1. Alas! Is there no valiant youth to shield me
From the vicissitudes of fate?

2. The generous are gone, and I am left behind,
Complaining of time to one who cannot aid.

3. How often I seek a loyal brother, but he fails me,
And I pursue the glorious, but they elude me.

4. I hope for kindness from the merciless,
And support from those who offer no solace.

5. If merit brought good fortune to its owner,
Then my merit would free me from adversity.

6. If merit brought good fortune to its owner,
My merit would enrich the destitute.

7. O fate! You have attained your desire for me;
Ceaseless blows rain down without respite.

8. If you insist I pay for all your misfortunes,
One alone would suffice to crush me.

9. It seems each dawn you stretch out your hand,
To strike at me through every opening.

10. I have never tired of those I was charged with,
And what fate has inflicted on me wears me down.

11. I did not favor passion till it melted me away,
And sorrow took its place to waste me.

12. Whoever modeled himself on the sorrowful,
Today, every sad soul models himself on me.