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The Songs 153 Song 81 Do Not Be Afraid of Ungenerous Fate202 Do not be afraid that your fate is against you; you must be steadfast. If you are steadfast, there will be no need to grieve that 'the old man in the moon'203 does not pity you. To say that fate is against you and that the time is out of joint is to take a short-sighted view. In half your life-time, you have never had one day of real enjoyment, and I fear that even after death you will feel you have been wronged. If you say the 'eight characters' [i.e. indicating one's horoscope] were already determined at your birth, what need is there to think about the future?204 We do not know if what has been predetermined will 'come true' or not. There probably was never an immortal who could tell us about our future. In a word, you must do what is humanly possible; and perhaps your luck will change. Stop blaming yourself! Do not say good things are as hard to come by as we expect. Be steadfast and patient, and the broken mirror will be made round once again [i.e. lovers will be re-united].205 Song 82 Lamenting the Shortness of Life I lament the shortness of life and that I can only have one life; Men drive me to death, but tell me how can I bear to throw my life away. Had I one life to give to each man, I would not care. 202 See Song 6. 203 See Song 14, line 11, note. 204 The 'eight characters' ( J\* , baat ji), in four pairs, indicating the year, month, day and hour of a person's birth, were formerly used in fortune-telling. Mayers (Part 2) # 257. 205 See Song 33, line 9, note. The Songs Song 81 Do Not Be Afraid of Ungenerous Fate202 153 Do not be afraid that your fate is against you; you must be steadfast. If you are steadfast, there will be no need to grieve that 'the old man in the moon'203 does not pity you. To say that fate is against you and that the time is out of joint is to take a short-sighted view. In half your life-time, you have never had one day of real enjoyment, and I fear that even after death you will feel you have been wronged. If you say the 'eight characters' [i.e. indicating one's horoscope] were already determined at your birth, what need is there to think about the future?204 We do not know if what has been predetermined will 'come true' or not. There probably was never an immortal who could tell us about our future. In a word, you must do what is humanly possible; and perhaps your luck will change. Stop blaming yourself! Do not say good things are as hard to come by as we expect. Be steadfast and patient, and the broken mirror will be made round once again [i.e. lovers will be re-united].205 Song 82 Lamenting the Shortness of Life I lament the shortness of life and that I can only have one life; Men drive me to death, but tell me how can I bear to throw my life away. Had I one life to give to each man, I would not care. 202 See Song 6. 203 See Song 14, line 11, note. 204 The 'eight characters' ( J\* ,baat ji), in four pairs, indicating the year, month, day and hour of a person's birth, were formerly used in fortune-telling. Mayers (Part 2) # 257. 205 See Song 33, line 9, note. ...

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