1. Neither generosity from ample wealth and influence,
Nor eloquence from excessive speech and sermons,

2. Nor courage from physique and endurance,
Nor leadership as ancestral legacy from father to son,

3. But they are resolves that led to exaltation,
And all that is innate, not acquired.

4. So a man of pedigree, his own deeds
May shame him, though they once ennobled, and tomorrow he is without pedigree.

5. And a praiseworthy deed has no pedigree,
Save that it came to him from refinement.

6. So it gave him honor after disgrace,
And ranked him among the magnanimous in rank.

7. Do not wonder at the caprice of fate, however it came,
For all is wondrous, inclining toward the wondrous.