٢٧٥. وَقَالَ (عليه ‏السلام): إِنَّ الطَّمَعَ مُورِدٌ غَيْرُ مُصْدِرٍ وَضَامِنٌ غَيْرُ وَفِيٍّ وَرُبَّمَا شَرِقَ شَارِبُ الْمَاءِ قَبْلَ رِيِّهِ وَكُلَّمَا عَظُمَ قَدْرُ الشَّيْ‏ءِ الْمُتَنَافَسِ فِيهِ عَظُمَتِ الرَّزِيَّةُ لِفَقْدِهِ وَالْأَمَانِيُّ تُعْمِى أَعْيُنَ الْبَصَائِرِ وَالْحَظُّ يَأْتِى مَنْ لَا يَأْتِيهِ.

275. Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him, said: Greed takes a person to the watering place but gets him back without letting him drink. It undertakes responsibility but does not fulfil it. Often the drinker gets choked before the quenching of his thirst. The greater the worth of a thing yearned for the greater is the grief for its loss. Desires blind the eyes of understanding. The destined share will reach him who does not approach it.

275. L’avidité ne produit que la perte; elle ne donne qu’une assurance aléatoire. Il se peut que celui qui veut boire soit suffoqué par l’eau avant d’étancher sa soif. Toutes les fois que la valeur d’une chose disputée augmente, sa perte entraîne un malheur de plus en plus grand. Les aspirations font aveugler les cœurs et la chance touche celui qui ne s’y attend pas.

Nahj al-Balāgha

Chapter #275