تَعْتَلُfall ill

Example sentences

• وَعِلَاجُ الأَبْدَانِ أَيْسَرُ خَطَبًا حِينَ تَعْتَلُ مِنْ عِلَاجِ الْعُقُولِ

  And the treatment of bodies is an easier matter when they fall ill than the treatment of minds.

  تَعْتَلُ — they fall ill. This is a present-tense verb in the classical 'become ill' pattern, here with a singular subject understood from context though English renders it plural. It sits inside the 'when' clause, supplying the circumstance under which bodies are the easier thing to treat. Arabic carries the subject inside the verb's shape, so no separate pronoun is needed.

  From: On Foolishness and Wisdom →