Sol 5.6

  1. The man of needs is one who shuns sleep,

    And braves terror when the coward turns away.

  2. I see a young man beguiled by his health,

    Though health is ever hostage to disease.

  3. He hopes for a life of ease, though ease is his malady;

    Many a hopeful man has found fear where he placed his hope.

  4. His hopes have outstripped his lifespan:

    They never perish, yet they wear the young man away.

  5. He built fortresses for fear of his foes,

    While his own body encompasses foes within.

  6. How wondrous are these hopes—

    They build up the world, yet are the scourges of mankind.

  7. He wards off the causes of harm from himself,

    Yet warding off harm may itself bring harm.

  8. He rejoices in the days that pass him by,

    Though they are but stairways down to death.

  9. He plunges into disobedience a hand filled

    With blessings more numerous than pebbles.

  10. He delights in the growth of his possessions,

    Though whatever grows does so as his life diminishes.

  11. He mourns the dead and forgets himself,

    As though safeguarded from the fate that befell them.

  12. Do not let the blessings you see make you insolent;

    Before long, you will no longer see what now you see.

  13. Regard whatever of this world is passing as already past,

    And whatever death is coming as already come.

  14. So journey to the Hereafter with provisions of piety,

    For the only provision for the Hereafter is piety.

  15. Can life avail without health,

    Or can health be complete without wealth?

Sol 5.6