1. Give us advice, for even the deaf may hear some admonition,
And heal souls among us that are sickly and frail,

2. And be our support against the vicissitudes of fate,
Whether it destroys us through war or through peace.

3. If free speech offends subtly, then give us
An example to follow, authoritative in judgment,

4. By which to assay everything, so that we
Attain in your midst life, or at least renown.

5. When my heart is anguished and my wings ache,
From pangs in my vitals other than fever's heat,

6. I devise pastimes to distract me from cares,
Testing every kind of diversion from sadness.

7. The best that meets the eye is a playground
Where no playground visibly lies defined,

8. Where light is reflected and brings into being
A world that comes and goes, intent there within.

9. And we view the lives of people amid darkness
And light, and so understand events and worries.

10. And the eyes may find in it a scene
Whose playfulness drives away gloom from the seer.

11. And may find in it moving misfortunes
That weigh down the heart and soul and body.

12. Or in a verdant spring garden,
Where branch and bloom toy over water,

13. We visit countries which, before our eyes,
We see though we never left our seats.

14. And witness in them everything, comprehending
Secrets of events by perceptive insight.

15. How many innovations in craft we grasp,
Detailing them until we know them well.

16. How many wondrous works of art appear
Dazzling, to guide the beholder blind.

17. How many a belle, whose mouth blossoms
With beauty, the full moon in her lovely face,

18. And an impassioned youth roams and transgresses,
Maddened by ardor and fervent desire,

19. Toying with her in shameless privacy
Exchanging kisses and embracing.

20. These are the events of this life that seemed
Visible and concealed, made clear in harmonious verse,

21. Diverse, tempting the young man wherever
His fancy lead, be he cultured or coarse.

22. Where they are, they shine like brilliant pearls
While minions around them attend sire and dame.

23. They bring joyful relief to the hearts of singers
By the sight of hunters who bear them no shame.

24. A ravishing glance enchants, an immaculate lip smiles,
Their fragrance suffuses the place like scent of flowers and stars.

25. By your life! When my gathering dispersed
I returned, my soul grieved and anxious within.

26. The woe and despair of life came back to me
And stirred up pain in my bosom.

27. I water my heart with tears as
Dawn's dew waters the parched, thirsty ground.

28. I look around me and see only a group
Of wan emaciated prisoners doomed to this life,

29. As if they were that curtain and what appeared
On it of figures resembling blood and flesh.

30. Laugh then! But I return to the right path
And weep - justice sometimes resembles wrong.

31. For life is but a foaming swelling in which
Are the diversions of specters one sees, frowning.

32. A ray from it makes them circle
On the ages' pages, giving them speech and silence.

33. It makes the world beyond laugh, casting them
Into its depths, unerringly hitting its mark.

34. When the light dawns, they fade as though
Annihilated, no life stirs them anymore.

35. Except that this world is adornments in the gloom
Of ignorance, erased whenever reason touches them.