Of the Contemplation of Death and Burial, to Counter Pride

WHEN thou art merry, and thy head is high,Think on the grave, O Man, where thou must lie.

Come here, thy sepulchre to contemplate,And think, thou too must share this heavy fate ;Like his in this dark ditch shall be thy state,Thou too must bear the grave's indignity.

—Now answer me, thou man entombed and dead,Thou who so swiftly from this world art sped ;Where are thy clothes, once gay with gold and red?I see thee here adorned full loathsomely.

—Nay, blame not, nor rebuke me, brother mine,My evil state may warn and profit thine ;My kindred stripped me of my raiment fine,And then with sackcloth did they cover me.

—Where is the head, with tresses once so fair?Who struggled with thee, and tore out thy hair?Was't scalding water left thy skull so bare?No need to brush or comb that nudity!

—This head of mine that was so blond and gay,Its curls are gone, its flesh is fall'n away ;How little did I think upon this day,When I was flaunting in my revelry!

—Where are the eyes that were so clear and bright?From out their sockets they are put to flight;The worms have gnawed them, and have quenched their light ;Worms do not fear thy pride and majesty.

—Mine eyes destroyed me with their trespassing,Enticing others, looking, languishing:And now, alas! I dwell in suffering,My form devoured, my soul in agony.

—Where is the nose thou hadst, that once could smell?What ailment dragged it from its bony shell?Thou canst not chase the worms therein that dwell,Abased are now thy pride and luxury.

—This nose that once was mine, so keen of scent,In search of fetidness a-wandering went;I thought not, when on lust my thoughts were bent,How false the world, how full of vanity!

—Where is the tongue that was so sharp and keen ?Upen thy mouth: no tongue can there be seen :Perchance 'twas cut away, perchance, I ween,Thy teeth have gnawed it thus corrosively!

—The tongue wherewith I talked is lost and gone ;Discord and wrath were dwellers thereupon ;To meat and drink it made its orison,I feasted careless, lapt in gluttony.

—Close now thy lips, to cover up thy teeth :Their grin of scorn from all men's sight to sheath;I fear to look upon these fangs of death,That crack and fall, fast-rooted though they be!

—How can I close my lips that are no more?I little thought to enter at this door ;What shall I do, alas! for on that shore,My soul and I must dwell in agony.

—Where are the arms that once were straight and strongTo threaten others, and to further wrong?Now scratch thy head, now flaunt amid the throng!Now toss thy curling locks in vanity!

—My vanity is lying in the tomb;My flesh decayed, my bones take little room ;Now all my glorying is turned to gloom,I dwell in fullness of all misery.

—Now stand upon thy feet, nor lie concealed:Buckle thine armour and take up thy shield ;No longer to this vile oppression yield,No longer bear this dolorous infamy.

—And am I loth to stand upon my feet :A man might deem it, hearing thee entreat!How crazed is he, that in his life so fleetProvides not for his own mortality.

—Now call thy kindred, bid them help thy need,And save thee from the worms that on thee feed ;Yet stay!—to snatch thy raiment will they speed,And rob thee of thy power and mastery.

—I cannot call them ; here I lie in chains ;Yet bid them come to see my bitter gains!Yea, show me to each mortal who refrainsFrom selling earth, to gain eternity.—

Now look on me, O man of worldly mind ;No longer in this world thy pleasures find ;For step by step, bethink thee, fool and blind!Thou wilt be bound and shackled cruelly!