لَنَقلُ الصَخرِ مِن قُلَلِ الجِبالِ

أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِن مِنَنِ الرِجالِ

I would rather move mountains

Hauling rocks from the peaks of mountains

Than beg from ungenerous men

Is dearer to me than the favors of men.

يَقولُ الناسُ لي في الكَسبِ عارٌ

فَقُلتُ العار في ذُلِّ السُؤالِ

They say seeking wealth is shameful

People say to me: "There is shame in earning a living,"

But shame is in begging all the same

But I replied: "The true shame lies in the humiliation of asking."

بَلَوتُ الناسَ قِرناً بَعد قَرنٍ

وَلَم أَرَ مِثلَ مُحتالٍ بِمالِ

I have known people age after age

I have tested mankind, generation after generation,

None so cunning in profiting as this knave

And found none like the one resourceful with wealth.

وَذُقتُ مَرارَةَ الأَشياءِ طُرّاً

فَما طَعمٌ أَمَرَّ مِنَ السُؤالِ

I have tasted life's bitternesses sharp

I have tasted the bitterness of all things, without exception,

No taste more bitter than this begging

Yet found no taste more bitter than the act of begging.

وَلَم أَرَ في الخُطوبِ أَشَدُّ هَولاً

وَأَصعَبُ مِن مَقالاتِ الرِجالِ

In life's trials I've not seen

I have seen no calamity more terrifying,

Anything more dreadful than men's lies

Nor more burdensome than the words of men.