A Very, Very Old Vegan Poem (Credit: Abu al-‘Ala’ al-Ma’arri) (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by wolfeh@lemmy.world to c/vegan@lemmy.world

6 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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.)

top 6 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[-] WillardHerman@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

al-Ma’arri was also an ascetic, an antinatalist, and a pessimist.

“To me are one, the sob, the joyous cry.” —al-Maʿarri

[-] StephanieJane@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Beautiful! Good to see vegan sentiments from so long ago. It's not just a modern 'fad'!

[-] itchy_lizard@feddit.it 0 points 1 year ago

Link to source?

[-] wolfeh@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

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:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ma%27arri

https://medium.com/the-east-berry/the-remarkable-poetry-of-abu-ala-al-maarri-the-classic-arab-poet-and-freethinker-from-the-3df47439abb1

https://gentleworld.org/i-no-longer-steal-from-nature/

[-] itchy_lizard@feddit.it -1 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] wolfeh@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

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.

this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2023

10 points (91.7% liked)

vegan

2551 readers

229 users here now

Please also check out vegantheoryclub.org for a great set of well-run communities for vegan news, cooking, gardening, and art. It is not federated with LW, but it is a nice, cozy, all-in-one space for vegans.

We ask that the you have an understanding on what veganism is before engaging in this community.

If you think you have been banned erroneously, please get in contact with one of the other mods for appeals.

Moderator reports may not federate properly and may delay moderator action. Please DM an active mod if an abusive comment remains after reporting it.

Welcome

Welcome to c/vegan@lemmy.world. Broadly, this community is a place to discuss veganism. Discussion on intersectional topics related to the animal rights movement are also encouraged.

What is Veganism?

'Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals ...'

— abridged definition from The Vegan Society

Rules

The rules are subject to change, especially upon community feedback.

Discrimination is not tolerated. This includes speciesism.
Topics not relating to veganism are subject to removal.
Posts are to be as accessible as practicable:
- pictures of text require alt-text;
- paywalled articles must have an accessible non-paywalled link.
Content warnings are required for triggering content.
Bad-faith carnist rhetoric & anti-veganism are not allowed, as this is not a space to debate the merits of veganism. Anyone is welcome here, however, and so good-faith efforts to ask questions about veganism may be given their own weekly stickied post in the future (see current stickied discussion).
- before jumping into the community, we encourage you to read examples of common fallacies here.
- if you're asking questions about veganism, be mindful that the person on the other end is trying to be helpful by answering you and treat them with at least as much respect as they give you.
Misinformation, particularly that which is dangerous or has malicious intent, is subject to removal.