Jan Kochanowski

“ Some men spend weary lives at court,
Or sail the seas from port to port,
Where storms pursue from day to day,
And death is never far away.
One man may give his tongue for gold,
And freely is his counsel sold ”

“ May he who first called men to war
Endure grim tortures evermore;
And he as well whose fertile mind
Gave deadly firearms to mankind!
How stupidly in gruesome fight
Men seek for Death’s eternal night. ”

“ Alone of all created things
Has man the joy that laughter brings,
While birds and beasts lack power to show
The mirth and happiness we know.
He who disdains God’s gifts and care
Is surely mad beyond compare ”