سعدت نفوس بالإله الأعظم — Germanus Farhat

سعدت نفوسٌ بالإله الأعظمِ

حين ابتغت إكرامَه بالأكرمِ

Souls found blessedness in God, the Most Great,

when they sought to honor Him with what is noblest.

قُلْ أكرمُ الإكرام رهبانيّةٌ

فكأنها نورٌ بليلٍ أدهم

Say: the noblest honor is monastic life,

for it is like light in a pitch-black night.

فالنور فاعلمْهُ طريقةُ راهبٍ

والليل أهلُ العالم المتهدِّم

The light—know this—is a monk's way,

and the night is the people of the crumbling world.

طوباكَ يا من قد دُعيتَ بدعوةٍ

علويةٍ نحو الكمال المُنعَم

Blessed are you, who have been summoned by a calling

from on high toward bestowed perfection.

سُمِّيتَ ما بين الخلائق راهباً

متوشحاً بشعار فضلٍ مُعلَم

You have been named a monk among creation,

girded with the emblem of distinguished virtue.

لُقِّبتَ نورَ العالمين جميعهم

يا راهباً بل كاملاً إذ ينتمي

You have been called the light of all the worlds,

O monk—rather, a perfect man as he ascends.

لا تعجبنْ من فضله وكماله

إذ هوْ ملاكٌ حاز عفةَ مريم

Do not marvel at his virtue and perfection,

for he is an angel who has attained Mary's chastity.

أو ما ترى أفعالَه مخصوصةً

باللَه نحو خلاصه المتقدم

And do you not see his deeds devoted

to God, advancing toward his salvation?

متبرِّئاً من كل فعلٍ موبقٍ

يرضَى بموتٍ قبل إثمٍ موثِم

Freeing himself from every ruinous deed,

he would accept death before a guilt-bringing sin.

يحوي بجسمٍ ذي هيولَى نَعتُهُ

طُهرُ الملائك ضمن عقلٍ مع فم

Within a body formed of matter, his nature holds

the angels' purity, in mind and mouth.

يمشي الصواب بسيره وسلوكه

قد داس أسباب العثار بمَنسِم

He walks the right course in his conduct and way of life;

he has trampled the causes of stumbling underfoot.

قد حاد عن حب الغنَى متبرئاً

من شهوةٍ وتكبُّرٍ وتكرم

He has turned from the love of riches, freeing himself

from lust, arrogance, and the pursuit of honor.

يرضى بنزر العيش محقوراً وقد

دعمته كِلْمات الإله المُدعِم

He is content with scant sustenance, despised; yet

the words of God the Sustainer have upheld him.

إذ قال من يبغضْ أباه وأمَّه

وبنيه حتى نفسَه يتحكَّم

For He said: 'Whoever hates his father and mother,

and his sons, even himself, and exercises self-mastery,

ويُقِلَّ يوماً وِقرَ حَملِ صليبه

يختصُّ بي في ذلك المجد الحمي

and one day bears the burden of carrying his cross,

shall belong to Me in that inviolable glory.'

زلّاته جزئيةٌ لا تَختشي

تُمحَى بأدنى فعل برٍّ مُنعِم

His lapses are minor; do not fear:

they are erased by the slightest gracious act of righteousness.

وإذا هفا قامت بعبء سقوطه

إخوانُه كي يُنهضوه إن رُمي

And if he stumbles, the burden of his fall is taken up

by his brothers, to raise him if he is cast down.

وكذ الملائك والإله بنفسه

يعضدْهُ حقّاً بالصلاح المبرَم

Likewise the angels, and God Himself,

truly uphold him with steadfast righteousness.

إذ كان في أخويَّةٍ مرضيةٍ

تشفي كلوم النفس بعد تندُّم

For he was in an approved brotherhood,

which heals the soul's wounds after remorse.

فيها الرقيب يذُبُّ عن أولادها

فتراه يمنع كل فعلٍ مُحرَم

Within it, the overseer defends its children;

so you see him prevent every forbidden deed.

والراهب العمّال يخلو فكرُه

من كل همٍّ دنيويٍّ مظلم

And the diligent monk's mind is free

from every dark worldly care.

نادى بأني قد صَلَبتُ تعمُّداً

جسمي وشهْواتي وعقلي مع فمي

He cried: 'I have deliberately crucified

my body, my desires, and my mind, together with my mouth.'

فلذاك أضحى بالسرور مسربلاً

فكأنه مولىً يسود وينتمي

Thus he became robed in joy,

like a lord who rules and rises high.

يزدان بالإلهام والإنعام من

مولاه يوماً بعد يومٍ مُقدَم

He is adorned with inspiration and bounty from

his Lord, bestowed day after day.

متغرِّباً متنسكاً متقشفاً

متوشحاً بالصبر كالليث الكمي

Living as a stranger, ascetic and austere,

girded with patience like a valiant lion,

يعطَى مواهبَ روح قدسٍ دهرَه

ينمو بكل فضيلةٍ وتكرم

he is given the Holy Spirit's gifts throughout his life;

he grows in every virtue and nobility.

يقضي بفحص ضميره أيامَه

متطهراً بالإعتراف الأعظم

He spends his days examining his conscience,

purifying himself through the supreme confession.

يعتاض من تطهير إثمٍ ها هنا

فيما تطهِّره رسومُ القُوَّم

Here he finds recompense for the cleansing of sin,

as the overseers' observances purify him.

حاز الخلاص جزاء فعلٍ صالحٍ

لما اقتدى بيسوع غير مذمَّم

He gained salvation as recompense for a righteous deed,

when he followed Jesus, free of blame.

إن عاش عيشاً صالحاً متيقظاً

فيموت موتاً للسعادة ينتمي

If he lives a righteous, watchful life,

then he dies a death that leads to blessedness.

ويحوز من إنعام بِيعة ربه

غفرانَ إثمٍ كاملاً ذا أَنعُم

And from the bounty of his Lord's Church he gains

complete forgiveness of sin, rich in blessings,

متسلِّحاً بصلاة إخوته كما

يتسلَّح الجنديْ بسيفٍ مِخذَم

armed with his brothers' prayer, just as

a soldier arms himself with a keen-cutting sword.

ويعود في أعلى السماء مقرُّه

من فوق سدَّةِ مجده المتسوِّم

And his dwelling comes to be in the highest heaven;

from above the throne of his exalted glory,

يحبوه مولاه بخير جزائه

عما سعى في عمره المتقدم

his Lord bestows on him the finest recompense

for his striving in his life gone by.

وينال إكليل الشهادة معلَناً

ما بين طُغْمات المَصاف الأكرم

And he gains the crown of martyrdom, publicly proclaimed,

among the orders of the most honored host.

فهو الشهيد شهيدُ روحٍ مثلما

يدعى شهيداً ذاك في سفك الدم

For he is a martyr, a martyr in spirit, just as

that one is called a martyr through the shedding of blood.

فارغب إذاً يا من يروم حياتَه

أبديةً بشعارٍ إسكيمٍ سُمي

Seek, then, you who wish your life

to be eternal, the garb called a monastic schema.

أعرض عن الدنيا الدنية ثم ضع

من تحت رجلك رأسَها وتقدَّم

Turn from the base world, then place

her head beneath your foot, and advance,

مترقياً نحو السماء بمهيعٍ

قد حده أنطونيوس بالسلَّم

ascending toward heaven along a broad path

which Antonius marked out with a ladder.

فاسمع أخي نصيحتي لو ذقتَها

لخبرتَ لذَّتها وسلِّمْ تَسلَم

So hear my counsel, brother; if you tasted it,

you would know its sweetness; surrender, and be safe.