Durus al-Balagha — First Lessons in Arabic Rhetoric (دروس البلاغة) — Page 140

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

عَلَى رَأْسِ حُرٍّ تَاجُ عِزٍّ يَزِينُهُ وَفِي رِجْلِ عَبْدٍ قَيْدُ ذُلٍّ يَشِينُهُ.

A free man wears a crown of glory, while a slave bears the shackles of his own disgrace.

نَهَبْتَ مِنَ الْأَعْمَارِ مَا لَوْ حَوَيْتَهُ لَهُنِّئَتِ الدُّنْيَا بِأَنَّكَ خَالِدُ.

You have seized so much of life that, had you kept it all, the world would have rejoiced in your immortality.

وَاسْتَوْطَنُوا السِّرَّ مِنِّي وَهُوَ مَنْزِلُهُمْ وَلَا أَفُوهُ بِهِ يَوْمًا لِغَيْرِهِمُ.

They have made a home of my secrets; I would never speak of them to another.

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Vocabulary · المفردات (18 verbs · 35 nouns)

• زَانَ — to adorn
• شَانَ — to disgrace
• نَهَبَ — to plunder
• رَأْس — head
• حُرّ — free man
• تَاج — crown