Sol 5.6

  1. O crowning seal of excellence—or O Ḥātim of the age!

    And you who purchase praise at a price made dear by its very worth,

  2. and send the far-traveling proverb through every lofty realm,

    across the face of the earth, from Syria to Yemen.

  3. O you whom, whenever eminent men imitate, their pretensions are exposed,

    when bloated swelling is distinguished from true fullness.

  4. O you from whom I encountered all creation embodied in a single man,

    and you have led the skittish days by a bridle.

  5. By God, what wonders my eye saw when it glimpsed

    that perfection—and with what wonders my ear was adorned!

  6. Leave aside the fame of Caesar or Khosrow, and whatever extravagant lengths

    the tales have reached concerning Sayf ibn Dhī Yazan.

  7. Glory belongs only to a king whom you serve;

    so occupy within him the place the spirit holds in the body.

  8. If one such as you cannot attain the highest aims through him—or

    if the stars do not rise in his horizons—then through whom?

  9. On glory’s day, loftiness found its home in you, a worthy son of a worthy father,

    abounding in sovereignty, pure in private and in public;

  10. resolute in purpose, auspicious in character,

    proceeding in righteousness and piety along a straight path,

  11. with incisiveness like a sword’s edge, upheld by

    judgment that distinguishes water from milk.

  12. My fortune granted me the meeting with you, apologizing

    for all it had wrought; so I no longer curse my fortune.

  13. Since meeting you, I shall not grieve over a homeland,

    however inaccessible it grows, nor weep for any homeland.

  14. I struck the bargain of my affection for you—a profitable bargain;

    should circumstances change, it fears no loss.

  15. Valor is his woven fabric; no master craftswoman ever produced its like—

    a work of auspicious fortune that makes one forget the craftsmanship of Yemen.

  16. Whoever visits your dwelling—his limbs and faculties never cease

    recounting the favors you have bestowed upon him:

  17. the eye tells of delight, and the hand of a gift;

    the heart tells of a mender, and the ear of gracious words.

Sol 5.6