Number 17

MasnaviIraqi style
English

Number 17

A dog is nobler than the kind of person who wounds the hearts of his own friends. This claim needs a truth to back it up, so the meaning can settle in your heart. A person shares your food at your own table, while the dog is kept outside, shut from the door. What a shame that the dog stays loyal, yet a human thinks enmity is fair.
Explanation: The poem contrasts a dog's loyalty with human betrayal, arguing that faithfulness makes the dog more honorable than a treacherous person.

Original · Persian

شمارهٔ ۱۷

سگ بر آن آدمی شرف دارد کاو دل دوستان بیازارد
این سخن را حقیقتی باید تا معانی به دل فرود آید
آدمی با تو دست در مطعوم سگ ز بیرون آستان محروم
حیف باشد که سگ وفا دارد و آدمی دشمنی روا دارد