أَعلى المَمالِكِ ما يُبنى عَلى الأَسَلِ
وَالطَعنُ عِندَ مُحِبِّيهِنَّ كَالقُبَلِ
The loftiest kingdoms are those built upon spears,
The highest kingdoms are built on foundations,
The loftiest kingdoms are those erected upon spear-points,
and spear-thrusts, to those who love them, are like kisses.
And spears among those who love them are like kisses.
And thrusting, to those who love them, is like kissing.
وَما تَقِرُّ سُيوفٌ في مَمالِكِها
حَتّى تُقَلقَلُ دَهراً قَبلُ في القَلَلِ
No swords rest secure in their kingdoms
No swords will settle in their realms,
Swords do not rest securely within their realms
until long brandished beforehand among heads.
Until they shake the ages before they shake the hills.
Until they have long rattled against the crowns of skulls.
مِثلُ الأَميرِ بَغى أَمراً فَقَرَّ بِهِ
طولُ الرِماحِ وَأَيدي الخَيلِ وَالإِبِلِ
A man like the emir sought a goal; with it came to rest
The prince desired something, so the length
Like the Emir, who sought a prize and secured it
the long spears and the forelegs of horses and camels,
Of spears, horses' hands, and camels fulfilled it.
By the length of lances and the legs of horses and camels.
وَعَزمَةٌ بَعَثَتها هِمَّةٌ زُحَلٌ
مِن تَحتِها بِمَكانِ التُربِ مِن زُحَلِ
and a resolve stirred by an ambition—Saturn
And a determination roused by courageous ambition,
With resolve driven by an ambition so high,
lies beneath it as dust lies beneath Saturn.
Beneath which the soil seemed as insignificant as gravel.
That Saturn is beneath it, as dust is beneath Saturn.
عَلى الفُراتِ أَعاصيرٌ وَفي حَلَبٍ
تَوَحُّشٌ لِمُلَقّي النَصرِ مُقتَبَلِ
On the Euphrates are whirlwinds, and in Aleppo
There are storms on the Euphrates, and in Aleppo,
Upon the Euphrates rage storms, while in Aleppo
there is desolation for the recipient of fresh victory.
A ferocity towards the encounter of victory.
A wild yearning waits to meet the coming victory.
تَتلو أَسِنَّتُهُ الكُتبَ الَّتي نَفَذَت
وَيَجعَلُ الخَيلَ أَبدالاً مِنَ الرُسُلِ
His spearheads follow the letters already sent,
His tongues recite the books which were decisive,
His spearheads follow the decrees that were dispatched,
and he makes horses substitutes for messengers.
And he makes the horses replacements for messengers.
And he makes his war-steeds the substitutes for messengers.
يَلقى المُلوكَ فَلا يَلقى سِوى جَزَرٍ
وَما أَعَدّوا فَلا يَلقي سِوى نَفَلِ
He encounters kings, but finds only beasts for slaughter;
He meets kings, so he meets nothing but rewards,
He confronts kings and finds nothing but cattle for slaughter;
and all they have prepared he finds only as booty.
And they prepared nothing for him except gifts.
Whatever they prepared, he finds nothing but spoils.
صانَ الخَليفَةُ بِالأَبطالِ مُهجَتَهُ
صِيانَةَ الذَكَرِ الهِندِيَّ بِالخَلَلِ
The caliph guarded his lifeblood with champions,
The Caliph protected his violated lands with heroes,
The Caliph has guarded his life with heroes,
as a hard Indian blade is guarded by sheath-linings.
Protecting fame like an Indian protects his ankle bracelet.
As the scabbard guards the edge of the Indian blade.
الفاعِلُ الفِعلَ لَم يُفعَل لِشِدَّتِهِ
وَالقائِلُ القَولَ لَم يُترَك وَلَم يُقَلِ
The doer of deeds never done, so arduous are they,
The doer did not do the deed out of its intensity,
The doer of deeds too mighty to be attempted,
and the speaker of words never disregarded, never uttered before;
And the speaker did not neglect his words nor diminish them.
The speaker of words that were neither unspoken nor mere talk.
وَالباعِثُ الجَيشَ قَد غالَت عَجاجَتُهُ
ضَوءَ النَهارِ فَصارَ الظُهرُ كَالطَفَلِ
and the sender of an army whose dust has swallowed
The one who launched the army, his passion overwhelmed,
He launches an army whose rising dust has devoured
the light of day, turning noon to dusk.
The light of day, so noon seemed like dawn.
The light of day, turning high noon into twilight.
الجَوُّ أَضيَقُ ما لاقاهُ ساطِعُها
وَمُقلَةُ الشَمسِ فيهِ أَحيَرُ المُقَلِ
The sky is the narrowest space its rising dust has met,
The atmosphere is too narrow for its shining one,
The sky is too narrow to hold its soaring clouds,
and the sun's eye within it is the most bewildered of eyes.
And the sun blinking in it is the most confused of the blinkers.
And the eye of the sun is the most bewildered of eyes within it.
يَنالُ أَبعَدَ مِنها وَهيَ ناظِرَةٌ
فَما تُقابِلُهُ إِلّا عَلى وَجَلِ
He reaches farther than she does, while she watches,
He obtains further than it while it is watching,
He reaches farther than the sun, while it watches on;
so she faces him only in dread.
So it only meets him with anxiety and unease.
It dares not face him but with trembling fear.
قَد عَرَّضَ السَيفَ دونَ النازِلاتِ بِهِ
وَظاهَرَ الحَزمَ بَينَ النَفسِ وَالغِيَلِ
He has interposed the sword against calamities befalling him,
He exposed his sword instead of the afflictions upon him,
He interposed the sword before the calamities that sought him,
and layered prudence between his life and treacherous attacks.
And aided wisdom between the self and perfidy.
And fortified his soul with prudence against hidden snares.
وَوَكَّلَ الظَنَّ بِالأَسرارِ فَاِنكَشَفَت
لَهُ ضَمائِرُ أَهلِ السَهلِ وَالجَبَلِ
And he charged his intuition with secrets; then were revealed
He made assumption responsible for secrets, so
He set his intuition upon secrets, and laid bare
to him the hidden thoughts of the people of plain and mountain.
The consciences of the people of the plains and mountains were revealed to him.
To his gaze the hidden hearts of men from plain and mountain.
هُوَ الشُجاعُ يَعُدُّ البُخلَ مِن جُبُنٍ
وَهوَ الجَوادُ يَعُدُّ الجُبنَ مِن بَخَلِ
He is the brave man who counts stinginess as cowardice,
He is the brave one who considers stinginess a form of cowardice,
He is the brave one who counts miserliness as cowardice;
and he is the generous man who counts cowardice as stinginess.
And he is the generous one who considers cowardice a form of stinginess.
He is the generous one who counts cowardice as stinginess.
يَعودُ مِن كُلِّ فَتحٍ غَيرَ مُفتَخِرٍ
وَقَد أَغَذَّ إِلَيهِ غَيرَ مُحتَفِلٍ
He returns from every conquest without boasting,
He returns from every conquest without boasting,
He returns from every conquest without boasting,
having sped toward it without concern.
While others not celebrating have provided for him.
And he hastened toward it without festive fanfare.
وَلا يُجيرُ عَلَيهِ الدَهرُ بُغيَتَهُ
وَلا تُحَصِّنُ دِرعٌ مُهجَةَ البَطَلِ
Nor can Time shield his quarry from him,
Time does not grant him his ambitions through its tyranny,
Fate cannot protect its quarry against him,
nor can a coat of mail protect a champion's lifeblood.
Nor does any coat of mail protect the wound of a hero.
Nor does armor shield the life-blood of the hero.
إِذا خَلَعتُ عَلى عِرضٍ لَهُ حُلَلاً
وَجَدتُها مِنهُ في أَبهى مِنَ الحُلَلِ
Whenever I bestow robes upon his honor,
When I bestow a robe of honor upon a noble one,
If I were to drape robes of praise upon his honor,
I find them, through him, arrayed in something more splendid than robes.
I find it more beautifully adorned by him than robes of honor.
I would find them adorned by him with something fairer than robes.
بِذي الغَباوَةِ مِن إِنشادِها ضَرَرٌ
كَما تُضِرُّ رِياحُ الوَردِ بِالجُعَلِ
Reciting them harms the dull-witted,
In the intoxication of chanting it there is harm,
Reciting them brings pain to the dull-witted,
as the fragrance of roses harms the dung beetle.
Like the winds harming rose bushes.
Just as the scent of roses harms the dung beetle.
لَقَد رَأَت كُلُّ عَينٍ مِنكَ مالِئَها
وَجَرَّبَت خَيرَ سَيفٍ خَيرَةُ الدُوَلِ
Every eye has surely seen in you what fills it,
Every eye has seen its fill of you,
Every eye has seen in you that which fills its gaze,
and the choicest of dynasties has tested the finest sword.
And the best of swords have tried the elite of states.
And the greatest of nations has tested the greatest of swords.
فَما تُكَشِّفُكَ الأَعداءُ مِن مَلَلٍ
مِنَ الحُروبِ وَلا الآراءِ عَن زَلَلِ
Thus your enemies uncover no weariness in you
You are not wearied by enemies, neither in war
Enemies do not find you weary of war,
from war, nor do your judgments reveal any error.
Nor in opinions, from making mistakes.
Nor do judgments reveal in you any error.
وَكَم رِجالٍ بِلا أَرضٍ لِكَثرَتِهِم
تَرَكتَ جَمعَهُمُ أَرضاً بِلا رَجُلِ
And how many men, with no ground for their vast numbers,
And how many men without land because of their multitudes
How many armies, landless in their vast numbers,
you left their host as ground without a single man!
Whose gathering you left a land without men!
Have you left as empty land, devoid of men?
ما زالَ طِرفُكَ يَجري في دِمائِهِمِ
حَتّى مَشى بِكَ مَشيَ الشارِبِ الثَمِلِ
Your steed kept running through their blood
Your glance continued to flow in their blood
Your steed ceased not to gallop through their blood
until it bore you along with a drunken drinker's gait.
Until you walked the gait of the satiated drinker.
Until it stumbled with you like a drunken reveler.
يا مَن يَسيرُ وَحُكمُ الناظِرينَ لَهُ
فيما يَراهُ وَحُكمُ القَلبِ في الجَذَلِ
O you who journey, with the onlookers' judgment in your favor
O you who travel, while the opinion of onlookers
O you who march, commanding the gaze of all beholders,
in what you deem right, and the heart's verdict in joy:
And the heart’s opinion in affection are judges for him!
Ruling what they see, and ruling the heart with joy.
إِنَّ السَعادَةَ فيما أَنتَ فاعِلُهُ
وُفِّقتَ مُرتَحِلاً أَو غَيرَ مُرتَحِلِ
Truly, good fortune lies in whatever you do;
Indeed happiness lies in what you are doing,
True happiness lies in whatever you choose to do,
may you prosper, whether journeying or staying.
Whether travelling or not travelling.
Whether you are destined to march forth or to remain.
أَجرِ الجِيادَ عَلى ما كُنتَ مُجرِيَها
وَخُذ بِنَفسِكَ في أَخلاقِكَ الأُوَلِ
Run the steeds as you have always run them,
Race the steeds according to what you were racing them,
Let the coursers run as you have always let them run,
and hold yourself to your longstanding virtues.
And take your own self in your original morals.
And hold fast to your soul's primal nobility.
يَنظُرنَ مِن مُقَلٍ أَدمى أَحِجَّتَها
قَرعُ الفَوارِسِ بِالعَسّالَةِ الذُبُلِ
They look out through eyes whose sockets have been bloodied
They glance with tearful eyes whose arguments
They gaze from eyes whose sockets are stained with blood
by the clash of horsemen with swaying, slender lances.
Are the striking of the horsemen with the frayed swords.
By the clash of knights and the quivering of spears.
فَلا هَجَمتَ بِها إِلّا عَلى ظَفَرٍ
وَلا وَصَلتَ بِها إِلّا عَلى أَمَلِ
May you never charge with them except to victory,
You never raided with them except for victory,
You have never charged with them but towards victory,
nor arrive with them except at a hoped-for goal.
Nor ever arrived with them except to hope.
Nor arrived with them save at the threshold of hope.
Sol 6.1