О суетности и превратности жизни и о том, что всех постигнет один конец

I would like to become a swallow or a long-winged dove, Just to escape life with mortals; or in the desert Live with animals (since animals are more faithful than mortals), Spend nights and days without sorrows, sorrows, punishments. There is only one thing to keep me from being beastly – my mind: The one who has known God and walks freely in the sky, Tirelessly acquiring light for my serene life. Or, having ascended to the top, from the heights raised above the world, I will cry loudly to all who inhabit the earth: “Mortal people! O generation of expiration, how insignificant you are! Living only for death, how vainly we boast of ourselves! How long, toys of deceptive dreams in reality, having fun, Will you only make noise on earth in vain? Use your reason when traveling, my friend, everywhere, Just like me: for God has endowed me with deep knowledge Happiness and sorrows; the mind is capable of rising above everything. He was brave and young, his friends were very proud of him, He walked with a proud gait and stood out with his beautiful build. He was as beautiful as the star Eosphorus, attracting everywhere The gaze of people is like a spring flower between glorious youths. He was famous in competitions; this one - with the weapon of Ares; He fought with the animals on the lists and measured his strength With them among the mountains. But the one who thought only about feasts (The land, the sea, and the air gave tribute to his belly), Now he has hunched over, he has faded: feeble old age has appeared, All the beauty disappeared, the inside became dead. Only partly between mortals, but mostly in Hades He abides. Others indulge themselves in various fables. This one is so noble that he thinks only of the graves of the great Or how he recently included children in his will. This one, having become famous in the city for the power of wisdom, is now Always on everyone's lips. But this wealth is beyond measure Having a home, he strives with every thought to increase it. This one is glad that he holds the scales of justice. This one, in scarlet robes, with a bandage on his proud forehead, He possesses the power of the earth and looks at the sky with contempt; Being mortal, hope ascends upward like an immortal. All this is now. But soon everyone will become equal, decaying: Slave and nobleman, farm laborer and anyone who boasts of wealth. The darkness of the grave will serve as a single shelter for all of us; The proud have one advantage: to be buried with tears, Leaving the inscription on the tombstone for mourning descendants. Sooner or later, we will all suffer the same fate: A pitiful pile of bones, a bare, grinning skull. Pride has passed away; but poverty is also left behind by grief. ailments, Strife, wickedness, thirst for wealth, disorderly insolence - Everything has already died along with the dead, everything has died down: It will leave the grave only after the resurrected ones. Seeing all this, listen, children, to good advice. (My children, for I have been on earth longer than you): Let us leave this world and everything that is raging in the fast-moving world: All this filth with which the earthly king seduces us, Predator of strangers, pest and evil murderer, - Fame, wealth, throne, nobility, unfaithful happiness - Let's hastily leave and run into the sky without looking back, where it awaits us The Trinity is the light that shines so wonderfully and inexpressibly. Others, like dice, into one and another Side fall; dirt brings them joy, like pigs; The pitch darkness of the night covered their crazy eyes, They can only walk along the walls and holding each other. You might be interested in: