1. قَصَرتُ ذاتي عَلى ذاتي وَقُلتُ لَها

    فِرّي عَن الناسِ ما مِنهُم تَرَي حَسَنا

    I confined myself to myself and said to myself:

    Flee from people; you see nothing good among them,

  2. سِوى ثَقيلينِ تُؤذي القَلبَ صُحبَتُهُم

    وَتُتعِبُ الأَشرَفَينِ الطَرفَ وَالأُذُنا

    Only bores whose company pains the heart

    And wearies the two noblest—the eye and the ear.