The Song of Old Age
I cannot raise a song, it progresses not for me, my spirit is over heavy from grief; the heart in my bosom is like a stone at full speed rolling down a slope never to rise again. A champion undaunted is warring and striving against us who can never be at peace with us; since he is stronger than we, we shall be worn down by him, and nothing under the sun can succour us.
'Tis a cause of sadness indeed to yearn after what is gone — our form, our mould, and our countenance, our shape and our colour, our vigour and our strength, our power in time of combat or strife: as the mist spreads over the face of the grass, as the clouds change in the sky, so is old age coming upon us, mournful, wailing, full of grief: effortless is that one at her task of wounding.
Drab old age without pith, preparing us for the grave, that leaves the top of the head very ugly; deaf old age that does not hear, without care or respect, without doughty deed in battle or strife; racked, sickly old age, without support or strength, without valour or quickness or courage, full of weariness and pain, without avowal of health, without one who cares for thy distress.
Wheezing, hoarse old age, heavy-headed, sleepy, dumb, thou art almost dead without (?) strength: thou canst move but slowly with a stout stick in thy hand, walking round every burn and ditch; thou wilt never — 'twould be unseemly for thee — lay a wager for running or swimming or leaping: for fever and pain are seeking thee out until death more numerous than the plagues of Egypt.
Woeful, wretched old age, lamenting all that has befallen thee, pithless, without substance, without esteem; thy companions and loved ones in the sanctuary of death, and 'tis not in the power of one of them to rise; gone are thy chattels and possessions, gone the health of thy body; failings of understanding and reason will come upon thee; loss of memory, foolishness, and idleness besides, will come upon thee; the displeasure of thine own friends will come upon thee.
Cross, sickly, miserable old age, of worst appearance and hue, bare and bald, without hair or teeth, wrinkle-faced, hard, furrowed, baggy-skinned, lean and cold, lame and bent, unable to move a step; thou leper of meanness that deprives us of the virtues, who in the world thinks thy melody sweet? — Shaky, zestless old age, thou art worse than death, oft didst thou make a slave of the mighty man.
Gloomy, dark old age, full of sorrow, unadorned and joyless, without pleasure in listening to music; unkempt of beard and grey, unsteady of foot, lazy, work-shy, slow to rise; thou canst not bear cold; thou art a poor support in time of danger; thine earnings are the tenantry and their alms; there is no one in pursuit of thee the admission of whose mouth is not that they deem thee to live too long for no purpose.
Wan old age of evil hue, I dislike thy approach; there is no good report of thee under the sun: thou art without playfulness or good cheer, without spirit or activeness; where the court assembles thou wilt not go. Sickly-coloured old age ill of aspect, pain-ridden slow old age, rheumy-eyed old age blind without sight; peevish, angry, without sap, full of jealousy and envy for a spirited man who is active and alert.
Well-a-day! young man, what is (the nature of) thy great confidence? Dost think to live and never to die? Though the world and the flesh are both willing enough to pervert thee from good to evil, however late the tryst, the messenger of death will come upon thee — believe not a word that it is a false presage; be very watchfully on thy guard, thine enemy is at hand, the grave in which thou shalt go is no house of worship:
But an abode without light, full of worms and beetles, and cold, where they will lay thee by thyself; however much thou dost esteem it, there shall not go with thee of thy wealth but small planed boards and a shroud. The greatest cause of concern is to be going to the assembly to give an account regarding good and evil, where thy possessions will not make good for thee a whit of thy debts; what is to be feared is a prison of torment.
'Tis a cause of sadness indeed to yearn after what is gone — our form, our mould, and our countenance, our shape and our colour, our vigour and our strength, our power in time of combat or strife: as the mist spreads over the face of the grass, as the clouds change in the sky, so is old age coming upon us, mournful, wailing, full of grief: effortless is that one at her task of wounding.
Drab old age without pith, preparing us for the grave, that leaves the top of the head very ugly; deaf old age that does not hear, without care or respect, without doughty deed in battle or strife; racked, sickly old age, without support or strength, without valour or quickness or courage, full of weariness and pain, without avowal of health, without one who cares for thy distress.
Wheezing, hoarse old age, heavy-headed, sleepy, dumb, thou art almost dead without (?) strength: thou canst move but slowly with a stout stick in thy hand, walking round every burn and ditch; thou wilt never — 'twould be unseemly for thee — lay a wager for running or swimming or leaping: for fever and pain are seeking thee out until death more numerous than the plagues of Egypt.
Woeful, wretched old age, lamenting all that has befallen thee, pithless, without substance, without esteem; thy companions and loved ones in the sanctuary of death, and 'tis not in the power of one of them to rise; gone are thy chattels and possessions, gone the health of thy body; failings of understanding and reason will come upon thee; loss of memory, foolishness, and idleness besides, will come upon thee; the displeasure of thine own friends will come upon thee.
Cross, sickly, miserable old age, of worst appearance and hue, bare and bald, without hair or teeth, wrinkle-faced, hard, furrowed, baggy-skinned, lean and cold, lame and bent, unable to move a step; thou leper of meanness that deprives us of the virtues, who in the world thinks thy melody sweet? — Shaky, zestless old age, thou art worse than death, oft didst thou make a slave of the mighty man.
Gloomy, dark old age, full of sorrow, unadorned and joyless, without pleasure in listening to music; unkempt of beard and grey, unsteady of foot, lazy, work-shy, slow to rise; thou canst not bear cold; thou art a poor support in time of danger; thine earnings are the tenantry and their alms; there is no one in pursuit of thee the admission of whose mouth is not that they deem thee to live too long for no purpose.
Wan old age of evil hue, I dislike thy approach; there is no good report of thee under the sun: thou art without playfulness or good cheer, without spirit or activeness; where the court assembles thou wilt not go. Sickly-coloured old age ill of aspect, pain-ridden slow old age, rheumy-eyed old age blind without sight; peevish, angry, without sap, full of jealousy and envy for a spirited man who is active and alert.
Well-a-day! young man, what is (the nature of) thy great confidence? Dost think to live and never to die? Though the world and the flesh are both willing enough to pervert thee from good to evil, however late the tryst, the messenger of death will come upon thee — believe not a word that it is a false presage; be very watchfully on thy guard, thine enemy is at hand, the grave in which thou shalt go is no house of worship:
But an abode without light, full of worms and beetles, and cold, where they will lay thee by thyself; however much thou dost esteem it, there shall not go with thee of thy wealth but small planed boards and a shroud. The greatest cause of concern is to be going to the assembly to give an account regarding good and evil, where thy possessions will not make good for thee a whit of thy debts; what is to be feared is a prison of torment.
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