جبال الكحل تفنيها المراود و كتر المال تفنيه السنين
Gebal al-kohl tefnihah el marawed we kotr el mal tefnih el senin.
Translation: Mountain of kohl are used up by the kohl applicators and plenty of money is used up as years go by
Meaning: Don't trust what you have, whether money or power or health, for everything comes to an end. The saying is one of wisdom common to almost all cultures. But in this case, the tone is archaic and elegant, slightly vernacular but superbly poetic. You'd imagine a religious scholar of the nineteenth century, or earlier, using it. But it went out of fashion - too long for today's fast pace
Source: ُEgyptian proverbs, (Al-Ahram Center For Translation and Publishing, 1986) by Ahmed Taymour Pasha,
Translated by: Nabil Shawkat
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