Versos English Abu al-Ala al-Maarri Xc

English poem

Xc

by (973–1057)

Listen in the reader

"And the poor beetle that we tread upon In corporal sufferance finds a pang as great As when a giant dies."

--Shakespeare: Measure for Measure.

"To let go a flea is a more virtuous act than to give a dirham to a beggar."--Abu'l-Ala.

XCIII and XCIV

Omar too, in the 157th quatrain of Heron-Allen's--

"Had I charge of the matter I would not have come, And likewise could I control my going, where could I go?"