1. O men of the nation, this is the hour of

    decision; welcome it with alertness and serenity.

  2. In the shelter of the feast and a favorable age,

    the day of meeting grew great in stature and reach.

  3. After this place, the adversary has no room left

    for any excuse or claim.

  4. It had room for beginning and return; but for

    the visitors' imposing presence, it would have shaken with pride.

  5. So enter it, favored with success, as you

    yearn for good things within it, and it yearns too.

  6. And resume the discussion in earnest; never was

    talk of destinies mere play and empty words.

  7. The adversary brought commanders who deem

    the troops a legal ruling in his favor in the dispute.

  8. And he brought the reckoning, a lengthy one,

    so that his account might be cleared and settled.

  9. Make him hear the thunder of your argument, after

    reproach he did not heed, and complaint.

  10. Proclaim openly your certainty about what you witnessed;

    the right to decide one's fate is no secret or whisper.

  11. And if the road grows long, you are

    safe from its narrowing or twisting.

  12. Egypt, through the harmony that united you,

    seeks today her glory and exaltation.

  13. And for you every heart overflowed with tenderness;

    and for you every shoulder bent with affection.

  14. An honor is all you endured in the cause of the

    people and the throne, in hardship and tribulation.

  15. You are not satisfied with little, even if

    your zeal burdens you with Radwa's immovable mountains.

  16. Do not point to yesterday's events;

    indeed, in the present lie sufficiency and solace.

  17. And what came after experience is

    better than what came by chance and without design.

  18. The bearer of fire and iron is strong;

    and he who bears the trust is stronger.

  19. Is it because the resident fears a neighbor's raid

    upon you that he seeks to tyrannize over you?

  20. How can he occupy a people's souls, when he

    occupies their land, sea, and sky?

  21. Indeed, whoever opens kingdoms to intrigue

    is like whoever conquers kingdoms by invasion.

  22. And whoever benefits the country as a guest—

    the country does not wish to be without him.

  23. And covenants rest on shared benefits among

    people, not on what folded pages contain.

  24. Can a human ever chafe at another

    human, when beasts of prey have pasture and shelter?

  25. It is time, after tears and blood, for

    every land to be watered by the clouds and have its thirst quenched.

  26. And for life to return in safety and ease,

    after all that passed yesterday in anguish and sorrow.

  27. And the lessons of war's bitterness are more deserving

    of sweet living afterward, in peace.

  28. I am optimistic about the outcome of the

    matter, and I am not given to excess in my hopes.

  29. And whoever seeks what is precious to him

    before its appointed time is more misguided and more astray.

  30. And when its own people tend the realm,

    through them it grows stronger and flourishes.

Sol 6.1