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.)
al-Ma’arri was also an ascetic, an antinatalist, and a pessimist.
“To me are one, the sob, the joyous cry.” —al-Maʿarri
Link to source?
There’s not really a primary source for something that old, unfortunately, but here are two books where his poems are published:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31279069-the-poetry-of-abu-l-ala-al-maarri
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23609935-the-luzumiyat-of-abu-l-ala
Also, here a few places online that describe the author and reference the poem:
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.
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.
Beautiful! Good to see vegan sentiments from so long ago. It’s not just a modern ‘fad’!
