XIII: O necessity! what a terrible calamity art thou

O necessity! what a terrible calamity art thou,
That changest man's nature into that of the dog!

The Muhammadan, thou makest follow Hindu rites,
And the Hindu, the usages of the Faithful to observe,

Kings and Princes thou makest stand at the door,
Of their crowns deprived, and from their thrones driven.

Even the free and unrestrained birds of the air also,
Thou entanglest, helpless and paralyzed in the net.

The tutor likewise, in the sight of his own scholar,
Thou makest even more contemptible than the fowl.

Since by them, man cannot be exempted
From the tax of necessity's urgent demands,

Say then, from all power and dominion soever,
And in empire's sway, what advantage is there?

Unto the opulent, infinite Deity, this is exclusive,
That He is wanting in nothing, whatsoever it be.

The raising up of Hamid, too, shall be effected,
From out of the waves of affliction, and of grief!