Translation
Therefore I praised the dead, those who died long ago,
Go to footnote numbermore than the living who are still alive.
Paraphrase
Therefore I admired the dead, especially those who have been dead a long time; they have it better off than those who are still living.
Footnotes
1: “those who died long ago”
While we still miss them, we may look at how hard life is and say, “I’m glad she is not having to deal with this anymore.”