Kalila Wa Dimna — Page 185

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

بَابُ السِّنَّوْرِ وَالْجُرَذِ.

The Chapter of the Cat and the Rat.

قَالَ الْمَلِكُ لِلْفَيْلَسُوفِ: قَدْ سَمِعْتُ الْمَثَلَ الَّذِي ضَرَبْتَ، فَاضْرِبْ لِي الْآنَ إِنْ رَأَيْتَ مَثَلَ رَجُلٍ كَثُرَ عَدُوُّهُ وَحَصَرُوهُ مِنْ كُلِّ جَانِبٍ، فَأَشْرَفَ عَلَى الْهَلَكَةِ، فَالْتَمَسَ الْمَخْرَجَ بِمُوَالَاةِ بَعْضِ الْعَدُوِّ وَمُصَالَحَتِهِ، فَسَلِمَ مِمَّا يَتَخَوَّفُ، وَوَفَّى لِمَنْ صَالَحَ مِنْهُمْ، فَأَخْبِرْنِي عَنْ مَوْضِعِ الصُّلْحِ وَكَيْفَ يُلْتَمَسُ ذَلِكَ؟

The King said to the philosopher, "I have heard the parable you told. Now, if you see fit, tell me a story about a man surrounded by enemies on every side and on the verge of ruin, who managed to escape by allying with some of his foes, reconciling with them, and finding safety. He kept his word to those he made peace with. Tell me, how does one approach such a reconciliation, and how is it achieved?"

قَالَ الْفَيْلَسُوفُ: إِنَّ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْمَوَدَّةَ وَالْبَغْضَاءَ لَيْسَ كُلُّهَا تَثْبُتُ وَتَدُومُ، وَكَثِيرٌ مِنَ الْمَوَدَّةِ يَتَحَوَّلُ بُغْضًا، وَكَثِيرٌ مِنَ الْبُغْضِ يَتَحَوَّلُ مَحَبَّةً وَمَوَدَّةً عَنْ حَوَادِثِ الْعِلَلِ وَالْأُمُورِ، وَذُو الرَّأْيِ وَالْعَقْلِ يُهَيِّئُ لِكُلِّ مَا حَدَثَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ رَأْيًا، مِنَ الطَّمَعِ فِيمَا يَحْدُثُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ قَبْلَ الْعَدُوِّ، وَالْيَأْسِ مِمَّا عِنْدَ الصَّدِيقِ، فَلَا يَمْنَعَنَّ ذَا الْعَقْلِ عَدَاوَةٌ كَانَتْ فِي نَفْسِهِ لِعَدُوِّهِ مِنْ مُقَارَبَتِهِ وَالْتِمَاسِ مَا عِنْدَهُ، إِذَا طَمِعَ مِنْهُ فِي دَفْعِ مَخُوفٍ، وَيُعْمِلُ الرَّأْيَ فِي إِحْدَاثِ الْمُوَاصَلَةِ وَالْمُوَادَعَةِ، وَمَنْ أَبْصَرَ الرَّأْيَ فِي ذَلِكَ فَأَخَذَ فِيهِ بِالْحَزْمِ ظَفِرَ بِحَاجَتِهِ، وَمِنْ أَمْثَالِ ذَلِكَ مَثَلُ الْجُرَذِ وَالسِّنَّوْرِ اللَّذَيْنِ اصْطَلَحَا حِينَ كَانَ ذَلِكَ الرَّأْيُ لَهُمَا صَوَابًا، وَكَانَ فِي صُلْحِهِمَا صَلَاحُهُمَا جَمِيعًا وَنَجَاتُهُمَا مِنَ الْوَرْطَةِ الشَّدِيدَةِ.

The philosopher replied, "Enmity, affection, and hatred are rarely permanent. Much affection turns to hatred, and much hatred turns to love, depending on the circumstances. A wise person prepares for these shifts, knowing when to hope for advantage from an enemy and when to lose hope in a friend. A man of intellect will not let his personal animosity stop him from approaching an enemy if he believes that enemy can help him avert a disaster. He uses his judgment to establish a truce. Whoever understands this and acts with resolve will succeed. A case in point is the story of the rat and the cat, who reconciled when it was the wise thing to do, finding in that peace their mutual well-being and salvation from a dire predicament."

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Vocabulary · المفردات (28 verbs · 61 nouns)

• قَالَ — to say
• سَمِعَ — to hear
• ضَرَبَ — to strike/to coin a parable
• بَاب — chapter
• سِّنَّوْر — cat
• جُرَذ — rat