Quatrains

Who is this that settled his heart and sat back at ease, imagining there was still some grace period, some delay? Tell him: don't drive in the tent pegs, the tent must come down. Tell him: don't unpack your things, the bags must be tied up again.

Seek sound judgment from a happy heart; the first capital of well-being is having enough. A weak arm cannot deliver a strong sword stroke; in the same way, no right decision comes from a broken heart.

For the one who sees his own mistake as right, don't bother laying out the truth; to him it looks like error. He only sees the face that lives in his own nature; a crooked mirror never shows beauty straight.

If there is a single needle point in the whole city, it will find its way into the foot of whoever is poorest. For all its fairness, the scale still leans toward the side that carries the heavier load.

Even if all your worship leaves you nothing but skin on bone, it is ugly to believe that you have done something good. If the one who seeks the Friend walks forward on the point of a spear, in truth, the debt of gratitude still rests on him: the Friend's grace is his.

As long as even a hair's breadth of your own self remains, the habit of worshipping idols remains too. You said, 'I shattered the idol of illusion, I'm free.' But the very idol you shattered through illusion still remains.

No command overrules a fate already sealed; once death's pain takes hold, there is no cure. Do good today, while your time is still yours, for this land does not stay with any one farmer forever.

The fish of my life's hope slipped off the hook and swam away; my life passed uselessly, like a drunken night. A life whose single breath was worth a whole soul, what a pity, it slipped through my hands for nothing.

The Giver, who opened the door of destiny to us, laid the world's foundation exactly as it should be. If He withheld something from someone, there was a reason; He knew you shouldn't hand fine grapes to a donkey.

Not everyone whose fortune the world blocks will send their cries and wailing up to the sky. There are so many whose insides rumble like thunder, while their lips flash a smile like lightning.

You whose worth is so high the vast sky seems small beside you, you can win the ball of victory from anyone in the world. What harm can an enemy do that you should shed his blood? Just drop him from the sight of your favor, and he is finished.

My king, your horse's hoof treads across the sky; fear no envier's scheme, no evil eye. But you are a whole world of grace, generosity, and skill, and no single horse can carry off an entire world.

Injustice drains the strength from a king's heart and hand; the just ruler wins a good name from his age. If you build up the kingdom, the kingdom is yours; if you don't, then whoever does will take it away.

Wine brings joy and stirs a man's strength, but the nature of the herb breeds dryness and cold. Wrap yourself in red wine and turn toward a bright face, for chewing that green weed only leaves your face sallow.

A fool mixes with everyone, everywhere, like a drowning man who grabs at whatever he sees. Don't keep company with people of bad reputation, for sitting by a sooty stove leaves you black.

Whoever keeps his word and honors his promises has nothing to fear from the police or the king. But the venom that lives in a serpent's nature is better left hidden than out in the open.

Whatever wealth and fortune fate hands out, don't waste your mind wondering why it's given. The giver isn't giving from our purse; the kingdom is God's, and it's his to choose whom he favors.

Time has seated many a king like you upon the throne, and each one ruled a realm according to his own desire. They all passed on, and the turning world was handed to you. Understand this: it will slip away from you the same way.

Not everyone who can crush another gets to keep charging ahead as boldly as he likes. It is clear how long such commands and prohibitions can last: in the end, time will surely collect what it is owed.

All their lives these men have patched worn rags together, scraping out a bare living through a thousand tricks. On the day of judgment, for all their sins, perhaps they won't be burned, for they have already burned.

The phoenix flew away, yet its royal splendor remained; the grace that adorned the throne of kingship remained. If the moon was eclipsed, the true dawn broke through; if the candle went out, its light still remained.

Not everyone who drapes fine clothes across his shoulders should let the wine of arrogance leave him drunk. He breaks his word who, once a poor man's friend, forgets that friend the moment wealth arrives.

The wise one does not indulge the vain desires of the self, so the mind stays clear and craves nothing. If you do not fill the pitcher up to its neck, nothing will pour out demanding through its spout.

That flower, only just come into bloom, was snatched away by the fury of the wind before it could open fully. The poor thing carried so many hopes in its heart, but what use are long hopes when life is so short?

Pity the heart that music cannot move; it is stone, and what use is talk of love with stone? For the one who is a stranger to love, music is forbidden; for smoke rises only from what has burned.