Fortitude

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep and you weep alone.
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.
Sing and the hills will answer;
Sight it is lost on the air.
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.

Rejoice and men will seek you;
Grieve and they turn and go.
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.
Be glad and your friends are many;
Be sad and you lose them all.
There are none to decline your nectar wine,
But alone you must drink life’s gall.

Feast and your halls are crowded;
Fast and the world go by.
Succeed and give and it helps you live,
But no man can help you die.

There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a long and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain.