also known as "name of the rose" or "sequence of the rose".
translated from the german version by turba delirantium. the original was written in latin by alain de lille (1120-1202).
the creatures of this earth are a book and a painting and a mirror of our being. to our life, our death, our situation, our lot can they be a sign. the rose shows our condition it clearly describes our situation, our life it represents. the rose which blooms in the early morning, as soon as the blossom blooms the blossom fades when everything wilts in the evening. freshly dewy wastes away the blossom when it pale with feverish chills in blooming already fades away. old and young at the same hour, old man and child in equal measure, wilts the rose in bloom. also the springtime of man's life and youth's first morning blooms for a short time. but in the evening of life ends this morning and soon draws near each life's twilight. before all splendor unfolded the beauty is already over and time flows over it. flower turns to hay, to excrement turns the pearl, and as ash man pays tribute to the death. inevitable is his life, and his being only torment and toil, and life ends in death. the morning is followed by the evening laughter is followed by sadness life is followed by death. our existence's first torments already bear features of death and the toil heralds death. to put us to the trouble and surrender to the pain is death's demand. forced under this law, human recognize your situation and consider what you are. what you were newborn, what you are, and what you will be oh, heed it carefully. weep over guilt and punishment, keep still, rush nothing, cast off all pride. driver, helmsman of the spirit, guide our mind and take care that its way goes not astray.
beginning of a translation based on the latin version.
all of creation like a book and a picture, is a mirror for us of our life, of our state; of our death, of our fate a faithful symbol.