Sol 5.6

  1. And friends of ill character—their friendship brings no joy;

    they deem a snarling enemy’s greeting good enough for me.

  2. Whenever we meet, they bring forth their questions;

    but when I am absent, no asking after me is forthcoming.

  3. They show me affection so long as I have no need

    of them—the love accorded the fortunate, well-supported man.

  4. But should a need of mine arise, they meet it

    with a miser’s excuse or a hostile scowl.

  5. They are like statues in temples: the best of them

    is one that is absent—yet my eye cannot bear their absence.

  6. If ever they perish, I shall not mourn the loss;

    and if they remain, they live beneath the most ill-omened bird.

  7. Their nearness and their distance are all the same to us;

    to me, they and the dwellers in graves are alike.

Sol 5.6