On the Turning of Fortune

Be gentle with people, you lucky one, so that tomorrow God will not be hard on you. If someone falls, don't leave them trapped, for the fallen deserve a helping hand. Don't order harm done to a servant, for one day he too may hold command. While your power and rank still hold, don't force your will on the weakness of the poor. For it may happen that one gains rank and power, like a pawn that suddenly becomes a queen. Take this advice: far-sighted people never plant the seed of spite in any heart. The owner of the harvest wrongs himself when he acts arrogantly toward the gleaner. Doesn't he fear that wealth might pass to the beggar, and a burden of grief be laid on his own heart? Many a strong man has fallen hard, and many a fallen man has been raised up by luck. Do not break the hearts of those beneath you, for one day you yourself may be the one below.