1. The war against every novelty is the downfall of the obstinate traditionalist.
It is no easy task to reform the morals of one accustomed to conformity.

2. The discernment of men has stagnated in its stillness, and decay was good for it in its stagnation.
O enemy of ignorance posing as knowledge, in its dubious, accustomed guise!

3. Glory to what you sought; take the cup of misfortune from that inveterate foe.
You have persistently faced the bull-headed enemy, meeting disaster upon disaster.

4. Fallacies have long been weapons and armor for your opponent, sinister and unbending.
So you have exchanged blows until you pierced him with a decisive arrow in the jugular vein.

5. Yes! And let him not gloat that you died a martyr in the wake of a thousand martyrs.
For you have gained spoils from his warriors more precious than any he can barter.

6. May the citadel of stagnation in the garrison of zeal collapse over it, and may the army of stagnation retreat!
And may the forces of hard work weaken in their entrenchment, remnants of bygone eras,

7. Having wavered, before you, in their conviction that life lies in renewal.
Yes! And for generations after you, what fires you have ignited - they will not be extinguished!

8. Torches burn out, but the blazing sparks from them will remain, filling the universe.
Yes! And for generations, your melodious voice will echo back, repeated endlessly.

9. The groves will fall silent, and ears will fill with the sound of your elegy and song.
Woe to Lebanon! How vilely it has cast down its lofty glory, made desolate in its corner!

10. What misery has rent its children asunder and bloodied the heart of each admirer and follower!
It has afflicted me, leaving me distraught, weeping and scattered.

11. I fled northward, so the living temple, planted in days gone by, might revive me.
I asked the cedars, the most ancient ancestry rooted in the world’s bosom, ever alert and martyred:

12. How did you shoulder the immense burden, though but a sapling, that weighed upon that tender youth?
The least we carry is enough to cow the strong, unless supported by resilience and aid.

13. The least we carry is enough to cow the strong, unless supported by resilience and aid.
But the cedars do not hesitate with an answer, for the secret lies in the heart of the grandson.

14. That splendid youth went about his duty, as every splendid suitor is wont to do,
With inflamed, passionate heart. Between his ribs the illness of the desperate took root.

15. He transcended life and mankind within it, lonely since time immemorial,
Seeking something other than what people seek from it, arriving at a spring not commonly accessed,

16. Satisfying his eyes with light - nothing contents them but distant flashes.
Thrilled to hear, in the unseen world, the beautiful rhythmic chanting of that melodious ode.

17. Pursuing his course, unwavering and bold, content with torment and martyrdom.
His breaths fade in the path of goodness, poised between firing arrows and climbing high.

18. He guides the people through eloquence and personal example, not by promises or threats.
If he contested with deceivers, he would relinquish the burden and live blissfully untroubled.

19. But the honest reformer is one who is steadfast, not given to empty pledges or intimidation.
God-fearing, he takes no pleasure in life unless he draws near to his desired goal.

20. Where is Jesus, and the crown of thorns from the excess of Rome? Where is his crown of roses?
Which of their crowns is the emblem through time of guidance, redemption, and freeing slaves?

21. Which of their crowns is the hallmark of justice and mercy for the oppressed and aggrieved?
O youth of the cedars! Did you wish anything of this world besides what ennobles each follower?

22. Can unalloyed virtue exist, and virtue thereby negate all abstraction?
Can guidance spread, and the prayers of worshippers be safe from corruption by the Worshipped?

23. Can all-encompassing love be rid of hatred, and forbearance rid of smoldering grudges?
Will each rising nation pay required alms, pardoned for its uprising and each exile for his banishment?

24. Will the nations be made equal, so no overlord or underling is heard among them?
Will bonds be loosed in consciousness and meaning, for those absurd bonds are the worst?

25. Will frontiers be protected from one who covets them, his heeding of limits being necessary?
Can souls be cured of the malady of ignorance and the plague of lethal discord?

26. They are wracking ordeals, tasting the direst forms of misery.
He ceaselessly dispensed them, not hoarding his supremely lucid expression, his great exertion -

27. In odes that fascinated with each subtle charm and useful phrase.
What mystery in that wand, freely flowing as wine from the grape cluster?

28. What abundance cascades like blood from his wounds in his sprinkling and verse?
What inspiration casts a mold that he brings to life with such mastery and excellence?

29. He let flow, from an impassioned heart guided by sound reason, a stream of glory.
Whoever examines his signs sees the white meteors against the dark night,

30. Or traces their extent, finds it unlimited.
Among people of medicine, sixty or seventy fashion them from iron.

31. While the roofs of houses are woven from cane or timber in settlements and encampments -
Is it odd that East and West meet in mourning for that peerless genius?

32. O kindred, converging in throngs of oncoming waves,
If you walk in his funeral procession with unparalleled majesty,

33. He merits such homage as no solemn rite can repay.
Number him, though you number his traits of brilliance, you will not reckon them all.

34. God is pleased with you today; every bereaved requires consolation for the departed.
Alas, that a day of bereavement should be the return of that beloved, and not a day of celebration!

35. He is returned from foreign parts to the cedar's land, cherished not to be sent away again.
He did not relinquish its nobility for an instant, nor did they permit him to be generous.

36. Lebanon's secret is it cannot be consoled like its loyal and affectionate son.
So let that cedar grove receive him as solace and peace for the eminent departed!

37. And may his spirit, when it stirs to life from the sky of eternity, emblem of eternity, be comforted.