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To their homes men would bid me hither and yon, If at meal-time I needed no meat, Or would hang two hams in my true friend's house, Where only one I had eaten.

Fire for men is the fairest gift, And power to see the sun; Health as well, if a man may have it, And a life not stained with sin.

All wretched is no man, though never so sick; Some from their sons have joy, Some win it from kinsmen, and some from their wealth, And some from worthy works.

It is better to live than to lie a corpse, The live man catches the cow; I saw flames rise for the rich man's pyre, And before his door he lay dead.

The lame rides a horse, the handless is herdsman, The deaf in battle is bold; The blind man is better than one that is burned, No good can come of a corpse.