Sol 5.6

  1. Easy now—be patient, O messenger of anguished longing.

    You betrayed my hidden secret to my companions.

  2. And you, my eyes, cut short this ceaseless weeping,

    so that this redness may fade and you may dry.

  3. And you—ah, my heart—how often you have gone on pounding

    at the thought of a beloved who severed the bond, wantonly cruel.

  4. O soul, how often your caravans have set out toward him,

    flying, though never aspiring toward another.

  5. In your grief, O Jacob, lies my secret; put sorrow by.

    You say, in hopeful trust, “Joseph is my Joseph.”

  6. The star of his beauty shone through treachery’s shirt,

    then went off with it, hiding in illusion’s wilderness.

  7. He has mingled opposites, with no wisdom,

    and, an evildoer and traitor, abandoned his faithful friend.

  8. There is no love save for the trustworthy, fidelity’s brother,

    a companion of pure devotion—so be discerning when you choose.

  9. Many a liar lives by deceit,

    clouding hours of harmony with lamentation.

  10. He seeks admission among noble men, though his falsehood

    is patent, and truth’s light is manifest to the fair-minded.

  11. The discerning man knows the greedy by his ways,

    and the noble youth is known by his self-restraint.

  12. A companion drawn by hopes of gain is never a true companion,

    for he merely follows the tracks of fortune’s turns.

  13. He leans wherever the shadows lean: at one moment

    doing harm, at another excessive in blandishment.

  14. A second is wealth’s companion, watching for his quarry,

    and beyond this, his promise is a promise left unkept.

  15. He never learned that wealth runs out, while lofty honor

    is the mantle of a lord who spends his wealth and showers gifts.

  16. Has the treasurer ever filled the hollow of his grave

    with wealth when he dies, tainted by delusions?

  17. I see the gallant man give glory its fullest due,

    and in glory find enough to shun the stain of paltry things.

  18. Glory is no dinar stacked in a storehouse,

    nor virtues recounted in distorted speech.

  19. Rather, it is a nature that pours forth bounty as

    the fates enable it—not to curry favor.

  20. His standard in giving good is a firmly rooted nature;

    in this he is not driven by strained affectation.

  21. My brother, keep company with the good and rise in rank,

    for whoever keeps company with the wicked is not honored.

  22. The world may raise a base man, while his worth

    remains base: indefinite, never made “definite.”

  23. He imitates the deeds of noble men to attain an aim;

    he strives for it, but his nature lends no aid.

  24. Truly, this world is only a mirage upon a desert plain,

    and it never grants a light but that the light is quenched by it.

  25. So entrust all affairs to your Lord, and leave whoever

    rejects this; be mindful of God, and understand.

Sol 5.6