إِذا جِلت فِكراً في العُلومِ عَويصِها

وَمادَت بِيَ الأَفراحُ كُلِّ مُميدِ

When I exert my mind on science’s abstruse ways,

And joys rain down on me each fresh and dewy morn,

تَصاغَرَتِ الدُنيا لَديَّ وَأَهلُها

وَجِئتُ بِما يَشفي غَليلَ مُريدِ

How small the world appears to me, its people too!

I come with what will soothe the yearning novice’s heart.

وَنِلتُ لَذيذَ العِلمِ بِالذَوقِ وَحدَهُ

وَكُلّ لَذيذٍ غَيرُهُ كَهَبيدِ

I’ve tasted science’s sweetness through its taste alone,

While all else’s sweetness is like flakes of dust.