الشَيبُ نَبَّهَ ذا النُهى فَتَنَبَّها
وَنَهى الجُهولَ فَما اِستَفاقَ وَلا اِنتَهى
Gray hair awakened the man of understanding, and he took heed;
Gray hair roused the man of reason, and he took heed;
it admonished the ignorant man, but he neither came to his senses nor desisted.
and warned the fool, but he neither came to his senses nor desisted.
بَل زادَ نَفسي رَغبَةً فَتَهافَتَت
تَبغي اللُهى وَكَأَن بِها بَينَ اللَها
Rather, it increased my soul’s desire, and she plunged headlong,
Rather, it increased my soul's desire, and it rushed headlong,
seeking amusement, though death seemed lodged between her uvulas.
seeking gifts, as though its throat gaped wide.
فَإِلى مَتى أَلهو وَأَفرَحُ بِالمُنى
وَالشَيخُ أَقبَحُ ما يَكونُ إِذا لَها
How long, then, shall I play and rejoice in vain hopes,
How long, then, shall I dally and rejoice in wishes?
when gray-haired age is ugliest of all when it plays?
And an old man is at his ugliest when he dallies.
ما حُسنُهُ إِلّا التُقى لا أَن يُرى
صَبّاً بِأَلحاظِ الجَآذِرِ وَالمَها
Its only beauty is piety—not that it be seen
His only beauty is piety, not to be seen
infatuated with the glances of gazelle-fawns and oryx.
enamored of the glances of young antelopes and oryx.
أَنّي يُقاتِلُ وَهُوَ مَفلولُ الظُبا
كابي الجَوادِ إِذا اِستَقَلَّ تَأَوَّها
How can he fight when the edges of his blades are blunted,
How can he fight when his blade-edges are blunted,
like a flagging steed that groans when it tries to rise?
his steed stumbles, and he groans whenever he rises?
مَحَقَ الزَمانُ هِلالَهُ فَكَأَنَّما
أَبقى لَهُ مِنهُ عَلى قَدرِ السُها
Time has effaced his crescent until it seems
Time has effaced his crescent, as though
to have left him of it only as much as the faint star Suhā.
it left him only a remnant the size of Suhā.
فَغَدا حَسيراً يَشتَهي أَن يَشتَهي
وَلَكَم جَرى طَلقَ الجَموحِ كَما اِشتَهى
Thus he became spent, longing to be desired,
So he became exhausted, longing to feel desire;
though often he had run, wild and unbridled, just as he pleased.
and how often he ran with unbridled abandon, as he pleased!
إِن أَنَّ أَوّاهٌ وَأَجهَشَ في البُكا
لِذُنوبِهِ ضَحِكَ الظَلومُ وَقَهقَها
If he groans, “Alas!” and bursts into weeping
If a penitent moans and bursts into tears
for his sins, the young boy laughs and guffaws.
for his sins, the wrongdoer laughs and guffaws.
لَيسَ تُنَهنِهُهُ العَظاتُ وَمِثلُهُ
في سِنِّهِ قَد آنَ أَن يَتَنَهنَها
Admonitions do not restrain him, though one like him
Admonitions do not restrain him, yet for one like him
at his age has surely reached the time to restrain himself.
at his age, the time has come to restrain himself.
فَقَدَ اللَداتِ وَزادَ غَيّاً بَعدَهُم
هَلّا تَيَقَّظَ بَعدَهُم وَتَنَبَّها
He has lost his pleasures, yet grown more wayward after them;
He lost his age-mates, yet grew more wayward after they were gone.
why did he not awaken after them and take heed?
Why did he not awaken after they were gone, and take heed?
يا وَيحَهُ ما بالُهُ لا يَنتَهي
عَن غَيِّهِ وَالعُمرُ مِنهُ قَد اِنتَهى
Woe to him! What ails him, that he will not desist
Alas for him! Why does he not desist
from his waywardness, when his span of life has already run its course?
from his waywardness, when his life has already run its course?
قَد كانَ مِن شِيَمي الدَها فَتَرَكتُهُ
عِلماً بِأَنَّ مِنَ الدَها تَركُ الدَها
Cunning was once among my traits, but I forsook it,
Cunning was among my traits, but I abandoned it,
knowing that forsaking cunning is itself a kind of cunning.
knowing that abandoning cunning is itself cunning.
وَلَو أَنَّني أَرضى الدَناءَةَ خُطَّةً
لَوَدَدتُ أَنّي كُنتُ أَحمَقَ أَبلَها
If I were content to adopt baseness as my course,
And if I accepted baseness as a way of life,
I would wish I were a fool—the most witless of them all.
I would wish I were foolish and witless.
فَلَقَد رَأَيتُ البُلهَ قَد بَلَغوا المَدى
وَتَجاوَزوهُ وَاِزدَرَوا بِأُولي النُهى
For I have seen fools reach the furthest bound,
For I have seen the simple-minded reach the limit,
surpass it, and look with scorn upon men of understanding.
surpass it, and scorn those endowed with reason.
مَن لَيسَ يَسعى في الخَلاصِ لِنَفسِهِ
كانَت سِعايَتُهُ عَلَيها لا لَها
Whoever does not strive for the salvation of his own soul—
Whoever does not strive for his own soul's salvation,
his striving will be against it, not for it.
his striving works against it, not for it.
إِنَّ الذُنوبَ بِتَوبَةٍ تُمحى كَما
يَمحو سُجودُ السَهوِ غَفلَةَ مَن سَها
Indeed, sins are erased by repentance, just as
Indeed, sins are erased by repentance, just as
the prostration for forgetfulness erases the lapse of one who forgets.
the prostration for forgetfulness erases the lapse of one who forgot.
Sol 6.1