العيش لا عيش إلا ما اقتصدت فإن — أبو الأسود الدؤلي

Life is no life except in the measure you live moderately; for if

you spend extravagantly and squander, you will meet hardship and ruin.

Knowledge is an adornment and an honor to its possessor;

so seek—may you be rightly guided—the branches of knowledge and good breeding.

There is no good in one of noble stock who lacks good breeding,

until he becomes a devoted guardian of what has adorned him.

How many a man of noble lineage is tongue-tied and given to mumbling,

dull among the people, though deep-rooted in pedigree when he recites his lineage—

born into a house of honor, his forefathers noble men:

they were chiefs, yet after them he became a mere underling.

And how many an obscure man, of ignoble forebears, endowed with good breeding,

has attained the heights through cultivated manners and high ranks.

He has become mighty, illustrious in standing, and renowned,

a proud tilt in his cheek, remaining screened from common view.

Knowledge is a treasure and a store that is never exhausted—

how excellent a companion whenever it keeps someone company.

A man may amass wealth, only to have it taken from him

before long, and thus encounter humiliation and destitution.

But one who gathers knowledge is forever envied for it

and need never fear its loss or its being stolen.

O gatherer of knowledge, excellent is the treasure you amass:

never deem pearls or gold its equal.