تَوَقَّ مَدى الأَيامِ إِدخالُ مَطعَمٍ

عَلى مَطعَمٍ مِن قَبلِ هَضمِ المَطاعِمِ

The craving for food lasts a long time, before the digestion of food;

Guard yourself, throughout your life, against introducing food

And every food which the teeth are unable to chew,

Upon food, before the previous meal has been digested.

وَكُلُّ طَعامٍ يَعجَزُ السِنُ مَضغَهُ

فَلا تَقرَبنَّهُ فَهوَ شَرٌّ لِطاعِمِ

Do not go near it, for it is an evil for the eater;

And whatever food your teeth are unable to chew,

And conserve the blood in the body, for it

Do not approach it, for it is a vice for the eater.

وَوَفِّر عَلى الجِسمِ الدِماءَ فَإِنَّها

لِقِوَّةِ جِسمِ المَرءِ خَيرُ الدَعائِمِ

Is the best support for the strength of a person's body;

And preserve the blood within the body, for it is

And beware marrying young women,

The best of pillars for the strength of a man.

وَإِيّاكَ أَن تَنكِح طَواعِنَ سِنِّهِن

فَإِنَّ لَها سُمّاً كَسُمِّ الأَراقِمِ

For they have a poison like the poison of snakes;

And beware of marrying women advanced in years,

And every week, you should vomit,

For they hold a poison like the poison of vipers.

وَفي كُلِّ أُسبوعٍ عَلَيكَ بِقَيئَةٍ

تَكُن آمِناً مِن شَرِ كُلِّ البَلاغِمِ

To be safe from the evil of all harms.

And once every week, you should induce vomiting,

To be safe from the evil of all phlegmatic humors.