Sol 6.1

  1. If I keep one beloved in this world,

    then the best of my loved ones is Egypt's farmer.

  2. Generous, he fills the valley with wealth,

    yet receives only injustice as his wage.

  3. Poor, I have never seen him complain of poverty;

    and were he rewarded for his toil, he would grow rich.

  4. And he was content with the life of captives;

    then how much more, now that he is free in the realm?

  5. For, to me, a plough that cleaves the earth

    and brings gold from its fertile soil

  6. is like a sword in the hand of a soldier who faced

    with it an army and a towering fortress.

  7. Had the Turks, my people, known what was right,

    they would not have scorned his work and worth;

  8. they would have exalted him, pleased him, and cherished

    him, and he would have brought them glory and victory.

  9. And were it not for what one like me fears for him—

    the arrogance that turns goodness into evil—

  10. he would give him as much choice wine as he desired

    and clothe him in silk, so he would swagger with pride.

Sol 6.1