إذا الهمُّ أمسى وهو داءٌ فأمضهِ
ولستَ بمُمضيه وأنت تعادلُه
If sorrow becomes an illness by nightfall, endure it through the night.
You cannot dispel it, though you match it blow for blow.
ولا تنزِلَن أمرَ الشديدة بامريءٍ
إذا همَّ أمراً عوّقته عواذِله
Do not attempt the deeds of the mighty if,
when you are resolved on a grave matter, obstacles crowd in your way.
فما كلُّ ما حاولته الموت دونه
ولا دونه أرصاده وحبائله
Not everything that is avoided by death is beyond it,
nor everything that escapes its snares and stratagems.
وما الفتك ما آمرتَ فيه ولا الذي
تحدّث من لاقيت أنك فاعله
Do not boast about the mischief you have wrought in battle, nor name
the foe you claim you will vanquish.
ولا تجعلن سراً إلى غير أهله
فتقعد إن أفشى عليك تجادله
Do not confide your secret to one unworthy to share it,
lest he argue with you disrespectfully when it is disclosed.
ولا تسأل المال البخيل ترى له
غنى بعد ضرّ أورثته أوائله
Do not ask a miser for wealth. You will see that,
after loss has made him wretched, his riches profit him nothing.
أرى المال افياءَ الظلال فتارةً
يئوب وأخرى يختل المال خاتله
I see wealth as a fickle shade. Now
it sickens, now the wealth of the rich man crumbles.
لعمرك ما أبقى ليَ الدهر من أخٍ
حفيٍّ ولا ذي خلّةٍ لي أواصله
By your life! Time has left me no brother,
no trusted friend, no companion with whom I can be intimate.
ولا من خليلٍ ليس فيه غوائلٌ
فشرّ الأخلاء الكثير غوائله
The worst brothers are those with many faults.
Beware the multitude of their sins.
وقل لفؤادٍ إن نزا بك نزوةً
من الروعِ أفرغ أكثرُ الروع باطله
Say to your heart, if passion tempts you
to a moment’s madness, empty your madness of most of its madness.
وكن أنت ترعى سرّ نفسك وأعلمن
بأن أقل الناس للناس حامِله
Watch over your secret self. Remember that
the man who reveals his secret to the crowd carries his belongings in his arms.
إذا ما قتلت الشيء علماً فبح به
ولا تقل الشيء الذي أنت جاهله
When you have mastered knowledge, proclaim it.
Do not speak of what you do not know.
