He also said:
Refresh your labor-worn nature with a spell of rest—
it will recover; and season it with a touch of jest.
Yet when you grant it such diversion, give no more
than the pinch of salt you drop upon your food.

He also said:
If you serve kings, robe yourself
in the noblest garment: caution.
Enter their presence as though blind,
and when you depart, depart as though mute.

He also said:
Should you wish to meet your foe disgraced,
slay him with worry and burn him with grief;
seek lofty rank and add to your virtue, for
whoever increases in merit only deepens his envier’s sorrow.

He also said:
Our short, ever-ready swords
have made our sovereignty long-lasting.
We have ever been sealing the frontiers
and cutting down the enemy in mid-assault,
storming dangers (1) the moment the battle blazes,
and dividing the spoils as soon as fortune smiles.

He also said:
O servant of the body, how long (2) will you toil for it?
Do you seek profit in what is bound for loss?
Turn to your soul and perfect its virtues,
for by the soul, not the body, are you truly human.

Abu Firas b. Hamdan (3), the poet, left a celebrated diwan (4).
His brother (5) Sayf al-Dawlah made him governor of Harran and Manbij. He once fought the Byzantines, was captured, and was later ransomed by Sayf al-Dawlah. He died this year at the age of forty-eight (6); his poetry is refined and his themes are admirable.