لا تودِعَنَّ وَلا الجَمادَ سَريرَةً

لا تودِعَنَّ وَلا الجَمادَ سَريرَةً

فَمِنَ الصَوامِتِ مايُشيرُ فَيَنطِقُ

فَمِنَ الصَوامِتِ مايُشيرُ فَيَنطِقُ

Never entrust a secret—not even to lifeless matter;

Do not entrust your secret even to the inert,

for among silent things are those that give signs and thus speak.

For even the dumb at times reveal a hidden thing.

وَإِذا المِحَكُّ أَذاعَ سِرَّ أَخٍ لَهُ

وَإِذا المِحَكُّ أَذاعَ سِرَّ أَخٍ لَهُ

فَاِنظُر فَدَيتُكَ مَن تُراهُ يوثَقُ

فَاِنظُر فَدَيتُكَ مَن تُراهُ يوثَقُ

And if the touchstone reveals the secret of a brother of its own,

And when the testing furnace made a friend's fault public,

then consider—may I be your ransom—whom you think can be trusted.

Consider well, my son, who of them all proved true.