Sol 6.1

  1. Do you recognize the traces of Umm Maʿbad's dwelling?

    Yes; longing struck you after your self-restraint.

  2. I stayed there, made to drink passion, as though

    my drinking companions had given me an unstinted draught.

  3. Ah, what longing is yours, and what a surge of tears

    that drenched my tunic's neckline, with none to share my grief!

  4. A reproaching woman rose by night to blame me;

    when she went too far in blame, I told her: Be moderate.

  5. O reproacher, blame outside its proper bounds

    is a double burden upon me, born of your recurring error.

  6. O reproacher, you have spoken at length without being right;

    if you are astray, then guide your own self.

  7. O reproacher, ignorance is part of a young man's abasement,

    and death lies in wait for men.

  8. O reproacher, how near right guidance is to a young man,

    and how far from him when he is not guided aright!

  9. O reproacher, whoever has the Fire decreed for him will meet it

    face to face; whoever has success decreed for him will prosper.

  10. O reproacher, I have encountered what a young man sows,

    and in two ankle-rings have matched the gait of a fettered man.

  11. O reproacher, what can you know except by conjecture,

    of an hour today, or in tomorrow's forenoon?

  12. Leave me: the death that has gone before is not mine,

    nor do I desire it, nor have my sickbed visitors grown few.

  13. My death has been decreed for an appointed time,

    and I shall be left behind, whether given a pillow or not.

  14. What remains of the wealth is the heir's, so cease

    reproaching me: I put things right, not spoil them.

  15. O reproacher, whoever does not set his soul right alone,

    apart from his people, will not be guided by a censurer's words.

  16. The days of a man's lifetime are admonition enough,

    bringing him warnings, evening and morning.

  17. I have been tried and have tried men; now there are

    long years that have come between me and my birth.

  18. So I am no exception among people beset by changing fortunes [text uncertain]—

    men to whom happier fortunes came after hardship.

  19. Guard your own soul against error and foul speech;

    whenever you lead it astray, whoever follows you goes astray.

  20. If a man's favor rests with you,

    repay the claimant in kind, and add more.

  21. If you do not help those entitled to your goodwill [word uncertain],

    and do not harm your enemy with adversity, then be gone.

  22. If a man expects no leniency from you,

    expect none from him, nor respect for your presence.

  23. If you banter with men, do not be over-eager;

    say as they say, and do not lose your temper.

  24. If you ask men for their gifts,

    be restrained; do not press hard, lest you be rebuffed.

  25. Beware excessive joking, for it

    is apt to make a rightly guided, forbearing man act foolishly.

  26. You will gain all your due from a foul-mouthed man

    through your forbearance and gentleness, without becoming harsh.

  27. And many a manager of an affair his father never managed,

    and a seeker of means to what he has never been accustomed to,

  28. and an heir to glory he never won, and a noble man

    who attained newly won glory, not inherited,

  29. and one hoping for many things he will never attain—

    Death, the Divider, will part him from them for a grave.

  30. Do not slacken in striving for what you have inherited;

    acquire whatever further good you can for yourself.

  31. Count all else as mere talk, and know that it,

    whenever it appears today, will forsake you tomorrow.

  32. Ask not about a man; ask about his companion,

    for every companion follows the one he accompanies.

  33. If he is evil, shun him quickly;

    if he is good, keep his company, and you will be guided aright.

  34. Injustice from one's kin cuts more deeply

    into a man than the stroke of an Indian-steel sword.

  35. If you see evil rousing its people,

    and evil's perpetrators rising for evil, then stay seated.

  36. When you are among a people, befriend their best,

    not their worst, lest you perish with the worthless.

  37. Speak with justice when you speak, and do not blame;

    censure the blameworthy, and praise the praiseworthy.

  38. Reproach none but one who deserves it, and do not blame;

    ease your friend's complaint through generous giving.

  39. A petitioner in need may, if you deny him

    his request today, bring you grief tomorrow.

  40. People bring humiliation to whoever is miserly,

    tightfisted; whoever is stingy is humbled and shunned.

  41. The days and time have shown me that—

    and I have recorded it—whoever fails to mend a matter spoils it.

  42. I have known a young man's pleasures, and have been struck by

    calamities—whoever endures them is immortalized.

  43. If you dislike a man's character,

    do not practice it; ply your whip elsewhere.

  44. Whoever has no supporter when claiming his right

    is overcome by the man with backing, and oppressed.

  45. Many hands provide a check against injustice

    when men's hands are present at a gathering.

  46. An easy undertaking has, indeed, a better outcome

    than a difficult undertaking beset by hesitation.

  47. I shall win glory, or my final hour shall arise,

    with my lamenting women and visitors over me by night.

  48. They wail over a dead man and raise a keening cry

    that robs every weeper and fellow mourner's eyes of sleep.

Sol 6.1