قدindeed بُليناwe have been afflicted فيin دهرناour age بملوكٍwith kings
قد بُلينا في دهرنا بملوكٍ
أدباءٍmen of letters عَلِمْتُهمْI have known them شعراءِpoets
أدباءٍ عَلِمْتُهمْ شعراءِ
In our age, we have been afflicted with kings—
We have suffered in our time from kings,
Men of letters and poets, as I know them.
Learned men whom I knew as poets.
إنif أجدناwe excel فيin مدحِهمpraising them حسدوناthey envy us
إن أجدنا في مدحِهم حسدونا
فحُرِمناso we are deprived منهُمْby them ثوابَthe reward الثناءِfor praise
فحُرِمنا منهُمْ ثوابَ الثناءِ
If we excel in praising them, they envy us,
If we found envy in praising them,
So we are denied by them the reward for praise.
We were denied from them the reward of praise.
أوor أسأناwe do poorly فيin مَدْحهمpraising them أنَّبوناthey rebuke us
أو أسأنا في مَدْحهم أنَّبونا
وهَجَوْاand they lampoon شعرَناour poetry أشدَّthe harshest هجاءِlampooning
وهَجَوْا شعرَنا أشدَّ هجاءِ
Or if we praise them poorly, they rebuke us
Or if we did wrong in praising them, they blamed us,
And lampoon our poetry with the harshest lampoons.
And they satirized our poetry most severely.
قدindeed أقامواthey have placed نفوسَهمthemselves لذويin relation to those offering المدْthe praise (word continues)
قد أقاموا نفوسَهم لذوي المدْ
حِcompletion of 'praise' مُقامَthe position الأندادِof rivals والنظراءِand peers
حِ مُقامَ الأندادِ والنظراءِ
They have set themselves up, in relation to those who praise them,
They made themselves for those who are praised
In the position of rivals and peers.
As equals and peers.
Sol 6.1