Translated to English:

Do not unjustly eat fish the water has given up,

And do not desire as food the flesh of slaughtered animals,

Or the white milk of mothers who intended its pure draught

for their young, not noble ladies.

And do not grieve the unsuspecting birds by taking eggs;

for injustice is the worst of crimes.

And spare the honey which the bees get industriously

from the flowers of fragrant plants;

For they did not store it that it might belong to others,

Nor did they gather it for bounty and gifts.

I washed my hands of all this; and wish that I

Perceived my way before my hair went gray!

Abu al-‘Ala’ al-Ma’arri (973 - 1057 C.E.)

  • itchy_lizardEnglish
    42·
    2 years ago

    Thank you! In the future, please link to the sources in Lemmy on your original post. We hold ourselves to a higher standard than Facebook and TikTok.

    • Wolfeh@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      7·
      2 years ago

      I agree with that sentiment. :-)

      Like I said, though, none of those are primary sources. Not posting the source for a poem from antiquity (just like very old folk songs) is perfectly fine. I credited the author, and the lack of a link to a secondary/tertiary source doesn’t discredit the post or make it comparable to Facebook or TikTok. If I were making a claim about something, that would be different.