1. In form, people are all equal
Adam is their father, Eve their mother

2. Each soul is like the other, spirits alike
In them the greatest qualities were created and limbs

3. The mothers of men are but vessels
Depositories, while fathers determine the accounts

4. If they can take pride in their origin
Then it is but clay and water

5. No merit except for the learned
They are guides, for those who seek guidance, trustees

6. To each person belongs what he masters
And men are named for their deeds

7. The antithesis of each is what he does not grasp
And the ignorant are the enemies of the learned

8. Though you come with generosity, of noble lineage
Our lineage is generosity and loftiness

9. So win knowledge, do not seek payment for it
For people are dead, but the learned are alive