Sol 5.6

  1. God is mightier in power and greater;

    and truth lies in all that He decrees and ordains.

  2. A man does not possess all that he wishes for,

    nor does a man possess all that he chooses.

  3. Take matters lightly, and know

    that they have a place of arrival and a place of departure.

  4. Be patient if one day you are afflicted,

    for what you have been spared is surely far more.

  5. Not every giver of bounty is repaid;

    how many a benefactor is continually met with ingratitude.

  6. Alas for mankind—what has befallen them!

    They have become such that they condemn no wrong.

  7. O gray-haired man, whom already

    his gray hair has cautioned and forewarned:

  8. Take whatever is clear from all the affairs of this

    world, and leave aside whatever grows turbid.

  9. Be kind to every person, with gentleness,

    and accept from people whatever comes readily.

  10. For man is made of nothing but glass:

    if you do not treat him gently, he shatters.

  11. Everyone in a stupor is blind,

    until, when he comes to, he sees.

  12. Accept that death awaits every tyrant,

    and that death awaits whoever grows overbearing.

  13. Ah, how many a man once possessed of bones is now mere remains,

    though once he strutted whenever he walked.

  14. Death holds concern enough for every living soul—

    and what a concern it is for one who reflects!

Sol 5.6