Man in his life hath three good friends--
Wealth, family, and noble deeds;
These serve him in his days of joy
And minister unto his needs.
But when the lonely hour of death
With sad and silent foot draws nigh,
Wealth, then, and family take their wings,
And from the dying pillow fly.
But noble deeds in love respond,
"Ere came to thee the fatal day,
We went before, O gentle friend,
And smoothed the steep and thorny way."
--From the Hebrew, tr. by Frederic Rowland Marvin.