Sol 6.1

  1. كَرَمُ الطَّبْعِ شِيمَةُ الأَمْجَادِ

    وَجَفَاءُ الأَخْلاقِ شَأْنُ الْجَمَادِ

    Generosity of nature is the mark of the illustrious,

    and harshness of character is the way of lifeless things.

  2. لَنْ يَسُودَ الْفَتَى ولَوْ مَلَكَ الْحِكْ

    مَةَ مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنَ الأَجْوَادِ

    A young man will never rise to eminence, even if he possesses wisdom,

    unless he is among the generous.

  3. وَلَعَمْرِي لَرِقَّةُ الطَّبْعِ أَوْلَى

    مِنْ عِنادٍ يَجُرُّ حَرْبَ الْفَسَادِ

    And by my life, gentleness of nature is surely better

    than obstinacy that brings on ruinous war.

  4. قَدْ يَنَالُ الْحَلِيمُ بِالرِّفْقِ مَا لَيْ

    سَ يَنَالُ الْكَمِيُّ يَوْمَ الْجِلادِ

    The forbearing man may gain through gentleness what

    the armored warrior cannot gain on the day of combat.

  5. فاقْرُنِ الْحِلْمَ بِالسَّماحَةِ تَبْلُغْ

    كُلَّ مَا رُمْتَ نَيْلَهُ مِنْ مُرَادِ

    So join forbearance with generosity, and you will attain

    everything you have wished to gain.

  6. وَضَعِ الْبِرَّ حَيْثُ يَزْكُو لِتَجْنِي

    ثَمَرَ الشُّكْرِ مِنْ غِرَاسِ الأَيَادِي

    And place kindness where it flourishes, so that you may reap

    the fruit of gratitude from the planting of favors.

  7. وَاحْذَرِ النَّاسَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتَ فَإِنَّ الن

    نَاسَ أَحْلاسُ خُدْعَةٍ وتَعَادِي

    And beware of people as much as you can, for

    people cling like saddlecloths to deceit and mutual enmity.

  8. رُبَّ خِلٍّ تَرَاهُ طَلْقَ الْمُحَيَّا

    وَهْوَ جَهْمُ الضَّمِيرِ بِالأَحْقَادِ

    Many a friend you see with a cheerful face,

    while inwardly he is grim with grudges.

  9. فَتَأَمَّلْ مَواقِعَ اللَّحْظِ تَعْلَمْ

    مَا طَوَتْهُ صَحَائِفُ الأَكْبَادِ

    So study where the gaze falls, and you will know

    what the pages of their livers have folded away.

  10. إِنَّ فِي الْعَيْنِ وَهْوَ عُضْوٌ صَغِيرٌ

    لَدَلِيلاً عَلَى خَبَايَا الْفُؤَادِ

    Indeed, in the eye, though it is a small organ,

    lies a sure sign of the heart's hidden secrets.

  11. وَأُناس صَحِبْتُ مِنْهُمْ ذِئَاباً

    تَحْتَ أَثْوَابِ أُلْفَةٍ وَوِدَادِ

    And among the people I befriended were wolves,

    beneath garments of fellowship and affection.

  12. يَتَمَنَّوْنَ لِي الْعِثَارَ ويَلْقَوْ

    نِي بِوَجْهٍ إِلَى الْمَوَدَّةِ صَادِي

    They wish for me to stumble, yet greet

    me with a face thirsting for affection.

  13. سَابَقُونِي فَقَصَّرُوا عَنْ لَحَاقِي

    إِنَّما السَّبْقُ مِنْ خِصَالِ الْجَوَادِ

    They raced against me but failed to catch me;

    taking the lead belongs to the noble steed alone.

  14. أَنَا مَا بَيْنَ نِعْمَةٍ وحَسُودٍ

    والْمَعَالِي كَثِيرَةُ الْحُسَّادِ

    I stand between a blessing and an envious man,

    and lofty attainments have many enviers.

  15. فَلْيَمُوتُوا بِغَيْظِهِمْ فاحْتِمَالُ الْ

    غَيْظِ موْتٌ لَهُمْ بِلا مِيعَادِ

    So let them die of their rage; for bearing

    rage is death to them, without an appointed hour.

  16. كَيْفَ تَبْيَضُّ مِنْ أُنَاسٍ وُجُوهٌ

    صَبَغَ اللُّؤْمُ عِرْضَهُمْ بِسَوَادِ

    How can the faces of a people shine white

    when baseness has dyed their honor black?

  17. أَظْهَرُوا زُخْرُفَ الْخِدَاعِ وأَخْفَوْا

    ذَاتَ نَفْسٍ كَالْجَمْرِ تَحْتَ الرَّمَادِ

    They displayed the gilded finery of deceit and concealed

    their inner nature, like embers beneath the ashes.

  18. فَتَرَى الْمَرءَ مِنْهُمُ ضَاحِكَ السِّن

    نِ وَفِي ثَوْبِهِ دِماءُ الْعِبَادِ

    So you see a man among them grinning,

    while on his robe is the people's blood.

  19. مَعْشَرٌ لا وَلِيدُهُمُ طَاهِرُ الْمَهْ

    دِ وَلا كَهْلُهُمْ عَفِيفُ الْوِسِادِ

    A people: their newborn is not pure in the cradle,

    nor is their mature man chaste upon the pillow.

  20. حَكَمُوا مِصْرَ وَهْيَ حَاضِرَةُ الدُّنْ

    يَا فَأَمْسَتْ وَقَدْ خَلَتْ فِي الْبَوَادِي

    They ruled Egypt when she was the world's metropolis,

    and she ended up deserted amid the wastes.

  21. أًصْبَحَتْ مَنْزِلَ الشَّقَاءِ وَكَانَتْ

    جَنَّةً لَيْسَ مِثْلُهَا فِي الْبِلادِ

    She became the abode of misery, though once she was

    a paradise without equal in any land.

  22. وَقَعُوا بَيْنَ رِيفِهَا وَقُرَاهَا

    بِضُرُوبِ الْفَسَادِ وَقْعَ الجَرَادِ

    They descended on her countryside and her villages

    with every kind of corruption, as locusts descend,

  23. في زَمَانٍ قَدْ كَانَ لِلظُّلْمِ فِيهِ

    أَثَرُ النَّارِ فِي هَشِيمِ الْقَتَادِ

    in a time when oppression had

    the effect of fire on dry thornbrush,

  24. حِينَ لَمْ يُرْحَمِ الْكَبِيرُ وَلَمْ يُعْ

    طَفْ عَلَى الأُمَّهَاتِ والأَوْلادِ

    when the elderly were shown no mercy, nor was

    compassion shown to mothers and children,

  25. تَحْتَ رِجْزٍ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ مُهِينٍ

    وَمُبيرٍ مِنَ الأَذَى رَعَّادِ

    beneath a scourge of humiliating torment,

    and devastating, thunderous affliction.

  26. تِلْكَ آثارُهُمْ تَدُلُّ عَلَى مَا

    كَانَ مِنْهُمُ مِنْ جَفْوَةٍ وَتَبَادِي

    Those are their traces, revealing

    the harshness and barbarity that came from them.

  27. لَيْسَ مَنْ يَطْلُبُ الْمَعَالِيَ لِلْفَخْ

    رِ كَمَنْ يَطْلُبُ الْعُلا لِلزَّادِ

    He who seeks high distinction for glory is not

    like one who seeks eminence for sustenance.

  28. وَقَلِيلاً مَا يَصْلُحُ الْمَرْءُ لِلْجَدْ

    دِ إِذَا كَانَ سَاقِطَ الأَجْدَادِ

    And seldom is a man fit for greatness

    if he is of base ancestry.

  29. فَاعْتَصِمْ بِالنُّهَى تَفُزْ بِنَعِيمِ الدْ

    دَهْرِ غَضَّاً فَالْعَقْلُ خَيْرُ عَتَادِ

    So hold fast to reason, and you will win life's bliss,

    fresh and flourishing; reason is the best resource.

  30. إِنَّ فِي الْحِكْمَةِ الْبَلِيغَةِ لِلرُّو

    حِ غِذَاءً كَالطِبِّ لِلأَجْسَادِ

    Indeed, eloquent wisdom holds for the soul

    nourishment, like medicine for bodies.