I am weary of life’s burdens; whoever lives eighty years…
Quote
I am weary of life’s burdens; whoever lives eighty years, indeed, grows weary.
Arabic original
سئمت تكاليف الحياة، ومن يعش ثمانين حولًا، لا أبا لك، يسأم.
What it means
The poet voices fatigue after a long life and its demands. The number of years gives weight to the voice of experience, within a personal reflection on age rather than a rule applying to everyone.
The story behind this quote
This verse from Zuhayr’s Mu‘allaqa is quoted in al-Ma‘arri’s Epistle of Forgiveness. The linked source uses it in an imagined scene; indeed freely renders the Arabic interjection.
The original interjection belongs to an older way of addressing a listener; translating it word for word could distract from the main meaning. The translations therefore signal that choice. Al-Ma‘arri’s quotation preserves an older poetic voice inside an imagined narrative of his own.
The source
معلقة زهير بن أبي سلمى, من أبيات الحكمة في ختام المعلقة؛ البيت كما أورده المعري في رسالة الغفران
The text appears in the indicated source. A traditional attribution remains distinct from proof of authorship: see the context.
More quotes by Zuhayr ibn Abi Sulma
Whatever character a person has, even if they think it hidden from others, it becomes known.
A stranger may take an enemy for a friend; whoever does not honour himself is not honoured.