Shorter Pieces of Arabian Poetry: On Fatalism, by The Imam Shafay Mohammed Ben Idris

ON FATALISM. BY THE IMAM SHAFAY MOHAMMED BEN IDRIS. NOT always wealth, not always force, A splendid destiny commands; The lordly vulture gnaws the corse That rots upon yon barren sands. Nor want nor weakness still conspires To bind us to a sordid state; The fly, that with a touch expires, Sips honey from the royal plate. Next: To The Khalif Haroun Alrashid, On His Undertaking A Pilgrimage to Mecca, by Ibrahim Ben Adhem