Sol 5.6

  1. If a generous man bestows wealth, seeking honor,

    his companions swear no generosity lies in his hands.

  2. Were the star to vie in glory with earth’s inhabitants, it would be challenged

    by men among them, who would say, “You have been outdone in glory.”

  3. Sound counsel, then, is that you forsake the world and those who dwell in it,

    for this soul’s generosity has left you sorely afflicted.

  4. Do not exhaust your means in favoring their prosperity,

    for indeed, someone who censures you is to be found among humankind.

  5. And if you keep vigil in prayer, you will not be denied piety’s reward;

    and if you sleep, the night, after all, is there to be slept through.

Sol 5.6