وكنتُ إذا ما هجاني امرؤٌ

وكنتُ إذا ما هجاني امرؤٌ

لئيمٌ عرفت دواءَ اللئيمِ

لئيمٌ عرفت دواءَ اللئيمِ

And whenever a man lampooned me—

And if a despicable man assailed me

A base man—I knew the remedy for the base:

I knew the remedy for the despicable one

أعدُّ هجائي له نائلاً

أعدُّ هجائي له نائلاً

وأبذُلُه بذلَ سَمْح كريمِ

وأبذُلُه بذلَ سَمْح كريمِ

I would count my satire against him a gift,

I prepare my invective against him obtaining

And bestow it as a generous, noble man would;

And spend it with the expenditure of a generous one

فأبلغُ من شتمه حاجتي

فأبلغُ من شتمه حاجتي

ولم أهدِ في ذاك هَدْي المليمِ

ولم أهدِ في ذاك هَدْي المليمِ

Thus I would achieve my aim by reviling him,

So I achieve against the one who reviled me my desire

And in this I did not follow the way of one deserving blame.

And in that I did not miss the guidance of the blameworthy one