جمل ما لشرحها تفصيل

شرح ما نحن فيه أمرٌ يطول

General statements with no detailed explanation.

Explaining the state we are in is a lengthy affair.

جهلتها النفوس وهي صغار

ثمّ شبّت فأثبتتها العقول

Souls did not know them when they were young;

then they matured, and minds confirmed them.

وكذاك الفروع ينبتها الأص

ل ويمضي الجفاف فيها الأصول

And likewise, the root makes the branches sprout,

and the roots carry dryness through them.

كم ذممنا قوما فلمّا بلونا

غيرهم عاد فيهم التفضيل

How often we condemned people, but when we tested

others, we came to prefer the former again.

وذممنا زماننا وهو خصبٌ

فأتى بعده زمان مهول

And we condemned our time, though it was fertile;

then a dreadful time came after it.