Chapter VI: On Contentment

He knew not the Lord and from worship abstained,Who repined at the portion in life he obtained.By contentment a man becomes wealthy and great ;This news to the greedy world-wanderer state !Oh rover! acquire an established abode,For a rolling stone gathers no moss on the road !Do not pamper your body, if wary and wise !For when you indulge it you cause its demise.Philosophers nurture the virtues with care ;Those who pamper the body, of virtues are bare.With a character human the person was filled,Who, to start with, the dog of concupiscence stilled.Beasts of prey care for eating and sleeping, alone,And to follow this habit the foolish are prone.Oh happy is he, who, in corner retired,Has supplies for the road, from God's knowledge, acquired!Those whom God has informed of the secret of grace,Have not chosen the follies of life in its place.And yet, when one knows not the darkness from light,Fiend and cheek of a Houri are one in his sight.You could not the road from the pit again tell,And, therefore, you cast yourself into a well.Can the male falcon fly to the sky's highest height,When with greed's heavy weight you have pinioned him tight?If his skirt from the talons of lust you set free,His flight to the mansion of Gabriel will be.If th' amount you're accustomed to eat you curtail,You'll the nature of angels acquire without fail.When will a wild beast to the angels come nigh,Since from Earth unto Heav'n it is helpless to fly?First, the qualities special to man exercise !Let your thoughts to the nature of angels then rise.You are up on the back of a spirited colt;Take care! lest away from your hand it should bolt!If it parted the reins from your palm, without doubtIt would kill its own body, and pour your blood out.Be mod'rate in eating ! if human you are ;With your stomach so full, are you man, or a jar?Your inside's for thinking of God, breath and food ;You suppose that for viands alone, it is good.Where's his room for reflection? from sordid desire,He can only, with very great effort, respire!Those who cherish the body, the fact do not know,That the men with stuffed stomach no wisdom can show.The eye and the stomach can never be cloyed;Far better, indeed, were the twisted gut void.When Hell's yawning furnace with fuel they fill,It reiterates loud, " Is there any more still?"Your Jesus is dying of weakness, alas !You are occupied solely in feeding His ass.From buying the world with the Faith, wretch, refrain !With the Gospel of Jesus don't buy the ass grain !The wild beasts of prey, you may not be aware,From their love of devouring are drawn to the snare.The leopard that stretches his neck after beasts,Is entrapped like a mouse, from his liking for feasts.When of one's bread and cheese, like a mouse, you eat part,You fall to his snare and are hit by his dart.