The Icelandic Canadian - 01.09.1964, Page 46

44
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Autumn 1964
Indigence an d Wealth
by THORSTEINN ERL1NGSSON
translated by PAUL BJARNASON
That poverty by grace was given us
By God — that is an oft-repeated story.
But God and men by now are never thus;
Another way is said to lead to glory.
Of old the safest way was plight and pain,
With penury and every sore disaster.
But now the more the men of faith can gain,
The more their standing rises with the Master.
The pauper is deprived of bread and health
And places high in God’s esteem no longer.
So first, my friend, you have to win the wealth;
Then will your claim to Heaven be the stronger.
For if you never fill a favored seat
And fail to beat Luck’s most unkind reverses,
Among your brethren you will face defeat.
And friends of God will pass you by with curses.
Though God Himself was never known to you,
Your neighbors and your friends reveal your station.
The chosen fill the envied inner pew
In every house of worship in the nation.
Among the rich the method is the same.
God’s mercy all their patent sins erases.
The young inherit all their elders’ fame
If under-brained, God’s grace the lack replaces.
For theft and fraud the favored have a “pull”
And Father God protects the wealthy classes.
But countless jails on earth are always full
Of indigents and drifters from the masses.
So you, the lowly, poor and penniless,
The pious mark for Hell when life is ended.
But if by chance you come to gain “success”,
Your case in Heaven and earth will be defended.