كُن بِما اوتيته مُقتَنِعاً

تَستَدم عَيش القَنوع المُكتَفي

Be content with what you have been given;

you will preserve the life of one content and self-sufficient.

إِن في نَيل المُنى وَشك الرَدى

وَقِياس القَصد ضد السرف

For in attaining one’s desires lies swift ruin,

and measured moderation is the opposite of excess—

كِسِراج دَهنه قوت لَهُ

فَإِذا غرقته فيهِ طُفي

like a lamp whose oil is its sustenance:

if you drown it in that oil, it is extinguished.