crops returned empty-handed.

15. Where can I find, among all people,
One with sweet temperament and good news?

16. One sweeter to my heart than my own,
More delightful to my senses than my hearing and sight?

17. Whenever I nudge its sides with my palms,
I squeeze from it pipes without leaks.

18. I vent my frustration so it can be
Its guarantor, and I settle my debts through it.