الناس أشباه فإن خطب عرا
حط الدني وشاد قدر الأفضل
People resemble one another—but when calamity comes,
It brings the base man low and exalts the nobler one’s rank.
كالعود مشيته فإن حرقته
كره الدخان وطاب عرف المنذل
His bearing is like wood: if you set it afire,
The smoke is loathsome, but sweet is the scent of mandal-wood.
Sol 5.6