'I beg you not to disregard the words of Solomon the
wise: "In all thy works remember thy last end and thou shalt never sin."
(Ecclus vii.40) Walk whilst you have the light lest the darkness of
death come upon you. (John xii.35) Temporal things pass swiftly away,
but the eternal that never fade will soon be upon us. All the treasures
of this world, such as gold, silver, precious stones of every hue,
succulent and dainty food and costly garments, melt away like shadows,
vanish like smoke, dissolve like foam on the sea. The psalmist uttered
the truth when he said: "Man's days are like grass: like the flower of
the field he flourishes." (Ps cii.15) And again: "My days are like a
shadow that declineth and I am withered like grass." (Ps. ci.12)'
