1. رثاء ذوي العلم الأجلة يندب

    وذكر معاليهم إلى الفرض أوجب

    Lamenting illustrious men of learning is commended;

    And recounting their lofty merits comes nearer to a binding duty.

  2. كمن شاع في كل الممالك فضله

    وكان به عند الملوك يقرب

    Like him whose excellence spread through every kingdom,

    And who, because of it, was brought close to kings.

  3. هو الكامل المشهور احمد فارس

    هو الفاضل المشكور والمتأدب

    He is the renowned, consummate Ahmad Faris;

    He is the virtuous, much-praised, cultivated man.

  4. أماثل كل الناس تهوى بيانه

    وفي مثله الأمثال تتلى وتضرب

    The finest of all people love his eloquence;

    And about one like him, proverbs are recited and coined.

  5. خليل ذوي العرفان في كل موطن

    جليل إلى لبنان يعزى وينسب

    A close friend of the learned in every land,

    A venerable man, ascribed and traced to Lebanon.

  6. لقد ساد في أهليه إذ هو يافع

    وقد زاد في فضل حواء التغرب

    Indeed, he rose to eminence among his people while still a youth,

    And living abroad increased the excellence he possessed [probable reading].

  7. فسار لأهل الغرب فاحتفلوا به

    وداموا على اكرامه حيث يذهب

    So he journeyed to the people of the West, who welcomed him warmly,

    And they continued honoring him wherever he went.

  8. وجاء إلى دار السعادة قاطناً

    وقد ناله فيها فخار ومنصب

    And he came to dwell in the Abode of Felicity,

    Where honor and high office came to him.

  9. بنى لبني الشدياق مجداً مخلداً

    ولم ينس من قد كان من قبل يصحب

    He built everlasting glory for the sons of al-Shidyaq,

    And did not forget those whose company he had once kept.

  10. فعاش بها حتى أتته وفاته

    كما كان انسان له الموت مشرب

    So he lived there until his death came to him,

    As with any human being, death was a draught for him to drink.

  11. معارفه شتى ومن كان مثله

    يعز علينا ان يموت ويصعب

    His learning was manifold; and for one such as he,

    His death is painful and hard for us to bear.

  12. ولكن قضاء الله بالموت عمنا

    وليس لنا مما قضى الله مهرب

    But God's decree of death embraces us all,

    And we have no escape from what God has decreed.

  13. وما مات من تبقى مآثر فضله

    وكان له نجل سعيد مهذب

    And one whose deeds of excellence endure has not died;

    And he had a fortunate, well-bred son.

  14. وذاك سليم الطبع قد قام بعده

    بما كان منه قبل ان مات يرقب

    And that sound-natured Salim, after him, undertook

    What his father had expected of him before he died.

  15. وجاء إلى لبنان حالاً بحسبه

    وآواه في قبرٍ به يتلقب

    And he came to Lebanon, alighting as befitted his lineage,

    And gave him shelter in a grave bearing his family name.

  16. وسار جميع الناس في يوم دفنه

    بمشهده حفلاً كما سار مؤكب

    All the people walked on the day of his burial,

    In a throng at his funeral, like a marching cortege.

  17. وفي الجامع الاعلى على النعش انشدت

    مراث حسان عن مزاياه تعرب

    And in the upper mosque, over the bier, were recited

    Beautiful elegies expressing his virtues.

  18. وانا لنرجو ان يقوم سليمه

    مقاماً به يرضي اباه ويعجب

    And we surely hope that his Salim will take

    A station in which he pleases and delights his father,

  19. فيبدي له فضلاً وينشر كتبه

    ليبقى له الذكر الجميل ويكسب

    Thus making his excellence known and publishing his books,

    So that his fair remembrance may endure, and he may earn renown.

  20. ورب نجيب فاق في الفضل اصله

    وذلك يرجى من سليم ويحسب

    And many a noble son has surpassed his forebear in excellence;

    And that is hoped for and expected of Salim.

  21. فلا زال للفعل الجميل موفقاً

    ودام بأوج العز ما ضاء كوكب

    May he never cease to be guided to noble deeds,

    And remain at honor's summit as long as a star shines.