خذ من أبيك وصايا يا سمي أبي

أنت الأحق بها قبل اتصالك بي

Take counsels from your father, O namesake of my father.

You are most entitled to them, even before your bond with me.

لم أجن رغم رهين المحيين على

من كان بي موجدا في أمة العرب

I did not wrong—despite the captive of the [two prisons]—

the one brought into being through me among the Arab nation.

استخرجتك يد الأقدار من عدم

فلم أكن فيك يا منجي سوى سبب

The hand of fate drew you forth from nothingness.

So I was only a means in your making, O Munji.

ما كنت إلا لمن أنشاك واسطة

فاعرف حقوقه واعرف بعده نسبي

I was merely an intermediary for the One who created you.

So acknowledge His rights, and after Him recognize your kinship with me.

يا مصطفى الجد من داجي الضلال إلى

نور الهدى فاحي منسوبا لخيرني

O you whose grandfather was chosen from the gloom of error into

the light of guidance; live as one affiliated with [the best Prophet].

لولا الغزاة لكانت ساقس بلدي

لا تونس وطني السامي ومطلبي

Had it not been for the conquerors, Saqs would have been my homeland,

not Tunis, my exalted homeland and my desire.

لله أسياف عثمانين منقذة

قطري وآلي وما جاءاك في حقب

To God belong the swords of the two Uthmans, which rescued

my country and my family; the two did not reach you in a single age.

الأول الفحل ذو النورين فاتحها

والآخر الخان من جدي إليه سبى

The first, the stalwart, the Possessor of the Two Lights, conquered it;

the other, the khan to whom my grandfather was brought captive by

آل الحسين وهم مستوزروه بهم

يا خزنداري تثمينا من اللقب

the House of Husayn, who appointed him minister; through them,

O my Khaznadar, comes the honor conferred by the title.

هذي أصولك ألحق بالفروع لها

نسلا كريما بما أوتيت من حسب

These are your roots; add to them, among their branches,

noble offspring, through the ancestral honor you were given.

واخدم بلادك وارفع شأن أمتها

ما خدمة الشعب إلا أشرف الرتب

Serve your country, and raise the standing of its people.

Service to the people is the noblest of ranks.

واجعل لسانك كالقرآن منطقه

فالجنس يحفظ بالأخلاق والأدب

Make your tongue like the Qur'an in its speech,

for a people is preserved by morality and culture.

وعامل الناس لا خوفا ولا طمعا

بل احتسابا يراه خير محتسب

Deal with people neither out of fear nor greed,

but seeking divine reward, in the sight of the best Reckoner.

وأحبب عباده وابغض فيه منكرهم

واستنزل الحلم فيهم موضع الغضب

Love His servants, and for His sake hate their wrongdoing.

Let forbearance descend upon them in anger's place.

واستعذب المر واستصغر مكارهها

واصعد بهمتك القعسا مع الشهب

Savor the bitter, and make light of life's hardships.

Rise with your indomitable resolve among the shooting stars.

هي الحياة شقاء فاحتمله بها

من جانب الفضل إذ لا بد من تعب

Life is suffering; bear it with that resolve,

on the side of virtue, since toil is unavoidable.

إياك والتيه عجبا والغرور بما

يزهى بظاهره واربأ عن الريب

Beware of arrogance born of self-admiration, and of deception by what

glitters outwardly; keep clear of dubious things.

واستحقر الموت واستعظمه في جسد

وفي شعور وعش للجد لا اللعب

Scorn death, but deem it grave in a body

and in feeling; live for earnestness, not play.

وان تصبيت فانظر للجمال وقل

سبحان واهبه سبحان مرتقبي

And if you indulge youthful desires, look at beauty and say:

Glory be to its Giver; glory be to the One who watches me.

شاهد معاقرها وانظر مقامرهم

كل تجرد من عقل ومن نشب

Observe the one habitually drinking it, and look at their gambler:

Each has been stripped of reason and possessions.

وانصف خصومك واجعل منك حاكمهم

أولى بك الحق داء من شفا الكذب

Be fair to your opponents, and make yourself their judge.

Truth, even as an ailment, is better for you than falsehood's cure.

واكبح جماح الجرشي قبل كبوتها

من أهملت نفسه ألقته في العطب

Rein in the soul's unruliness before it stumbles.

A man whose soul is neglected is cast by it into ruin.

وإن تسمعت فاستهوتك أغنية

حاذر سقوطك بين اللهو والطرب

And if you listen and a song beguiles you,

beware of falling between frivolity and rapture.

صوت الضمير إذا تشدو بلابله

صوت الحقيقة جذاب لمنجذب

The voice of conscience, when its nightingales sing,

is the voice of truth, alluring to whoever is drawn to it.

وفي الطبيعة للمجلي بصيرته

فيها من العلم ما يغني عن الكتب

In nature, for one who clears his inner vision,

there is knowledge enough to dispense with books.

فاملأ وطابك بالعرفان مفعمة

في الناس صافية أشهى من الضرب

So fill your milk-skins with knowledge, brimming,

pure among people, sweeter than white honey.

واللبس من الخلق المحمود ضافية

تنسل إليك الورى من كل ما حدب

And let your clothing be an ample robe of praiseworthy character;

people will hasten to you from every rise.

واعمل بعلمك ما يجديك آخرة

تستثمر الغرس عند المربع الخصب

Act on your knowledge in ways that benefit you in the hereafter;

you will reap your planting in the fertile spring meadow.

غالب عداك بإسداء الجميل لهم

وانصب به الفخ أشراكا من الذهب

Overcome your enemies by bestowing kindness on them,

and with it set a trap—snares of gold—

بالاستقامة إما كنت منتقما

من حاسديك فما انفكت عن اللهب

through uprightness, if you seek revenge

on those who envy you, for it has never been free of flame.

وارع الأمومة فيمن كنت مجهدها

حملا ووضعا وإرضاعا وأنت صبي

Honor motherhood in her whom you exhausted

through pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing, while you were a child.

واعطف عليها التي شاطرتها كبدي

عطف الشقيقين محفوظا من الوصب

And show tenderness to her with whom you shared my liver,

with the affection of two siblings, kept safe from affliction.

أوصيكما بالذي أوصى الاله به

فلترعياه وهذا غاية الأرب

I counsel you both with what God has enjoined;

so let both of you heed it: this is the utmost wish.

أمليتها حكما بالشعر في نسق

كنز لحافظه من خير مكتسب

I dictated them as maxims, arranged in verse,

a treasure for whoever memorizes it, among the finest acquisitions.

هذي بني وصاني إن عملت بها

نلت انعطافي كما نلت انعطاف أبي

These, my son, are [my counsels]; if you act on them,

you will gain my affection, as you gained my father's affection.