Жизнь человеческая
Machine translation from the original · Show original
1. This short and varied life is a kind of wheel spinning on a motionless axis: sometimes it goes up, sometimes it leans down, and although it appears to be something motionless, it does not stand still; when running away, it stays in one place, and while holding on, it runs away; jumps rapidly and cannot budge; he tries to change his position with his movement, and from the same movement he returns to his previous position. Therefore, life cannot be compared with anything better than smoke, or a dream, or a wild flower.
2. Fir, clay, swirling dust! the earth is again united with the earth, entwined with earthly shrouds, and again becomes dust, like dust, which is raised to a height by a strong circulation of winds and then thrown down. For in the same way our whirling life is lifted by storms of evil spirits to heights - to false glory; but the dust immediately falls down and remains down until the word of the Creator brings together what was united and was destroyed according to need. And now this dust, in which the spirit with the image of God is embedded, as if emerging from some depth, proclaims earthly sad songs and mourns life, apparently smiling.
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