على دمنةِ الدار لا تربع

ومن حذَرِ البينِ لا تجزع

Do not sit long where the house is unprotected,

Do not halt to weep at the ruins of the abode,

And do not fret from the separation.

And show no panic when the time for parting nears.

إن بان إلفٌ فواصلُ سواهُ

ودع عنكَ كلّ فتىً ميلَع

If companionship seems broken,

If one lover departs, then join yourself to another,

Leave off every stubborn hothead.

And leave behind every wavering, timid youth.

بشُربِ المدامِ ونَيكِ القيان

ورشفِ رضابِ الرشا الأتلعِ

Drink the wine, play the flute,

Indulge in wine and the bedding of singing maids,

Sip the overflow of brimming cups.

And sipping nectar from the lips of the long-necked gazelle.

وفي مثل غزلانٍ فضلِ الربيع

عذاركَ فاخلعهُ ثم اخلع

In the beauty of gazelles and spring's bloom,

For among such fawns lies the very bounty of the spring;

Take off your clothes and take them off again.

Cast off your bridle of shame, then cast it off again.

دع الماءَ يشرق به شاربوهُ

ودونكَ راحَكَ فاسترضع

Let the water flow past the drinkers,

Let the water choke those who drink it down,

While you lie back outstretched.

But take up your wine and suckle from it deep.

وكن رجلاً جامعاً للأمو

ر يزني ويلتاطَ في موضع

Be a man who brings together all threads,

Be a man who gathers all affair—

Commits adultery and makes love in every bedroom.

—s; whoring and sodomizing in every place.

إذا لم تنك من ينيك الورى

فما أنتَ والفتك يا مدعي

If you are not satisfied by those who walk the earth,

If you do not screw those who screw mankind,

Then you and desire, little pretender...

Then you have no claim to boldness, O pretender.

وساعد أخاك على غيّه

وكلّ الذي سرّهُ فاصنع

Help your brother in his frailty

Assist your brother in his acts of sin,

And accomplish everything that makes him glad.

And execute whatever brings him joy.

وبالزور فاشهد له واحلفنَّ

عليهِ لدى الحكم المُقنع

With lies, then, witness for him and swear

Bear false witness for his sake and swear to it,

Oaths for him before a judge you have persuaded.

Before the judge whose ruling holds the sway.

وباهِت له الخصمَ حتّى يقولَ

قاضيكَ يا صدقً ذا المدعي

Slander his opponent until he says,

Slander his foe until your judge declares,

"Your witness, sir, is the upright man."

“How truthful is this claimant in his plea!”

أخوكَ أخوكَ دواءُ العيونِ

فإن غابَ فاعذر لهُ واقنع

Your brother, your brother is the medicine of the eyes.

Your brother is your brother, the healing of your eyes;

If he vanishes, then make excuses for him and consent.

If he is absent, make excuses and be content.

فإن ماتَ فانبشهُ من قبرهِ

وأكفانهُ جُعداً فانزِع

If he dies, then dig him up from his grave

But if he dies, exhume him from his grave,

And wrap him in the coverings he was buried in.

And strip away his shrouds with ruthless hand.

وصلّ عليهِ بلَعن عليهِ

وقُل قد ذهبتَ فلا ترجع

Pray over him with curses upon him, and say,

Perform his funeral prayer by heaping curses,

"You have gone off dead, and won't be back!"

And say: “You are gone, may you never return.”

نصيحكَ فاقبل فهذا مقالُ

رجالِ زمانِكَ فاسمع وع

This has been my advice; accept it,

Accept this counsel, for these are the maxims

Words of the men of your times: so listen and wake up!

Of the men of your time—so listen and take heed.