1. The helpless utter in unison 'Alas!',
All creatures neither swift nor slow in their pace,

2. Predestined, so do not blame if they err,
Nor praise if they excel in their race.

3. For this saying, in my time, I found
Evidence aplenty that caution defined.

4. People are sheep, alike in instinct,
Each time they graze, heads to the ground bent.

5. Sustenance is a draught, the living drink it last,
At fate's decisive hour, the youth's breath spent.

6. Undeterred by the spectre of death they face,
Meeting both evils foreseen and unforeseen.

7. The lowest of them lays claim to highest rank.
No response to the prayers of those astray.

8. With their empty boasts they overreached,
Grasping at mirages near and far gleaned.

9. Seeking trodden paths, they were outstripped
By ruin lying in ambush, guile unseen.

10. Everlasting ideas, though oft womb-born,
In every age a new coat have preened.

11. They broke divine law when it came to them
And approved of evils, forbidden means.

12. I found their crops were more than they sowed,
Truly, their progeny the worst they have reaped.

13. If sight were granted them, they would behold
Hopes and destinies relentlessly reaped.

14. Their nights return gloom-laden, devoid of dawn,
At their hour of ruin, no coat of mail.

15. A man lives not in joy when his sins spread misery,
Whether his people mighty or brought low.

16. Beast and fowl, harmful and benign go their way,
The lion, the cub, the wolf, the doe.

17. No creature favors another out of partiality,
The eagle is equal to the lamb, no more, no less.

18. Prattle informs you of the loss of guidance,
A bird's nature to babble without rest.