# Gulistan of Sadi (Edwin Arnold tr)

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> THE GULISTAN OF SA'DI
> by Sheikh Muslih-uddin Sa'di Shirazi (1258)
> 
> Translated by Sir Edwin Arnold (1899)
> 
> INTRODUCTORY
>                        INTRODUCTORY
>         IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE MERCIFUL THE CLEMENT
> 
>   Laudation to the God of majesty and glory! Obedience to him is a
> cause of approach and gratitude in increase of benefits. Every
> inhalation of the breath prolongs life and every expiration of it
> gladdens our nature; wherefore every breath confers two benefits and
> for every benefit gratitude is due.
> 
>         Whose hand and tongue is capable
>         To fulfil the obligations of thanks to him?
> 
>   Words of the most high: Be thankful, O family of David, and but
> few of my servants are thankful.
> 
>         It is best to a worshipper for his transgressions
>         To offer apologies at the throne of God,
>         Although what is worthy of his dignity
>         No one is able to accomplish.
> 
>   The showers of his boundless mercy have penetrated to every spot,
> and the banquet of his unstinted liberality is spread out
> everywhere. He tears not the veil of reputation of his worshippers
> even for grievous sins, and does not withhold their daily allowance of
> bread for great crimes.
> 
>         O bountiful One, who from thy invisible treasury
>         Suppliest the Guebre and the Christian with food,
>         How could'st thou disappoint thy friends,
>         Whilst having regard for thy enemies?
> 
>   He told the chamberlain of the morning breeze to spread out the
> emerald carpet and, having commanded the nurse of vernal clouds to
> cherish the daughters of plants in the cradle of the earth, the
> trees donned the new year's robe and clothed their breast with the
> garment of green foliage, whilst their offspring, the branches,
> adorned their heads with blossoms at the approach of the season of the
> roses. Also the juice of the cane became delicious honey by his power,
> and the date a lofty tree by his care.
> 
>         Cloud and wind, moon and sun move in the sky
>         That thou mayest gain bread, and not eat it unconcerned.
>         For thee all are revolving and obedient.
>         It is against the requirements of justice if thou obeyest not.
> 
>   There is a tradition of the prince of created beings, the paragon of
> existing things, the mercy to the inhabitants of the world, the purest
> of mankind and the completion of the revolving ages, Muhammad the
> elect, upon whom be blessing and peace:
> 
>         Intercessor, obeyed, prophet, gracious,
>         Bountiful, majestic, affable, marked with the seal of God.
> 
>   What danger is there to the wall of the faithful with thee for a
>     buttress?
> 
>   What fear of the waves of the sea has he whose pilot is Noah?
> 
>         He attained exaltation by his perfection.
>         He disspelled darkness by his beauty.
>         Beauteous are all his qualities,
>         Benediction be on him and on his family.
> 
>   The tradition is that whenever a sinful and distressed worshipper
> stretches forth the hand of repentance with hopes of acceptance to the
> court of heaven, God the most high does not notice him, whereon he
> continues to implore mercy with supplications and tears and God the
> most holy says: O my angels, verily I am ashamed of my servant and
> he has no other lord besides myself. Accordingly I have fully pardoned
> him.
> 
>         See the generosity and kindness of God.
>         The servant has committed sin and he is ashamed.
> 
>   Those who attend permanently at the temple of his glory confess
> the imperfection of their worship and say: We have not worshipped thee
> according to the requirements of thy worship; and those who describe
> the splendour of his beauty are rapt in amazement saying: We have
> not known thee as thou oughtest to be known.
> 
>         If someone asks me for his description,
>         What shall I despairing say of One who has no form?
>         The lovers have been slain by the beloved.
>         No voice can come from the slain.
> 
>   One of the devout who had deeply plunged his head into the cowl of
> meditation and had been immersed in the ocean of visions, was asked,
> when he had come out of that state, by one of his companions who had
> desired to cheer him up: 'What beautiful gift hast thou brought us
> from the garden in which thou hast been?' He replied: 'I intended to
> fill the skirts of my robe with roses, when I reached the rose-tree,
> as presents for my friends but the perfume of the flowers
> intoxicated me so much that I let, go the hold of my skirts.'
> 
>         O bird of the morning, learn love from the moth
>         Because it burnt, lost its life, and found no voice.
>         These pretenders are ignorantly in search of Him,
>         Because he who obtained knowledge has not returned.
> 
>   O thou who art above all imaginations, conjectures, opinions and
>     ideas,
>   Above anything people have said or we have heard or read,
>   The assembly is finished and life has reached its term
>   And we have, as at first, remained powerless in describing thee.
> 
>                 PANEGYRIC OF THE PADSHAH OF ISLAM
>                   may Allah perpetuate his reign
> 
>   The good reputation of Sa'di which is current among the people,
> the renown of his eloquence which has spread on the surface of the
> earth, the products of his friendly pen which are consumed like sugar,
> and the scraps of his literary compositions which are hawked about
> like bills of exchange, cannot be ascribed to his virtue and
> perfection, but the lord of the world, the axis of the revolving
> circle of time, the vice-gerent of Solomon, protector of the followers
> of the religion, His Majesty the Shahanshah Atabek Aa'zm Muzaffaruddin
> Abu Bekr Ben Sa'd Ben Zanki-The shadow of Allah on earth! O Lord, be
> pleased with him and with his kingdom-has looked upon Sa'di with a
> favourable eye, has praised him greatly, and has shown him sincere
> affection so that all men, gentle and simple, love him because the
> people follow the religion of their king.
> 
>         Because thou lookest upon my humble person,
>         My merits are more celebrated than those of the sun.
>         Although this slave may possess all faults,
>         Every fault pleasing the Sultan becomes a virtue.
> 
>         A sweet-smelling piece of clay, one day in the bath,
>         Came from the hand of a beloved one to my hand.
>         I asked: 'Art thou musk or ambergris?
>         Because thy delicious odour intoxicates me.'
>         It replied: 'I was a despicable lump of day;
>         But for a while in the society of a rose.
>         The perfection of my companion took effect on me
>         And, if not, I am the same earth which I am.'
> 
>   O Allah, favour the Musalmans with the prolongation of his life, and
> with an augmentation of his reward for his good qualities and deeds;
> exalt the dignities of his friends and governors; annihilate those who
> are inimical to him and wish him ill; for the sake of what is recorded
> in the verses of the Quran. O Allah, give security protect his son.
> 
>   Verily the world is happy through him; may his happiness endure for
>     ever
>   And may the Lord strengthen him and with the banners of victory.
>   Thus the branch will flourish of which he is the root
>   Because the beauty of the earth's plants depends on the virtue of
>     the seed.
> 
>   May God, whose name be exalted and hallowed, keep in security and
> peace the pure country of Shiraz until the time of the resurrection,
> under the authority of righteous governors and by the exertions of
> practical scholars.
> 
>         Knowest thou not why I in foreign countries
>         Roamed about for a long time?
>         I went away from the distress of the Turks because I saw
>         The world entangled like the hair of negroes;
>         They were all human beings, but
>         Like wolves sharp-clawed, for shedding blood.
>         When I returned I saw the country at rest,
>         The tigers having abandoned the nature of tigers.
>         Within a man of good disposition like an angel,
>         Without an army like bellicose lions.
>         Thus it happened that first I beheld
>         The world full of confusion, anxiety and distress;
>         Then it became as it is in the days of the just Sultan
>         Atabek Abu Bekr Ben Sa'd Zanki.
> 
>         The country of Pares dreads not the vicissitudes of time,
>         As long as one presides over it like thee, the shadow of God.
>         Today no one can point out on the surface of the earth,
>         A place like the threshold of thy door, the asylum of comfort.
>         On thee is incumbent the protection of the distressed and
>           gratitude
>         Upon us and reward on God the creator of the world,
>         As long as the world and wind endure.
> 
>               THE CAUSE FOR COMPOSING THE GULISTAN
> 
>   I was one night meditating on the time which had elapsed,
> repenting of the life I had squandered and perforating the stony
> mansion of my heart with adamantine tears. 1 I uttered the following
> verses in conformity with the state of mind:
> 
>   Every moment a breath of life is spent,
>   If I consider, not much of it remains.
>   O thou, whose fifty years have elapsed in sleep,
>   Wilt thou perhaps overtake them in these five days?
>   Shame on him who has gone and done no work.
>   The drum of departure was beaten but he has not made his load.
> 
>         Sweet sleep on the morning of departure
>         Retains the pedestrian from the road.
>         Whoever had come had built a new edifice.
>         He departed and left the place to another
>         And that other one concocted the same futile schemes
>         And this edifice was not completed by anyone.
>         Cherish not an inconstant friend.
>         Such a traitor is not fit for amity.
>         As all the good and bad must surely die,
>         He is happy who carries off the ball of virtue.
>         Send provision for thy journey to thy tomb.
>         Nobody will bring it after thee; send it before.
>         Life is snow, the sun is melting hot.
>         Little remains, but the gentleman is slothful still.
>         O thou who hast gone empty handed to the bazar,
>         I fear thou wilt not bring a towel filled.
>         Who eats the corn he has sown while it is yet green,
>         Must at harvest time glean the ears of it.
>         Listen with all thy heart to the advice of Sa'di.
>         Such is the way; be a man and travel on.
> 
>         The capital of man's life is his abdomen.
>         If it be gradually emptied there is no fear
>         But if it be so closed as not to open
>         The heart may well despair of life;
>         And if it be open so that it cannot be closed,
>         Go and wash thy hands of this world's life.
>         Four contending rebellious dispositions
>         Harmonize but five days with each other.
>         If one of these four becomes prevalent,
>         Sweet life must abandon the body
>         Wherefore an intelligent and perfect man
>         Sets not his heart upon this world's life.
> 
>   After maturely considering these sentiments, I thought proper to sit
> down in the mansion of retirement to fold up the skirts of
> association, to wash my tablets of heedless sayings and no more to
> indulge in senseless prattle:
> 
>     To sit in a corner, like one with a cut tongue, deaf and dumb,
>     Is better than a man who has no command over his tongue.
> 
>   I continued in this resolution till a friend, who had been my
> companion in the camel-litter of misery and my comrade in the closet
> of affection, entered at the door, according to his old custom with
> playful gladness, and spread out the surface of desire; but I would
> give him no reply nor lift up my head from the knees of worship. He
> looked at me aggrieved and said:
> 
>         'Now, while thou hast the power of utterance,
>         Speak, O brother, with grace and kindness
>         Because tomorrow, when the messenger of death arrives,
>         Thou wilt of necessity restrain thy tongue.'
> 
>   One of my connections informed him how matters stood and told him
> that I had firmly determined and was intent upon spending the rest
> of my life in continual devotion and silence, advising him at the same
> time, in case he should be able, to follow my example and to keep me
> company. He replied: 'I swear by the great dignity of Allah and by our
> old friendship that I shall not draw breath, nor budge one step,
> unless he converses with me as formerly, and in his usual way; because
> it is foolish to insult friends and easy to expiate an oath. It is
> against propriety, and contrary to the opinions of wise men that the
> Zulfiqar of A'li should remain in the scabbard and the tongue of Sa'di
> in his palate.'
> 
>         O intelligent man what is the tongue in the mouth?
>         It is the key to the treasure-door of a virtuous man.
>         When the door is closed how can one know
>         Whether he is a seller of jewels or a hawker?
> 
>         Although intelligent men consider silence civil,
>         It is better for thee to speak at the proper time.
>         Two things betoken levity of intellect: to remain mute
>         When it is proper to speak and to talk when silence is
>           required.
> 
>   In short, I had not the firmness to restrain my tongue from speaking
> to him, and did not consider it polite to turn away my face from his
> conversation, he being a congenial friend and sincerely affectionate.
> 
>         When thou fightest with anyone, consider
>         Whether thou wilt have to flee from him or he from thee.
> 
>   I was under the necessity of speaking and then went out by way of
> diversion in the vernal season, when the traces of severe cold had
> disappeared and the time of the dominion of roses had arrived:
> 
>         Green garments were upon the trees
>         Like holiday robes on contented persons.
>         On the first of the month Ardibihesht Jellali
>         The bulbuls were singing on the pulpits of branches.
>         Upon the roses pearls of dew had fallen,
>         Resembling perspiration on an angry sweetheart's cheek.
> 
>   I happened to spend the night in a garden with one of my friends and
> we found it to be a pleasant cheerful place with heart-ravishing
> entangled trees; its ground seemed to be paved with small glass
> beads whilst, from its vines, bunches like the Pleiads were suspended.
> 
>         A garden the water of whose river was limpid
>         A grove the melody of whose birds was harmonious.
> 
>             The former full of bright-coloured tulips,
>             The latter full of fruits of various kinds;
>             The wind had in the shade of its trees
>             Spread out a bed of all kinds of flowers.
> 
>   The next morning when the intention of returning had prevailed
> over the opinion of tarrying, I saw that my friend had in his skirt
> collected roses, sweet basil, hyacinths and fragrant herbs with the
> determination to carry them to town; whereon I said: 'Thou knowest
> that the roses of the garden are perishable and the season passes
> away', and philosophers have said: 'Whatever is not of long duration
> is not to be cherished.' He asked: 'Then what is to be done?' I
> replied: 'I may compose for the amusement of those who look and for
> the instruction of those who are present a book of a Rose Garden, a
> Gulistan, whose leaves cannot be touched by the tyranny of autumnal
> blasts and the delight of whose spring the vicissitudes of time will
> be unable to change into the inconstancy of autumn.
> 
>         Of what use will be a dish of roses to thee?
>         Take a leaf from my rose-garden.
>         A flower endures but five or six days
>         But this rose-garden is always delightful.
> 
>   After I had uttered these words he threw away the flowers from his
> skirts, and attached himself to mine, saying: 'When a generous
> fellow makes a promise he keeps it.'
> 
>   On the same day I happened to write two chapters, namely on polite
> society and the rules of conversation, in a style acceptable to
> orators and instructive to letter-writers. In short, some roses of the
> garden still remained when the book of the Rose-garden was finished
> but it will in reality be completed only after approbation in the
> court of the Shah, who is the refuge of the world, the shadow of
> God, the ray of his grace, the treasury of the age, the asylum of
> the Faith, strengthened by heaven, aided against enemies, the arm of
> the victorious government, the lamp of the resplendent religion, the
> beauty of mankind, the boast of Islam, Sa'd son of Atabek the great,
> the majestic Shahanshah, owner of the necks of nations, lord of the
> kings of Arabia and Persia, the sultan of the land and the sea, the
> heir of the kingdom of Solomon, Muzaffaruddin Ibu Bekr, son of Sa'd
> Zanki, may Allah the most high perpetuate the prosperity of them
> both and direct their inclinations to every good thing.
> 
>         Perused with a kind glance,
>         Adorned with approbation by the sovereign,
>         It will be a Chinese picture-gallery or design of the Arzank,
>         Hopes are entertained that he will not be wearied
>         By these contents because a Pose-garden is not a place of
>           displeasure.
>         The more so as its august preface is dedicated
>         To Sa'd Abu Bekr Sa'd the son of Zanki.
> 
>   RECORD OF THE GREAT AMIR FAKHRUDDIN BEN ABU BEKR, SON OF ABU NASSAR
> 
>   Again, the bride of imagination can for want of beauty not lift up
> her head nor raise her eyes from the feet of bashfulness to appear
> in the assembly of persons endowed with pulchritude, unless adorned
> with the ornaments of approbation from the great Amir, who is learned,
> just, aided by heaven, victorious, supporter of the throne of the
> Sultanate and councillor in deliberations of the realm, refuge of
> the poor, asylum of strangers, patron of learned men, lover of the
> pious, glory of the dynasty of Pares, right hand of the kingdom, chief
> of the nobles, boast of the monarchy and of the religion, succour of
> Islam and of the Musalmans, buttress of kings and sultans, Abu Bekr,
> son of Abu Nassar, may Allah prolong his life, augment his dignity,
> enlighten his breast and increase his reward twofold, because he
> enjoys the praise of all great men and is the embodiment of every
> laudable quality.
> 
>         Whoever reposes in the shadow of his favour,
>         His sin is transmuted to obedience and his foe into a friend.
> 
>   Every attendant and follower has an appointed duty and if, in the
> performance thereof, he gives way to remissness and indolence, he is
> certainly called to account and becomes subject to reproaches,
> except the tribe of dervishes, from whom thanks are due for the
> benefits they receive from great men as well as praises and prayers,
> all of which duties are more suitably performed in their absence
> than in their presence, because in the latter they look like
> ostentation and in the former they are free from ceremony.
> 
>         The back of the bent sky became flat with joy,
>         When dame nature brought forth a child like thee.
>         It is an instance of wisdom if the Creator
>         Causes a servant to make the general welfare his special duty.
>         He has found eternal happiness who lived a good life,
>         Because, after his end, good repute will keep his name alive.
>         No matter whether virtuous men praise you or not
>         A lovely maid stands in no need of a tire woman.
> 
>           EXCUSE FOR REMISSNESS IN SERVICE AND CAUSE
>                    FOR PREFERRING SOLITUDE
> 
>   My negligence and backwardness in diligent attendance at the royal
> court resemble the case of Barzachumihr, whose merits the sages of
> India were discussing but could at last not reproach him with anything
> except slowness of speech because he delayed long and his hearers were
> obliged to wait till he delivered himself of what he had to say.
> When Barzachumihr heard of this he said: 'It is better for me to
> consider what to speak than to repent of what I have spoken.'
> 
>         A trained orator, old, aged,
>         First meditates and then speaks.
>         Do not speak without consideration.
>         Speak well and if slow what matters it?
>         Deliberate and then begin to talk.
>         Say thyself enough before others say enough.
>         By speech a man is better than a brute
>         But a beast is better unless thou speakest properly.
> 
>   How then could I venture to appear in the sight of the grandees of
> my lord, may his victory be glorious, who are an assembly of pious men
> and the centre of profound scholars? If I were to be led in the ardour
> of conversation to speak petulantly, I could produce only a trifling
> stock-in-trade in the noble presence but glass beads are not worth a
> barleycorn in the bazar of jewellers, a lamp does not shine in the
> presence of the sun, and a minaret looks low at the foot of Mount
> Alvend.
> 
>         Who lifts up his neck with pretentions,
>         Foes hasten to him from every side.
>         Sa'di has fallen to be a hermit.
>         No one came to attack a fallen man.
>         First deliberation, then speech;
>         The foundation was laid first, then the wall.
> 
>   I know bouquet-binding but not in the garden. I sell a sweetheart
> but not in Canaan. Loqman the philosopher, being asked from whom he
> had learnt wisdom, replied: 'From the blind, who do not take a step
> before trying the place.' First move about, then stir out.
> 
>         Try thy virility first, then marry.
>         Though a cock may be brave in war
>         He strikes his claws in vain on a brazen falcon.
>         A cat is a lion in catching mice
>         But a mouse in combat with a tiger.
> 
>   But, trusting in the liberal sentiments of the great, who shut their
> eyes to the faults of their inferiors and abstain from divulging the
> crimes of humble men, we have in this book recorded, by way of
> abridgment, some rare events, stories, poetry and accounts about
> ancient kings, spending a portion of our precious life in the task.
> This was the reason for composing the book Gulistan; and help is
> from Allah.
> 
>         This well-arranged composition will remain for years,
>         When every atom of our dust is dispersed.
>         The intention of this design was that it should survive
>         Because I perceive no stability in my existence,
>         Unless one day a pious man compassionately
>         Utters a prayer for the works of dervishes.
> 
>   The author, having deliberated upon the arrangement of the book, and
> the adornment of the chapters, deemed it suitable to curtail the
> diction of this beautiful garden and luxuriant grove and to make it
> resemble paradise, which also has eight entrances. The abridgment
> was made to avoid tediousness.
> 
>            I The Manners of Kings
>           II On the Morals of Dervishes
>          III On the Excellence of Content
>           IV On the Advantages of Silence
>            V On Love and Youth
>           VI On Weakness and Old Age
>          VII On the Effects of Education
>         VIII On Rules for Conduct in Life
> 
>         At a period when our time was pleasant
>         The Hejret was six hundred and fifty-six.
>         Our intention was advice and we gave it.
>         We recommended thee to God and departed.
> 
>                             CHAPTER I
>                       THE MANNERS OF KINGS
> 
>                              Story 1
> 
>   I heard a padshah giving orders to kill a prisoner. The helpless
> fellow began to insult the king on that occasion of despair, with
> the tongue he had, and to use foul expressions according to the
> saying:
> 
>         Who washes his hands of life
>         Says whatever he has in his heart.
> 
>   When a man is in despair his tongue becomes long and he is like a
> vanquished cat assailing a dog.
> 
>         In time of need, when flight is no more possible,
>         The hand grasps the point of the sharp sword.
> 
>   When the king asked what he was saying, a good-natured vezier
> replied: 'My lord, he says: Those who bridle their anger and forgive
> men; for Allah loveth the beneficent.'
>   The king, moved with pity, forbore taking his life but another
> vezier, the antagonist of the former, said: 'Men of our rank ought
> to speak nothing but the truth in the presence of padshahs. This
> fellow has insulted the king and spoken unbecomingly.' The king, being
> displeased with these words, said: 'That lie was more acceptable to me
> than this truth thou hast uttered because the former proceeded from
> a conciliatory disposition and the latter from malignity; and wise men
> have said: "A falsehood resulting in conciliation is better than a
> truth producing trouble."'
> 
>         He whom the shah follows in what he says,
>         It is a pity if he speaks anything but what is good.
> 
>   The following inscription was upon the portico of the hall of
> Feridun:
> 
>         O brother, the world remains with no one.
>         Bind the heart to the Creator, it is enough.
>         Rely not upon possessions and this world
>         Because it has cherished many like thee and slain them.
>         When the pure soul is about to depart,
>         What boots it if one dies on a throne or on the ground?
> 
>                              Story 2
> 
>   One of the kings of Khorasan had a vision in a dream of Sultan
> Mahmud, one hundred years after his death. His whole person appeared
> to have been dissolved and turned to dust, except his eyes, which were
> revolving in their orbits and looking about. All the sages were unable
> to give an interpretation, except a dervish who made his salutation
> and said: 'He is still looking amazed how his kingdom belongs to
> others.'
> 
>   Many famous men have been buried under ground
>   Of whose existence on earth not a trace has remained
>   And that old corpse which had been surrendered to the earth
>   Was so consumed by the soil that not a bone remains.
>   The glorious name of Nushirvan survives in good repute
>   Although much time elapsed since he passed away.
>   Do good, O man, and consider life as a good fortune,
>   The more so, as when a shout is raised, a man exists no more.
> 
>                              Story 3
> 
>   I have heard that a royal prince of short stature and mean presence,
> whose brothers were tall and good-looking, once saw his father
> glancing on him with aversion and contempt but he had the shrewdness
> and penetration to guess the meaning and said: 'O father, a puny
> intelligent fellow is better than a tall ignorant man, neither is
> everything bigger in stature higher in price. A sheep is nice to eat
> and an elephant is carrion.'
> 
>       The smallest mountain on earth is Jur; nevertheless
>       It is great with Allah in dignity and station.
> 
>         Hast thou not heard that a lean scholar
>         One day said to a fat fool:
>         'Although an Arab horse may be weak
>         It is thus more worth than a stable full of asses.'
> 
>   The father laughed at this sally, the pillars of the state
> approved of it, but the brothers felt much aggrieved.
> 
>         While a man says not a word
>         His fault and virtue are concealed.
>         Think not that every desert is empty.
>         Possibly it may contain a sleeping tiger.
> 
>   I heard that on the said occasion the king was menaced by a powerful
> enemy and that when the two armies were about to encounter each other,
> the first who entered the battlefield was the little fellow who said:
> 
>       'I am not he whose back thou wilt see on the day of battle
>       But he whom thou shalt behold in dust and blood.
>       Who himself fights, stakes his own life
>       In battle but he who flees, the blood of his army.'
> 
>   After uttering these words he rushed among the troops of the
> enemy, slew several warriors and, returning to his father, made humble
> obeisance and said:
> 
>         'O thou, to whom my person appeared contemptible,
>         Didst not believe in the impetuosity of my valour.
>         A horse with slender girth is of use
>         On the day of battle, not a fattened ox.'
> 
>   It is related that the troops of the enemy were numerous, and that
> the king's, being few, were about to flee, but that the puny youth
> raised a shout, saying: 'O men, take care not to put on the garments
> of women.' These words augmented the rage of the troopers so that they
> made a unanimous attack and I heard that they gained the victory on
> the said occasion. The king kissed the head and eyes of his son,
> took him in his arms and daily augmented his affection till he
> appointed him to succeed him on the throne. His brothers became
> envious and placed poison in his food but were perceived by his sister
> from her apartment, whereon she closed the window violently and the
> youth, shrewdly guessing the significance of the act, restrained his
> hands from touching the food, and said: 'It is impossible that men
> of honour should die, and those who possess none should take their
> place.'
> 
>         No one goes under the shadow of an owl
>         Even if the homa should disappear from the world.
> 
>   This state of affairs having been brought to the notice of the
> father, he severely reproved the brothers and assigned to each of them
> a different, but pleasant, district as a place of exile till the
> confusion was quelled and the quarrel appeased; and it has been said
> that ten dervishes may sleep under the same blanket but that one
> country cannot hold two padshahs.
> 
>         When a pious man eats half a loaf of bread
>         He bestows the other half upon dervishes.
>         If a padshah were to conquer the seven climates
>         He would still in the same way covet another.
> 
>                              Story 4
> 
>   A band of Arab brigands having taken up their position on the top of
> a mountain and closed the passage of caravans, the inhabitants of
> the country were distressed by their stratagems and the troops of
> the sultan foiled because the robbers, having obtained an inaccessible
> spot on the summit of the mountain, thus had a refuge which they
> made their habitation. The chiefs of that region held a consultation
> about getting rid of the calamity because it would be impossible to
> offer resistance to the robbers if they were allowed to remain.
> 
>         A tree which has just taken root
>         May be moved from the place by the strength of a man
>         But, if thou leavest it thus for a long time,
>         Thou canst not uproot it with a windlass.
>         The source of a fountain may be stopped with a bodkin
>         But, when it is full, it cannot be crossed on an elephant.
> 
>   The conclusion was arrived at to send one man as a spy and to wait
> for the opportunity till the brigands departed to attack some people
> and leave the place empty. Then several experienced men, who had
> fought in battles, were despatched to keep themselves in ambush in a
> hollow of the mountain. In the evening the brigands returned from
> their excursion with their booty, divested themselves of their arms,
> put away their plunder and the first enemy who attacked them was
> sleep, till about a watch of the night had elapsed:
> 
>         The disk of the sun went into darkness.
>         Jonah went into the mouth of the fish.
> 
>   The warriors leapt forth from the ambush, tied the hands of every
> one of the robbers to his shoulders and brought them in the morning to
> the court of the king, who ordered all of them to be slain. There
> happened to be a youth among them, the fruit of whose vigour was
> just ripening and the verdure on the rose-garden of whose cheek had
> begun to sprout. One of the veziers, having kissed the foot of the
> king's throne and placed the face of intercession upon the ground,
> said: 'This boy has not yet eaten any fruit from the garden of life
> and has not yet enjoyed the pleasures of youth. I hope your majesty
> will generously and kindly confer an obligation upon your slave by
> sparing his life.' The king, being displeased with this request,
> answered:
> 
>   'He whose foundation is bad will not take instruction from the good,
>   To educate unworthy persons is like throwing nuts on a cupola.
> 
>   'It is preferable to extirpate the race and offspring of these
> people and better to dig up their roots and foundations, because it is
> not the part of wise men to extinguish fire and to leave burning coals
> or to kill a viper and leave its young ones.
> 
>         If a cloud should rain the water of life
>         Never sip it from the branch of a willow-tree.
>         Associate not with a base fellow
>         Because thou canst not eat sugar from a mat-reed.'
> 
>   The vezier heard these sentiments, approved of them nolens volens,
> praised the opinion of the king and said: 'What my lord has uttered is
> the very truth itself because if the boy had been brought up in the
> company of those wicked men, he would have become one of themselves.
> But your slave hopes that he will, in the society of pious men, profit
> by education and will acquire the disposition of wise persons. Being
> yet a child the rebellious and perverse temper of that band has not
> yet taken hold of his nature and there is a tradition of the prophet
> that every infant is born with an inclination for Islam but his
> parents make him a Jew, a Christian or a Majusi.'
> 
>         The spouse of Lot became a friend of wicked persons.
>         His race of prophets became extinct.
>         The dog of the companions of the cave for some days
>         Associated with good people and became a man.
> 
>   When the vezier had said these words and some of the king's
> courtiers had added their intercession to his, the king no longer
> desired to shed the blood of the youth and said: 'I grant the
> request although I disapprove-of it.'
> 
>         Knowest thou not what Zal said to the hero Rastam:
>         'An enemy cannot be held despicable or helpless.
>         I have seen many a water from a paltry spring
>         Becoming great and carrying off a camel with its load.'
> 
>   In short, the vezier brought up the boy delicately, with every
> comfort, and kept masters to educate him, till they had taught him
> to address persons in elegant language as well as to reply and he
> had acquired every accomplishment. One day the vezier hinted at his
> talents in the presence of the king, asserting that the instructions
> of wise men had taken effect upon the boy and had expelled his
> previous ignorance from his nature. The king smiled at these words and
> said:
> 
>         'At last a wolf's whelp will be a wolf
>         Although he may grow up with a man.'
> 
>   After two years had elapsed a band of robbers in the locality joined
> him, tied the knot of friendship and, when the opportunity presented
> itself, he killed the vezier with his son, took away untold wealth and
> succeeded to the position of his own father in the robber-cave where
> he established himself. The king, informed of the event, took the
> finger of amazement between his teeth and said:
> 
>   'How can a man fabricate a good sword of bad iron?
>   O sage, who is nobody becomes not somebody by education.
>   The rain, in the beneficence of whose nature there is no flaw,
>   Will cause tulips to grow in a garden and weeds in bad soil.
>   Saline earth will not produce hyacinths.
>   Throw not away thy seeds or work thereon.
>   To do good to wicked persons is like Doing evil to good men.'
> 
>                              Story 5
> 
>   I saw at the palace-gate of Oglimish the son of a military officer
> who was endued with marvellous intellect, sagacity, perception and
> shrewdness; also the signs of future greatness manifested themselves
> on his forehead whilst yet a small boy.
> 
>         From his head intelligence caused
>         The star of greatness to shine.
> 
>   In short, he pleased the sultan because he had a beautiful
> countenance and a perfect understanding; and philosophers have said:
> 'Power consists in accomplishments, not in wealth and greatness in
> intellect, not in years.' His companions, being envious, made an
> attempt upon his life and desired to kill him but their endeavours
> remained fruitless.
> 
>         What can a foe do when the friend is kind?
> 
>   The king asked: 'What is the cause of their enmity to thee?' He
> replied: 'Under the shadow of the monarchy of my lord I have satisfied
> my contemporaries except the envious, who will not be contented but by
> the decline of my prosperity, and may the monarchy and good fortune of
> my lord be perpetual.'
> 
>   I may so act as not to hurt the feelings of anyone
>   But what can I do to an envious man dissatisfied with himself?
>   Die, O envious man, for this is a malady,
>   Deliverance from which can be obtained only by death.
>   Unfortunate men sometimes ardently desire
>   The decline of prosperous men in wealth and dignity.
>   If in daytime, bat-eyed persons do not see
>   Is it the fault of the fountain of light, the sun?
>   Thou justly wishest that a thousand such eyes
>   Should be blind rather than the sun dark.
> 
>                              Story 6
> 
>   It is narrated that one of the kings of Persia had stretched forth
> his tyrannical hand to the possessions of his subjects and had begun
> to oppress them so violently that in consequence of his fraudulent
> extortions they dispersed in the world and chose exile on account of
> the affliction entailed by his violence. When the population had
> diminished, the prosperity of the country suffered, the treasury
> remained empty and on every side enemies committed violence.
> 
>   Who desires succour in the day of calamity,
>   Say to him: 'Be generous in times of prosperity.'
>   The slave with a ring in his ear, if not cherished will depart.
>   Be kind because then a stranger will become thy slave.
> 
>   One day the Shahnamah was read in his assembly, the subject being
> the ruin of the dominion of Zohak and the reign of Feridun. The vezier
> asked the king how it came to pass that Feridun, who possessed neither
> treasure nor land nor a retinue, established himself upon the
> throne. He replied: 'As thou hast heard, the population
> enthusiastically gathered around him and supported him so that he
> attained royalty.' The vezier said: 'As the gathering around of the
> population is the cause of royalty, then why dispersest thou the
> population? Perhaps thou hast no desire for royalty?'
> 
>         It is best to cherish the army as thy life
>         Because a sultan reigns by means of his troops.
> 
>   The king asked: 'What is the reason for the gathering around of
> the troops and the population?' He replied: 'A padshah must practise
> justice that they may gather around him and clemency that they may
> dwell in safety under the shadow of his government; but thou
> possessest neither of these qualities.'
> 
>         A tyrannic man cannot be a sultan
>         As a wolf cannot be a shepherd.
>         A padshah who establishes oppression
>         Destroys the basis of the wall of his own reign.
> 
>   The king, displeased with the advice of his censorious vezier,
> sent him to prison. Shortly afterwards the sons of the king's uncle
> rose in rebellion, desirous of recovering the kingdom of their father.
> The population, which had been reduced to the last extremity by the
> king's oppression and scattered, now assembled around them and
> supported them, till he lost control of the government and they took
> possession of it.
> 
>         A padshah who allows his subjects to be oppressed
>         Will in his day of calamity become a violent foe.
>         Be at peace with subjects and sit safe from attacks of foes
>         Because his subjects are the army of a just shahanshah.
> 
>                              Story 7
> 
>   A padshah was in the same boat with a Persian slave who had never
> before been at sea and experienced the inconvenience of a vessel. He
> began to cry and to tremble to such a degree that he could not be
> pacified by kindness, so that at last the king became displeased as
> the matter could not be remedied. In that boat there happened to be
> a philosopher, who said: 'With thy permission I shall quiet him.'
> The padshah replied: 'It will be a great favour.' The philosopher
> ordered the slave to be thrown into the water so that he swallowed
> some of it, whereon be was caught and pulled by his hair to the
> boat, to the stern of which he clung with both his hands. Then he
> sat down in a corner and became quiet. This appeared strange to the
> king who knew not what wisdom there was in the proceeding and asked
> for it. The philosopher replied: 'Before he had tasted the calamity of
> being drowned, he knew not the safety of the boat; thus also a man
> does not appreciate the value of immunity from a misfortune until it
> has befallen him.'
> 
>         O thou full man, barley-bread pleases thee not.
>         She is my sweetheart who appears ugly to thee.
>         To the huris of paradise purgatory seems hell.
>         Ask the denizens of hell. To them purgatory is paradise.
> 
>   There is a difference between him whose friend is in his arms
>   And him whose eyes of expectation are upon the door.
> 
>                              Story 8
> 
>   Hormuzd, being asked what fault the veziers of his father had
> committed that he imprisoned them, replied: 'I discovered no fault.
> I saw that boundless awe of me had taken root in their hearts but that
> they had no full confidence in my promises, wherefore I apprehended
> that they, fearing calamities would befall them, might attempt my life
> and I acted according to the maxim of sages who have said:
> 
>         'Dread him who dreads thee, O sage,
>         Although thou couldst cope with a hundred like him.
>         Seest thou not when the cat becomes desperate
>         How he plucks out with his claws the eyes of a tiger?
>         The viper stings the shepherd's foot
>         Because it fears he will strike his head with a stone.'
> 
>                              Story 9
> 
>   An Arab king was sick in his state of decrepitude so that all
> hopes of life were cut off. A trooper entered the gate with the good
> news that a certain fort had been conquered by the good luck of the
> king, that the enemies had been captured and that the whole population
> of the district had been reduced to obedience. The king heaved a
> deep sigh and replied: 'This message is not for me but for my enemies,
> namely the heirs of the kingdom.'
> 
>         I spent my precious life in hopes, alas!
>         That every desire of my heart will be fulfilled.
>         My wishes were realized, but to what profit? Since
>         There is no hope that my past life will return.
>         The hand of fate has struck the drum of departure.
>         O my two eyes, bid farewell to the head.
>         O palm, forearm, and arm of my hand,
>         All take leave from each other.
>         Death, the foe of my desires, has fallen on me
>         For the last time, O friends. Pass near me.
>         My life has elapsed in ignorance.
>         I have done nothing, be on your guard.
> 
>                              Story 10
> 
>   I was constantly engaged in prayer, at the head of the prophet
> Yahia's tomb in the cathedral mosque of Damascus, when one of the Arab
> kings, notorious for his injustice, happened to arrive on a pilgrimage
> to it, who offered his supplications and asked for compliance with his
> needs.
> 
>   The dervish and the plutocrat are slaves on the floor of this
>     threshold
>   And those who are the wealthiest are the most needy.
> 
>   Then he said to me: 'Dervishes being zealous and veracious in
> their dealings, unite thy mind to mine, for I am apprehensive of a
> powerful enemy.' I replied: 'Have mercy upon thy feeble subjects
> that thou mayest not be injured by a strong foe.'
> 
>   With a powerful arm and the strength of the wrist
>   To break the five fingers of a poor man is sin.
>   Let him be afraid who spares not the fallen
>   Because if he falls no one will take hold of his hand.
>   Whoever sows bad seed and expects good fruit
>   Has cudgelled his brains for nought and begotten vain imaginations.
>   Extract the cotton from thy ears and administer justice to thy
>     people
>   And if thou failest to do so, there is a day of retribution.
> 
>         The sons of Adam are limbs of each other
>         Having been created of one essence.
> 
>     When the calamity of time afflicts one limb
>     The other limbs cannot remain at rest.
>     If thou hast no sympathy for the troubles of others
>     Thou art unworthy to be called by the name of a man.
> 
>                              Story 11
> 
>   A dervish, whose prayers met with answers, made his appearance,
> and Hejaj Yusuf, calling him, said: 'Utter a good prayer for me',
> whereon the dervish exclaimed: 'O God, take his life.' He replied:
> 'For God's sake, what prayer is this?' The dervish rejoined: 'It is
> a good prayer for thee and for all Musalmans.'
> 
>         O tyrant, who oppressest thy subjects,
>         How long wilt thou persevere in this?
>         Of what use is authority to thee?
>         To die is better for thee than to oppress men.
> 
>                              Story 12
> 
>   An unjust king asked a devotee what kind of worship is best? He
> replied: 'For thee the best is to sleep one half of the day so as
> not to injure the people for a while.'
> 
>   I saw a tyrant sleeping half the day.
>   I said: 'This confusion, if sleep removes it, so much the better;
>   But he whose sleep is better than his wakefulness
>   Is better dead than leading such a bad life.'
> 
>                              Story 13
> 
>   I heard a king, who had changed might into day by pleasures,
> saying in his drunkenness:
> 
>   'We have in the world no moment more delightful than this,
>   Because I care neither for good nor for bad nor for anyone.'
> 
>   A naked dervish, who was sleeping outside in the cold, then said:
> 
>   'O thou like whom in happiness there is no one in the world,
>   I take it if thou carest not, we also do not care.'
> 
>   The king, being pleased with these words of unconcern, held out a
> bag of a thousand dinars from the window and said: 'Dervish, spread
> out thy skirt.' He replied: 'Whence can I, who have no robe, bring a
> skirt?' The padshah took pity on his helpless condition, added a
> robe to his gift and sent it out to him but the dervish squandered the
> money in a short time and returned.
> 
>   Property cannot abide in the hands of the free,
>   Neither patience in the heart of a lover nor water in a sieve.
> 
>   The case of the dervish having been brought to the notice of the
> king when he was not in good humour, he became angry and turned his
> face away. Therefore it has been said that intelligent and experienced
> men ought to be on their guard against the violence and despotism of
> kings because their thoughts are generally occupied with important
> affairs of state so that they cannot bear to be importuned by the
> crowd of vulgar persons.
> 
>       He will be excluded from the beneficence of the padshah
>       Who cannot watch for the proper opportunity.
>       Before thou seest the occasion for speaking at hand
>       Destroy not thy power by heedless talk.
> 
>   The king said: 'Drive away this impudent and prodigal mendicant
> who has in so short a time thrown away so much money. He does not know
> that the Beit-ulmal is intended to offer a morsel to the needy and not
> to feed the brothers of devils.'
> 
>         The fool who burns by day a camphor-light
>         Will soon not have an oil-lamp for the night.
> 
>   One of councillor-veziers said: 'My lord, it would seem proper to
> grant to such persons a sufficient allowance to be drawn from time
> to time so that they may not squander it. But anger and repulsion,
> as manifested by thee, are unworthy of a generous disposition as
> also to encourage a man by kindness and then again to distress him
> by disappointing his expectation.'
> 
>         The door ought not to be opened to applicants so
>         That, when it is ajar, it may not be shut again.
>         Nobody sees the thirsty pilgrims to Hejaz
>         Crowding at the bank of briny water.
>         Wherever a sweet spring happens to be
>         Men, birds and insects flock around it.
>                              Story 14
> 
>   One of the ancient kings neglected the government of his realm and
> kept the army in distress. Accordingly the whole of it ran away when a
> powerful enemy appeared.
> 
>         If he refrains from giving treasure to the troops
>         They refrain from putting their hands to the sword.
>         What bravery will they display in battle array
>         When their hands are empty and affairs deplorable?
> 
>   I was on terms of friendship with one of those who had acted
> treacherously and reproached him, telling him that it was base,
> ungrateful, despicable and undutiful to abandon an old master when his
> affairs have changed a little and to disregard the obligations
> incurred for benefits received during many years. He replied: 'If I
> inform thee, perhaps thou wilt excuse me for my horse had no barley
> and my saddle-cloth was pawned. A sultan who grudges money to his
> troops, they cannot bravely risk their lives for him.'
> 
>         Give gold to the soldier that he may serve thee.
>         If thou witholdest gold, he will serve elsewhere.
> 
>   When a warrior is full, he will be brave infight but if his belly be
> empty, he will be brave in flight.
> 
>                              Story 15
> 
>   A vezier, who had been removed from his post, entered the circle
> of dervishes and the blessing of their society took such effect upon
> him that he became contented in his mind. When the king was again
> favourably disposed towards him and ordered him to resume his
> office, he refused and said: 'Retirement is better than occupation.'
> 
>         Those who have sat down in the corner of safety
>         Have bound the teeth of dogs and tongues of men.
>         They tore the paper up and broke the pen
>         And are saved from the hands and tongues of slanderers.
> 
>   The king said: 'Verily we stand in need of a man of sufficient
> intelligence who is able to carry on the administration of the
> government.' He replied: 'It is a sign of sufficient intelligence
> not to engage in such matters.'
> 
>         The homa excels all other birds in nobility
>         Because it feeds on bones and injures no living thing.
> 
>   A donkey, having been asked for what salary he had elected to attend
> upon the lion, replied: 'That I may consume the remnants of his prey
> and live in safety from my enemies by taking refuge under his
> bravery.' Being again asked that, as he had entered into the shadow of
> the lion's protection and gratefully acknowledged his beneficence, why
> he had not joined the circle of intimacy so as to be accounted one
> of his favourite servants, he replied: 'I am in the same way also
> not safe of his bravery.'
> 
>         Should a Guebre kindle fire a hundred years
>         If he falls one moment into it he will be burnt.
> 
>   It may happen that a companion of his majesty the sultan receives
> gold and it is possible that he loses his head. Philosophers have said
> that it is necessary to be on guard of the fickle temper of padshahs
> because sometimes they are displeased with politeness and at others
> they bestow robes of honour for rudeness. It is also said that much
> jocularity is an accomplishment in courtiers but a fault in sages.
> 
>         Abide thou by thy dignity and gravity.
>         Leave sport and jocularity to courtiers.
> 
>                              Story 16
> 
>   One of my friends complained of the unpropitious times, telling me
> that he had a slender income, a large family, without strength to bear
> the load of poverty and had often entertained the idea to emigrate
> to another country so that no matter how he made a living no one might
> become aware of his good or ill luck.
> 
>   Many a man slept hungry and no one knew who he was.
>   Many a man was at the point of death and no one wept for him.
> 
>   He was also apprehensive of the malevolence of enemies who would
> laugh behind his back and would attribute the struggle he underwent
> for the benefit of his family to his want of manly independence and
> that they will say:
> 
>         'Behold that dishonourable fellow who will never
>         See the face of prosperity,
>         Will choose bodily comfort for himself,
>         Abandoning his wife and children to misery.'
> 
>   He also told me that as I knew he possessed some knowledge of
> arithmetic, I might, through my influence, get him appointed to a post
> which would become the means of putting his mind at ease and place him
> under obligations to me, which he could not requite by gratitude
> during the rest of his life. I replied: 'Dear friend! Employment by
> a padshah consists of two parts, namely, the hope for bread and the
> danger of life, but it is against the opinion of intelligent men to
> incur this danger for that hope.'
> 
>         No one comes to the house of a dervish
>         To levy a tax on land and garden.
>         Either consent to bear thy anxiety or grief
>         Or carry thy beloved children to the crows.
> 
>   He replied: 'Thou hast not uttered these words in conformity with my
> case nor answered my question. Hast thou not heard the saying?
> "Whoever commits treachery let his hand tremble at the account."'
> 
>         Straightness is the means of acceptance with God.
>         I saw no one lost on the straight road.
> 
>   Sages have said: 'Four persons are for life in dread of four
> persons: a robber of the sultan, a thief of the watchman, an adulterer
> of an informer, and a harlot of the muhtasib. But what has he to
> fear whose account of the conscience is clear?'
> 
>   Be not extravagant when in office, if thou desirest
>   On thy removal to see thy foes embarrassed for imputations against
>     thee.
>   Be thou pure, O brother, and in fear of no one.
>   Washermen beat only impure garments against stones.
> 
>   I said: 'The story of that fox resembles thy case, who was by some
> persons seen fleeing with much trouble and asked for the cause of
> his fear replied: 'I have heard that camels are being forced into
> the service.' They said: 'O fool, what connection hast thou with a
> camel and what resemblance does the latter bear to thee?' The fox
> rejoined: 'Hush. If the envious malevolently say that I am a camel and
> I am caught, who will care to release me or investigate my case?
> Till the antidote is brought from Eraq the snake-bitten person
> dies.' Thou art a very excellent and honest man but enemies sit in
> ambush and competitors in every corner. If they describe thy character
> in a contrary manner, thou wouldst be called upon to give explanations
> to the padshah and incur reproof. Who would on that occasion venture
> to say anything? Accordingly I am of opinion that thou shouldst retire
> to the domain of contentment and abandon aspirations to dominion. Wise
> men have said:
> 
>         'In the sea there are countless gains,
>         But if thou desirest safety, it will be on the shore.'
> 
>   My friend, having heard these words, became angry, made a wry face
> and began to reproach me, saying: 'What sufficiency of wisdom and
> maturity of intellect is this? The saying of philosophers has come
> true, that friends are useful in prison because at table all enemies
> appear as friends.'
> 
>   Account him not a friend who knocks at the door of prosperity,
>   Boasts of amity and calls himself thy adopted brother.
>   I consider him a friend who takes a friend's hand
>   When he is in a distressed state and in poverty.
> 
>   Seeing that he had thus changed and ascribed my advice to an
> interested motive, I paid a visit to the President of the State
> Council and, trusting in my old acquaintance with him, explained the
> case of my friend whom he then appointed to a small post. In a short
> time my friend's affable behaviour and good management elicited
> approbation so that he was promoted to a higher office. In this manner
> the star of his good luck ascended till he reached the zenith of his
> aspirations, became a courtier of his majesty the sultan, generally
> esteemed and trusted. I was delighted with his safe position and said:
> 
>   'Be not apprehensive of tangled affairs and keep not a broken heart
>   Because the spring of life is in darkness.'
> 
>         Do not grieve, O brother in misery,
>         Because the Ill-merciful has hidden favours.
> 
>   Sit not morose on account of the turns of time; for patience,
>   Although bitter, nevertheless possesses a sweet fruit.
> 
>   At that time I happened to go with a company of friends on a journey
> to Mekkah and on my return he met me at a distance of two stages. I
> perceived his outward appearance to be distressed, his costume being
> that of dervishes. I asked: 'What is the matter?' He replied: 'As thou
> hast predicted, some persons envied me and brought against me an
> accusation of treason. The king ordered no inquiry on its truthfulness
> and my old well-wishers with my kind friends who failed to speak the
> word of truth forgot our old intimacy.
> 
>         'Seest thou not in front of the possessor of dignity
>         They place the hands on their heads, praising him;
>         But, if fortune's turn causes his fall,
>         All desire to Place their foot on his head.
> 
>   'In short, I was till this week undergoing various persecutions,
> when the news of the pilgrims' approach from Mekkah arrived, whereon I
> was released from my heavy bonds and my hereditary property
> confiscated.' I replied: 'Thou hast not paid attention to my remarks
> when I said that the service of padshahs is like a sea voyage,
> profitable and dangerous, so that thou wilt either gain a treasure
> or perish in the waves.'
> 
>       The khajah either takes gold with both hands to the shore
>       Or the waves throw him one day dead upon the shore.
> 
>   Not thinking it suitable to scratch the wound of the dervish more
> than I had already done and so sprinkle salt thereon, I contented
> myself with reciting the following two distichs:
> 
>         Knewest thou not that thou wilt see thy feet in bonds
>         If the advice of people cannot penetrate into thy ear?
> 
>         Again, if thou canst not bear the pain of the sting
>         Put not thy finger into the hole of a scorpion.
> 
>                              Story 17
> 
>   Several men were in my company whose external appearance displayed
> the adornment of piety. A great man who had conceived a very good
> opinion of these persons had assigned them a fixed allowance but,
> after one of them had done something unbecoming the profession of
> dervishes, his opinion changed and they fell into disgrace. I
> desired in some way to save the allowance of my friends and intended
> to wait upon the great man but the doorkeeper would not allow me to
> enter and was rude. I pardoned him, because it has been said:
> 
>       The door of an amir, vezier or sultan
>       Is not to be approached without an introduction.
>       When a dog or a doorkeeper sees a stranger
>       The former takes hold of his skirt, the latter of his collar.
> 
>   When those who could at any time approach the presence of the said
> great man became aware of my case, they took me in with compliments
> and desired to assign me a high seat but I humbly took a lower one and
> said:
> 
>          'Allow me who am the smallest slave
>          To sit in the line of slaves.'
> 
>   He said: 'Allah, Allah, what need is there for such words?'
> 
>           If thou sittest on my head and eyes
>           I shall be polite, for thou art polite.
> 
>   In short, I took a seat and we conversed on a variety of topics till
> the affair of the error of my companions turned up and I said:
> 
>       'What crime has my lord seen, who was bountiful,
>       To make the slave despicable in his sight?
>       To God that magnanimity and bounty is surrendered
>       Which beholds the crime but nevertheless bestows the bread.'
> 
>   The governor, being pleased with these words, ordered the support of
> my friends to be attended to as before and the arrears to be made
> good. I expressed my gratitude, kissed the ground of obedience,
> apologized for my boldness, and said:
> 
>   'Since the Ka'bah has become the Qiblah of wants from distant lands
>   The people go to visit it from many farsangs.
>   Thou must suffer the importunity of such as we are
>   Because no one throws stones on a tree without fruit.'
> 
>                              Story 18
> 
>   A royal prince, having inherited abundant treasures from his father,
> opened the hand of liberality and satisfied his impulse of
> generosity by lavishing without stint benefits upon the army and the
> population.
> 
>         A tray of lignum aloes will emit no odour.
>         Place it on fire, it will smell like ambergris.
>         If thou wishest to be accounted great, be liberal
>         Because grain will not grow unless it be sown.
> 
>   One of his courtiers began heedlessly to admonish him, saying:
> 'Former kings have by their exertions accumulated this wealth and
> deposited it for a useful purpose. Cease this movement because
> calamities may arise in front and enemies in the rear. It is not
> meet for thee to be helpless at a time of necessity.'
> 
>         If thou distributest a treasure to the multitude
>         Each householder will receive a grain of rice.
>         Why takest thou not from each a barley-corn of silver
>         That thou mayest accumulate every day a treasure?
> 
>   The royal prince turned away his face at these words and said:
> 'God the most high has made me the possessor of this country, to enjoy
> and to bestow, not to guard and to retain.'
> 
>   Qarun, who possessed forty treasure houses, perished.
>   Nushirvan has not died because he obtained a good reputation.
> 
>                              Story 19
> 
>   It is related that, whilst some game was being roasted for Nushirvan
> the just during a hunting party, no salt could be found. Accordingly a
> boy was sent to an adjoining village to bring some. Nushirvan said:
> 'Pay for the salt lest it should become a custom and the village be
> ruined.' Having been asked what harm could arise from such a
> trifling demand, Nushirvan replied: 'The foundation of oppression
> was small in the world but whoever came augmented it so that it
> reached its present magnitude.'
> 
>         If the king eats one apple from the garden of a subject
>         His slaves will pull him up the tree from the roots.
> 
>   For five eggs which the sultan allows to be taken by force
>   The people belonging to his army will put a thousand
>     fowls on the spit.
> 
>         A tyrant does not remain in the world
>         But the curse on him abides for ever.
> 
>                              Story 20
> 
>   I heard that an oppressor ruined the habitations of the subjects
> to fill the treasury of the sultan, unmindful of the maxim of
> philosophers, who have said: 'Who offends God the most high to gain
> the heart of a created being, God will use that very being to bring on
> his destruction in the world.'
> 
>         Fire burning with wild rue will not
>         Cause a smoke like that of afflicted hearts.
> 
>   The prince of all animals is the lion and the meanest of beasts
> the ass. Nevertheless sages agree that an ass who carries loads is
> better than a lion who destroys men.
> 
>         The poor donkey though void of discernment
>         Is nevertheless esteemed when he carries a burden.
>         Oxen and asses who carry loads
>         Are superior to men oppressing mankind.
> 
>   When the king had obtained information of some of the oppressor's
> misdeeds and bad conduct, he had him put on the rack and slain by
> various tortures.
> 
>         Thou wilt not obtain the approbation of the sultan
>         Unless thou seekest the goodwill of his subjects.
>         If thou desirest God to condone thy transgressions,
>         Do good to the people whom God has created.
> 
>   One of the oppressed who passed near him said:
> 
>         'Not everyone who possesses strength of arm and office
>         In the sultanate may with impunity plunder the people.
>         A hard bone may be made to pass down the throat
>         But it will tear the belly when it sticks in the navel.'
> 
>                              Story 21
> 
>   It is narrated that an oppressor of the people, a soldier, hit the
> head of a pious man with a stone and that the dervish, having no means
> of taking vengeance, preserved the stone till the time arrived when
> the king became angry with that soldier, and imprisoned him in a well.
> Then the dervish made his appearance and dropped the stone upon his
> head. He asked: 'Who art thou, and why hast thou hit my head with this
> stone?' The man replied: 'I am the same person whom thou hast struck
> on the head with this stone on such and such a day.' The soldier
> continued: 'Where hast thou been all this time?' The dervish
> replied: 'I was afraid of thy dignity but now when I beheld thee in
> the well I made use of the opportunity.'
> 
>         When thou seest an unworthy man in good luck
>         Intelligent men have chosen submission.
>         If thou hast not a tearing sharp nail
>         It will be better not to contend with the wicked.
>         Who grasps with his fist one who has an arm of steel
>         Injures only his own powerless wrist.
>         Wait till inconstant fortune ties his hand.
>         Then, to please thy friends, pick out his brains.
> 
>                              Story 22
> 
>   A king was subject to a terrible disease, the mention of which is
> not sanctioned by custom. The tribe of Yunani physicians agreed that
> this pain cannot be allayed except by means of the bile of a person
> endued with certain qualities. Orders having been issued to search for
> an individual of this kind, the son of a landholder was discovered
> to possess the qualities mentioned by the doctors. The king summoned
> the father and mother of the boy whose consent he obtained by giving
> them immense wealth. The qazi issued a judicial decree that it is
> permissible to shed the blood of one subject for the safety of the
> king and the executioner was ready to slay the boy who then looked
> heavenwards and smiled. The king asked: 'What occasion for laughter is
> there in such a position?' The youth replied: 'A son looks to the
> affection of his father and mother to bring his case before the qazi
> and to ask justice from the padshah. In the present instance, however,
> the father and mother have for the trash of this world surrendered
> my blood, the qazi has issued a decree to kill me, the sultan thinks
> he will recover his health only through my destruction and I see no
> other refuge besides God the most high.'
> 
>         To whom shall I complain against thy hand
>         If I am to seek justice also from thy hand?
> 
>   The sultan became troubled at these words, tears rushed to his
> eyes and he said: 'It is better for me to perish than to shed innocent
> blood.' He kissed the head and eyes of the youth, presented him with
> boundless wealth and it is said that the king also recovered his
> health during that week.
> 
>         I also remember the distich recited
>         By the elephant-driver on the bank of the Nile:
>         'If thou knewest the state of the ant under thy foot
>         It is like thy own condition under the foot of an elephant.'
> 
>                              Story 23
> 
>   One of the servants of Umrulais had fled but some men, having been
> sent in pursuit, brought him back. The vezier who bore a grudge
> towards him desired him to be killed that the other servants may not
> imitate his example. He placed his head on the ground before
> Umrulais and said:
> 
>   'Whatever befalls my head is lawful with thy approbation.
>   What plea can the slave advance? The sentence is the master's.'
> 
>   'But, having been nourished by the bounty of this dynasty, I am loth
> that on the day of resurrection thou shouldst be punished for having
> shed my blood; but, if thou desirest to kill me, do so according to
> the provisions of the law.' He asked: 'How am I to interpret it?'
> The slave continued: 'Allow me to kill the vezier and then take my
> life in retaliation so that I may be killed justly.' The king smiled
> and asked the vezier what he thought of the matter. He replied: 'My
> lord, give freedom to this bastard as an oblation to the tomb of thy
> father for fear he would bring trouble on me likewise. It is my
> fault for not having taken account of the maxim of philosophers who
> have said:
> 
>         When thou fightest with a thrower of clods
>         Thou ignorantly breakest thy own head.
>         When thou shootest an arrow at the face of a foe
>         Be on thy guard for thou art sitting as a target for him.'
> 
>                              Story 24
> 
>   King Zuzan had a khajah of noble sentiments and of good aspect who
> served his companions when they were present and spoke well of them
> when they were absent. He happened to do something whereby he incurred
> the displeasure of the king who inflicted a fine on him and also
> otherwise punished him. The officials of the king, mindful of the
> benefits they had formerly received from him and being by them pledged
> to gratitude, treated him kindly whilst in their custody and allowed
> no one to insult him.
> 
>         If thou desirest peace from the foe, whenever he
>         Finds fault behind thy back praise him to his face.
>         A vicious fellow's mouth must utter words.
>         If thou desirest not bitter words, sweeten his mouth.
> 
>   He was absolved of some accusations brought by the king against
> him but retained in prison for some. Another king in those regions
> secretly dispatched a message to him, to the purport that the
> sovereigns of that country, not knowing his excellent qualities, had
> dishonoured him, but that if his precious mind (may Allah prosper
> the end of his affairs) were to look in this direction, the utmost
> efforts would be made to please him, because the nobles of this
> realm would consider it an honour to see him and are waiting for a
> reply to this letter. The khajah, who had received this information,
> being apprehensive of danger, forthwith wrote a brief and suitable
> answer on the back of the sheet of paper and sent it back. One,
> however, of the king's courtiers, who noticed what had taken place,
> reported to him that the imprisoned khajah was in correspondence
> with the princes of the adjacent country. The king became angry and
> desired this affair to be investigated. The courier was overtaken
> and deprived of the letter, the contents of which were found on
> perusal to be as follows: 'The good opinion of high personages is more
> than their servant's merit deserves, who is unable to comply with
> the honour of reception which they have offered him, because having
> been nourished by the bounty of this dynasty, he cannot become
> unthankful towards his benefactor in consequence of a slight change of
> sentiments of the latter, since it is said:
> 
>     He who bestows every moment favours upon thee
>     Is to be pardoned by thee if once in his life he injures thee.'
> 
>   The king approved of his gratitude, bestowed upon him a robe of
> honour, gave him presents and asked his pardon, saying: 'I committed a
> mistake.' He replied: 'My lord, it was the decree of God the most high
> that a misfortune should befall this servant but it was best that it
> should come from thy hands which had formerly bestowed favours upon
> him and placed him under obligations.'
> 
>         If people injure thee grieve not
>         Because neither rest nor grief come from the people.
>         Be aware that the contrasts of friend and foe are from God
>         Because the hearts of both are in his keeping.
>         Although the arrow is shot from the bow
>         Wise men look at the archer.
> 
>                              Story 25
> 
>   One of the Arab kings ordered his officials to double the
> allowance of a certain attendant because he was always at the palace
> expecting orders while the other servants were engaged in amusements
> and sports, neglecting their duties. A pious man who heard this
> remarked that high degrees at the court of heaven are similarly
> bestowed upon servants:
> 
>       If a man comes two mornings to serve the shah
>       He will on the third certainly look benevolently on him.
>       Sincere worshippers entertain the hope
>       That they will not be disappointed at the threshold of God.
> 
>         Superiority consists in attending to commands.
>         The neglect of commands leads to exclusion.
>         Who possesses the criterion of righteousness
>         Places the head upon the threshold.
> 
>                              Story 26
> 
>   It is narrated that a tyrant who purchased wood from dervishes
> forcibly gave it away to rich -people gratuitously. A pious man
> passing near said:
> 
>         'Thou art a snake, stingest whom thou beholdest,
>         Or an owl; wherever thou sittest thou destroyest.
> 
>         Although thy oppression may pass among us
>         It cannot pass with the Lord who knows all secrets.
> 
>         Oppress not the denizens of the earth
>         That their supplications may not pass to heaven.'
> 
>   The tyrant, being displeased with these words, got angry and took no
> notice of him until one night, when fire from the kitchen fell into
> the store of his wood and burnt all he possessed-transferring him from
> his soft bed to a hot mound of ashes-the same pious man happened again
> to pass and to hear him saying to his friends: 'I do not know whence
> this fire has fallen into my house.' replied: 'From the smoke of the
> hearts of dervishes.'
> 
>         Beware of the smoke of internal wounds
>         Because at last an internal wound will break out.
>         Forbear to uproot one heart as long as thou canst
>         Because one sigh may uproot a world.
> 
>   Upon the diadem of Kaikhosru the following piece was inscribed:
> 
>         For how many years and long lives
>         Will the people walk over my head on the ground?
>         As from hand to hand the kingdom came to us
>         So it will also go to other hands.
> 
>                              Story 27
> 
>   A man had attained great excellence in the art of wrestling, who
> knew three hundred and sixty exquisite tricks and daily exhibited
> something new. He had a particular affection for the beauty of one
> of his pupils whom he taught three hundred and fifty-nine tricks,
> refraining to impart to him only one. At last the youth had attained
> such power and skill that no one was able to contend with him and he
> went so far as to say to the sultan: 'I allow superiority to my
> teacher on account of his age and from gratitude for his instruction
> but my strength is not less than his and my skill equal.' The king,
> who was not pleased with this want of good manners, ordered them to
> wrestle with each other and a spacious locality having been fixed
> upon, the pillars of state and courtiers of his majesty made their
> appearance. The youth made an onslaught like a mad elephant with an
> impulse which might have uprooted a mountain of brass from its place
> but the master, who knew that he was in strength superior to
> himself, attacked him with the rare trick he had reserved to himself
> and which the youth was unable to elude; whereon the master, lifting
> him up with his hands from the ground, raised him above his head and
> then threw him down. Shouts were raised by the spectators and the king
> ordered a robe of honour with other presents to be given to the
> teacher but reproached and blamed the youth for having attempted to
> cope with his instructor and succumbed. He replied: 'My lord, he has
> not vanquished me by his strength but there was a slender part in
> the art of wrestling which he had withheld from me and had today
> thereby got the upper hand of me.' The master said: 'I had reserved it
> for such an occasion because wise men have said: "Do not give so
> much strength to thy friend that, if he becomes thy foe, he may injure
> thee." Hast thou not heard what the man said who suffered
> molestation from one whom he had educated?
> 
>         Either fidelity itself does not exist in this world
>         Or nobody practices it in our time.
>         No one had learnt archery from me
>         Without at last making a target of me.'
> 
>                              Story 28
> 
>   A solitary dervish was sitting in a corner of the desert when a
> padshah happened to pass by but, ease having made him independent,
> he took no notice. The sultan, in conformity with his royal dignity,
> became angry and said: 'This tribe of rag-wearers resembles beasts.'
> The vezier said: 'The padshah of the surface of the earth has passed
> near thee. Why hast thou not paid homage and shown good manners?' He
> replied: 'Tell the king to look for homage from a man who expects
> benefits from him and also that kings exist for protecting subjects
> and subjects not for obeying kings.'
> 
>         The padshah is the guardian of the dervish
>         Although wealth is in the glory of his reign.
>         The sheep is not for the shepherd
>         But the shepherd for the service of it.
> 
>       Today thou beholdest one man prosperous
>       And another whose heart is wounded by struggling.
>       Wait a few days till the earth consumes
>       The brain in the head of the visionary.
>       Distinction between king and slave has ceased
>       When the decree of fate overtakes them.
>       If a man were to open the tombs of the dead
>       He would not distinguish a rich from a poor man.
> 
>   The king, who was pleased with the sentiments of the dervish,
> asked him to make a request but he answered that the only one he had
> to make was to be left alone. The king then asked for advice and the
> dervish said:
> 
>         'Understand now while wealth is in thy hand
>         That fortune and kingdom will leave thy hand.'
> 
>                              Story 29
> 
>   A vezier paid a visit to Zulnun Misri and asked for his favour,
> saying: 'I am day and night engaged in the service of the sultan and
> hoping to be rewarded but nevertheless dread to be punished by him.'
> Zulnun wept and said: 'Had I feared God, the great and glorious, as
> thou fearest the sultan, I would be one of the number of the
> righteous.'
> 
>         If there were no hope of rest and trouble
>         The foot of the dervish would be upon the sphere
>         And if the vezier feared God
>         Like the king he would be king.
> 
>                              Story 30
> 
>   A padshah having issued orders to kill an innocent man, the latter
> said: 'O king, seek not thine own injury on account of the anger
> thou bearest towards me.' He asked: 'How?' The man replied: 'This
> punishment will abide with me one moment but the sin of it for ever
> with thee.'
> 
>         The period of life has passed away like the desert wind.
>         Bitter and sweet, ugliness and beauty have passed away.
>         The tyrant fanded he had done injury to us.
>         It remained on his neck and passed away from us.
> 
>   This admonition having taken effect, the king spared his blood.
> 
>                              Story 31
> 
>   The veziers of Nushirvan happened to discuss an important affair
> of state, each giving his opinion according to his knowledge. The king
> likewise gave his opinion and Barzachumihr concurred with it.
> Afterwards the veziers secretly asked him: 'What superiority hast thou
> discovered in the opinion of the king above so many other
> reflections of wise men?' The philosopher replied: 'Since the
> termination of the affair is unknown and it depends upon the will of
> God whether the opinion of the others will turn out right or wrong, it
> was better to agree with the opinion of the king so that, if it should
> turn out to have been wrong, we may, on account of having followed it,
> remain free from blame.'
> 
>         To proffer an opinion contrary to the king's
>         Means to wash the hands in one's own blood.
>         Should he in plain day say it is night,
>         It is meet to shout: 'Lo, the moon and the pleiads!'
> 
>                              Story 32
> 
>   An impostor arranged his hair in a peculiar fashion, pretended to be
> a descendant of A'li and entered the town with a caravan from the
> Hejaz, saying that he had just arrived from a pilgrimage. He also
> presented an elegy to the king, alleging that he had himself
> composed it. One of the king's courtiers, who had that year returned
> from a journey, said: 'I have seen him at Bosrah on the Azhah
> festival, then how can he be a Haji?' Another said: 'His father was
> a Christian at Melitah. How can he be a descendant of A'li? And his
> poetry has been found in the Divan of Anvari.' The king ordered him to
> be beaten and expelled the country for his great mendacity. The man
> said: 'O lord of the surface of the earth, I shall say something
> more and, if it is not true, I shall deserve any punishment which thou
> mayest decree.' He asked: 'What is it?'
> 
>   When a stranger brings before thee buttermilk
>   Two measures of it will be water and a spoonful sour milk.
>   If thou hast heard heedless talk from thy slave, be not offended.
>   A man who has seen the world utters much falsehood.
> 
>   The king laughed, told him that all his life he had not uttered more
> true words than these and ordered the present which the fellow hoped
> for to be got ready.
> 
>                              Story 33
> 
>   One of the veziers of a king treated his subordinates with
> kindness and sought the goodwill of his colleagues. Once he happened
> to be called to account by the king for something he had done
> whereon his colleagues endeavoured to effect his liberation. Those who
> guarded him treated him leniently and the great men expatiated upon
> his good character to the padshah till he renounced all further
> inquiry. A pious man who took cognizance of this affair said:
> 
>         'In order to gain the hearts of friends
>         Sell even the garden of thy father.
>         In order to boil the pot of well-wishers
>         Burn even all the furniture of the house.
>         Do good even to a malevolent fellow.
>         Tie up the mouth of the dog with a sop.'
> 
>                              Story 34
> 
>   One of the sons of Harun-ur-Rashid went to his father and angrily
> informed him that the son of an official had used insulting
> expressions towards him whereon Harun asked his courtiers what
> requital he deserved. One of them proposed capital punishment, another
> the amputation of the tongue whilst a third recommended fine and
> imprisonment. Then Harun said: 'Oh my son, it would be generous to
> pardon him but, if thou art unable to do so, use likewise insulting
> expressions concerning his mother; not however to such a degree as
> to exceed the bounds of vengeance because in that case the wrong
> will be on thy side.'
> 
>         He is not reputed a man by the wise
>         Who contends with a furious elephant
>         But he is a man in reality
>         Who when angry speaks not idle words.
> 
>         An ill-humoured fellow insulted a man
>         Who patiently bore it saying: 'O hopeful youth,
>         I am worse than thou speakest of me
>         For I am more conscious of my faults than thou.'
> 
>                              Story 35
> 
>   I was sitting in a vessel with a company of great men when a boat
> which contained two brothers happened to sink near us. One of the
> great men promised a hundred dinars to a sailor if he could save
> them both. Whilst however the sailor was pulling out one, the other
> perished. I said: 'He had no longer to live and therefore delay took
> place in rescuing him.' The sailor smiled and replied: 'What thou hast
> said is certain. Moreover, I preferred to save this one because,
> when I once-happened to lag behind in the desert, he seated me on
> his camel, whereas I had received a whipping by the hands of the
> other. When I was a boy I recited: He, who doth right, doth it to
> his own soul and he, who doth evil, doth it against the same.'
> 
>         As long as thou canst, scratch the interior of no one
>         Because there are thorns on this road.
>         Be helpful in the affairs of a dervish
>         Because thou also hast affairs.
> 
>                              Story 36
> 
>   There were two brothers: one of them in the service of the sultan
> and the other gaining his livelihood by the effort of his arm. The
> wealthy man once asked his destitute brother why he did not serve
> the sultan in order to be delivered from the hardship of labouring. He
> replied: 'Why labourest thou not to be delivered from the baseness
> of service because philosophers have said that it is better to eat
> barley bread and to sit than to gird oneself with a golden belt and to
> stand in service?'
> 
>   To leaven mortar of quicklime with the hand
>   Is better than to hold them on the breast before the amir.
> 
>         My precious life was spent in considering
>         What I am to eat in summer and wear in winter.
>         O ignoble belly, be satisfied with one bread
>         Rather than to bend the back in service.
> 
>                              Story 37
> 
>   Someone had brought information to Nushirvan the just that an
> enemy of his had been removed from this world by God the most high. He
> asked: 'Hast thou heard anything about his intending to spare me?'
> 
>         There is no occasion for our rejoicing at a foe's death
>         Because our own life will also not last for ever.
> 
>                              Story 38
> 
>   A company of philosophers were discussing a subject in the palace of
> Kesra and Barzachumihr, having remained silent, they asked him why
> he took no share in the debate. He replied: 'Veziers are like
> physicians and the latter give medicine to the sick only but, as I
> perceive that your opinions are in conformity with propriety, I have
> nothing to say about them.'
> 
>         When an affair succeeds without my idle talk
>         It is not meet for me to speak thereon.
>         But if I see a blind man near a well
>         It is a crime for me to remain silent.
> 
>                              Story 39
> 
>   Harun-ur-Rashid said when the country of Egypt was surrendered to
> him: 'In contrast to the rebel who had in his arrogance of being
> sovereign of Egypt pretended to be God, I shall bestow this country
> upon the meanest of my slaves.' He had a stupid negro, Khosaib by
> name, whom he made governor of Egypt but his intellect and
> discrimination were so limited that when the tribe of Egyptian
> agriculturists complained and stated that they had sown cotton along
> the banks of the Nile and that an untimely rain had destroyed it he
> replied: 'You ought to have sown wool.' A pious man heard this, and
> said:
> 
>         'If livelihood were increased by knowledge
>         None would be more needy than the ignorant.
>         Nevertheless the ignorant receive a livelihood
>         At which the learned stand aghast.
>         The luck of wealth consists not in skill
>         But only in the aid of heaven.
>         It happens in the world that many
>         Silly men are honoured and sages despised.
>         If an alchemist has died in grief and misery,
>         A fool discovered a treasure amidst ruins.'
> 
>                              Story 40
> 
>   A Chinese slave-girl having been brought to a king, he desired to
> have connection with her whilst in a state of intoxication but, as she
> repelled him, he became angry and presented her to one of his
> negro-slaves whose upper lip was higher than his nostrils whilst the
> lower one hung down to his neck. His stature was such that the demon
> Sakhrah would have been put to flight and a fountain of pitch
> emitted stench from his armpits.
> 
>         Thou wouldst say that, till the resurrection, ugliness
>         Is his stamp as that of Joseph was beauty.
>         His person was of so wretched an aspect
>         That his ugliness surpassed all description
>         And from his armpits we take refuge with Allah,
>         They were like a corpse in the month of Merdad.
> 
>   At that time the desire of the negro was libidinous, his lust
> overcame him, his love leapt up and he took off the seal of her
> virginity. In the morning the king sought the girl but could not
> find her and, having obtained information of what had taken place,
> he became angry, ordered the negro and the girl to be firmly tied
> together by their hands and feet and to be thrown from the lofty
> building into a ditch. One of the veziers, placing the face of
> intercession upon the ground, pleaded that there was no guilt in the
> negro since all the servants of his majesty usually receive presents
> and benefits as he had received the girl. The king rejoined: 'What
> would it have mattered if he had for one night delayed his enjoyment?'
> He said: 'My lord, hast thou not heard that it was said:
> 
>         When a man with a burning thirst reaches a limpid spring,
>         Think not that he will care for a mad elephant.
>         When a hungry infidel is in an empty house at table
>         Reason will not believe that he cares for the Ramazan.'
> 
>   The king, being pleased with this sally, exclaimed: 'I make thee a
> present of the negro. What am I to do with the girl?' He replied:
> 'Give the girl to the negro because that half is also due to a dog
> of which he has consumed the other half.'
> 
>     The thirsty heart does not wish for limpid water
>     Half of which was consumed by a fetid mouth.
> 
>         How can the king's hand again touch
>         An orange after it has fallen into dung?
> 
>                              Story 41
> 
>   Iskandur Rumi, having been asked how he had conquered the east and
> the west, considering that the treasures, territories, reigns and
> armies of former kings exceeded his own and they had not gained such a
> victory, replied: 'Whatever country I conquered by the aid of God
> the most high, I abstained from distressing its population and spoke
> nothing but good of the king.'
> 
>         The intelligent will not call him great
>         Who speaks ill of the great.
> 
>   All this is nothing as it passes away:
>   Throne and luck, command and prohibition, taking and giving.
>   Injure not the name of those who have passed away
>   In order that thy own name may subsist.
> 
>                            CHAPTER II
>                      THE MORALS OF DERVISHES
> 
>                              Story 1
> 
>   One of the great devotees having been asked about his opinion
> concerning a hermit whom others had censured in their conversation, he
> replied: 'I do not see any external blemishes on him and do not know
> of internal ones.'
> 
>         Whomsoever thou seest in a religious habit
>         Consider him to be a religious and good man
>         And, if thou knowest not his internal condition,
>         What business has the muhtasib inside the house?
> 
>                              Story 2
> 
>   I saw a dervish who placed his head upon the threshold of the
> Ka'bah, groaned, and said: 'O forgiving, 0 merciful one, thou
> knowest what an unrighteous, ignorant man can offer to thee.'
> 
>         I have craved pardon for the deficiency of my service
>         Because I can implore no reward for my obedience.
>         Sinners repent of their transgressions.
>         Arifs ask forgiveness for their imperfect worship.
> 
>   Devotees desire a reward for their obedience and merchants the price
> of their wares but I, who am a worshipper, have brought hope and not
> obedience. I have come to beg and not to trade. Deal with me as thou
> deemest fit.
> 
>   Whether thou killest me or forgivest my crime,
>     my face and head are on thy threshold.
>   A slave has nothing to command; whatever thou commandest I obey.
> 
>         I saw a mendicant at the door of the Ka'bah
>         Who said this and wept abundantly:
>         'I ask not for the acceptance of my service
>         But for drawing the pen of pardon over my sins.'
> 
>                              Story 3
> 
>   I saw A'bd-u-Qader Gaillani in the sanctuary of the Ka'bah with
> his face on the pebbles and saying: 'O lord, pardon my sins and, if
> I deserve punishment, cause me to arise blind on the day of
> resurrection that I may not be ashamed in the sight of the righteous.'
> 
>         With my face on the earth of helplessness
>         I say Every morning as soon as I become conscious:
>         O thou whom I shall never forget
>         Wilt thou at all remember thy slave?
> 
>                              Story 4
> 
>   A thief paid a visit to the house of a pious man but, although he
> sought a great deal, found nothing and was much grieved. The pious
> man, who knew this, threw the blanket upon which he had been
> sleeping into the way of the thief that he might not go away
> disappointed.
> 
>         I heard that men of the way of God
>         Have not distressed the hearts of enemies.
>         How canst thou attain that dignity
>         Who quarrelest and wagest war against friends?
> 
>   The friendship of pure men, whether in thy presence or absence, is
> not such as Will find fault behind thy back and is ready to die for
> thee before thy face.
> 
>         In thy presence gentle like a lamb,
>         In thy absence like a man-devouring wolf.
> 
>   Who brings the faults of another to thee and enumerates them
>   Will undoubtedly carry thy faults to others.
> 
>                              Story 5
> 
>   Several travellers were on a journey together and equally sharing
> each other's troubles and comforts. I desired to accompany them but
> they would not agree. Then I said: 'It is foreign to the manners of
> great men to turn away the face from the company of the poor and so
> deprive themselves of the advantage they might derive therefrom
> because I for one consider myself sufficiently strong and energetic to
> be of service to men and not an encumbrance. Although I am not
> riding on a beast, I shall aid you in carrying blankets.' One of
> them said: 'Do not be grieved at the words thou hast heard because
> some days ago a thief in the guise of a dervish arrived and joined our
> company.'
> 
>         How can people know who is in the dress?
>         The writer is aware what the book contains.
> 
>   As the state of dervishes is safe, they entertained no suspicion
> about him and received him as a friend.
> 
>         The outward state of Arifs is the patched dress.
>         It suffices as a display to the face of the people.
> 
>   Strive by thy acts to be good and wear anything thou listest.
>   Place a crown on thy head and a flag on thy back.
>   The abandoning of the world, of lust, and of desire
>   Is sanctity, not the abandonment of the robe only.
>   It is necessary to show manhood in the fight.
>   Of what profit are weapons of war to an hermaphrodite?
> 
>   We travelled one day till the night set in during which we slept
> near a fort and the graceless thief, taking up the water-pot of a
> companion, pretending to go for an ablution, departed for plunder.
> 
>         A pretended saint who wears the dervish garb
>         Has made of the Ka'bah's robes the covering of an ass.
> 
>   After disappearing from the sight of the dervishes, he went to a
> tower from which he stole a casket and, when the day dawned, the
> dark-hearted wretch had already progressed a considerable distance. In
> the morning the guiltless sleeping companions were all taken to the
> fort and thrown into prison. From that date we renounced companionship
> and took the road of solitude, according to the maxim: Safety is in
> solitude.
> 
>         When one of a tribe has done a foolish thing
>         No honour is left either to the low or the high.
>         Seest thou not how one ox of the pasturage
>         Defiles all oxen of the village?
> 
>   I replied: 'Thanks be to the God of majesty and glory, I have not
> been excluded from the advantages enjoyed by dervishes, although I
> have separated myself from their society. I have profited by what thou
> hast narrated to me and this admonition will be of use through life to
> persons like me.'
> 
>         For one rude fellow in the assembly
>         The heart of intelligent men is much grieved.
>         If a tank be filled with rose-water
>         A dog falling into it pollutes the whole.
> 
>                              Story 6
> 
>   A hermit, being the guest of a padshah, ate less than he wished when
> sitting at dinner and when he rose for prayers he prolonged them
> more than was his wont in order to enhance the opinion entertained
> by the padshah of his piety.
> 
>       O Arab of the desert, I fear thou wilt not reach the Ka'bah
>       Because the road on which thou travellest leads to Turkestan.
> 
>   When he returned to his own house, he desired the table to be laid
> out for eating. He had an intelligent son who said: 'Father, hast thou
> not eaten anything at the repast of the sultan?' He replied: 'I have
> not eaten anything to serve a purpose.' The boy said: 'Then likewise
> say thy prayers again as thou hast not done anything to serve that
> purpose.'
> 
>         O thou who showest virtues on the palms of the hand
>         But concealest thy errors under the armpit
>         What wilt thou purchase, O vain-glorious fool,
>         On the day of distress with counterfeit silver?
> 
>                              Story 7
> 
>   I remember, being in my childhood pious, rising in the night,
> addicted to devotion and abstinence. One night I was sitting with my
> father, remaining awake and holding the beloved Quran in my lap,
> whilst the people around us were asleep. I said: 'Not one of these
> persons lifts up his head or makes a genuflection. They are as fast
> asleep as if they were dead.' He replied: 'Darling of thy father,
> would that thou wert also asleep rather than disparaging people.'
> 
>         The pretender sees no one but himself
>         Because he has the veil of conceit in front.
>         If he were endowed with a God-discerning eye
>         He would see that no one is weaker than himself.
> 
>                              Story 8
> 
>   A great man was praised in an assembly and, his good qualities being
> extolled, he raised his head and said: 'I am such as I know myself
> to be.'
> 
>   O thou who reckonest my virtues, refrainest from giving me pain,
>   These are my open, and thou knowest not my hidden, qualities.
> 
>   My person is, to the eyes of the world, of good aspect
>   But my internal wickedness makes me droop my head with shame.
>   The peacock is for his beauteous colours by the people
>   Praised whilst he is ashamed of his ugly feet.
> 
>                              Story 9
> 
>   One of the devotees of Mount Lebanon, whose piety was famed in the
> Arab country and his miracles well known, entered the cathedral mosque
> of Damascus and was performing his purificatory ablution on the edge
> of a tank when his feet slipped and he fell into the reservoir but
> saved himself with great trouble. After the congregation had
> finished their prayers, one of his companions said: 'I have a
> difficulty.' He asked: 'What is it?' He continued: 'I remember that
> the sheikh walked on the surface of the African sea without his feet
> getting wetted and today he nearly perished in this paltry water which
> is not deeper than a man's stature. What reason is there in this?' The
> sheikh drooped his head into the bosom of meditation and said after
> a long pause: 'Hast thou not heard that the prince of the world,
> Muhammad the chosen, upon whom be the benediction of Allah and
> peace, has said: I have time with Allah during which no cherubim nor
> inspired prophet is equal to me?' But he did not say that such was
> always the case. The time alluded to was when Gabriel or Michael
> inspired him whilst on other occasions he was satisfied with the
> society of Hafsah and Zainab. The visions of the righteous one are
> between brilliancy and obscurity.
> 
>         Thou showest thy countenance and then hidest it
>         Enhancing thy value and augmenting our desire.
> 
>         I behold whom I love without an intervention.
>         Then a trance befalls me; I lose the road;
>         It kindles fire, then quenches it with a sprinkling shower.
>         Wherefore thou seest me burning and drowning.
> 
>                              Story 10
> 
>   One asked the man who had lost his son:
> 
>         'O noble and intelligent old man!
>         As thou hast smelt the odour of his garment from Egypt
>         Why hast thou not seen him in the well of Canaan?'
> 
>     He replied:
> 
>         'My state is that of leaping lightning.
>         One moment it appears and at another vanishes.
>         I am sometimes sitting in high heaven.
>         Sometimes I cannot see the back of my foot.
>         Were a dervish always to remain in that state
>         He would not care for the two worlds.'
> 
>                              Story 11
> 
>   I spoke in the cathedral mosque of Damascus a few words by way of
> a sermon but to a congregation whose hearts were withered and dead,
> not having travelled from the road of the world of form, the physical,
> to the world of meaning, the moral world. I perceived that my words
> took no effect and that burning fire does not kindle moist wood. I was
> sorry for instructing brutes and holding forth a mirror in a
> locality of blind people. I had, however, opened the door of meaning
> and was giving a long explanation of the verse We are nearer unto
> Him than the jugular vein till I said:
> 
>         'The Friend is nearer to me than my self,
>         But it is more strange that I am far from him.
>         What am I to do? To whom can it be said that he
>         Is in my arms, but I am exiled from him.'
> 
>   I had intoxicated myself with the wine of these sentiments,
> holding the remnant of the cup of the sermon in my hand when a
> traveller happened to pass near the edge of the assembly, and the last
> turn of the circulating cup made such an impression upon him that he
> shouted and the others joined him who began to roar, whilst the raw
> portion of the congregation became turbulent. Whereon I said:
> 'Praise be to Allah! Those who are far away but intelligent are in the
> presence of Allah, and those who are near but blind are distant.'
> 
>         When the hearer understands not the meaning of words
>         Do not look for the effect of the orator's force
>         But raise an extensive field of desire
>         That the eloquent man may strike the ball of effect.
> 
>                              Story 12
> 
>   One night I had in the desert of Mekkah become so weak from want
> of sleep that I was unable to walk and, laying myself down, told the
> camel driver to let me alone.
> 
>         How far can the foot of a wretched pedestrian go
>         When a dromedary gets distressed by its load?
>         Whilst the body of a fat man becomes lean
>         A weak man will be dead of exhaustion.
> 
>   He replied: 'O brother, the sanctuary is in front of us and brigands
> in the rear. If thou goest thou wilt prosper. If thou sleepest thou
> wilt die.'
> 
>   It is pleasant to sleep under an acacia on the desert road
>   But alas! thou must bid farewell to life on the night of departure.
> 
>                              Story 13
> 
>   I saw a holy man on the seashore who had been wounded by a tiger. No
> medicine could relieve his pain; he suffered much but he
> nevertheless constantly thanked God the most high, saying: 'Praise
> be to Allah that I have fallen into a calamity and not into sin.'
> 
>         If that beloved Friend decrees me to be slain
>         I shall not say that moment that I grieve for life
>         Or say: What fault has thy slave committed?
>         My grief will be for having offended thee.
> 
>                              Story 14
> 
>   A dervish who had fallen into want stole a blanket from the house of
> a friend. The judge ordered his hand to be amputated but the owner
> of the blanket interceded, saying that he had condoned the fault.
> The judge rejoined: 'Thy intercession cannot persuade me to neglect
> the provision of the law.' The man continued: 'Thou hast spoken the
> truth but amputation is not applicable to a person who steals some
> property dedicated to pious uses. More over a beggar possesses nothing
> and whatever belongs to a dervish is dedicated to the use of the
> needy.' Thereon the judge released the culprit, saying: 'The world
> must indeed have become too narrow for thee that thou hast committed
> no theft except from the house of such a friend.' He replied: 'Hast
> thou not heard the saying: Sweep out the house of friends and do not
> knock at the door of foes.'
> 
>     If thou sinkest in a calamity be not helpless.
>     Strip thy foes of their skins and thy friends of their fur-coats.
> 
>                              Story 15
> 
>   A padshah, meeting a holy man, asked him whether he did not
> sometimes remember him for the purpose of getting presents. He
> replied: 'Yes, I do, whenever I forget God.'
> 
>         Whom He drives from his door, runs everywhere.
>         Whom He calls, runs to no one's door.
> 
>                              Story 16
> 
>   A pious man saw in a dream a padshah in paradise and a devotee in
> hell whereon he asked for the reason of the former's exaltation and
> the latter's degradation, saying that he had imagined the contrary
> ought to be the case. He received the following answer: 'The padshah
> had, for the love he bore to dervishes, been rewarded with paradise
> and the devotee had, for associating with padshahs, been punished in
> hell.'
> 
>         Of what use is thy frock, rosary and patched dress?
>         Keep thyself free from despicable practices.
>         Then thou wilt have no need of a cap of leaves.
>         Have the qualities of a dervish and wear a Tatar cap.
> 
>                              Story 17
> 
>   A bareheaded and barefooted pedestrian who had arrived from Kufah
> with the Hejaz-caravan of pilgrims joined us, strutted about and
> recited:
> 
>   'I am neither riding a camel nor under a load like a camel.
>   I am neither a lord of subjects nor the slave of a potentate.
>   Grief for the present, or distress for the past, does not
>     trouble me.
>   I draw my breath in comfort and thus spend my life.'
> 
>   A camel-rider shouted to him: 'O dervish, where art thou going?
> Return, for thou wilt expire from hardships.' He paid no attention but
> entered the desert and marched. When we reached the station at the
> palm-grove of Mahmud, the rich man was on the point of death and the
> dervish, approaching his pillow, said: 'We have not expired from
> hardship but thou hast died on a dromedary.'
> 
>      A man wept all night near the head of a patient.
>      When the day dawned he died and the patient revived.
> 
>         Many a fleet charger had fallen dead
>         While a lame ass reached the station alive.
>         Often healthy persons were in the soil
>         Buried and the wounded did not die.
> 
>                              Story 18
> 
>   A hermit, having been invited by a padshah, concluded that if he
> were to take some medicine to make himself weak he might perhaps
> enhance the opinion of the padshah regarding his merits. But it is
> related that the medicine was lethal so that when he partook of it
> he died.
> 
>         Who appeared to thee all marrow like a pistachio
>         Was but skin upon skin like an onion.
>         Devotees with their face towards the world
>         Say their prayers with their back to the Qiblah.
>         When a worshipper calls upon his God,
>         He must know no one besides God.
> 
>                              Story 19
> 
>   A caravan having been plundered in the Yunan country and deprived of
> boundless wealth, the merchants wept and lamented, beseeching God
> and the prophet to intercede for them with the robbers, but
> ineffectually.
> 
>         When a dark-minded robber is victorious
>         What cares he for the weeping of the caravan?
> 
>   Loqman the philosopher being among the people of the caravan, one of
> them asked him to speak a few words of wisdom and advice to the
> robbers so that they might perhaps return some of the property they
> had plundered because the loss of so much wealth would be
> lamentable. Loqman replied: 'It would be lamentable to utter one
> word of wisdom to them.'
> 
>         The rust which has eaten into iron
>         Cannot be removed by polishing.
>         Of what use is preaching to a black heart?
>         An iron nail cannot be driven into a rock.
> 
>       Help the distressed in the day of prosperity
>       Because comforting the poor averts evil from thyself.
>       When a mendicant implores thee for a thing,
>       Give it or else an oppressor may take it by force.
> 
>                              Story 20
> 
>   Despite the abundant admonitions of the most illustrious Sheikh
> Abulfaraj Ben Juzi to shun musical entertainments and to prefer
> solitude and retirement, the budding of my youth overcame me, my
> sensual desires were excited so that, unable to resist them, I
> walked some steps contrary to the opinion of my tutor, enjoying myself
> in musical amusements and convivial meetings. When the advice of my
> sheikh occurred to my mind, I said:
> 
>   'If the qazi were sitting with us, he would clap his hands.
>   If the muhtasib were bibbing wine, he would excuse a drunkard.'
> 
>   Thus I lived till I paid one night a visit to an assembly of
> people in which I saw a musician.
> 
>   Thou wouldst have said he is tearing up the vital artery
>     with his fiddle-bow.
>   His voice was more unpleasant than the wailing of one who
>     lost his father.
> 
>   The audience now stopped their ears with their fingers, and now
> put them on their lips to silence him. We became ecstatic by the
> sounds of pleasing songs but thou art such a singer that when thou art
> silent we are pleased.
> 
>      No one feels pleased by thy performance
>      Except at the time of departure when thou pleasest.
> 
>         When that harper began to sing
>         I said to the host: 'For God's sake
>         Put mercury in my ear that I may not hear
>         Or open the door that I may go away.'
> 
>   In short, I tried to please my friends and succeeded after a
> considerable struggle in spending the whole night there.
> 
>         The muezzin shouted the call to prayers out of time,
>         Not knowing how much of the night had elapsed.
>         Ask the length of the night from my eyelids
>         For sleep did not enter my eyes one moment.
> 
>   In the morning I took my turban from my head, with one dinar from my
> belt by way of gratification, and placed them before the musician whom
> I embraced and thanked. My friends who saw that my appreciation of his
> merits was unusual attributed it to the levity of my intellect and
> laughed secretly. One of them, however, lengthened out his tongue of
> objection and began to reproach me, saying that I had committed an act
> repugnant to intelligent men by bestowing a portion of my professional
> dress upon a musician who had all his life not a dirhem laid upon
> the palm of his hand nor filings of silver or of gold placed on his
> drum.
> 
>         A musician! Far be he from this happy abode.
>         No one ever saw him twice in the same place.
>         As soon as the shout rose from his mouth
>         The hair on the bodies of the people stood on end.
>         The fowls of the house, terrified by him, flew away
>         Whilst he distracted our senses and tore his throat.
> 
>   I said: 'It will be proper to shorten the tongue of objection
> because his talent has become evident to me.' He then asked me to
> explain the quality of it in order to inform the company so that all
> might apologize for the jokes they had cracked about me. I replied:
> 'Although my sheikh had often told me to abandon musical
> entertainments and had given me abundant advice, I did not mind it.
> This night my propitious horoscope and my august luck have guided me
> to this place where I have, on hearing the performance of this
> musician, repented and vowed never again to attend at singing and
> convivial parties.'
> 
>       A pleasant voice, from a sweet palate, mouth and lips,
>       Whether employed in singing or not, enchants the heart
>       But the melodies of lovers of Isfahan or of the Hejaz
>       From the windpipe of a bad singer are not nice.
> 
>                              Story 21
> 
>   Loqman, being asked from whom he had learnt civility, replied: 'From
> those who had no civility because what appeared to me unbecoming in
> them I refrained from doing.'
> 
>         Not a word is said even in sport
>         Without an intelligent man taking advice thereby.
>         But if a hundred chapters of wisdom are read to a fool
>         All strike his ear merely as sport.
> 
>                              Story 22
> 
>   It is related that a hermit consumed during one night ten mann of
> food and perused the whole Quran till morning. A pious fellow who
> had heard of this said: 'It would have been more excellent if he had
> eaten half a loaf and slept till the morning.'
> 
>         Keep thy interior empty of food
>         That thou mayest behold therein the light of marifet.
>         Thou art empty of wisdom for the reason
>         That thou art replete with food up to the nose.
> 
>                              Story 23
> 
>   A man had by his sins forfeited the divine favour but the lamp of
> grace nevertheless so shone upon his path that it guided him into
> the circle of religious men and, by the blessing of his association
> with dervishes, as well as by the example of their righteousness,
> the depravities of his character were transmuted into virtues and he
> refrained from lust and passion. But the tongues of the malevolent
> were lengthened with reference to his character, alleging that it
> was the same as it had ever been and that his abstinence and piety
> were spurious.
> 
>   By apology and penitence one may be saved from the wrath of God
>   But cannot be saved from the tongues of men.
> 
>   He could no longer bear the reviling tongues and complained to the
> pir of the Tariqat. The sheikh wept and said: 'How wilt thou be able
> to be sufficiently grateful for this divine favour that thou art
> better than the people imagine?'
> 
>       How long wilt thou say: 'The malevolent and envious
>       Are searching out the defects of my humble self.
>       Sometimes they arise to shed my blood.
>       Sometimes they sit down to curse me.'
>       To be good and to be in spoken of by the people
>       Is better than to be bad and considered good by them.
> 
>   Look at me whom the good opinion of our contemporaries deems to be
> perfect whereas I am imperfection itself.
> 
>         If I were doing what I speak
>         I would be of good conduct and a devotee.
> 
>       Verily I am veiled from the eyes of my neighbours
>       But Allah knows my secret and my overt concerns.
> 
>         The door is locked to the access of people
>         That they may not spread out my faults.
>         What profiteth a closed door? The Omniscient
>         Knows what I conceal or reveal.
> 
>                              Story 24
> 
>   I complained to one of the sheikhs that a certain man had falsely
> accused me of lasciviousness. He replied: 'Put him to shame by thy
> good conduct.'
> 
>         Be thou well behaved that a maligner
>         May not find occasion to speak of thy faults.
>         When the harp is in proper tune
>         How can the hand of the musician correct it?
> 
>                              Story 25
> 
>   One of the sheikhs of Syria, being asked on the true state of the
> Sufis, replied: 'In former times they were a tribe in the world,
> apparently distressed, but in reality contented whereas today they are
> people outwardly satisfied but inwardly discontented.'
> 
>         If my heart roams away from thee every hour,
>         Thou wilt find no tranquillity in solitude
>         But if thou possessest property, dignity, fields and wares,
>         If thy heart be with God, thou wilt be a recluse.
> 
>                              Story 26
> 
>   I remember having once walked all night with a caravan and then
> slept on the edge of the desert. A distracted man who had
> accompanied us on that journey raised a shout, ran towards the
> desert and took not a moment's rest. When it was daylight, I asked him
> what state of his that was. He replied: 'I saw bulbuls commencing to
> lament on the trees, the partridges on the mountains, the frogs in the
> water and the beasts in the desert so I bethought myself that it would
> not be becoming for me to sleep in carelessness while they all were
> praising God.'
> 
>         Yesterday at dawn a bird lamented,
>         Depriving me of sense, patience, strength and consciousness.
>         One of my intimate friends who
>         Had perhaps heard my distressed voice
>         Said: 'I could not believe that thou
>         Wouldst be so dazed by a bird's cry.'
>         I replied: 'It is not becoming to humanity
>         That I should be silent when birds chant praises.'
> 
>                              Story 27
> 
>   It once happened that on a journey to the Hejaz a company of young
> and pious men, whose sentiments harmonized with mine, were my
> fellow-travellers. They occasionally sung and recited spiritual verses
> but we had with us also an a'bid, who entertained a bad opinion of the
> behaviour of the dervishes and was ignorant of their sufferings.
> When we reached the palm-grove of the Beni Hallal, a black boy of
> the encampment, falling into a state of excitement, broke out in a
> strain which brought down the birds from the sky. I saw, however,
> the camel of the a'bid, which began to prance, throwing him and
> running into the desert.
> 
>         Knowest thou what that matutinal bulbul said to me?
>         What man art thou to be ignorant of love?
>         The Arabic verses threw a camel into ecstasy and joy.
>         If thou hast no taste thou art an ill-natured brute.
> 
>         When a camel's head is turned by the frenzy of joy
>         And a man does not feel it, he must be an ass.
> 
>         When the winds blow over the plain
>         The branches of the ban-tree bend, not hard rocks.
> 
>         Whatever thou beholdest chants his praises.
>         He knows this who has the true perception.
>         Not only the bulbul on the rosebush sings praises
>         But every bramble is a tongue, extolling him.
> 
>                              Story 28
> 
>   The life of a king was drawing to a close and he had no successor.
> He ordered in his last testament that the next morning after his death
> the first person entering the gate of the city be presented with the
> royal crown and be entrusted with the government of the realm. It so
> happened that the first person who entered was a mendicant who had all
> his life subsisted on the morsels he collected and had sewn patch
> after patch upon his clothes. The pillars of the state and grandees of
> the court executed the injunction of the king and bestowed upon him
> the government and the treasures; whereon the dervish reigned for a
> while until some amirs of the monarchy withdrew their necks from his
> obedience and kings from every side began to rise for hostilities
> and to prepare their armies for war. At last his own troops and
> subjects also rebelled and deprived him of a portion of his dominions.
> This event afflicted the mind of the dervish until one of his old
> friends, who had been his companion when he was yet himself a dervish,
> returned from a journey and, seeing him in such an exalted position,
> said: 'Thanks be to God the most high and glorious that thy rose has
> thus come forth from the thorn and thy thorn was extracted from thy
> foot. Thy high luck has aided thee and prosperity with fortune has
> guided thee till thou hast attained this position. Verily hardship
> is followed by comfort.'
> 
>       A flower is sometimes blooming and sometimes withering.
>       A tree is at times nude and at times clothed.
> 
>   He replied: 'Brother, condole with me because there is no occasion
> for congratulation. When thou sawest me last, I was distressed for
> bread and now a world of distress has overwhelmed me.'
> 
>         If I have no wealth I grieve.
>         If I have some the love of it captivates me.
>         There is no greater calamity than worldly goods.
>         Both their possession and their want are griefs.
> 
>   If thou wishest for power, covet nothing
>   Except contentment which is sufficient happiness.
>   If a rich man pours gold into thy lap
>   Care not a moment for thanking him.
>   Because often I heard great men say
>   The patience of a dervish is better than the gift of a rich man.
> 
>                              Story 29
> 
>   A man had a friend, who held the office of devan to the padshah, but
> whom he had not seen for a long time; and, a man having asked him
> for the reason, he replied: 'I do not want to see him.' A dependent
> however of the devan, who also happened to be present, queried:
> 'What fault has he committed that thou art unwilling to meet him?'
> He replied: 'There is no fault in the matter but a friend who is a
> devan may be seen when he is removed from office.'
> 
>         Whilst in greatness and in the turmoil of busines
>         They do not like to be troubled by neighbours
>         But when they are depressed and removed from office
>         They will lay open their heart's grief to friends.
> 
>                              Story 30
> 
>   Abu Harirah, may the approbation of Allah be upon him, was in the
> habit of daily waiting upon the Mustafa, peace on him, who said:
> 'Abu Harira, visit me on alternate days that our love may increase.' A
> man said to a devotee: 'Beautiful as the sun is, I never heard that
> anybody took it for a friend or fell in love with it', and he replied:
> 'This is because it may be seen daily, except in winter when it is
> veiled and beloved.'
> 
>         There is no harm in visiting people
>         But not till they say: 'It is enough!'
>         If thou findest fault with thyself
>         Thou wilt not hear others reproaching thee.
> 
>                              Story 31
> 
>   A man, being tormented story by a contrary wind in his belly and not
> having the power to retain it, unwittingly allowed it to escape. He
> said: 'Friends, I had no option in what I did, the fault of it is
> not to be ascribed to me and peace has resulted to my internal
> parts. Kindly excuse me.'
> 
>         The belly is a prison of wind, O wise man.
>         No sage retains wind in captivity.
>         If wind twists thy belly let it out
>         Because wind in the belly is a burden to the heart.
> 
>                              Story 32
> 
>   Having become tired of my friends in Damascus, I went into the
> desert of Jerusalem and associated with animals till the time when I
> became a prisoner of the Franks, who put me to work with infidels in
> digging the earth of a moat in Tarapolis, when one of the chiefs of
> Aleppo, with whom I had formerly been acquainted, recognized me and
> said: 'What state is this?' I recited:
> 
>         'I fled from men to mountain and desert
>         Wishing to attend upon no one but God.
>         Imagine what my state at present is
>         When I must be satisfied in a stable of wretches.
> 
>         The feet in chains with friends
>         Is better than to be with strangers in a garden.'
> 
>   He took pity on my state and ransomed me for ten dinars from the
> captivity of the Franks, taking me to Aleppo where he had a daughter
> and married me to her with a dowry of one hundred dinars. After some
> time had elapsed, she turned out to be ill-humoured, quarrelsome,
> disobedient, abusive in her tongue and embittering my life:
> 
>         A bad wife in a good man's house
>         Is his hell in this world already.
>         Alas for a bad consort, alas!
>         Preserve us, O Lord from the punishment of fire.
> 
>   Once she lengthened her tongue of reproach and said: 'Art thou not
> the man whom my father purchased from the Franks for ten dinars?' I
> replied: 'Yes, he bought me for ten dinars and sold me into thy
> hands for one hundred dinars.'
> 
>      I heard that a sheep had by a great man
>      Been rescued from the jaws and the power of a wolf.
>      In the evening he stroked her throat with a knife
>      Whereon the soul of the sheep complained thus:
>      Thou hast snatched me away from the claws of a wolf,
>      But at last I see thou art thyself a wolf.'
> 
>                              Story 33
> 
>   A padshah asked a hermit: 'How spendest thou thy precious time?'
> He replied: 'I am all night engaged in prayer, during the morning in
> supplications and the rest of the day in restricting my expenses.'
> Then the king ordered a sufficient allowance to be allotted to him
> so as to relieve him of the cares of his family.
> 
>         O thou who art encumbered with a family,
>         Think no more of ever enjoying freedom.
>         Cares for children, raiment and food
>         Restrain thee from the heavenly kingdom.
>         Every day I renew my determination
>         To wait upon God until the night.
>         In the night, while tying the knot of prayer,
>         I think what my children will eat on the morrow.
> 
>                              Story 34
> 
>   A man, professing to be a hermit in the desert of Syria, attended
> for years to his devotions and subsisted on the leaves of trees. A
> padshah, who had gone in that direction by way of pilgrimage,
> approached him and said: 'If thou thinkest proper, we shall prepare
> a place for thee in the town where thou wilt enjoy leisure for thy
> devotions and others may profit by thy spiritual advice as well as
> imitate thy good works.' The hermit refused compliance but the pillars
> of the State were of opinion that, in order to please the king, he
> ought to spend a few days in town to ascertain the state of the place;
> so that if he feared that the purity of his precious time might become
> turbid by association with strangers, he would still have the option
> to refuse compliance. It is related that the hermit entered the town
> where a private garden-house of the king, which was a
> heart-expanding and soul refreshing locality, had been prepared to
> receive him.
> 
>      Its red roses were like the cheeks of belles,
>      Its hyacinths like the ringlets of mistresses
>      Protected from the inclemency of mid-winter
>      Like sucklings who have not yet tasted the nurse's milk.
> 
>         And branches with pomegranates upon them:
>         Fire suspended from the green-trees.
> 
>    The king immediately sent him a beautiful slave-girl:
> 
>       After beholding this hermit-deceiving crescent-moon
>       Of the form of an angel and the beauty of a peacock,
>       After seeing her it would be impossible
>       To an anchorite's nature to remain patient.
> 
>    After her he sent likewise a slave-boy of wonderful beauty and
> graceful placidity:
> 
>       People around him are dying with thirst
>       And he, who looks like a cupbearer, gives no drink.
> 
>         The sight cannot be satisfied by seeing him
>         Like the dropsical man near the Euphrates.
> 
>   The hermit began to eat delicious food, to wear nice clothes, to
> enjoy fruit and perfumed confectionery as well as to contemplate the
> beauty of the slave-boy and girl in conformity with the maxim of
> wise men, who have said that the curls of belles are fetters to the
> feet of the intellect and a snare to a sagacious bird.
> 
>   In thy service I lost my heart and religion with all my learning,
>   I am indeed the sagacious bird and thou the snare.
> 
>   In short, the happiness of his former time of contentedness had come
> to an end, as the saying is:
> 
>         Any faqih, pir and murid
>         Or pure minded orator,
>         Descending into the base world,
>         Sticks in the honey like a fly.
> 
>   Once the king desired to visit him but saw the hermit changed from
> his former state, as he had become red, white and corpulent. When
> the king entered, he beheld him reclining on a couch of gold brocade
> whilst the boy and the fairy stood near his head with a fan of
> peacocks' feathers. He expressed pleasure to behold the hermit in so
> comfortable a position, conversed with him on many topics and said
> at the conclusion of the visit: 'I am afraid of these two classes of
> men in the world: scholars and hermits.' The vezier, who was a
> philosopher and experienced in the affairs of the world, being
> present, said: 'O king, the conditions of friendship require thee to
> do good to both classes. Bestow gold upon scholars that they may
> read more but give nothing to hermits that they may remain hermits.'
> 
>       A hermit requires neither dirhems nor dinars.
>       If lie takes any, find another hermit.
> 
>       Who has a good behaviour and a secret with God
>       Is an anchorite without the waqfbread or begged morsel.
> 
>       With a handsome figure and heart-ravishing ear-tip
>       A girl is a belle without turquoise-ring or pendants.
> 
>   A dervish of good behaviour and of happy disposition
>   Requires not the bread of the rebat nor the begged morsel.
>   A lady endowed with a beauteous form and chaste face
>   Requires no paint, adornment or turquoise-ring.
> 
>         When I have and covet more
>         It will not be proper to call me an anchorite.
> 
>                              Story 35
> 
>   In conformity with the above sentiments an affair of importance
> emerged to a padshah, who thereon vowed that, if it terminated
> according to his wishes, he would present devotees with a certain
> sum of money. His wish having been fulfilled, it became necessary to
> keep his promise. Accordingly he gave a purse of dirhems to one of his
> confidential servants to distribute it among recluses. It is related
> that the slave was intelligent and shrewd. He walked about all day and
> returning at nightfall, kissed the dirhems and deposited them before
> the king with the remark that he had not found any devotees. The
> king rejoined: 'What nonsense is this? As far as I know there are four
> hundred devotees in this town. He said: 'Lord of the world, who is a
> devotee does not accept money and who accepts it is not a devotee.'
> The king smiled and said to his courtiers: 'Despite of my wishing to
> do good to this class of worshippers of God, this rogue bears them
> emnity and thwarts my wish but truth is on his side.'
> 
>         If a devotee has taken dirhems and dinars
>         Find another who is more a devotee than he.
> 
>                              Story 36
> 
>   One of the ulemma of solid learning, having been asked for his
> opinion about waqfbread, answered: 'If it be accepted to insure
> tranquillity of mind from cares for food and to obtain leisure for
> devotion, it is lawful but if it be taken for maintenance it is
> forbidden.'
> 
>         Bread is taken for the corner of devotion
>         By pious men and not the corner of devotion for bread.
> 
>                              Story 37
> 
>   A dervish arrived in a place, the owner of which was of a noble
> disposition, and had surrounded himself with a company of
> distinguished and eloquent men, each of whom uttered something elegant
> or jocular, according to the fashion of wits. The dervish who had
> travelled through the desert and was fatigued had eaten nothing. One
> of the company asked him by way of encouragement likewise to say
> something. The dervish replied: 'I do not possess distinction and
> eloquence like you and have read nothing so you must be satisfied with
> one distich of mine.' The company having agreed with pleasure he
> recited:
> 
>         'I am hungry and opposite to a table of food
>         Like a bachelor at the door of a bath of females.'
> 
>   The company, having thus been apprised of his famished condition,
> produced a table with bread but as he began to eat greedily the host
> said: 'Friend, at any rate stop a while till my servants roast some
> minced meat'; whereon the dervish lifted his head and recited:
> 
>         'Do not order pounded meat for my table.
>         To a pounded man simple bread is pounded meat.'
> 
>                              Story 38
> 
>   A murid said to his pir: 'What am I to do? I am troubled by the
> people, many of whom pay me visits. By their coming and going they
> encroach upon my precious time.' He replied: 'Lend something to
> every one of them who is poor and ask something from every one who
> is rich and they will come round thee no more.'
> 
>   If a mendicant were the leader of the army of Islam,
>   The infidels would for fear of his importunity run as far as China.
> 
>                              Story 39
> 
>   The son of a faqih said to his father: 'These heart-ravishing
> words of moralists make no impression upon me because I do not see
> that their actions are in conformity with their speeches.'
> 
>         They teach people to abandon the world
>         But themselves accumulate silver and corn.
>         A scholar who only preaches and nothing more
>         Will not impress anyone when he speaks.
>         He is a scholar who commits no evil,
>         Not he who speaks to men but acts not himself.
> 
>   Will you enjoin virtue to mankind and forget your own souls?
> 
>       A scholar who follows his lusts and panders to his body
>       Is himself lost although he may show the way.
> 
>   The father replied: 'My son, it is not proper merely on account of
> this vain fancy to turn away the face from the instruction of
> advisers, to travel on the road of vanity, to accuse the ullemma of
> aberration, and whilst searching for an immaculate scholar, to
> remain excluded from the benefits of knowledge, like a blind man who
> one night fell into the mud and shouted: "O Musalmans, hold a lamp
> on my path." Whereon a courtesan who heard him asked: "As thou canst
> not see the lamp, what wilt thou see with the lamp?" In the same way
> the preaching assembly is like the shop of a dealer in linen because
> if thou bringest no money thou canst obtain no wares and if thou
> bringest no inclination to the assembly thou wilt not get any
> felicity.'
> 
>         He said: 'Listen with thy soul's ear to a scholar
>         Although his actions may not be like his doctrines.'
>         In vain does the gainsayer ask:
>         'How can a sleeper awaken a sleeper?
>         A man must receive into his ears
>         The advice although it be written on a wall.'
> 
>   A pious man came to the door of a college from a monastery.
>   He broke the covenant of the company of those of the Tariq.
>   I asked him what the difference between a scholar and a monk
>     amounts to?
>   He replied: 'The former saves his blanket from the waves
>   Whilst the latter strives to save the drowning man.'
> 
>                              Story 40
> 
>   A man was sleeping dead-drunk on the highway and the bridle of
> spontaneity had slipped from his hands. A hermit passed near him and
> considered the disgraceful condition he was in. The youth raised his
> head and recited: When they passed near something contemptible, they
> passed it kindly. When thou beholdest a sinner be concealing and meek.
> 
>         Turn not thy face from a sinner, O anchorite.
>         Look upon him with benignity.
>         If I am ignoble in my actions
>         Pass me by like a noble fellow.
> 
>                              Story 41
> 
>   A company of vagabonds met a dervish, spoke insulting words to
> him, struck him and otherwise molested him; whereon he complained to
> his superior and explained the case. The pir replied: 'My son, the
> patched frock of dervishes is the garment of resignation and who,
> wearing it, cannot bear injuries is a pretender not entitled to the
> frock.'
> 
>         A large river will not become turbid from stones.
>         The Arif who feels aggrieved is shallow water yet.
> 
>   If he injures thee, bear it
>   Because pardon will purify thee from sin.
>   O brother, as the end is dust, be dust before thou art
>     turned into dust.
> 
>                              Story 42
> 
>         Listen to this story how in Baghdad
>         A flag and a curtain fell into dispute.
>         Travel stained, dusty and fatigued, the flag
>         Said to the curtain by way of reproach:
>         'I and thou, we are both fellow servants,
>         Slaves of the sultan's palace.
>         Not a moment had I rest from service
>         In season and out of season I travelled about.
>         Thou hast suffered neither toil nor siege,
>         Not from the desert, wind, nor dust and dirt.
>         My step in the march is more advancing.
>         Then why is thy honour exceeding mine?
>         Thou art upon moon-faced servants
>         Or jessamine scented slave girls.
>         I have fallen into prentice hands.
>         I travel with foot in fetters and head fluttering.'
>         The curtain said: 'My head is on the threshold
>         Not like thine in the heavens.
>         Who carelessly lifts up his neck
>         Throws himself upon his neck.'
> 
>                              Story 43
> 
>   A pious man saw an acrobat in great dudgeon, full of wrath and
> foaming at the mouth. He asked: 'What is the matter with this fellow?'
> A bystander said: 'Someone has insulted him.' He remarked: 'This
> base wretch is able to lift a thousand mann of stones and has not
> the power to bear one word.'
> 
>   Abandon thy claim to strength and manliness.
>   Thou art weak-minded and base, whether thou be a man or woman.
>   If thou art able, make a sweet mouth.
>   It is not manliness to strike the fist on a mouth.
> 
>         Although able to tear up an elephant's front
>         He is not a man who possessed no humanity.
>         A man's nature is of earth.
>         If he is not humble he is not a man.
> 
>                              Story 44
> 
>   I asked a good man concerning the qualities of the brethren of
> purity. He replied: 'The least of them is that they prefer to please
> their friends rather than themselves; and philosophers have said
> that a brother who is fettered by affairs relating to himself is
> neither a brother nor a relative.'
> 
>         If thy fellow traveller hastens, he is not thy fellow.
>         Tie not thy heart to one whose heart is not tied to thine.
>         When a kinsman possesses no virtue and piety
>         Then severing connection is better than love of kinship.
> 
>   I remember that an opponent objected to the last two lines,
> saying: 'God the most high and glorious has in his noble book
> prohibited the severing of connection with relatives and has commanded
> us to love them. What thou hast alleged is contrary to it.' I replied:
> 'Thou art mistaken because according to the Quran, Allah the most high
> has said: If they both father and mother, strive to induce thee to
> associate with me that concerning which thou hast no knowledge, obey
> them not.
> 
>         A thousand kinsmen who are strangers to God
>         Are the sacrifice for one stranger who knows him.
> 
>                              Story 45
> 
>         A kind old man in Baghdad
>         Gave his daughter to a cobbler.
>         The cruel little man so bit her
>         That blood flowed from the daughter's lips.
>         Next morning the father saw her thus
>         And going to the bridegroom asked him:
>         'O mean wretch, what teeth are these?
>         Chewest thou thus her lips? They are not leather.
>         I do not say these words in jest,
>         Leave joking off and enjoy her seriously.
>         If ill humour becomes fixed in a nature
>         It will not leave it till the time of death.'
> 
>                              Story 46
> 
>   A faqih had a very ugly daughter and when she attained puberty no
> one was inclined to marry her in spite of her dowry and wealth.
> 
>         Bad is the brocade and damask cloth
>         Which is upon an ugly bride.
> 
>   At last it became necessary to marry her to a blind man and it is
> related that on the said occasion a physician arrived from Serandip
> who was able to restore sight to the blind. The faqih, being asked why
> he had not put his son-in-law under treatment, replied: 'I fear that
> if he is able to see he will divorce my daughter.'
> 
>       It is better if the husband of an ugly woman is blind.
> 
>                              Story 47
> 
>   A padshah was casting a glanced of contempt upon a company of
> dervishes and one of them, understanding by his sagacity the meaning
> of it, said: 'O king, in this world we are inferior to thee in dignity
> but more happy in life. In death we are equal and in the
> resurrection superior to thee.'
> 
>       Though the master of a country may have enjoyment
>       And the dervish may be in need of bread
>       In that hour when both of them will die
>       They will take from the world not more than a shroud.
>       When thou takest thy departure from the realm
>       It will be better to be a mendicant than a padshah.
> 
>   Externally the dervish shows a patched robe and a shaved head but in
> reality his heart is living and his lust dead.
> 
>       He does not sit at the door of pretence away from people
>       To fight against them if they oppose him
>       Because when a millstone rolls from a mountain
>       He is not an A'rif who gets out of the way of the stone.
> 
>   The way of dervishes is praying, gratitude, service, obedience,
> almsgiving, contentment, professing the unity of God, trust,
> submission and patience. Whoever possesses these qualities is really a
> dervish, although he may wear an elegant robe, whereas a prattler
> who neglects his orisons, is luxurious, sensual, turns day into
> night in the bondage of lust, and night into day in the sleep of
> carelessness, eats whatever he gets, and speaks whatever comes upon
> his tongue, is a profligate, although he may wear the habit of a
> dervish.
> 
>         O thou whose interior is denuded of piety
>         But wearest outwardly the garb of hypocrisy
>         Do not display a curtain of seven colours.
>         Thou hast reed mats inside thy house.
> 
>                              Story 48
> 
>         I saw bouquets of fresh roses
>         Tied upon a cupola of grass.
>         I asked: 'What is despicable grass
>         To sit also in the line of the roses?'
>         The grass wept and said: 'Hush!
>         Companionship does not obliterate nobility.
>         Although I have no beauty, colour and perfume,
>         Am I not after all the grass of his garden?
>         I am the slave of a bountiful lord,
>         Cherished from old by his liberality.
>         Whether I possess virtue or not
>         I hope for grace from the Lord
>         Although I possess no property
>         No capital to offer as obedience.
>         He knows the remedy for the slave
>         To whom no support remains.
>         It is customary that the owner gives a writ
>         Of emancipation to an old slave.
>         O God, who hast adorned the universe,
>         Be bountiful to thy old slave.'
>         Sa'di, take the road to the Ka'bah of submission.
>         O man of God, follow the way of God.
>         Unlucky is he who turns his head
>         Away from this door for he will find no other door.
> 
>                              Story 49
> 
>   A sage having been asked whether liberality or bravery is better
> replied: 'He who possesses liberality needs no bravery.'
> 
>         It is written on the tomb of Behram Gur:
>         'A liberal hand is better than a strong arm.'
> 
>   Hatim Tai has passed away but for ever
>   His high name will remain celebrated for beneficence.
>   Set aside the zekat from thy property because the exuberant vines
>   When pruned by the vintner will yield more grapes.
> 
>                           CHAPTER III
>                ON THE EXCELLENCE OF CONTENTMENT
> 
>                              Story 1
> 
>   A Maghrabi supplicant said in Aleppo in the row of linen-drapers:
> 'Lords of wealth, if you were just and we contented, the trade of
> begging would vanish from the world.'
> 
>         O contentment, make me rich
>         For besides thee no other wealth exists.
>         Loqman selected the corner of patience.
>         Who has no patience has no wisdom.
> 
>                              Story 2
> 
>   Two sons of amirs were in Egypt, the one acquiring science, the
> other accumulating wealth, till the former became the ullemma of the
> period and the other the prince of Egypt; whereon the rich man
> looked with contempt upon the faqih and said: 'I have reached the
> sultanate whilst thou hast remained in poverty as before.' He replied:
> 'O brother, I am bound to be grateful to the most high Creator for
> having obtained the inheritance of prophets whilst thou hast
> attained the inheritance of Pharaoh and of Haman, namely the kingdom
> of Egypt.'
> 
>         I am that ant which is trodden under foot
>         Not that wasp, the pain of whose sting causes lament.
>         How shall I give due thanks for the blessing
>         That I do not possess the strength of injuring mankind?
> 
>                              Story 3
> 
>   I heard that a dervish, burning in the fire of poverty and sewing
> patch upon patch, said to comfort his mind:
> 
>   'We are contented with dry bread and a patched robe
>   For it is easier to bear the load of one's own trouble
>     than that of thanks to others.'
> 
>   Someone said to him: 'Why sittest thou? A certain man in this town
> possesses a benevolent nature, is liberal to all, has girded his loins
> to serve the pious and is ready to comfort every heart. If he
> becomes aware of thy case, he will consider it an obligation to
> comfort the mind of a worthy person.' He replied: 'Hush! It is
> better to die of inanition than to plead for one's necessities
> before any man.'
> 
>     It is better to patch clothes and sit in the corner of patience
>     Than to write petitions for robes to gentlemen.
>     Verily it is equal to the punishment of hell
>     To go to paradise as a flunkey to one's neighbour.
> 
>                              Story 4
> 
>   One of the kings of Persia had sent an able physician to wait upon
> the Mustafa, the benediction of Allah and peace be on him; and he
> remained for some years in the Arab country without anyone coming to
> him to make a trial of his ability or desiring to be treated by him.
> He went to the Prophet, salutation to him, and complained that
> although he had been sent to treat the companions, none of them had up
> to this time taken notice of him or required the services incumbent
> upon him. The Apostle, salutation to him, replied: 'It is a law with
> these people not to eat until appetite overpowers them and when some
> of it yet remains they withdraw their hands from food.' The doctor
> said: 'This is the cause of health', and kissing the earth of
> service departed.
> 
>         The sage begins to speak
>         Or points his fingers to the dish
>         When silence would be dangerous
>         Or abstinance would bring on death.
>         No doubt his wisdom is in speaking
>         And his eating bears the fruit of health.
> 
>                              Story 5
> 
>   A man often made vows of repentance but broke them again till one of
> the sheikhs said to him: 'I think thou art in the habit of eating a
> great deal and that thy power of restraining appetite is more
> slender than a hair, whilst an appetite such as thou nourishest
> would rupture a chain and a day may come when it will tear thee up.'
> 
>         A man brought up a wolf's whelp.
>         When it was brought up it tore him up.
> 
>                              Story 6
> 
>   It is narrated in the life of Ardeshir Babekan that he asked an Arab
> physician how much food he must consume daily. He replied: 'The weight
> of one hundred dirhems will be enough.' The king queried: 'What
> strength will this quantity give me?' He replied: 'This quantity
> will carry thee, and whatever is more than that, thou wilt be the
> carrier of it.'
> 
>         Eating is for living and praying.
>         Thou thinkest living is for eating.
> 
>                              Story 7
> 
>   Two Khorasani dervishes travelled together. One of them, being weak,
> broke his fast every second night whilst the other who was strong
> consumed every day three meals. It happened that they were captured at
> the gate of a town on suspicion of being spies; whereon each of them
> was confined in a closet and the aperture of it walled up with mud
> bricks. After two weeks it became known that they were guiltless.
> Accordingly the doors were opened and the strong man was found to be
> dead whilst the weak fellow had remained alive. The people were
> astonished but a sage averred that the contrary would have been
> astonishing because one of them having been voracious possessed no
> strength to suffer hunger and perished whilst the other who was
> abstemious merely persevered in his habit and remained safe.
> 
>         When eating little has become the nature of a man
>         He takes it easy when a calamity befalls him
>         But when the body becomes strong in affluence
>         He will die when a hardship overtakes him.
>                              Story 8
> 
>   One of the philosophers forbade his son to eat much because
> repletion keeps people ailing. The boy replied: 'O father, it is
> hunger that kills. Hast thou not heard of the maxim of the ingenious
> that it is better to die satiated than to bear hunger?' He rejoined:
> 'Be moderate. Eat and drink but not to excess.'
> 
>         Eat not so much that it comes up to thy mouth
>         Nor so little that from weakness thy soul comes up.
> 
>   Although maintenance of life depends upon food
>   Victuals bring on disease when eaten to excess.
>   If thou eatest rose-confectionery without appetite it injures thee
>   But eating dry bread after a long fast is like rose-preserve.
> 
>                              Story 9
> 
>   A sick man having been asked what his heart desired replied: 'That
> it may not desire anything.'
> 
>         When the bowels are full and the belly pains
>         There is no use in all other things being right.
> 
>                              Story 10
> 
>   A grain dealer to whom Sufis were owing some money asked them for it
> every day in the town of Waset and used harsh language towards them.
> The companions had become weary of his reproaches but had no other
> remedy than to bear them; and one of them who was a pious man
> remarked: 'It is more easy to pacify a hungry stomach with promises of
> food than a grain dealer with promises of money.'
> 
>         It is preferable to be without the bounty of a gentleman
>         Than to bear the insults of the gate-keepers.
>         It is better to die wishing for meat
>         Than to endure the expostulations of butchers.
> 
>                              Story 11
> 
>   A brave warrior who had received a dreadful wound in the Tatar war
> was informed that a certain merchant possessed a medicine which he
> would probably not refuse to give if asked for; but it is related that
> the said merchant was also well known for his avarice.
> 
>         If instead of bread he had the sun in his table-cloth
>         No one could see daylight till the day of resurrection.
> 
>   The warrior replied: 'If I ask for the medicine he will either
> give it or refuse it and if he gives it maybe it will profit me, and
> maybe not. At any rate the inconvenience of asking it from him is a
> lethal poison.'
> 
>         Whatever thou obtainest by entreaties from base men
>         Will profit thy body but injure thy soul.
> 
>   And philosophers have said: 'If for instance the water of life
> were to be exchanged for a good reputation, no wise man would purchase
> it because it is preferable to die with honour than to live in
> disgrace.'
> 
>   To eat coloquinth from the hand of a sweet-tempered man
>   Is better than confectionery from the hand of an ill-humoured
>      fellow.
> 
>                              Story 12
> 
>   One of the ullemma had many eaters to provide for and only a slender
> income. This fact he communicated to a great man of whose character he
> entertained a very favourable opinion but his expectations were
> disappointed because the man made a wry face and averred that
> according to his opinion applications from respectable persons for aid
> are unbecoming.
> 
>   With a face made sad by misfortune, to a dear friend
>   Do not go because thou wilt embitter his life also.
>   For the needful for which thou appliest, go with a fresh and
>     smiling face.
>   The man of joyful countenance will not be unsuccessful in his
>     affairs.
> 
>   It is related that the great man augmented his stipend a little
> but considerably diminished his familiarity towards him and when he
> perceived after some days that it was not as usual, he recited:
> 
>         'Evil is the food which the time of degradation acquires.
>         The kettle is indeed placed but the dignity is lowered.'
> 
>         He increased my bread but diminished my honour.
>         Poverty is better than the degradation of asking.
> 
>                              Story 13
> 
>   A dervish wanted something and a man told him that a certain
> individual possessed untold wealth who, if he were made aware of his
> want, would not consider it proper to fail in supplying it
> forthwith. The dervish answering that he had no acquaintance with him,
> the man proposed to show him the house and when the dervish entered he
> caught sight of a person with hanging lips and sitting morosely. He
> returned immediately and being asked what he had done replied: 'I
> excused him from making me a present when I saw his face.'
> 
>         Carry not thy necessity to a sour-faced fellow
>         Because his ill-humour will crush thy hopes.
>         If thou confidest thy heart's grief, tell it to one
>         Whose face will comfort thee like ready cash.
> 
>                              Story 14
> 
>   A year of dearth set in at Alexandria so that even a dervish lost
> the reins of patience from his hands, the pearls of heaven were
> withheld from the earth and the lamentations of mankind ascended to
> the firmament.
> 
>         There was no wild beast, fowl, fish or ant
>         Whose wailings prompted by distress had not reached the sky.
>         For a wonder the heart-smoke of the people did not condense
>         To form clouds and the torrents of their tears rain.
> 
>   In such a year there was an hermaphrodite. I owe it to my friends
> not to describe him because it would be an abandonment of good
> manners, especially in the presence of great men. On the other hand,
> it would likewise be improper and in the way of negligence not to
> mention anything about him because certain people would impute it to
> the ignorance of the narrator. Accordingly I shall briefly describe
> him in the following two distichs because a little indicates much
> and a handful is a sample of a donkey load.
> 
>         If a Tatar slays that hermaphrodite
>         The Tatar must not be slain in return.
> 
>         How long will he be like the bridge of Baghdad
>         With water flowing beneath and men on the back?
> 
>   Such a man, a portion of whose eulogy thou hast now heard, possessed
> in that year boundless wealth, bestowed silver and gold upon the needy
> and laid out tables for travellers. A company of dervishes who were by
> the presence of distress on the point of starvation were inclined to
> accept of his hospitality and consulted me on the subject but I struck
> my head back from assenting and replied:
> 
>         A lion does not eat the half of which a dog consumed
>         Although he may die of hunger in his lair.
>         Though getting rich in wealth and property like Feridun
>         A worthless man is to be considered of no account.
>                              Story 15
> 
>   Hatim Tai, having been asked whether he had seen in the world anyone
> of more exalted sentiments than himself, replied: 'Yes, one day I
> slaughtered forty camels to entertain Arab amirs. I had occasion to go
> out on some business into a corner of the desert, where I noticed a
> gatherer of briars, who had accumulated a hillock of thistles, and I
> asked him why he had not become a guest of Hatim since many people had
> come round to his banquet but he replied:
> 
>         "Who eats bread by the work of his own hand
>         Will not bear to be obliged to Hatim Tai."
> 
>   Then I saw that his sentiments were more exalted than mine.'
> 
>                              Story 16
> 
>   Moses, to whom be salutation, beheld a dervish who had on account of
> his nudity concealed himself in the sand exclaiming: 'O Moses, utter a
> supplication to God the most high to give me an allowance because I
> am, on account of my distress, on the point of starvation.' Moses
> accordingly prayed and departed but returning a few days afterwards he
> saw that the dervish was a prisoner and surrounded by a crowd of
> people. On asking for the reason he was informed that the dervish
> had drunk wine, quarrelled, slain a man and was to be executed in
> retaliation.
> 
>         If the humble cat possessed wings
>         He would rob the world of every sparrow-egg.
>         It may happen that when a weak man obtains power
>         He arises and twists the hands of the weak.
> 
>   And if Allah were to bestow abundance upon his servants, they
> would certainly rebel upon earth.
> 
>   What has made thee wade into danger, O fool,
>   Till thou hast perished. Would that the ant had not been able to
>     fly!
> 
>         When a base fellow obtains dignity, silver and gold,
>         His head necessarily demands to be knocked.
>         Was not after all this maxim uttered by a sage?
>         'That ant is the best which possesses no wings.'
> 
>   The heavenly father has plenty of honey but the son has
>         a hot disease.
> 
>         He who does not make thee rich
>         Knows better what is good for thee than thyself.
> 
>                              Story 17
> 
>   I noticed an Arab of the desert sitting in a company jewellers at
> Bosrah and narrating stories to them. He said: 'I had once lost my
> road in the desert and consumed all my provisions. I considered that I
> must perish when I suddenly caught sight of a bag full of pearls and I
> shall never forget the joy and ecstasy I felt on thinking they might
> be parched grain nor the bitterness and despair when I discovered them
> to be pearls.'
> 
>   In a dry desert and among moving sand
>   It is the same to a thirsty man whether he has pearls or shells in
>     his mouth.
>   When a man has no provisions and his strength is exhausted
>   It matters not whether his girdle is adorned with pearls or
>     potsherds.
> 
>                              Story 18
> 
>   An Arab suffering in the desert from extreme thirst recited:
> 
>         'Would that before my death
>         I could one day enjoy my wish
>         That a river's waves might strike my knee
>         And I might fill my water-bag.'
> 
>   In the same manner another traveller lost himself in an extensive
> region having neither any strength nor food left but he possessed some
> money and roamed about and the road leading him nowhere he perished
> from exhaustion. Some people afterwards discovered his corpse with the
> money in front of it and the following written on the ground:
> 
>       If possessed of all the Ja'feri gold,
>       It will avail nothing to a hungry man.
>       To a poor man burnt in the desert
>       Boiled turnips are more valuable than pure silver.
>                              Story 19
> 
>   I never lamented about the vicissitudes of time or complained of the
> turns of fortune except on the occasion when I was barefooted and
> unable to procure slippers. But when I entered the great mosque of
> Kufah with a sore heart and beheld a man without feet I offered thanks
> to the bounty of God, consoled myself for my want of shoes and
> recited:
> 
>         'A roast fowl is to the sight of a satiated man
>         Less valuable than a blade of fresh grass on the table
>         And to him who has no means nor power
>         A burnt turnip is a roasted fowl.'
> 
>                              Story 20
> 
>   A king with some of his courtiers had during a hunting party and
> in the winter season strayed far from inhabited places but when the
> night set in he perceived the house of a dehqan and said: 'We shall
> spend the night there to avoid the injury of the cold.' One of the
> veziers, however, objected alleging that it was unworthy of the high
> dignity of a padshah to take refuge in the house of a dehqan and
> that it would be best to pitch tents and to light fires on the spot.
> The dehqan who had become aware of what was taking place prepared some
> food he had ready in his house, offered it, kissed the ground of
> service and said: 'The high dignity of the sultan would not have
> been so much lowered, but the courtiers did not wish the dignity of
> the dehqan to become high.' The king who was pleased with these
> words moved for the night into the man's house and bestowed a dress of
> honour upon him the next morning. When he accompanied the king a few
> paces at the departure he was heard to say:
> 
>         'Nothing was lost of the sultan's power and pomp
>         By accepting the hospitality of a dehqan,
>         But the corner of the dehqan's cap reached the sun
>         When a sultan such as thou overshadowed his head.'
> 
>                              Story 21
> 
>   It is related that a sultan thus addressed a miserly beggar who
> had accumulated great riches: 'It is evident that thou possessest
> boundless wealth and we have an affair on hand in which thou canst aid
> us by way of a loan. When the finances of the country are in a
> flourishing condition it will be repaid.' The miser replied: 'It is
> not befitting the power and dignity of a padshah to soil the hands
> of his noble aspirations with the property of an individual like
> myself who has collected it grain by grain.' The king replied: 'It
> does not matter because the money will be spent upon infidels: The
> wicked women should be joined to the wicked men."
> 
>         If the water of a Christian's well is impure
>         What matters it if thou washest a dead Jew therein?
> 
>         They said: 'The lime-mortar is not clean.'
>         We replied: 'We shall plug therewith the privy holes."
> 
>   I heard that he refused to comply with the behest of the king, began
> to argue and to look insolently; whereon the king ordered the sum in
> question to be released from his grasp by force and with a reprimand.
> 
>         If an affair cannot be accomplished with gentleness
>         He forsooth turns his head to impudence.
>         Who has no regard for himself
>         It is proper that no one should pay him any.
> 
>                              Story 22
> 
>   I met a trader who possessed one hundred and fifty camel loads of
> merchandise with forty slaves and servants. One evening in the oasis
> of Kish he took me into his apartment and taking all night no rest
> kept up an incoherent gabble, saying: 'I have such and such a
> warehouse in Turkestan, such and such goods in Hindostan; this is
> the title-deed of such and such an estate and in this affair such
> and such a man is security.' He said: 'I intend to go to Alexandria
> because it has a good climate', and correcting himself continued: 'No,
> because the African sea is boisterous. O Sa'di, I have one journey
> more to undertake and after performing it I shall during the rest of
> my life sit in a corner and enjoy contentment.' I asked: 'What journey
> is that?' He replied: 'I shall carry Persian brimstone to China
> because I heard that it fetched a high price. I shall also carry
> Chinese porcelain to Rum and Rumi brocade to India and Indian steel to
> Aleppo, convey glass-ware of Aleppo to Yemen, striped cloth of Yemen
> to Pares. After that I shall abandon trading and shall sit down in a
> shop.' He had talked so much of this nonsenses that no more strength
> remained in him so he said: 'O Sa'di, do thou also tell me something
> of what thou hast seen and heard.' I recited:
> 
>         'Thou mayest have heard that in the plain of Ghur
>         Once a leader fell down from his beast of burden,
>         Saying: "The narrow eye of a wealthy man
>         Will be filled either by content or by the earth
>           of the tomb."'
> 
>                              Story 23
> 
>   I heard about a wealthy man who was as well known for his avarice as
> Hatim Tai for his liberality. Outwardly he displayed the appearance of
> wealth but inwardly his sordid nature was so dominant that he would
> not for his life give a morsel of bread to anyone or bestow a scrap
> upon the kitten of Abu Harirah or throw a bone to the dog of the
> companions of the cave. In short, no one had seen the door of his
> house open or his table-doth spread.
> 
>       The dervish got nothing of his food except the smell.
>       The fowl picked up the crumbs after his bread-dinner.
> 
>   I heard that he was sailing in the Mediterranean with the pride of
> Pharaoh in his head-according to the words of the most high, Until
> drowning overtook him-when all of a sudden a contrary wind befell
> the ship, as it is said:
> 
>   What can thy heart do to thy distressed nature for the wind is
>     not fair?
>   It is not at all times suitable for a ship.
> 
>   He uplifted the hands of supplication and began to lament in vain
> but Allah the most high has commanded: When they sail in a ship they
> call upon Allah, sincerely exhibiting unto him their religion.
> 
>   Of what use is the hand of supplication to a needy worshipper
>   Which is uplifted to God in the time of prayer but in the armpit
>     in the time of bounty?
> 
>         Bestow comfort with gold and with silver
>         And thereby also profit thyself.
>         As this house of thine will remain,
>         Build it with a silver and a gold brick.
> 
>   It is narrated that he had poor relations in Egypt who became rich
> by the remainder of his wealth, tearing up their old cloths and
> cutting new ones of silk and of Damiari. During the same week I also
> beheld one of them riding a fleet horse with a fairy-faced slave boy
> at his heels. I said:
> 
>       'Wah! If the dead man were to return
>       Among his kinsfolk and connections
>       The refunding of the inheritance would be more painful
>       To the heirs than the death of their relative.'
> 
>   On account of the acquaintance which had formerly subsisted
> between us, I pulled his sleeve, and said:
> 
>         'Eat thou, O virtuous and good man,
>         What that mean fellow gathered and did not eat.'
> 
>                              Story 24
> 
>   A weak fisherman caught a strong fish in his net and not being
> able to retain it the fish overcame him and pulled the net from his
> hand.
> 
>         A boy went to bring water from the torrent.
>         The torrent came and took the boy away.
>         The net brought every time a fish.
>         This time the fish went and carried off the net.
> 
>   The other fishermen were sorry and blamed him for not being able
> to retain such a fish which had fallen into his net. He replied: 'O
> brothers, what can be done? My day was not lucky but the fish had
> yet one remaining. 'Moral: A fisherman cannot catch a fish in the
> Tigris without a day of luck and a fish cannot die on dry ground
> without the decree of fate.
> 
>                              Story 25
> 
>   A man whose hands and feet had been amputated killed a millipede and
> a pious passer-by exclaimed: 'Praised be Allah! In spite of the
> thousand feet he possessed he could not escape from a man without
> hands and feet when his fate had overtaken him.'
> 
>         When the life-taking foe comes in the rear
>         Fate ties the legs of a running man.
>         At the moment when the enemy has slowly arrived
>         It is useless to draw the Kayanian bow.
> 
>                              Story 26
> 
>   I have seen a fat fool, dressed in a costly robe, with a turban of
> Egyptian linen on his head, riding on an Arab horse. Someone said:
> 'Sa'di, what thinkest thou of this famous brocade upon this ignorant
> animal?' I replied: 'It is like ugly characters scrawled with
> gold-water.'
> 
>           Verily he is like an ass among men,
>           A calf, a body which is bleating.
> 
>         This animal cannot be said to resemble a man
>         Except in his cloak, turban and outward adornment.
>         Examine all his property and belongings of his estate
>         Thou wilt find nothing lawful to take except his blood.
>         If a noble man becomes impoverished imagine not
>         That his high worth will also decrease.
>         But if into a silver threshold golden nails are driven
>         By a Jew, think not that he will thereby become noble.
>                              Story 27
> 
>   A thief said to a mendicant: 'Art thou not ashamed to stretch out
> thy hand for a grain of silver to every sordid fellow?' He replied:
> 
>         'To hold out the hand for a grain of silver
>         Is better than to get it cut off for one dane and a half.'
> 
>                              Story 28
> 
>   It is related that an athlete had been reduced to the greatest
> distress by adverse fortune. His throat being capacious and his
> hands unable to fill it, he complained to his father and asked him for
> permission to travel as he hoped to be hoped to be able to gain a
> livelihood by the strength of his arm.
> 
>         Excellence and skill are lost unless exhibited.
>         Lignum aloes is placed on fire and musk rubbed.
> 
>   The father replied: 'My son, get rid of this vain idea and place the
> feet of contentment under the skirt of safety because great men have
> said that happiness does not consist in exertion and that the remedy
> against want is in the moderation of desires.
> 
>         No one can grasp the skirt of luck by force.
>         It is useless to put vasmah on a bald man's brow.
> 
>   If thou hast two hundred accomplishments for each hair of thy head
>   They will be of no use if fortune is unpropitious.
> 
>         What can an athlete do with adverse luck?
>         The arm of luck is better than the arm of strength.
> 
>   The son rejoined: 'Father, the advantages of travel are many, such
> as recreation of the mind entailing profit, seeing of wonderful and
> hearing of strange things, recreation in cities, associating with
> friends, acquisition of dignity, rank, property, the power of
> discriminating among acquaintances and gaining experience of the
> world, as the travellers in the Tariqat have said:
> 
>         As long as thou walkest about the shop or the house
>         Thou wilt never become a man, 0 raw fellow.
>         Go and travel in the world
>         Before that day when thou goest from the world.'
> 
>   The father replied: 'My son, the advantages of travel such as thou
> hast enumerated them are countless but they regard especially five
> classes of men: firstly, a merchant who possesses in consequence of
> his wealth and power graceful male and female slaves and
> quick-handed assistants, alights every day in another town and every
> night in another place, has recreation every moment and sometimes
> enjoys the delights of the world.'
> 
>   A rich man is not a stranger in mountain, desert or solitude.
>   Wherever he goes he pitches a tent and makes a sleeping place;
>   Whilst he who is destitute of the goods of this world
>   Must be in his own country a stranger and unknown.
> 
>   Secondly, a scholar, who is for the pleasantness of his speech,
> the power of his eloquence and the fund of his instruction, waited
> upon and honoured wherever he goes.
> 
>         The presence of a learned man is like pure gold
>         Whose power and price is known wherever he goes.
>         An ignorant fellow of noble descent resembles Shahrua,
>         Which nobody accepts in a foreign country.
> 
>   Thirdly, handsome fellows with whom the souls of pious men are
> inclined to commingle because it has been said that a little beauty is
> better than much wealth. An attractive face is also said to be a slave
> to despondent hearts and the key to locked doors, wherefore the
> society of such a person is everywhere known to be very acceptable:
> 
>   A beautiful person meets with honour and respect everywhere
>   Although perhaps driven away in anger by father and mother.
>   I have seen a peacock feather in the leaves of the Quran.
>   I said: 'I see thy position is higher than thy deserts.'
>   It said: 'Hush, whoever is endowed with beauty,
>   Wherever he places his foot, hands are held out to receive it.'
> 
>         When a boy is symmetrical and heart-robbing
>         It matters not if his father disowns him.
>         He is a jewel which must not remain in a shell.
>         A precious pearl everyone desires to buy.
> 
>   Fourthly, one with a sweet voice, who retains, with a David-like
> throat, water from flowing and birds from soaring. By means of this
> talent he holds the hearts of people captive and religious men are
> delighted to associate with him.
> 
>         My audition is intent on the beautiful melody.
>         Who is that performing on the double chord?
> 
>   How pleasant is the gentle and melancholy lay
>   To the ear of the boon companions who quaff the morning draught!
>   Better than a handsome face is a pleasant voice.
>   The former is joy to the senses, the latter food for the soul.
> 
>   Fifthly, the artisan, who gains a sufficient livelihood by the
> strength of his arm, so that his reputation is not lost in
> struggling for bread; as wise men have said:
> 
>       If he goes abroad from his own town
>       The patcher of clothes meets with no bardship or trouble
>       But if the government falls into ruin
>       The king of Nimruz will go to bed hungry.
> 
>   The qualities which I have explained, 0 my son, are in a journey the
> occasion of satisfaction to the mind, stimulants to a happy life but
> he, who possesses none of them, goes with idle fancies into the
> world and no one will ever hear anything about his name and fame.
> 
>         He whom the turning world is to afflict
>         Will be guided by the times against his aim.
>         A pigeon destined not to see its nest again
>         Will be carried by fate towards the grain and net.
> 
>   The son asked: 'O father, how can I act contrary to the
> injunctions of the wise, who have said, that although food is
> distributed by predestination the acquisition of it depends upon
> exertion and that, although a calamity may be decreed by fate, it is
> incumbent on men to show the gates by which it may enter?
> 
>         'Although daily food may come unawares
>         It is reasonable to seek it out of doors
>         And though no one dies without the decree of fate
>         Thou must not rush into the jaws of a dragon.
> 
>   'As I am at present able to cope with a mad elephant and to
> wrestle with a furious lion, it is proper, O father, that I should
> travel abroad because I have no longer the endurance to suffer misery.
> 
>   'When a man has fallen from his place and station
>   Why should he eat more grief? All the horizons are his place.
>   At night every rich man goes to an inn.
>   The dervish has his inn where the night overtakes him.'
> 
>   After saying this, he asked for the good wishes of his father,
> took leave of him, departed and said to himself:
> 
>         'A skilful man, when his luck does not favour him,
>         Goes to a place where people know not his name.'
> 
>   He reached the banks of a water, the force of which was such that it
> knocked stones against each other and its roaring was heard to a
> farsang's distance.
> 
>       A dreadful water, in which even aquatic birds were not safe,
>       The smallest wave would whirl off a millstone from its bank.
> 
>   He beheld a crowd of people, every person sitting with a coin of
> money at the crossing-place, intent on a passage. The youth's hands of
> payment being tied, he opened the tongue of laudation and although
> he supplicated the people greatly, they paid no attention and said:
> 
>         'No violence can be done to anyone without money
>         But if thou hast money thou hast no need of force.'
> 
>   An unkind boatman laughed at him and said:
> 
>   'If thou hast no money thou canst not cross the river by force.
>   What boots the strength of ten men? Bring the money for one.'
> 
>   The young man's heart was irritated by the insult of the boatman and
> longed to take vengeance upon him. The boat had, however, started;
> accordingly he shouted: 'If thou wilt be satisfied with the robe I
> am wearing, I shall not grudge giving it to thee.' The boatman was
> greedy and turned the vessel back.
> 
>         Desire sews up the vision of a shrewd man.
>         Greediness brings fowl and fish into the snare.
> 
>   As soon as the young man's hand could reach the beard and collar
> of the boatman, he immediately knocked him down and a comrade of the
> boatman, who came from the vessel to rescue him, experienced the
> same rough treatment and turned back. The rest of the people then
> thought proper to pacify the young man and to condone his passage
> money.
> 
>         When thou seest a quarrel be forbearing
>         Because gentlemen will shut the door of strife.
>         Use kindness when thou seest contention.
>         A sharp sword cannot cut soft silk.
>         By a sweet tongue, grace, and kindliness,
>         Thou wilt be able to lead an elephant by a hair.
> 
>   Then the people fell at his feet, craving pardon for what had
> passed. They impressed some hypocritical kisses upon his head and
> his eyes, received him into the boat and started, progressing till
> they reached a pillar of Yunani workmanship, standing in the water.
> The boatman said: 'The vessel is in danger. Let one of you, who is the
> strongest, go to the pillar and take the cable of the boat that we may
> save the vessel.' The young man, in the pride of bravery which he
> had in his head, did not think of the offended foe and did not mind
> the maxim of wise men who have said: 'If thou hast given offence to
> one man and afterwards done him a hundred kindnesses, do not be
> confident that he will not avenge himself for that one offence,
> because although the head of a spear may come out, the memory of an
> offence will remain in the heart.'
> 
>       'How well,' said Yaktash to Khiltash,
>       'Hast thou scratched a foe? Do not think thou art safe.'
> 
>         Be not unconcerned for thou wilt be afflicted
>         If by thy hand a heart has been afflicted.
>         Throw not a stone at the rampart of a fort
>         Because possibly a stone may come from the fort.
> 
>   As soon as he had taken the rope of the boat on his arm, he
> climbed to the top of the pillar, whereon the boatman snatched it from
> his grasp and pushed the boat off. The helpless man was amazed and
> spent two days in misery and distress. On the third, sleep took hold
> of his collar and threw him into the water. After one night and day he
> was cast on the bank, with some life still remaining in him. He
> began to eat leaves of trees and to pull out roots of grass so that
> when he had gained a little strength, he turned towards the desert and
> walked till thirst began to torment him. He at last reached a well and
> saw people drinking water for a pashizi but possessing none he asked
> for a coin and showed his destitute condition. The people had,
> however, no mercy with him, whereon he began to insult them but
> likewise ineffectually. Then he knocked down several men but was at
> last overpowered, struck and wounded:
> 
>         A swarm of gnats will overpower an elephant
>         Despite of all his virility and bravery.
>         When the little ants combine together
>         They tear the skin of a furious lion.
> 
>   As a matter of necessity he lagged in the rear of the caravan, which
> reached in the evening a locality very dangerous on account of
> thieves. The people of the caravan trembled in all their limbs but
> he said: 'Fear nothing because I alone am able to cope with fifty
> men and the other youths of the caravan will aid me.' These boastful
> words comforted the heart of the caravan-people, who became glad of
> his company and considered it incumbent upon themselves to supply
> him with food and water. The fire of the young man's stomach having
> blazed into flames and deprived his hands of the bridle of
> endurance, hunger made him partake of some morsels of food and take
> a few draughts of water, till the dev of his interior was set at
> rest and he fell asleep. An experienced old fellow, who was in the
> caravan, said: 'O ye people, I am more afraid of this guard of yours
> than of the thieves because there is a story that a stranger had
> accumulated some dirhems but could not sleep in the house for fear
> of the Luris. Accordingly he invited one of his friends to dispel
> the terrors of solitude by his company. He spent several nights with
> him, till he became aware that he had money and took it, going on a
> journey after spending it. When the people saw the stranger naked
> and weeping the next morning, a man asked: "What is the matter?
> Perhaps a thief has stolen those dirhems of mine?" He replied: "No, by
> Allah. The guard has stolen them."'
> 
>         I never sat secure from a serpent
>         Till I learnt what his custom was.
>         The wound from a foe's tooth is severe
>         Who appears to be a friend in the eyes of men.
> 
>   'How do you know whether this man is not one of the band of
> thieves and has followed us as a spy to inform his comrades on the
> proper occasion? According to my opinion we ought to depart and let
> him sleep.' The youths approved of the old man's advice and became
> suspicious of the athlete, took up their baggage and departed, leaving
> him asleep. He knew this when the sun shone upon his shoulders and
> perceived that the caravan had started. He roamed about a great deal
> without finding the way and thirsty as well as dismayed as he was,
> he sat down on the ground, with his heart ready to perish, saying:
> 
>   Who will speak to me after the yellow camels have departed?
>   A stranger has no companion except a stranger.
> 
>         He uses harshness towards strangers
>         Who has not himself been exiled enough.
> 
>   The poor man was speaking thus whilst the son of a king who happened
> to be in a hunting party, strayed far from the troops, was standing
> over his head, listening. He looked at the figure of the athlete,
> saw that his outward appearance was respectable but his condition
> miserable. He then asked him whence he had come and how he had
> fallen into this place. The athlete briefly informed him of what had
> taken place, whereon the royal prince, moved by pity, presented him
> with a robe of honour and a large sum of money and sent a confidential
> man to accompany him till he again reached his native town. His father
> was glad to see him and expressed gratitude at his safety. In the
> evening he narrated to his father what had befallen him with the boat,
> mentioned the violence of the boatman, the harshness of the rustics
> near the well and the treachery of the caravan people on the road. The
> father replied: 'My son, have not I told thee at thy departure that
> the brave hands of empty-handed persons are like the broken paw of a
> lion?'
> 
>         How well has that empty-handed fighter said:
>         'A grain of gold is better than fifty mann of strength.'
> 
>   The son replied: 'O father, thou wilt certainly not obtain a
> treasure except by trouble, wilt not overcome thy foe unless thou
> hazardest thy life and wilt not gather a harvest unless thou
> scatterest seed. Perceivest thou not how much comfort I gained at
> the cost of the small amount of trouble I underwent and what a
> quantity of honey I have brought in return for the sting I have
> suffered.
> 
>   Although not more can be acquired than fate has decreed
>   Negligence in striving to acquire is not commendable.
> 
>         If a diver fears the crocodile's throat
>         He will never catch the pearl of great price.
> 
>   The nether millstone is immovable, and therefore must bear a heavy
>     load.
> 
>         What will a fierce lion devour at the bottom of his den?
>         What food does a fallen hawk obtain?
>         If thou desirest to catch game at home
>         Thou must have hands and feet like a spider.
> 
>   The father said to his son: 'On this occasion heaven has been
> propitious to thee and good luck helpful so that a royal person has
> met thee, has been bountiful to thee and has thereby healed thy broken
> condition. Such coincidences occur seldom and rare events cannot be
> reckoned upon.'
> 
>         The hunter does not catch every time a jackal.
>         It may happen that some day a tiger devours him.
> 
>   Thus it happened that one of the kings of Pares, who possessed a
> ring with a costly beazle, once went out by way of diversion with some
> intimate courtiers to the Masalla of Shiraz and ordered his ring to be
> placed on the dome of Asad, promising to bestow the seal-ring upon any
> person who could make an arrow pass through it. It happened that every
> one of the four hundred archers in his service missed the ring, except
> a little boy who was shooting arrows in sport at random and in every
> direction from the flat roof of a monastery. The morning breeze caused
> his arrow to pass through the ring, whereon he obtained not only the
> ring but also a robe of honour and a present of money. It is related
> that the boy burnt his bow and arrows and on being asked for the cause
> replied: 'That the first splendour may be permanent.'
> 
>         It sometimes happens that an enlightened sage
>         Is not successful in his plans.
>         Sometimes it happens that an ignorant child
>         By mistake hits the target with his arrow.
> 
>                              Story 29
> 
>   I heard that a dervish, sitting in a cave, had closed the doors upon
> the face of the world, so that no regard for kings and rich persons
> remained in the eyes of his desire.
> 
>         Who opens to himself a door for begging
>         Will till he dies remain a needy fellow.
>         Abandon greediness and be a king
>         Because a neck without desire is high.
> 
>   One of the kings of that region sent him the information that,
> trusting in the good manners of the respected dervish, he hoped he
> would partake of bread and salt with him. The sheikh agreed because it
> is according to the sonna to accept an invitation. The next day the
> king paid him a visit, the a'bid. leapt up, embraced him, caressed him
> and praised him. After the monarch's departure the sheikh was asked by
> one of his companions why he had, against his custom, paid so many
> attentions to the padshah, the like of which he had never seen before.
> He replied: 'Hast thou not heard that one of the pious said:
> 
>         "In whose company thou hast been sitting
>         To do him service thou must necessarily rise.
> 
>         Possibly an ear may during a lifetime
>         Not hear the sound of drum, lute or fife.
>         The eye may be without the sight of a garden.
>         The brain may be without the rose or nasrin.
>         If no feather pillow be at hand
>         Sleep may be had with a stone under the head
>         And if there be no sweetheart to sleep with
>         The hand may be placed on one's own bosom,
>         But this disreputable twisting belly
>         Cannot bear to exist without anything."'
> 
>                            CHAPTER IV
>                    ON THE ADVANTAGES OF SILENCE
> 
>                              Story 1
> 
>   I said to a friend that I have chosen rather to be silent than to
> speak because on most occasions good and bad words are scattered
> concurrently but enemies perceive only the latter. He replied: 'That
> enemy is the greatest who does not see any good.'
> 
>         The brother of enmity passes not near a good man
>         Except to consider him as a most wicked liar.
> 
>         Virtue is to the eyes of enmity the greatest fault.
>         Sa'di is a rose but to the eye of enemies a thorn.
> 
>         The world illumining sun and fountain of light
>         Look ugly to the eye of the mole.
> 
>                              Story 2
> 
>   A merchant, having suffered loss of a thousand dinars, enjoined
> his son not to reveal it to anyone. The boy said: 'It is thy order and
> I shall not tell it but thou must inform me of the utility of this
> proceeding and of the propriety of concealment.' He replied: 'For fear
> the misfortune would be double; namely, the loss of the money and,
> secondly, the joy of neighbours at our loss.'
> 
>         Reveal not thy grief to enemies
>         Because they will say 'La haul' but rejoice.
> 
>                              Story 3
> 
>   An intelligent youth possessed an abundant share of
> accomplishments and discreet behaviour so that he was allowed to sit
> in assemblies of learned men but he refrained from conversing with
> them. His father once asked him why he did not likewise speak on
> subjects he was acquainted with. He replied: 'I fear I may be asked
> what I do not know and be put to shame.'
> 
>         Hast thou heard how a Sufi drove
>         A few nails under his sandals
>         And an officer taking him by the sleeve
>         Said to him: 'Come and shoe my horse.'
> 
>      For what thou hast not said no one will trouble thee
>      But when thou hast spoken bring the proof.
> 
>                              Story 4
> 
>   A scholar of note had a controversy with an unbeliever but, being
> unable to cope with him in argument, shook his head and retired.
> Someone asked him how it came to pass that, with all his eloquence and
> learning, he had been unable vanquish an irreligious man. He
> replied: 'My learning is in the Quran, in tradition and in the sayings
> of sheikhs, which he neither believes in nor listens to. Then of
> what use is it to me to hear him blaspheming?'
> 
>   To him of whom thou canst not rid thyself by the Quran and tradition
>   The best reply is if thou dost not reply anything.
> 
>                              Story 5
> 
>   Galenus saw a fool hanging on with his hands to the collar of a
> learned man and insulting him, whereon he said: 'If he were learned he
> would not have come to this pass with an ignorant man.'
> 
>         Two wise men do not contend and quarrel
>         Nor does a scholar fight with a contemptible fellow.
>         If an ignorant man in his rudeness speaks harshly
>         An intelligent man tenderly reconciles his heart.
>         Two pious men keep a hair between them untorn
>         And so does a mild with a headstrong man.
>         If however both sides are fools
>         If there be a chain they will snap it.
>         An ill-humoured man insulted someone.
>         He bore it and replied: 'O man of happy issue,
>         I am worse than thou canst say that I am
>         Because I know thou art not aware of my faults as I am.
> 
>                              Story 6
> 
>   Subhan Vail is considered to have had no equal in rhetorics
> because he had addressed an assembly during a year and had not
> repeated the same word but, when the same meaning happened to occur,
> he expressed it in another manner and this is one of the
> accomplishments of courtiers and princes.
> 
>         A word if heart-binding and sweet
>         Is worthy of belief and of approbation.
>         When thou hast once said it do not utter it again
>         Because sweets, once partaken of, suffice.
> 
>                              Story 7
> 
>   I heard a philosopher say that no one has ever made a confession
> of his own folly except he who begins speaking, whilst another has not
> yet finished his talk.
> 
>         Words have a head, O shrewd man, and a tail.
>         Do not insert thy words between words of others.
>         The possessor of deliberation, intelligence and shrewdness
>         Does not say a word till he sees silence.
> 
>                              Story 8
> 
>   Several officials of Sultan Mahmud asked Hasan Muimandi one day what
> the sultan had told him about a certain affair. He replied: 'You
> must yourselves have heard it.' They rejoined: 'What he says to thee
> he does not think proper to communicate to the like of us.' He
> answered: 'Because he trusts that I shall not reveal it. Then why do
> you ask me to do so?'
> 
>   A knowing man will not utter every word which occurs to him.
>   It is not proper to endanger one's head for the king's secret.
> 
>                              Story 9
> 
>   I was hesitating in the conclusion of a bargain for the purchase
> of a house when a Jew said: 'Buy it for I am one of the landholders of
> this ward. Ask me for a description of the house as it is and it has
> no defect.' I replied: 'Except that thou art the neighbour of it.'
> 
>         A house which has a neighbour like thee
>         Is worth ten dirhems of a deficient standard
>         But the hope must be entertained
>         That after thy death it will be worth a thousand.
> 
>                              Story 10
> 
>   A poet went to an amir of robbers and recited a panegyric but he
> ordered him to be divested of his robe. As the poor man was
> departing naked in the world, he was attacked from behind by dogs,
> whereon he intended to snatch up a stone but it was frozen to the
> ground and, being unable to do so, he exclaimed: 'What whore-sons of
> men are these? They have let loose the dogs and have tied down the
> stones.' The amir of the robbers who heard these words from his room
> laughed and said: 'O philosopher, ask something from me.' He
> replied: 'I ask for my robe if thou wilt make me a present of it.'
> 
>         We are satisfied of thy gift by departure.
> 
>         A man was hoping for the gifts of people.
>         I hope no gift from thee. Do me no evil.
> 
>   The robber chief took pity upon him, ordered his robe to be restored
> to him and added to it a sheepskin jacket with some dirhems.
>                              Story 11
> 
>   An astrologer, having entered his own house, saw a stranger and,
> getting angry, began to insult him, whereon both fell upon each
> other and fought so that turmoil and confusion ensued. A pious man who
> had the scene exclaimed:
> 
>         'How knowest thou what is in the zenith of the sky
>         If thou art not aware who is in thy house?'
> 
>                              Story 12
> 
>   A preacher imagined his miserable voice to be pleasing and raised
> useless shouts, thou wouldst have said that the crow of separation had
> become the tune of his song; and the verse- for the most detestable
> of voices is surely the voice of asses- appears to have been applicable
> to him. This distich also concerns him:
> 
>         When the preacher Abu-l-Fares brays
>         At his voice Istakhar-Fares quakes.
> 
>   On account of the position he occupied the inhabitants of the
> locality submitted to the hardship and did not think proper to
> molest him. In course of time, however, another preacher of that
> region, who bore secret enmity towards him, arrived on a visit and
> said to him: 'I have dreamt about thee, may it end well!' 'What hast
> thou dreamt?' 'I dreamt that thy voice had become pleasant and that
> the people were comfortable during thy sermons.' The preacher
> meditated a while on these words and then said: 'Thou hast dreamt a
> blessed dream because thou hast made me aware of my defect. It has
> become known to me that I have a disagreeable voice and that the
> people are displeased with my loud reading. Accordingly I have
> determined henceforth not to address them except in a subdued voice':
> 
>       I am displeased with the company of friends
>       To whom my bad qualities appear to be good.
>       They fancy my faults are virtues and perfection.
>       My thorns they believe to be rose and jessamine.
>       Say. Where is the bold and quick enemy
>       To make me aware of my defects?
> 
>         He whose faults are not told him
>         Ignorantly thinks his defects are virtues.
> 
>                              Story 13
> 
>   A man used to shout superfluous calls to prayers in the mosque of
> Sinjar and in a voice which displeased all who heard it. The owner
> of the mosque, who was a just and virtuous amir, not desirous to
> give him pain, said: 'My good fellow, in this mosque there are old
> muezzins' to each of whom I pay five dinars monthly but to thee I
> shall give ten, if thou wilt go to another place.' The man agreed
> and went away. Some time afterwards however, he returned to the amir
> and said: 'My lord, thou hast injured me by turning me away for ten
> dinars from this place because where I next went they offered me
> twenty dinars to go to another locality but I refused.' The amir
> smiled and said: 'By no means accept them because will give thee
> even fifty dinars.'
> 
>         No one can scrape the mud from gravel with an axe
>         As thy discordant shouting scrapes the heart.
> 
>                              Story 14
> 
>   A fellow with a disagreeable voice happened to be reading the Quran,
> when a pious man passed near, and asked him what his monthly salary
> was. He replied: 'Nothing.' He further inquired: 'Then why takest thou
> this trouble?' He replied: 'I am reading for God's sake.' He
> replied: 'For God's sake do not read.'
> 
>         If thou readest the Quran thus
>         Thou wilt deprive the religion of splendour.
> 
>                             CHAPTER V
>                          ON LOVE AND YOUTH
> 
>                              Story 1
> 
>   Hasan Maimundi was asked that, as the Sultan Mahmud possesses so
> many beautiful slaves, each of whom is a marvel in the world, how it
> happens that he manifests towards none of them so much inclination and
> love as to Iyaz, although he is not more handsome than the others.
> He replied: 'Whatever descends into the heart appears good to the
> eye.'
> 
>         He whose murid' the sultan is
>         If he does everything bad, it will be good.
>         But he whom the padshah throws away
>         Will not be cared for by anyone in the household.
> 
>         If anyone looks with an unfavourable eye
>         Even the figure of Joseph will indicate ugliness
>         And if he looks with the eye of desire on a demon,
>         He will appear an angel, a cherub in his sigh].
> 
>                              Story 2
> 
>   It is said that a gentleman possessed a slave of exquisite beauty,
> whom he regarded with love and affection. He nevertheless said to a
> friend: 'Would that this slave of mine, with all the beauty and good
> qualities he possesses, had not a long and uncivil tongue!' He
> replied: 'Brother, do not expect service, after professing friendship;
> because when relations between lover and beloved come in, the
> relations between master and servant are superseded':
> 
>       When a master with a fairy-faced slave
>       Begins to play and to laugh
>       What wonder if the latter coquets like the master
>       And the gentleman bears it like a slave?
> 
>         A slave is to draw water and make bricks.
>         A pampered slave will strike with the fist.
> 
>                              Story 3
> 
>   I saw a religious man, who had fallen in love with a fellow to
> such a degree that he had neither strength to remain patient nor to
> bear the talk of the people but would not relinquish his attachment,
> despite of the reproaches he suffered and the grief he bore, saying:
> 
>         I shall not let go my hold of thy skirt
>         Even if thou strike me with a sharp sword.
>         After thee I have no refuge nor asylum.
>         To thee alone I shall flee if I flee.
> 
>   I once reproached him, asking him what had become of his exquisite
> intellect so that it had been overcome by his base proclivity. He
> meditated a while and then said:
> 
>         'Wherever love has become sultan
>         Piety's arm has no strength left.
>         How can a helpless fellow live purely
>         Who has sunk up to his neck in impurity?'
> 
>                              Story 4
> 
>   One had lost his heart and bidden farewell to his life because the
> target which he aimed at was in a dangerous locality, portending
> destruction and no chance promising a morsel easily coming to the
> palate nor a bird falling into the trap.
> 
>         When thy sweetheart's eye has no regard for gold
>         Mud and gold are of equal value to thee.
> 
>   I once advised him to abandon his aspiration to a fancy impossible
> of realization because many persons are enslaved by the same passion
> like himself, the feet of their hearts being in chains. He lamented
> and said:
> 
>         'Tell my friends not to give me advice
>         Because my eyes are fixed on her wishes.
>         By the strength of fist and shoulders warriors
>         Slay enemies but sweethearts a friend.'
> 
>   It is against the requirements of love to renounce affection to
> our sweethearts for fear of losing our lives.
> 
>         Thou who art a slave to thy selfishness
>         Art mendacious in the game of love.
>         If there be no way to reach the friend
>         Friendship demands to die in pursuit of it.
> 
>     I rise as no other source is left to me
>     Though the foe may smite me with arrow and sword.
>     If chance serves me I shall take hold of her sleeve.
>     Or else I shall go and die on her threshold.
> 
>   His friends, who considered his position, pitied his state, gave him
> advice and at last confined him but all to no purpose.
> 
>         Alas, that the physician should prescribe patience,
>         Whereas this greedy lust requires sugar.
> 
>         Hast thou heard that the mistress secretly
>         Told him who had lost his heart:
>         'As long as thou possessest thy own dignity,
>         What will mine amount to in thy eyes?'
> 
>   It is related that the royal prince who was the object of his
> affection had been informed to the effect that a good-natured and
> sweet-spoken youth was constantly attending on the plain, uttering
> graceful words; and strange tales having been heard of him, it
> appeared that his heart is inflamed and that he has a touch of
> insanity in his head. The boy knew that his heart had become
> attached to him and that he had raised this dust of calamity.
> Accordingly he galloped towards him. When the youth perceived the
> prince approaching him, he we and said:
> 
>         'He who has slain me has come back again.
>         It seems his heart burns for him whom he has slain.'
> 
>   Although he accosted the youth graciously, asking him whence he came
> and what his occupation was, he was so plunged in the depths of the
> ocean of love that he could not breathe:
> 
>   If thou recitest the seven portions of the lesson by heart,
>   When thou art demented by love thou knowest not the A, B, C.
> 
>   The prince said: 'Why speakest thou not to me? I also belong to
> the circle of dervishes; nay I am even in their service.' In
> consequence of the force of the friendly advances of his beloved, he
> raised his head from the dashing waves of love and said:
> 
>         'It is a marvel that with thy existence mine remains
>         That when thou speakest words to me remain.'
> 
>   Saying these words he uttered a shout and surrendered his life.
> 
>     It would not be strange if he had been slain at his tent door
>     But it would be strange that if alive he should escape safe.
>                              Story 5
> 
>   A schoolboy was so perfectly beautiful and sweet-voiced that the
> teacher, in accordance with human nature, conceived such an
> affection towards him that' he often recited the following verses:
> 
>   I am not so little occupied with thee, O heavenly face,
>   That remembrance of myself occurs to my mind.
>   From thy sight I am unable to withdraw my eyes
>   Although when I am opposite I may see that an arrow comes.
> 
>   Once the boy said to him: 'As thou strivest to direct my studies,
> direct also my behaviour. If thou perceivest anything reprovable in my
> conduct, although it may seem approvable to me, inform me thereof that
> I may endeavour to change it.' He replied: 'O boy, make that request
> to someone else because the eyes with which I look upon thee behold
> nothing but virtues.'
> 
>         The ill-wishing eye, be it torn out
>         Sees only defects in his virtue.
>         But if thou possessest one virtue and seventy faults
>         A friend sees nothing except that virtue.
> 
>                              Story 6
> 
>   I remember that one night a dear friend of mine entered when I
> jumped up in such a heedless way that the lamp was extinguished by
> my sleeve. A vision appeared in the night and by its appearance the
> darkness was illuminated.
> 
>   I was amazed at my luck exclaiming whence this felicity?
> 
>   He took a seat and began reproving me saying that when I beheld
> him I extinguished the lamp. I said: 'I thought the sun had risen
> and wits have said:
> 
>         When an ugly person comes before the lamp
>         Arise to him and pull him into the assembly
>         But if it be a sugar-smiled, sweet-lipped one
>         Pull him by the sleeve and extinguish the lamp.'
> 
>                              Story 7
> 
>   One who had for a considerable time not seen his friend asked him
> where he had been and said he had been longing. He replied: 'To be
> longing is better than to be satisfied.'
> 
>       Thou hast come late, O intoxicated idol,
>       We shall not soon let go thy skirt from the hand.
>       He who sees his sweetheart at long intervals
>       Is after all better off than if he sees too much of her.
> 
>         When thou comest with friends to visit me
>         Although thou comest in peace thou art attacking.
> 
>       If my sweetheart associates one moment with strangers
>       It wants but little and I die of jealousy.
>       She said smiling: 'I am the lamp of the assembly, O Sa'di,
>       What is it to me if a moth kills itself?'
> 
>                              Story 8
> 
>   I remember how in former times I and another friend kept company
> with each other like two almond kernels in one skin. Suddenly a
> separation took place but after a time, when my companion returned, he
> commenced to blame me for not having sent him a messenger during it. I
> replied: 'I thought it would be a pity that the eyes of a messenger
> should be brightened by thy beauty and I deprived thereof.'
> 
>         Tell my old friend not to give me advice with the tongue
>         Because even a sword will not compel me to repent.
>         I am jealous that anyone should see thee to satiety.
>         Again I say that no one will be satiated.
> 
>                              Story 9
> 
>   I knew a learned man who had fallen in love with someone but his
> secret having fallen from the veil of concealment into publicity, he
> endured abundant persecution and displayed boundless patience. I
> said once to him by way of consolation: 'I know thou entertainest no
> worldly motive nor inclination for baseness. It is nevertheless
> unbecoming the dignity of a scholar to expose himself to suspicions
> and to bear the persecutions of mannerless persons.' He replied: 'O
> friend, take off the hand of reproach from my skirt because I have
> often meditated on the opinion which thou entertainest but have
> found it easier to bear persecution for his sake than not to see
> him; and philosophers have said that it is easier to accustom the
> heart to strife, than to turn away the eye from seeing the beloved.
> 
>         Who has his heart with a heart-ravisher
>         Has his beard in another's hand.
>         A gazelle with a halter on the neck
>         Is not able to walk of its own accord.
>         If he, without whom one cannot abide,
>         Becomes insolent it must be endured.
>         I one day told him to beware of his friend
>         But I often asked pardon for that day.
>         A friend does not abandon a friend.
>         I submit my heart to what he wills.
>         Whether he kindly calls me to himself
>         Or drives me away in anger he knows best.
> 
>                              Story 10
> 
>   In the exuberance of youth, as it usually happens and as thou
> knowest, I was on the closest terms of intimacy with a sweetheart
> who had a melodious voice and a form beautiful like the moon just
> rising.
> 
>   He, the down of whose cheek drinks the water of immortality,
>   Whoever looks at his sugar lips eats sweetmeats.
> 
>   I happened to notice something in his behaviour which was contrary
> to nature and not approved of by me. Accordingly I gathered up my
> skirt from him and, picking up the pieces of the chess-game of
> friendship, recited:
> 
>         'Go and do as thou listest.
>         Thou hast not our head; follow thine.'
> 
>   I heard him saying when he went away:
> 
>         'If the bat desires not union with the sun
>         The beauty of the sun will not decrease.'
> 
>   Saying this, he departed and his distress took effect on me:
> 
>       I lost the time of union and man is ignorant
>       Of the value of delightful life before adversity.
> 
>       Return. Slay me. For to die in thy presence
>       Is more sweet than to live after thee.
> 
>   Thanks be to the bounty of God, he returned some time afterwards but
> his melodious voice had changed, his Joseph like beauty had faded,
> on the apple of his skin dust had settled as upon a quince so that the
> splendour of his beauty had departed. He wanted me to embrace him. I
> complied and said:
> 
>   'On the day when thou hadst a beauteous incipient beard
>   Thou drovest him, who desired the sight, from thy sight.
>   Today thou camest to make peace with him
>   But hast exhibited Fathah and Zammah.
> 
>   His fresh spring is gone and he has become yellow.
>   Bring not the kettle because our fire is extinguished.
>   How long wilt thou strut about, showing arrogance,
>   Imagining felicity which has elapsed?
>   Go to him who will purchase thee.
>   Coquet with him who asks for thee.
> 
>   They said: "Verdure in the garden is pleasing."
>   He knows it who utters these words.
>   Namely, heartfelt affection for that green line
>   Fascinates the hearts of lovers more and more.
>   Thy garden is a bed of leeks.
>   The more thou weedest it the more they grow.
> 
>   Whether thou pluckest out thy beard or not
>   This happiness of youthful days must end.
>   Had I the power of life as thou of the beard
>   I would not let it end till resurrection-day.
> 
>   I asked and said: What has befallen the beauty of thy face
>   That ants are crawling round the moon?
>   He replied, smiling: "I know not what is the matter
>     with my face.
>   Perhaps it wears black as mourning for my beauty."'
> 
>                              Story 11
> 
>   I asked one of the people of Baghdad what he thought of beardless
> youths. He replied: 'There is no good in them for when one of them
> is yet delicate and wanted he is insolent; but when he becomes rough
> and is not wanted he is affable.'
> 
>         When a beardless youth is beautiful and sweet
>         His speech is bitter, his temper hasty.
>         When his beard grows and he attains puberty
>         He associates with men and seeks affection.
> 
>                              Story 12
> 
>   One of the ullemma had been asked that, supposing one sits with a
> moon-faced beauty in a private apartment, the doors being closed,
> companions asleep, passion inflamed, and lust raging, as the Arab
> says, the date is ripe and its guardian not forbidding, whether he
> thought the power of abstinence would cause the man to remain in
> safety. He replied: 'If he remains in safety from the moon-faced
> one, he will not remain safe from evil speakers.'
> 
>     If a man escapes from his own bad lust
>     He will not escape from the bad suspicions of accusers.
> 
>         It is proper to sit down to one's own work
>         But it is impossible to bind the tongues of men.
> 
>                              Story 13
> 
>   A parrot, having been imprisoned in a cage with a crow, was vexed by
> the sight and said: 'What a loathsome aspect is this! What an odious
> figure! What cursed object with rude habits! 0 crow of separation,
> would that the distance of the east from the west were between us.'
> 
>         Whoever beholds thee when he rises in the morning
>         The morn of a day of safety becomes evening to him.
>         An ill-omened one like thyself is fit to keep thee company
>         But where in the world is one like thee?
> 
>   More strange still, the crow was similarly distressed by the
> proximity of the parrot and, having become disgusted, was shouting 'La
> haul', and lamenting the vicissitudes of time. He rubbed the claws
> of sorrow against each other and said: 'What ill-luck is this? What
> base destiny and chameleonlike times? It was befitting my dignity to
> strut about on a garden-wall in the society of another crow.
> 
>         'It is sufficient imprisonment for a devote
>         To be in the same stable with profligates.
> 
>   'What sin have I committed that I have already in this life, as a
> punishment for it, fallen into the bonds of this calamity in company
> with such a conceited, uncongenial and heedless fool?'
> 
>         No one will approach the foot of the wall
>         Upon which they paint thy portrait.
>         If thy place were in paradise
>         Others would select. hell.
> 
>   I have added this parable to let thee know that no matter how much a
> learned man may hate an ignorant man the latter hates him equally.
> 
>         A hermit was among profligates
>         When one of them, a Balkhi beauty, said:
>         'If thou art tired of us sit not sour
>         For thou art thyself bitter in our midst.'
> 
>       An assembly joined together like roses and tulips!
>       Thou art withered wood, growing in its midst,
>       Like a contrary wind and unpleasant frost,
>       Like snow inert, like ice bound fast.
> 
>                              Story 14
> 
>   I had a companion with whom I had travelled for years and eaten
> salt. Boundless intimacy subsisted between us till at last he suffered
> my mind to be grieved for the sake of some paltry gain and our
> friendship closed. Despite of an this, however, mutual attachment of
> heart still subsisted between us because I heard him one day
> reciting in an assembly the following two distichs of my composition:
> 
>       When my sweetheart enters sweetly smiling
>       She adds more salt to my bleeding wound.
>       How would it be if the tip of her curls fell into my hand
>       Like the sleeve of the bountiful into the hands of dervishes?
> 
>   Some friends bore witness not so much to the gracefulness of these
> verses as to the beauty of my conduct which they approved; and among
> the rest, the said friend likewise added his share of praise,
> regretting the loss of our former companionship and confessing his
> fault so that his affection became known. Accordingly I sent the
> following distichs and made peace:
> 
>         Was not there a covenant of friendship between us?
>         Thou hast been cruel and not loving.
>         I once tied my heart to thee, disregarding the world.
>         Not knowing thou wouldst turn back so soon.
>         If thou yet desirest conciliation, return
>         Because thou wilt be more beloved than before.
> 
>                              Story 15
> 
>   The beautiful wife of a man died but her mother, a decrepit old hag,
> remained in the house on account of the dowry. The man saw no means of
> escaping from contact with her until a company of friends paid him a
> visit of condolence and one of them asked him how he bore the loss
> of his beloved. He replied: 'It is not as painful not to see my wife
> as to see the mother of my wife.'
> 
>       The rose has been destroyed and the thorn remained.
>       The treasure has been taken and the serpent left.
>       It is better that one's eye be fixed on a spear-head
>       Than that it should behold the face of an enemy.
>       It is incumbent to sever connection with a thousand friends
>       Rather than to behold a single foe.
> 
>                              Story 16
> 
>   I remember having in the days of my youth passed through a street,
> intending to see a moon-faced beauty. It was in Temuz, whose heat
> dried up the saliva in the mouth and whose simum boiled the marrow
> in my bones. My weak human nature being unable to endure the scorching
> sun, I took refuge in the shadow of a wall, wishing someone might
> relieve me from the summer heat and quench my fire with some water;
> and lo, all of a sudden, from the darkness of the porch of a house a
> light shone forth, namely a beauty, the grace of which the tongue of
> eloquence is unable to describe. She came out like the rising dawn
> after an obscure night or the water of immortality gushing from a dark
> cavern, carrying in her hand a bowl of snow-water, into which sugar
> had been poured and essence of roses mixed. I knew not whether she had
> perfumed it with rose-water or whether a few drops from her rosy
> face had fallen into it. In short, I took the beverage from her
> beautiful hands, drank it and began to live again.
> 
>         The thirst of my heart cannot be quenched
>         By sipping limpid water even if I drink oceans of it.
> 
>     Blessed is the man of happy destiny whose eye
>     Alights every morning on such a countenance.
>     One drunk of wine awakens at midnight,
>     One drunk of the cupbearer on the morn of resurrection.
> 
>                              Story 17
> 
>   In the year when Muhammad Khovarezm Shah concluded peace with the
> king of Khata to suit his own purpose, I entered the cathedral
> mosque of Kashgar and saw an extremely handsome, graceful boy as
> described in the simile:
> 
>     Thy master has taught thee to coquet and to ravish hearts,
>     Instructed thee to oppose, to dally, to blame and to be severe.
>     A person of such figure, temper, stature and gait
>     I have not seen; perhaps he learnt these tricks from a fairy.
> 
>   He was holding in his hand the introduction to Zamaksharni's
> Arabic syntax and reciting: Zaid struck Amru and was the injurer of
> Amru. I said: 'Boy! Khovarezm and Khata have concluded peace, and
> the quarrel between Zaid and Amru still subsists!' He smiled and asked
> for my birthplace. I replied: 'The soil of Shiraz.' He continued:
> 'What rememberest thou of the compositions of Sa'di?' I recited:
> 
>     'I am tired by a nahvi who makes a furious attack
>     Upon me, like Zaid in his opposition to Amru.
>     When Zaid submits he does not raise his head
>     And how can elevation subsist when submission is the regent?
> 
>   He considered awhile and then said: 'Most of his poetry current in
> this country is in the Persian language. If thou wilt recite some,
> it will be more easily understood.' Then I said:
> 
>     'When thy nature has enticed thee with syntax
>     It blotted out the form of intellect from our heart.
>     Alas, the hearts of lovers are captive in thy snare.
>     We are occupied with thee but thou with Amru and Zaid.'
> 
>   The next morning, when I was about to depart, some people told him
> that I was Sa'di, whereon he came running to me and politely expressed
> his regret that I had not revealed my identity before so that he might
> have girded his loins to serve me in token of the gratitude due to the
> presence of a great man.
> 
>     In spite of thy presence no voice came to say: I am he.
> 
>   He also said: 'What would it be if thou wert to spend in this
> country some days in repose that we might derive advantage by
> serving thee?' I replied: 'I cannot on account of the following
> adventure which occurred to me:
> 
>     I beheld an illustrious man in a mountain region
>     Who had contentedly retired from the world into a cave.
>     Why, said I, comest thou not into the city
>     For once to relax the bonds of thy heart?
>     He replied: 'Fairy-faced maidens are there.
>     When clay is plentiful, elephants will stumble.'
> 
>   This I said. Then we kissed each other's heads and faces and took
> leave of each other.
> 
>     What profits it to kiss a friend's face
>     And at the same time to take leave of him?
>     Thou wouldst say that he who parts from friends is an apple.
>     One half of his face is red and the other yellow.
> 
>         If I die not of grief on the day of separation
>         Reckon me not faithful in friendship.
> 
>                              Story 18
> 
>   A man in patched garments' accompanied us in a caravan to the
> Hejaz and one of the Arab amirs presented him with a hundred dinars to
> spend upon his family but robbers of the Kufatcha tribe suddenly
> fell upon the caravan and robbed it clean of everything. The merchants
> began to wail and to cry, uttering vain shouts and lamentations.
> 
>         Whether thou implorest or complainest
>         The robber will not return the gold again.
> 
>   The dervish alone had not lost his equanimity and showed no
> change. I asked: 'Perhaps they have not taken thy money?' He
> replied: 'Yes, they have but I was not so much accustomed to that
> money that separation therefrom could grieve my heart':
> 
>         The heart must not be tied to any thing or person
>         Because to take off the heart is a difficult affair.
> 
>   I replied: 'What thou hast said resembles my case because, when I
> was young, my intimacy with a young man and my friendship for him were
> such that his beauty was the Qiblah of my eye and the chief joy of
> my life union with him':
> 
>     Perhaps an angel in heaven but no mortal
>     Can be on earth equal in beauty of form to him.
>     I swear by the amity, after which companionship is illicit,
>     No human sperm will ever become a man like him.
> 
>   All of a sudden the foot of his life sank into the mire of
> non-existence. The smoke of separation arose from his family. I kept
> him company on his grave for many days and one of my compositions on
> his loss is as follows:
> 
>   Would that on the day when the thorn of fate entered thy foot
>   The hand of heaven had struck a sword on my head;
>   So that this day my eye could not see the world without thee.
>   Here I am on thy grave, would that it were over my head.
> 
>         He who could take neither rest nor sleep
>         Before he had first scattered roses and narcissi.
>         The turns of heaven have strewn the roses of his face.
>         Thorns and brambles are growing on his tomb.
> 
>   After separation from him I resolved and firmly determined to fold
> up the carpet of pleasure during the rest of my life and to retire
> from mixing in society:
> 
>   Last night I strutted about like a peacock in the garden of union
>   But today, through separation from my friend, I twist my head like
>     a snake.
>   The profit of the sea would be good if there were no fear of waves.
>   The company of the rose would be sweet if there were no pain from
>     thorns.
> 
>                              Story 19
> 
>   A king of the Arabs, having been informed of the relations
> subsisting between Laila and Mejnun, with an account of the latter's
> insanity, to the effect that he had in spite of his great
> accomplishments and eloquence, chosen to roam about in the desert
> and to let go the reins of self-control from his hands; he ordered him
> to be brought to his presence, and this having been done, he began
> to reprove him and to ask him what defect he had discovered in the
> nobility of the human soul that he adopted the habits of beasts and
> abandoned the society of mankind. Mejnun replied:
> 
>     'Many friends have blamed me for loving her.
>     Will they not see her one day and understand my excuse?'
> 
>         Would that those who are reproving me
>         Could see thy face, O ravisher of hearts,
>         That instead of a lemon in thy presence
>         They might heedlessly cut their hands.
> 
>   That the truth may bear witness to the assertion: This is he for
> whose sake ye blamed me.
> 
>   The king expressed a wish to see the beauty of Laila in order to
> ascertain the cause of so much distress. Accordingly he ordered her to
> be searched for. The encampments of various Arab families having
> been visited, she was found, conveyed to the king and led into the
> courtyard of the palace. The king looked at her outward form for
> some time and she appeared despicable in his sight because the meanest
> handmaids of his harem excelled her in beauty and attractions. Mejnun,
> who shrewdly understood the thoughts of the king, said: 'It would have
> been necessary to look from the window of Mejnun's eye at the beauty
> of Laila when the mystery of her aspect would have been revealed to
> thee.'
> 
>   If the record of the glade which entered my ears
>   Had been heard by the leaves of the glade they would
>     have lamented with me.
>   O company of friends, say to him who is unconcerned
>   'Would that thou knewest what is in a pining heart
> 
>         Who are healthy have no pain from wounds.
>         I shall tell my grief to no one but a sympathizer.
>         It is useless to speak of bees to one
>         Who never in his life felt their sting.
>         As long as thy state is not like mine
>         My state will be but an idle tale to thee.
> 
>                              Story 20
> 
>   It is related that the qazi of Hamdan, having conceived affection
> towards a farrier-boy and the horseshoe of his heart being on fire, he
> sought for some time to meet him, roaming about and seeking for
> opportunities, according to the saying of chroniclers:
> 
>         That straight tall cypress my eyes beheld
>         It robbed me of my heart and threw me down.
>         Those wanton eyes have taken my heart with a lasso.
>         If thou desirest to preserve thy heart shut thy eyes.
> 
>   I was informed that the boy, who had heard something of the qazi's
> passion, happening to meet him in a thoroughfare, manifested immense
> wrath, assailed the qazi with disrespectful and insulting words,
> snatched up a stone and left no injury untried. The qazi said to an
> ullemma of repute who happened to be of the same opinion with him:
> 
>         'Look at that sweetheart and his getting angry,
>         And that bitter knot of his sweet eyebrow.'
> 
>   The Arab says: 'A slap from a lover is a raisin.
> 
>         A blow from the hand on the mouth
>         Is sweeter than eating bread with one's own hand.
> 
>   In the same way the boy's impudence might be indicating kindness
> as padshahs utter hard words whilst they secretly wish for peace:
> 
>         Grapes yet unripe are sour.
>         Wait two or three days, they will become sweet.
> 
>   After saying these words he returned to his court of justice,
> where some respectable men connected with him kissed the ground of
> service and said: 'With thy permission we shall, doing obeisance,
> speak some words to thee although they may be contrary to politeness
> because illustrious men have said:
> 
>         It is not permissible to argue on every topic.
>         To find fault with great men is wrong.
> 
>   'But as in consequence of favours conferred by thy lordship in
> former times upon thy servants it would be a kind of treachery to
> withhold the opinion they entertain, they inform thee that the
> proper way is not to yield to thy inclinations concerning this boy but
> to fold up the carpet of lascivious desires because thy dignity as
> qazi is high and must not be polluted by a base crime. The companion
> thou hast seen is this, and our words thou hast heard are these:
> 
>         One who has done many disreputable things
>         Cares nothing for the reputation of anyone.
>         Many a good name of fifty years
>         Was trodden under foot by one bad name."
> 
>   The qazi approved of the unanimous advice of his friends and
> appreciated their good opinion as well as their steadfast fidelity,
> saying that the view taken by his beloved friends on the arrangement
> of his case was perfectly right and their arguments admitting of no
> contradiction. Nevertheless:
> 
>     Although love ceases in consequence of reproval
>     I heard that just men sometimes concoct falsehoods.
> 
>     Blame me as much as thou listest
>     Because blackness cannot be washed off from a negro.
> 
>     Nothing can blot out my remembrance of thee.
>     I am a snake with broken head and cannot turn.
> 
>   These words he said and sent some persons to make inquiries about
> him, spending boundless money because it is said that whoever has gold
> in his hand possesses strength of arm and he who has no worldly
> goods has no friends in the whole world:
> 
>     Whoever has seen gold droops his head,
>     Although he may be hard to bend like iron-backed scales.
> 
>   In short, one night he obtained privacy but during that night the
> police obtained information that the qazi is spending the whole of
> it with wine in his hand and a sweetheart on his bosom, enjoying
> himself, not sleeping, and singing:
> 
>   Has this cock perhaps not crowed at the proper time this night
>   And have the lovers not had their fill of embrace, and kiss
>   Whilst alas for only a moment the eye of confusion is asleep?
>   Remain awake that life may not elapse in vain
>   Till thou hearest the morning call from the Friday-mosque
>   Or the noise of kettle-drums on Atabek's palace-gate.
>   Lips against lips like the cock's eye
>   Are not to part at the crowing of a silly cock.
> 
>   Whilst the qazi was in this state one of his dependants entered
> and said: 'Arise and run as far as thy feet will carry thee because
> the envious have not only obtained a handle for vexation but have
> spoken the truth. We may, whilst the fire of confusion is yet
> burning low, perchance extinguish it with the water of stratagem but
> when it blazes up high it may destroy a world.' The qazi, however,
> replied:
> 
>         'When the lion has his claws on the game
>         What boots it if a jackal makes his appearance?
>         Keep thy face on the face of the friend and leave
>         The foe to chew the back of his own hand in rage.'
> 
>   The same night information was also brought to the king that in
> his realm such a wickedness had been perpetrated and he was asked what
> he thought of it. He replied: 'I know that he is one of the most
> learned men, and I account him to be the paragon of our age. As it
> is possible that enemies have devised a plot against him, I give no
> credit to this accusation unless I obtain ocular evidence because
> philosophers have said:
> 
>   He who grasps the sword in haste
>   Will repenting carry the back of his hand to his teeth and bite it.'
> 
>   I heard that at dawn the king with some of his courtiers arrived at
> the pillow of the qazi, saw a lamp standing, the sweetheart sitting,
> the wine spilled, the goblet broken and the qazi plunged in the
> sleep of drunkenness, unaware of the realm of existence. The king
> awakened him gently and said: 'Get up for the sun has risen.' The
> qazi, who perceived the state of affairs, asked: 'From what
> direction?' The sultan was astonished and replied: 'From the east as
> usual.' The qazi exclaimed: 'Praise be to Allah! The door of
> repentance is yet open because according to tradition the gate Of
> repentance will not be locked against worshippers till the sun rises
> in its setting place.'
> 
>         These two things impelled me to sin:
>         My ill-luck and my imperfect understanding.
>         If thou givest me punishment I deserve it
>         And if thou forgivest pardon is better than revenge.
> 
>   The king replied: 'As thou knowest that thou must suffer capital
> punishment, it is of no use to repent. But their faith availed them
> not after they had beholden our vengeance.
> 
>         'What is the use to promise to forego thieving
>         When a lasso cannot be thrown up to the palace?
>         Say to the tall man: "Do not pluck the fruit",
>         For he who is short cannot reach the branch.
> 
>   'For thee, who hast committed such wickedness, there is no way of
> escape.' After the king had uttered these words, the men appointed for
> the execution took hold of him, whereon he said: 'I have one word more
> to speak in the service of the sultan.' The king, who heard him,
> asked: 'What is it?' And he recited:
> 
>         'Thou who shakest the sleeve of displeasure upon me
>         Expect not that I shall withdraw my hand from thy skirt.
>         If escape be impossible from this crime which I committed
>         I trust to the clemency which thou possessest.'
> 
>   The king replied: 'Thou hast adduced this wonderful sally and hast
> enounced a strange maxim but it is impossible according to reason
> and contrary to usage that thy accomplishments and eloquence should
> this day save thee from the punishment which I have decreed; and I
> consider it proper to throw thee headlong from the castle that
> others may take an example.' He continued: 'O lord of the world, I
> have been nourished by the bounty of this dynasty, and this crime
> was not committed only by me in the world. Throw another man
> headlong that I may take the example.' The king burst out laughing,
> pardoned his crime and said to his dependents who desired the qazi
> to be slain:
> 
>         'Everyone of you who are bearers of your own faults
>         Ought not to blame others for their defects.'
> 
>                              Story 21
> 
>         A virtuous and beauteous youth
>         Was pledged to a chaste maiden.
>         I read that in the great sea
>         They fell into a vortex together.
>         When a sailor came to take his hand,
>         Lest he might die in that condition,
>         He said in anguish from the waves:
>         'Leave me. Take the hand of my love.'
>         Whilst saying this, he despaired of life.
>         In his agony he was heard to exclaim:
>         'Learn not the tale of love from the wretch
>         Who forgets his beloved in distress.'
>         Thus the lives of the lovers terminated.
>         Learn from what has occurred that thou mayest know
>         Because Sa'di is of the ways and means of love affairs
>         Well aware in the Arabian city of Baghdad.
>         Tie thy heart to the heart-charmer thou possessest
>         And shut thy eye to all the rest of the world.
>         If Mejnun and Laila were to come to life again
>         They might indite a tale of love on this occurrence.
> 
>                            CHAPTER VI
>                      ON WEAKNESS AND OLD AGE
> 
>                              Story 1
> 
>   I was holding a disputation with a company of learned men in the
> cathedral mosque of Damascus when a youth stepped among us, asking
> whether anyone knew Persian, whereon most of them pointed to me. I
> asked him what the matter was and he said that an old man, aged one
> hundred and fifty years, was in the agony of death but saying
> something in Persian which nobody could understand and that if I
> were kindly to go and see him I might obtain the information whether
> he was perhaps desirous of making his last will. When I approached his
> pillow, he said:
> 
>         'A while ago I said I shall take some rest
>         But alas, the way of my breath is choked.
>         Alas, that from the variegated banquet of life
>         We were eating a while and told it is enough.'
> 
>   I interpreted these words in the Arabic language to the Damascenes
> and they were astonished that despite of his long life he regretted
> the termination of it so much. I asked him how he felt and he replied:
> 'What shall I say?'
> 
>          Hast thou not seen what misery he feels,
>          The teeth of whose mouth are being extracted?
>          Consider what his state will be at the hour
>          When life, so precious to him, abandons his body.
> 
>   I told him not to worry his imagination with the idea of death and
> not to allow a hallucination to obtain dominion over his nature
> because Ionian philosophers have said that although the constitution
> may be good no reliance is to be placed on its permanence and although
> a malady may be perilous it does not imply a full indication of death.
> I asked: 'If thou art willing, I shall call a physician to treat
> thee?' He lifted his eyes and said, smiling:
> 
>         'The skilled doctor strikes his hands together
>         On beholding a rival prostrate like a potsherd.
>         A gentleman is engaged in adorning his hall with paintings
>         Whilst the very foundation of the house is ruined.
> 
>         An aged man was lamenting in his last agony
>         Whilst his old spouse was rubbing him with sandal.
>         When the equilibrium of the constitution is destroyed
>         Neither incantations nor medicines are of any avail.'
> 
>                              Story 2
> 
>   It is related that an old man, having married a girl, was sitting
> with her privately in an apartment adorned with roses, fixing his eyes
> and heart upon her. He did not sleep during long nights but spent them
> in telling her jokes and witty stories, hoping to gain her affection
> and to conquer her shyness. One night, however, he informed her that
> luck had been friendly to her and the eye of fortune awake because she
> had become the companion of an old man who is ripe, educated,
> experienced in the world, of a quiet disposition, who had felt cold
> and warm, had tried good and bad, who knows the diities of
> companionship, is ready to fulfil the conditions of love, is
> benevolent, kind, good-natured and sweet-tongued.
> 
>         As far as I am able I shall hold thy heart
>         And if injured I shall not injure in return.
>         Though sugar may be thy food as of a parrot
>         I shall sacrifice sweet life to thy support.
> 
>   Thou hast not fallen into the hands of a giddy youth, fun of
> whims, headstrong, fickle minded, running about every moment in search
> of another pleasure and entertaining another opinion, sleeping every
> night in another place and taking every day another friend.
> 
>         Young men are joyous and of handsome countenance
>         But inconstant in fidelity to anyone.
>         Expect not faithfulness from nightingales
>         Who sing every moment to another rose.
> 
>   Contrary to aged men who spend their lives according to wisdom and
> propriety; not according to the impulses of folly and youth.
> 
>         Find one better than thyself and consider it fortunate
>         Because with one like thyself thou wilt be disappointed.
> 
>   The old man said: 'I continued in this strain, thinking that I had
> captivated her heart and that it had become my prey.' She drew,
> however, a deep sigh from her grief-filled heart and said: 'All the
> words thou hast uttered, weighed in the scales of my understanding,
> are not equivalent to the maxim I once heard enounced in my tribe:
> An arrow in the side of a young woman is better than an old man.'
> 
>         When she perceived in the hands of her husband
>         Something pendant like the nether lip of a fasting man,
>         She said: 'This fellow has a corpse with him
>         But incantations are for sleepers not for corpses.'
> 
>         A woman who arises without satisfaction from a man
>         Will raise many a quarrel and contention.
>         An old man who is unable to rise from his place,
>         Except by the aid of a stick, how can his own stick rise?
> 
>   In short, there being no possibility of harmony, a separation at
> last took place. When the time of the lady's uddat had terminated, she
> was given in marriage to a young man who was violent, ill-humoured and
> empty-handed. She suffered much from his bad temper and tyrannical
> behaviour, and experienced the miseries of penury. She nevertheless
> said: 'Praise be to Allah for having been delivered from that wretched
> torment, and attained this permanent blessing.'
> 
>         Despite of all this violence and hasty nature
>         I shall try to please thee because thou art beauteous.
>         To be with thee in hell burning is for me
>         Better than to be with the other in paradise.
>         The smell of an onion from the mouth of a pretty face
>         Is indeed better than a rose from an ugly hand.
>         A nice face and a gown of gold brocade,
>         Essence of roses, fragrant aloes, paint, perfume and lust:
>         All these are ornaments of women.
>         Take a man; and his testicles are a sufficient ornament.
> 
>                              Story 3
> 
>   I was in Diarbekr, the guest of an old man, who possessed abundant
> wealth and a beautiful son. One night he narrated to me that he had
> all his life no other son but this boy, telling me that in the
> locality people resorted to a certain tree in a valley to offer
> petitions and that he had during many nights prayed at the foot of the
> said tree, till the Almighty granted him this son. I overheard the boy
> whispering to his companion: 'How good it would be if I knew where
> that tree is that I might pray for my father to die.' Moral: The
> gentleman is delighted that his son is intelligent and the boy
> complains that his father is a dotard.
> 
>         Years elapse without thy visiting
>         The tomb of thy father.
>         What good hast thou done to him
>         To expect the same from thy son?
> 
>                              Story 4
> 
>   One day, in the pride of youth, I had travelled hard and arrived
> perfectly exhausted in the evening at the foot of an acclivity. A weak
> old man, who had likewise been following the caravan, came and asked
> me why I was sleeping, this not being the place for it. I replied:
> 'How am I to travel, having lost the use of my feet?' He said: 'Hast
> thou not heard that it is better to walk gently and to halt now and
> then than to run and to become exhausted?'
> 
>         O thou who desirest to reach the station
>         Take my advice and learn patience.
>         An Arab horse gallops twice in a race.
>         A camel ambles gently night and day.
> 
>                              Story 5
> 
>   The active, graceful, smiling, sweet-tongued youth happened once
> to be in the circle of our assembly. His heart had been entered by
> no kind of grief and his lips were scarcely ever closed from laughter.
> After some time had elapsed, I accidentally met him again and I
> learned that he had married a wife and begotten children but I saw
> that the root of merriment had been cut and the roses of his
> countenance were withered. I asked him how he felt and what his
> circumstances were. He replied: 'When I had obtained children I left
> off childishness.'
> 
>         Where is youth when age has changed my ringlets?
>         And the change of time is a sufficient monitor.
> 
>         When thou art old abstain from puerility.
>         Leave play and jokes to youths.
> 
>     Seek not a youth's hilarity in an old man
>     For the water gone from the brook returns no more.
>     When the harvest-time of a field arrives
>     It will no longer wave in the breeze like a young crop.
> 
>         The period of youth has departed.
>         Alas, for those heart-enchanting times.
>         The force of the lion's claws is gone.
>         Now we are satisfied with cheese Eke a leopard.
> 
>         An old hag had dyed her hair black.
>         I said to her: 'O little mother of ancient days,
>         Thou hast cunningly dyed thy hair but consider
>         That thy bent back will never be straight.'
> 
>                              Story 6
> 
>   In the folly of youth I one day shouted at my mother who then sat
> down with a grieved heart in a corner and said, weeping: 'Hast thou
> forgotten thy infancy that thou art harsh towards me?'
> 
>         How sweetly said the old woman to her son
>         When she saw him overthrow a tiger, and elephant-bodied:
>         'If thou hadst remembered the time of thy infancy
>         How helpless thou wast in my arms
>         Thou would'st this day not have been harsh
>         For thou art a lion-like man, and I an old woman.'
> 
>                              Story 7
> 
>   The son of a wealthy but avaricious old man, having fallen sick, his
> well-wishers advised him that it would be proper to get the whole
> Quran recited or else to offer a sacrifice. He meditated a while and
> then said: 'It is preferable to read the Quran because the flock is at
> a distance.' A holy man, who had heard this, afterwards remarked:
> 'He selected the reading of the Quran because it is at the tip of
> the tongue but the money at the bottom of the heart.'
> 
>   It is useful to bend the neck in prayers
>   If they are to be accompanied by almsgiving.
>   For one dinar he would remain sticking in mud like an ass,
>   But if thou askest for Alhamdu he will recite it a hundred times.
> 
>                              Story 8
> 
>   An old man, having been asked why he did not marry, replied that
> he could not be happy with an aged woman, and on being told that as he
> was a man of property, he might take a young one, he said: 'I being an
> old man and unwilling to associate with an old woman, how could a
> young one conceive friendship for me who am aged?'
> 
>         Let not a man of seventy years make love.
>         Thou art confessedly blind, kiss her and sleep.
>         The lady wants strength, not gold.
>         One passage is preferable to her than ten mann of flesh.
> 
>                              Story 9
> 
>   I have heard that in these days a decrepit aged man
>   Took the fancy in his old head to get a spouse.
>   He married a beauteous little girl, Jewel by name,
>   When he had concealed his casket of jewels from the eyes of men
>   A spectacle took place as is customary in weddings.
>   But in the first onslaught the organ of the sheikh fell asleep.
>   He spanned the bow but hit not the target; it being
>     impossible to sew
>   A tight coarse robe except with a needle of steel.
>   He complained to his friends and showed proofs
>   That his furniture had been utterly destroyed by her impudence.
>   Such fighting and contention arose between man and wife
>   That the affair came before the qazi; and Sa'di said:
>   'After all this reproach and villainy the fault is not the girl's.
>   Thou whose hand trembles, how canst thou bore a Jewel?'
> 
>                            CHAPTER VII
>                    ON THE EFFECTS OF EDUCATION
> 
>                              Story 1
> 
>   A vezier who had a stupid son gave him in charge of a scholar to
> instruct him and if possible to make him intelligent. Having been some
> time under instruction but ineffectually, the learned man sent one
> to his father with the words: 'The boy is not becoming intelligent and
> has made a fool of me.'
> 
>         When a nature is originally receptive
>         Instruction will take effect thereon.
>         No kind of polishing will improve iron
>         Whose essence is originally bad.
>         Wash a dog in the seven oceans,
>         He will be only dirtier when he gets wet.
>         If the ass of Jesus be taken to Mekkah
>         He will on his return still be an ass.
>                              Story 2
> 
>   A sage, instructing boys, said to them: 'O darlings of your fathers,
> learn a trade because property and riches of the world are not to be
> relied upon; also silver and gold are an occasion of danger because
> either a thief may steal them at once or the owner spend them
> gradually; but a profession is a living fountain and permanent wealth;
> and although a professional man may lose riches, it does not matter
> because a profession is itself wealth and wherever he goes he will
> enjoy respect and sit in high places, whereas he who has no trade will
> glean crumbs and see hardships:
> 
>     It is difficult to obey after losing dignity
>     And to bear violence from men after being caressed.
> 
>         Once confusion arose in Damascus.
>         Everyone left his snug corner.
>         Learned sons of peasants
>         Became the veziers of padshahs.
>         Imbecile sons of the veziers
>         Went as mendicants to peasants.
> 
>   If you wanted thy father's inheritance, acquire his knowledge
>   Because this property of his may be spent in ten days.
> 
>                              Story 3
> 
>   An illustrious scholar, who was the tutor of a royal prince, had the
> habit of striking him unceremoniously and treating him severely. The
> boy, who could no longer bear this violence, went to his father to
> complain and when he had taken off his coat, the father's heart was
> moved with pity. Accordingly he called for the tutor and said: 'Thou
> dost not permit thyself to indulge in so much cruelty towards the
> children of my subjects as thou inflictest upon my son. What is the
> reason?' He replied: 'It is incumbent upon all persons in general to
> converse in a sedate manner and to behave in a laudable way but more
> especially upon padshahs because whatever they say or do is
> commented on by everybody, the utterances or acts of common people
> being of no such consequence.
> 
>         'If a hundred unworthy things are committed by a dervish
>         His companions do not know one in a hundred.
>         But if a padshah utters only one jest
>         It is borne from country to country.
> 
>   'It is the duty of a royal prince's tutor to train up the sons of
> his lord in refinement of morals-and Allah caused her to grow up as
> a beautiful plant-more diligently than the sons of common people.'
> 
>         He whom thou hast not punished when a child
>         Will not prosper when he becomes a man.
>         While a stick is green, thou canst bend it as thou listest.
>         When it is dry, fire alone can make it straight.
> 
>   The king, being pleased with the appropriate discipline of the tutor
> and with his explanatory reply, bestowed upon him a robe of honour
> with other gifts and raised him to a higher position.
> 
>                              Story 4
> 
>   I saw a schoolmaster in the Maghrib country, who was sour-faced,
> of uncouth speech, ill-humoured, troublesome to the people, of a
> beggarly nature and without self-restraint, so that the very sight
> of him disgusted the Musalmans and when reading the Quran he
> distressed the hearts of the people. A number of innocent boys and
> little maidens suffered from the hand of his tyranny, venturing
> neither to laugh nor to speak because he would slap the
> silver-cheeks of some and put the crystal legs of others into the
> stocks. In short, I heard that when his behaviour had attained some
> notoriety, he was expelled from the school and another installed as
> corrector, who happened to be a religious, meek, good and wise man. He
> spoke only when necessary and found no occasion to deal harshly with
> anyone so that the children lost the fear they had entertained for
> their first master and, taking advantage of the angelic manners of the
> second, they acted like demons towards each other and, trusting in his
> gentleness, neglected their studies, spending most of their time in
> play, and breaking on the heads of each other the tablets' of their
> unfinished tasks.
> 
>         If the schoolmaster happens to be lenient
>         The children will play leapfrog in the bazar.
> 
>   Two weeks afterwards I happened to pass near that same mosque
> where I again saw the first master whom the people had made glad by
> reconciliation and had reinstalled in his post. I was displeased,
> exclaimed 'La haul', and asked why they had again made Iblis the
> teacher of angels. An old man, experienced in the world, who had heard
> me, smiled and said: 'Hast thou not heard the maxim?
> 
>     A padshah placed his son in a school,
>     Putting in his lap a silver tablet
>     With this inscription in golden letters:
>     The severity of a teacher is better than the love of a father.'
> 
>                              Story 5
> 
>   The son of a pious man inherited great wealth left him by some
> uncles, whereon he plunged into dissipation and profligacy, became a
> spendthrift and, in short, left no heinous transgression unperpetrated
> and no intoxicant untasted. I advised him and said: 'My son, income is
> a flowing water and expense a turning mill; that is to say, only he
> who has a fixed revenue is entitled to indulge in abundant expenses.
> 
>         'If thou hast no income, spend but frugally
>         Because the sailors chant this song:
>         "If there be no rain in the mountains
>         The bed of the Tigris will be dry in one year."
> 
>   'Follow wisdom and propriety, abandon play and sport because thy
> wealth will be exhausted, whereon thou wilt fall into trouble and will
> repent.' The youth was prevented by the delights of the flute and of
> drink from accepting my admonition but found fault therewith, saying
> that it is contrary to the opinion of intelligent men to embitter
> present tranquillity by cares concerning the future:
> 
>         Why should possessors of enjoyment and luck
>         Bear sorrow for fear of distress?
>         Go, be merry, my heart-rejoicing friend.
>         The pain of tomorrow must not be eaten today.
> 
>   And how could I restrain myself, who am occupying the highest seat
> of liberality, have bound the knot of generosity and the fame of whose
> beneficence has become the topic of general conversation?
> 
>     Who has become known for his liberality and generosity
>     Must not put a lock upon his dirhems.
>     When the name of a good fellow has spread in a locality
>     The door cannot be dosed against it.
> 
>   When I perceived that he did not accept my advice and that my warm
> breath was not taking effect upon his cold iron, I left off
> admonishing him and turned away my face from his companionship, acting
> according to the words of philosophers, who said: Impart to them
> what thou hast and if they receive it not, it is not thy fault.
> 
>     Although thou knowest thou wilt not be heard, say
>     Whatever thou knowest of good wishes and advice.
>     It may soon happen that thou wilt behold a silly fellow
>     With both his feet fallen into captivity,
>     Striking his hands together, and saying: 'Alas,
>     I have not listened to the advice of a scholar.'
> 
>   After some time I saw the consequences of his dissolute
> behaviour-which I apprehended-realized. When I beheld him sewing patch
> upon patch and gathering crumb after crumb, my heart was moved with
> pity for his destitute condition, in which I did not consider it
> humane to scratch his internal wounds with reproaches or to sprinkle
> salt upon them. Accordingly, I said to myself:
> 
>         A foolish fellow in the height of intoxication
>         Cares not for the coming day of distress.
>         The tree which sheds its foliage in spring
>         Will certainly have no leaves remaining in winter.
> 
>                              Story 6
> 
>   A padshah entrusted a tutor with the care of his son, saying:
> 'This is thy son. Educate him as if he were one of thy own
> children.' He kept the prince for some years and strove to instruct
> him but could effect nothing, whilst the sons of the tutor made the
> greatest progress in accomplishments and eloquence. The king
> reproved and threatened the learned man with punishment, telling him
> that he had acted contrary to his promise and had been unfaithful.
> He replied: 'O king, the instruction is the same but the natures are
> different.'
> 
>         Although both silver and gold come from stones
>         All stones do not contain silver and gold.
>         Canopus is shining upon the whole world
>         But produces in some places sack-leather and in others adim.
> 
>                              Story 7
> 
>   I heard a pir-instructor say to his murid: 'The mind of man is so
> much occupied with thoughts about maintenance that he would surpass
> the position of angels if he were to devote as many of them to the
> giver of maintenance.'
> 
>         Yazed has not forgotten thee at the time
>         When thou wast sperm, buried, insensible.
>         He gave thee a soul, nature, intellect and perception,
>         Beauty, speech, opinion, meditation and acuteness.
>         He arranged five fingers on thy fist.
>         He fixed two arms to thy shoulders.
>         O thou whose aspirations are base, thinkest he will now
>         Forget to provide thee with a maintenance?
> 
>                              Story 8
> 
>   I saw an Arab of the desert who said to his boy: 'O son, on the
> day of resurrection thou wilt be asked what thou hast gained and not
> from whom thou art descended, that is to say, thou wilt be asked
> what thy merit is and not who thy father was.'
> 
>         The covering of the Ka'bah which is kissed
>         Has not been ennobled by the silkworm.
>         It was some days in company with a venerable man
>         Wherefore it became respected like himself.
> 
>                              Story 9
> 
>   It is narrated in the compositions of philosophers that scorpions
> are not born in the same manner like other living beings but that they
> devour the bowels of their mother and, after gnawing through the
> belly, betake themselves to the desert. The skins which may be seen in
> the nests of scorpions are the evidence of this. I narrated this story
> to an illustrious man who then told me that his own heart bore witness
> to the truth of it for the case could not be otherwise inasmuch as
> they, having in their infancy dealt thus with their fathers and
> mothers, they were beloved and respected in the same manner when
> they grow old.
> 
>         A father thus admonished his son:
>         O noble fellow, remember this advice.
>         'Whoever is not faithful to his origin
>         Will not become the companion of happiness.'
> 
>   A scorpion, having been asked why he did not go out in winter,
> replied: 'What honour do I enjoy in summer that I should come out also
> in winter?'
> 
>                              Story 10
> 
>   The wife of a dervish had become enceinte and when the time of her
> confinement was at hand, the dervish who had no child during all his
> life said: 'If God the most high and glorious presents me with a
> son, I shall bestow everything I possess as alms upon dervishes,
> except this patched garment of mine which I am wearing.' It happened
> that the infant was a son. He rejoiced and gave a banquet to the
> dervishes, as he had promised. Some years afterwards when I returned
> from a journey to Syria, I passed near the locality of the dervish and
> asked about his circumstances but was told that he had been put in
> prison by the police. Asking for the cause, I was told that his son,
> having become drunk, quarrelled and having shed the blood of a man,
> had fled; whereon his father was instead of him loaded with a chain on
> his neck and heavy fetters on his legs. I replied: 'He had himself
> asked God the most high and glorious for this calamity.'
> 
>         If pregnant women, O man of intellect,
>         Bring forth serpents at the time of birth,
>         It is better in the opinion of the wise
>         Than to give birth to a wicked progeny.
> 
>                              Story 11
> 
>   When I was a child I asked an illustrious man about puberty. He
> replied: 'It is recorded in books that it has three signs. First,
> the age of fifteen years; secondly nocturnal pollutions; and
> thirdly, sprouting of hair on the pudenda; but in reality there is
> only one sign which is sufficient that thou shouldst seek the
> approbation of the most high and glorious rather than to be in the
> bondage of sensual pleasures; and whoever does not entertain this
> disposition is by erudite men considered not to have attained
> puberty.'
> 
>   The form of man was attained by a drop of water
>   Which remained forty days in the womb.
>   If in forty years it has not attained sense and propriety
>   It can in reality not be called a man.
>   Virility consists in liberality and amiableness.
>   Think not that it is only in the material figure.
>   Virtue is necessary because the form may be painted
>   In halls with vermilion or verdigris.
>   If a man possesses not excellence and goodness
>   What is the difference between him and a picture on the wall?
>   It is no virtue to gain the whole world.
>   Gain the heart of one person if thou canst.
> 
>                              Story 12
> 
>   One year discord had arisen in a caravan among the walking portion
> and I also travelled on foot. To obtain justice we attacked each
> other's heads and faces, giving full vent to pugnacity and contention.
> I saw a man sitting in a camel litter and saying to his companion:
> 'How wonderful! A pawn of ivory travels across the chess-board and
> becomes a farzin, and the footmen of the Haj travelled across the
> whole desert only to become worse.'
> 
>         Tell on my part to the man-biting Haji
>         Who tears the skins of people with torments:
>         Thou art not a Haji but a camel is one
>         Because, poor brute, it feeds on thorns and bears loads.
> 
>                              Story 13
> 
>   An Indian who was learning how to throw naphtha was thus reproved by
> a sage: 'This is not a play for thee whose house is made of reeds.'
> 
>         Speak not unless thou knowest it is perfectly proper
>         And ask not what thou knowest will not elicit a good reply.
> 
>                              Story 14
> 
>   A little man with a pain in his eyes went to a farrier to be treated
> by him. The farrier applied to his eyes what he used to put in those
> of quadrupeds so that the man became blind and lodged a complaint with
> the judge who, however, refrained from punishing the farrier,
> saying: 'Had this man not been an ass, he would not have gone to a
> farrier.' The moral of this story is to let thee know that whoever
> entrusts an inexperienced man with an important business and
> afterwards repents is by intelligent persons held to suffer from
> levity of intellect.
> 
>         A shrewd and enlightened man will not give
>         Affairs of importance to a base fellow to transact.
>         A mat-maker although employed in weaving
>         Is not set to work in a silk-factory.
> 
>                           Story 15
> 
>   An illustrious man had a worthy son who died. Being asked what he
> desired to be written upon the sarcophagus of the tomb, he replied:
> 'The verses of the glorious book' are deserving of more honour than to
> be written on such a spot, where they would be injured by the lapse of
> time, would be walked upon by persons passing by and urinated upon
> by dogs. If anything is necessarily to be written, let what follows
> suffice:
> 
>         Wah! How-every time the plants in the garden
>         Sprouted-glad became my heart.
>         Pass by, O friend, that in the spring
>         Thou mayest see plants sprouting from my loam.'
> 
>                              Story 16
> 
>   A pious man happened to pass near a rich fellow who had a slave
> and was just chastising him after having tied his feet and hands. He
> said: 'My son, God the most high and glorious has given a creature
> like thyself into thy power and has bestowed upon thee superiority
> over him. Give thanks to the Almighty and do not indulge in so much
> violence towards the man because it is not meet that in the morn of
> resurrection he should be better than thyself and put thee to shame.'
> 
>         Be not much incensed against a slave.
>         Oppress him not, grieve not his heart.
>         Thou hast purchased him for ten dirhems
>         And hast not after all created him by thy power.
>         How long is this command, pride and power to last?
>         There is a Master more exalted than thou.
>         O thou owner of Arslan and of Aghosh,
>         Do not forget him who is thy commander.
> 
>   There is a tradition that the prince of the world, upon whom be
> the benediction of Allah and peace, has said: 'It will occasion the
> greatest sorrow on the day of resurrection when a pious worshipper
> is conveyed to paradise and a lord of profligacy to hell.'
> 
>         Upon the slave subject to thy service
>         Vent not boundless anger but treat him gently
>         Because on the day of reckoning it will be a shame
>         To see the slave free and his owner in chains.
> 
>                              Story 17
> 
>   One year I travelled from Balkh with Damascenes and the road being
> full of danger on account of robbers, a young man accompanied us as an
> escort. He was expert with the shield and the bow, handled every
> weapon and so strong that ten men were not able to span his
> bow-string. Moreover the athletes of the face of the earth could not
> bend his back down to the ground. He was, however, rich, brought up in
> the shade, without experience in the world, the drum-sounds of
> warriors never having reached his ears nor the lightning of the swords
> of horsemen dazzled his eyes.
> 
>         He had not fallen prisoner into the hands of a foe.
>         No shower of arrows had rained around him.
> 
>   I happened to be running together with this youth, who threw down by
> the force of his arm every wall that came in his way, and pulled up by
> the strength of his fist every big tree he saw, exclaiming,
> boastingly:
> 
>   Where is the elephant that he may see the shoulders of the heroes?
>   Where is the lion that he may see the fists of men?
> 
>   On that occasion two Indians showed their heads from behind a
> rock, desirous to attack us. One of them had a club in his hand whilst
> the other showed a sling under his arm. I asked our youth what he
> was waiting for.
> 
>         Show what thou hast of bravery and strength
>         For here is the foe, coming on his own feet to the grave.
> 
>   I saw the arrow and bow falling from the hands of the young man
> and his bones trembling:
> 
>         Not everyone who splits a hair with a cuirass-piercing arrow
>         Can, on the day of attack by warriors, extricate his feet.
> 
>   We saw no other remedy but to abandon our baggage, arms and clothes,
> whereby we saved our lives.
> 
>   Employ an experienced man in important affairs
>   Who is able to ensnare a fierce lion with his lasso.
>   A youth, though he may have a strong arm and elephant-body,
>   His joints will snap asunder for fear in contact with a foe.
>   The issue of a battle is known by a tried man before the contest
>   Like the solution of a legal question to a learned man.
> 
>                              Story 18
> 
>   I noticed the son of a rich man, sitting on the grave of his
> father and quarreling with a dervish-boy, saying: 'The sarcophagus
> of my father's tomb is of stone and its epitaph is elegant. The
> pavement is of marble, tesselated with turquois-like bricks. But
> what resembles thy father's grave? It consists of two contiguous
> bricks with two handfuls of mud thrown over it.' The dervish-boy
> listened to all this and then observed: 'By the time thy father is
> able to shake off those heavy stones which cover him, mine will have
> reached paradise.'
> 
>         An ass with a light burden
>         No doubt walks easily.
> 
>     A dervish who carries only the load of poverty
>     Will also arrive lightly burdened at the gate of death
>     Whilst he who lived in happiness, wealth and ease
>     Will undoubtedly on all these accounts die hard.
>     At all events, a prisoner who escapes from all his bonds
>     Is to be considered more happy than an amir taken prisoner.
> 
>                              Story 19
> 
>   I asked an illustrious man for the reason of the tradition:
> Account as an enemy the passion which is between thy two loins. He
> replied: 'The reason is because whatever enemy thou propitiatest
> becomes thy friend, whereas the more thou indulgest in a passion,
> the more it will oppose thee.'
> 
>         Man attains angelic nature by eating sparingly
>         But if he be voracious like beasts he falls like a stone.
>         He whose wishes thou fulfillest will obey thy command
>         Contrary to passion, which will command, when obeyed.
> 
>                              Story 20
> 
>    Contention of Sa'di with a Disputant concerning Wealth and Poverty
> 
>   I saw a man in the form but not with the character of a dervish,
> sitting in an assembly, who had begun a quarrel; and, having opened
> the record of complaints, reviled wealthy men, alleging at last that
> the hand of power of dervishes to do good was tied and that the foot
> of the intention of wealthy men to do good was broken.
> 
>         The liberal have no money.
>         The wealthy have no liberality.
> 
>   I, who had been cherished by the wealth of great men, considered
> these words offensive and said: 'My good friend, the rich are the
> income of the destitute and the hoarded store of recluses, the objects
> of pilgrims, the refuge of travellers, the bearers of heavy loads
> for the relief of others. They give repasts and partake of them to
> feed their dependants and servants, the surplus of their
> liberalities being extended to widows, aged persons, relatives and
> neighbours.'
> 
>   The rich must spend for pious uses, vows and hospitality,
>   Tithes, offerings, manumissions, gifts and sacrifices.
>   How canst thou attain their power of doing good who art able
>   To perform only the prayer-flections and these with a hundred
>     distractions?
> 
>   If there be efficacy in the power to be liberal and in the ability
> of performing religious duties, the rich can attain it better
> because they possess money to give alms, their garments are pure,
> their reputation is guarded, their hearts are at leisure. Inasmuch
> as the power of obedience depends upon nice morsels and correct
> worship upon elegant clothes, it is evident that hungry bowels have
> but little strength, an empty hand can afford no liberality,
> shackled feet cannot walk, and no good can come from a hungry belly.
> 
>         He sleeps troubled in the night
>         Who has no support for the morrow.
>         The ant collects in summer a subsistence
>         For spending the winter in ease.
> 
>   Freedom from care and destitution are not joined together and
> comfort in poverty is an impossibility. A man who is rich is engaged
> in his evening devotions whilst another who is poor is looking for his
> evening meal. How can they resemble each other?
> 
>     He who possesses means is engaged in worship.
>     Whose means are scattered, his heart is distracted.
> 
>   The worship of those who are comfortable is more likely to meet with
> acceptance, their minds being more attentive and not distracted or
> scattered. Having a secure income, they may attend to devotion. The
> Arab says: 'I take refuge with Allah against base poverty and
> neighbours whom I do not love. There is also a tradition: Poverty is
> blackness of face in both worlds.'
>   He retorted by asking me whether I had heard the Prophet's saying:
> Poverty is my glory. I replied: 'Hush! The prince of the world alluded
> to the poverty of warriors in the battlefield of acquiescence and of
> submission to the arrow of destiny; not to those who don the patched
> garb of righteousness but sell the doles of food given them as alms.'
> 
>         O drum of high sound and nothing within,
>         What wilt thou do without means when the struggle comes?
>         Turn away the face of greed from people if thou art a man.
>         Trust not the rosary of one thousand beads in thy hand.
> 
>   A dervish without divine knowledge rests not until his poverty,
> culminates in unbelief; for poverty is almost infidelity, because a
> nude person cannot be clothed without money nor a prisoner
> liberated. How can the like of us attain their high position and how
> does the bestowing resemble the receiving hand? Knowest thou not
> that God the most high and glorious mentions in his revealed word
> the Pleasures of paradise-They shall have a certain provision in
> paradise-to inform thee that those who are occupied with cares for a
> subsistence are excluded from the felicity of piety and that the realm
> of leisure is under the ring of the certain provision.
> 
>         The thirsty look in their sleep
>         On the whole world as a spring of water.
> 
>   Wherever thou beholdest one who has experienced destitution and
> tasted bitterness, throwing himself wickedly into fearful adventures
> and not avoiding their consequences, he fears not the punishment of
> Yazed and does not discriminate between what is licit or illicit.
> 
>         The dog whose head is touched by a clod of earth
>         Leaps for joy, imagining it to be a bone.
>         And when two men take a corpse on their shoulders,
>         A greedy fellow supposes it to be a table with food.
> 
>   But the possessor of wealth is regarded with a favourable eye by the
> Almighty for the lawful acts he has done and preserved from the
> unlawful acts he might commit. Although I have not fully explained
> this matter nor adduced arguments, I rely on thy sense of justice to
> tell me whether thou hast ever seen a mendicant with his hands tied up
> to his shoulders or a poor fellow sitting in prison or a veil of
> innocence rent or a guilty hand amputated, except in consequence of
> poverty? Lion-hearted men were on account of their necessities
> captured in mines which they had dug to rob houses and their heels
> were perforated. It is also possible that a dervish, impelled by the
> cravings of his lust and unable to restrain it, may commit sin because
> the stomach and the sexual organs are twins, that is to say, they
> are the two children of one belly and as long as one of these is
> contented, the other will likewise be satisfied. I heard that a
> dervish had been seen committing a wicked act with a youth, and
> although he had been put to shame, he was also in danger of being
> stoned. He said: 'O Musalmans, I have no power to marry a wife and
> no patience to restrain myself. What am I to do? There is no
> monasticism in Islam." Among the number of causes producing internal
> tranquility and comfort in wealthy people, the fact may be reckoned
> that they take every night a sweetheart in their arms and may every
> day contemplate a youth whose brightness excels that of the shining
> morn and causes the feet of walking cypresses to conceal themselves
> abashed.
> 
>         Plunging the fist into the blood of beloved persons,
>         Dying the finger-tips with the colour of the jujube-fruit.
> 
>   It is impossible that with his beauteous stature he should prowl
> around prohibited things or entertain intentions of ruin to himself.
> 
>         How could he who took as booty a Huri of paradise
>         Take any notice of the benes of Yaghma?
> 
>         Who has before him fresh dates which he loves
>         Has no need to throw stones on clusters upon trees.
> 
>   Mostly empty handed persons pollute the skirt of modesty by
> transgression, and those who are hungry steal bread.
> 
>   When a ferocious dog has found meat
>   He asks not whether it is of the camel of Saleh or the ass of
>     Dujjal.
> 
>   What a number of modest women have on account of poverty fallen into
> complete profligacy, throwing away their precious reputation to the
> wind of dishonour!
> 
>         With hunger the power of abstinence cannot abide.
>         Poverty snatches the reins from the hands of piety.
> 
>   Whilst I was uttering these words, the dervish lost the bridle of
> patience from his hands, drew forth the sword of his tongue, caused
> the steed of eloquence to caper in the plain of reproach and said:
> 'Thou hast been so profuse in this panegyric of wealthy men and hast
> talked so much nonsense that they might be supposed to be the antidote
> to poverty or the key to the storehouse of provisions; whereas they
> are a handful of proud, arrogant, conceited and abominable fellows
> intent upon accumulating property and money and so thirsting for
> dignity and abundance, that they do not speak to poor people except
> with insolence, and look upon them with contempt. They consider
> scholars to be mendicants and insult poor men on account of the wealth
> which they themselves possess and the glory of dignity which they
> imagine is inherent in them. They sit in the highest places and
> believe they are better than anyone else. They never show kindness
> to anybody and are ignorant of the maxim of sages that he who is
> inferior to others in piety but superior in riches is outwardly
> powerful but in reality a destitute man.
> 
>   If a wretch on account of his wealth is proud to a sage
>   Consider him to be the podex of an ass, though he may be a perfumed
>     ox.'
> 
>   I said: 'Do not think it allowable to insult them for they are
> possessors of generosity.' He rejoined: 'Thou art mistaken. They are
> slaves of money. Of what use is it that they are like bulky clouds and
> rain not, like the fountain of light, the sun, and shine upon no
> one? They are mounted on the steed of ability but do not use it;
> they would not stir a step for God's sake nor spend one dirhem without
> imposing obligation and insult. They accumulate property with
> difficulty, guard it with meanness and abandon it with reluctance,
> according to the saying of illustrious men that the silver of an
> avaricious man will come up from the ground when he goes into the
> ground.
> 
>         One man gathers wealth with trouble and labour
>         And if another comes, he takes it without either.'
> 
>   I retorted: 'Thou hast not become aware of the parsimony of
> wealthy men except by reason of mendicancy or else, to him who has
> laid aside covetousness, a liberal and an avaricious man would
> appear to be the same. The touchstone knows what gold is and the
> beggar knows him who is stingy.' He rejoined: 'I am speaking from
> experience when I say that they station rude and insolent men at their
> gates to keep off worthy persons, to place violent hands upon men of
> piety and discretion, saying: "Nobody is here", and verily they have
> spoken the truth.'
> 
>   Of him who has no sense, intention, plan or opinion,
>   The gatekeeper has beautifully said: 'No one is in the house.'
> 
>   I said this is excusable because they are teased out of their
> lives by people expecting favours and driven to lamentation by
> petitions of mendicants; it being according to common sense an
> impossibility to satisfy beggars even if the sand of the desert were
> to be transmuted into pearls.
> 
>         The eye of greediness, the wealthy of the world
>         Can no more fill than dew can replenish a well.
> 
>   Hatim Tai dwelt in the desert; had he been in a town he would have
> been helpless against the assaults of beggars and they would have torn
> to pieces his upper garments as it is recorded in the Tayibat:
> 
>         Look not at me that others may not conceive hopes
>         Because there is no reward to be got from beggars.
> 
>   He said: 'No. I take pity on their state.' I replied: 'No. Thou
> enviest them their wealth.' We were thus contending with each other,
> every pawn he put forward I endeavoured to repel, and every time he
> announced check to my king, I covered him with my queen until he had
> gambled away all his ready cash and had shot off all the arrows of his
> quiver in arguing.
> 
>   Have a care; do not throw away the shield when attacked by an orator
>   Who has nothing except borrowed eloquence to show,
>   Practise thou religion and marifet because a Suja-speaking orator
>   Displays weapons at the gate but no one is in the fort.
> 
>   At last no arguments remained to him and, having been defeated, he
> commenced to speak nonsense as is the custom of ignorant men who, when
> they can no more address proofs against their opponent, shake the
> chain of enmity like the idol-carver Azer who being unable to overcome
> his son in argument began to quarrel with him saying if thou
> forbearest not I will surely stone thee. The man insulted me. I
> spoke harshly to him. He tore my collar and I caught hold of his
> chin-case.
> 
>         He falling upon me and I on him,
>         Crowds running after us and laughing,
>         The finger of astonishment of a world
>         On the teeth; from what was said and heard by us.
> 
>   In short we carried our dispute to the qazi and agreed to abide by a
> just decision of the judge of Musalmans, who would investigate the
> affair and tell the difference between the rich and the poor. When the
> qazi had seen our state and heard our logic, he plunged his head
> into his collar and after meditating for a while spoke as follows:
> 'O thou, who hast lauded the wealthy and hast indulged in violent
> language towards dervishes, thou art to know that wherever a rose
> exists, there also thorns occur; that wine is followed by
> intoxication, that a treasure is guarded by a serpent, and that
> wherever royal pearls are found, men-devouring sharks must also be.
> The sting of death is the sequel of the delights of life and a cunning
> demon bars the enjoyment of paradise.
> 
>   'What will the violence of a foe do if it cannot touch the seeker of
>     the Friend?
>   Treasure, serpent; rose, thorn; grief and pleasure are all linked
>     together.
> 
>   'Perceivest thou not that in a garden there are musk-willows as well
> as withered sticks? And likewise in the crowd of the rich there are
> grateful and impious men, as also in the circle of dervishes some
> are forbearing and some are impatient.
> 
>         'If every drop of dew were to become a pearl
>         The bazar would be full of them as of ass-shells.
> 
>   'Those near to the presence of the most high and glorious are rich
> men with the disposition of dervishes and dervishes with the
> inclination of the rich. The greatest of rich men is he who
> sympathizes with dervishes and the best of dervishes is he who looks
> but little towards rich men. Who trusts in Allah, he will be his
> sufficient support.'
>   After this the qazi turned the face of reproof from me to the
> dervish and said: 'O thou who hast alleged that the wealthy are
> engaged in wickedness and intoxicated with pleasure, some certainly
> are of the kind thou hast described; of defective aspirations, and
> ungrateful for benefits received. Sometimes they accumulate and put
> by, eat and give not; if for instance the rain were to fail or a
> deluge were to distress the world, they, trusting in their own
> power, would not care for the misery of dervishes, would not fear
> God and would say:
> 
>         If another perishes for want of food
>         I have some; what cares a duck for the deluge?
> 
>         The women riding on camels in their howdahs
>         Take no notice of him who sinks in the sana.
> 
>         The base when they have saved their own blankets
>         Say: What boots it if all mankind perishes?
> 
>   'There are people of the kind thou hast heard of, and other
> persons who keep the table of beneficence spread out, the hand of
> liberality open, seeking a good name and pardon from God. They are the
> possessors of this world and of the next, like the slaves of His
> Majesty Padshah of the world who is aided by devine grace,
> conqueror, possessor of authority among nations, defender of the
> frontiers of Islam, heir of the realm of Solomon, the most righteous
> of the kings of the period, Muzaffar-ud-dunia wa uddin Atabek Abu Bekr
> Ben Sa'd Ben Zanki, may Allah prolong his days and aid his banners.
> 
>         'A father never shows the kindness to his son
>         Which the hand of thy liberality has bestowed on mankind.
>         God desired to vouchsafe a blessing to the world
>         And in his mercy made thee padshah of the world.'
> 
>   When the qazi had thus far protracted his remarks and had caused the
> horse of his eloquence to roam beyond the limits of our expectation,
> we submitted to his judicial decision, condoned to each other what had
> passed between us, took the path of reconciliation, placed our heads
> on each other's feet by way of apology, kissed each other's head and
> face, terminating the discussion with the following two distichs:
> 
>   Complain not of the turning of the spheres, O dervish,
>   Because thou wilt be luckless if thou diest in this frame of mind.
>   O wealthy man, since thy heart and hand are successful
>   Eat and be liberal for thou hast conquered this world and the next.
> 
>                            CHAPTER VIII
>                     ON RULES FOR CONDUCT IN LIFE
> 
>                              Maxim 1
> 
>   Property is for the comfort of life, not for the accumulation of
> wealth. A sage, having been asked who is lucky and who is not,
> replied: 'He is lucky who has eaten and sowed but he is unlucky who
> has died and not enjoyed.'
> 
>         Pray not for the nobody who has done nothing,
>         Who spent his life in accumulating property but
>           has not enjoyed it.
> 
>   Moses, upon whom be peace, thus advised Quran: 'Do thou good as
> Allah has done unto thee.' But he would not listen and thou hast heard
> of his end:
> 
>         Who has not accumulated good with dirhems and dinars
>         Has staked his end upon his dirhems and dinars.
>         If thou desirest to profit by riches of the world
>         Be liberal to mankind as God has been liberal to thee.
> 
>   The Arab says: Be liberal without imposing obligations and verily
> the profit will return to thee.
> 
>         Wherever the tree of beneficence has taken root
>         Its tallness and branches pass beyond the sky.
>         If thou art desirous to eat the fruit thereof
>         Do not put a saw to its foot by imposing obligations.
> 
>   Thank God that thou hast been divinely aided
>   And not excluded from his gifts and bounty.
>   Think not thou conferrest an obligation on the sultan by serving him
>   But be obliged to him for having kept thee in his service.
> 
>                              Maxim 2
> 
>   Two men took useless trouble and strove without any profit, when one
> of them accumulated property without enjoying it, and the other learnt
> without practising what he had learnt.
> 
>         However much science thou mayest acquire
>         Thou art ignorant when there is no practice in thee.
>         Neither deeply learned nor a scholar will be
>         A quadruped loaded with some books.
>         What information or knowledge does the silly beast posses
>         Whether it is carrying a load of wood or of books?
> 
>                              Maxim 3
> 
>   Knowledge is for the cherishing of religion, not for amassing
> wealth.
> 
>         Who sold abstinence, knowledge and piety
>         Filled a granary but burnt it clean away.
> 
>                              Maxim 4
> 
>   A learned man who is not abstinent resembles a torchbearer who
> guides others but does not guide himself.
> 
>         Who has spent a profitless life
>         Bought nothing and threw away his gold.
> 
>                              Maxim 5
> 
>   The country is adorned by intelligent and the religion by virtuous
> men. Padshahs stand more in need of the advice of intelligent men than
> intelligent men of the proximity of padshahs.
> 
>         If thou wilt listen to advice, padshah,
>         There is none better in all books than this:
>         'Entrust a business to an intelligent man
>         Although it may not be his occupation.'
> 
>                              Maxim 6
> 
>   Three things cannot subsist without three things: property without
> trade, science without controversy and a country without punishment.
> 
>         Speak sometimes in a friendly, conciliatory, manly way
>         Perhaps thou wilt ensnare a heart with the lasso.
>         Sometimes speak in anger; for a hundred jars of sugar
>         Will on occasion not have the effect of one dose of colocynth.
> 
>                              Maxim 7
> 
>   To have mercy upon the bad is to injure the good; to pardon
> tyrants is to do violence to dervishes.
> 
>     If thou associatest and art friendly with a wretch
>     He will commit sin with thy wealth and make thee his partner.
> 
>                              Admonition 1
> 
>   The amity of princes and the sweet voice of children are not to be
> trusted, because the former is changed by fancy and the latter in
> the course of one night.
> 
>         Give not thy heart to a sweetheart of a thousand lovers,
>         And if thou givest it, thou givest that heart for separation.
> 
>                              Admonition 2
> 
>   Confide not to a friend every secret thou possessest. How knowest
> thou that he will not some time become thy foe? Inflict not every
> injury thou canst upon an enemy because it is possible that one day he
> may become thy friend.
> 
>                              Admonition 3
> 
>   Reveal not thy secret to any man although he may be trustworthy,
> because no one can keep thy secret better than thyself.
> 
>         Silence is preferable than to tell thy mind
>         To anyone; saying what is to remain unsaid.
>         O simpleton, stop the source of the spring.
>         When it becomes full, the brook cannot be stopped.
> 
>                              Maxim 8
> 
>   A weak foe, who professes submission and shows friendship, has no
> other object than to become a strong enemy. It has been said that as
> the friendship of friends is unreliable, what trust can be put in
> the flattery of enemies?
> 
>                              Admonition 4
> 
>   Who despises an insignificant enemy resembles him who is careless
> about fire.
> 
>         Extinguish it today, while it may be quenched,
>         Because when fire is high, it burns the world.
>         Allow not the bow to be spanned
>         By a foe because an arrow may pierce.
> 
>                              Admonition 5
> 
>   Speak so between two enemies that thou mayest not be put to shame if
> they become friends.
> 
>         Between two men contention is like fire,
>         The ill-starred back-biter being the wood-carrier.
>         When both of them become friends again
>         He will among them be unhappy and ashamed.
>         To kindle fire between two men
>         Is not wise but is to burn oneself therein.
> 
>         Converse in whispers with thy friends
>         Lest thy sanguinary foe may hear thee.
>         Take care of what thou sayest in front of a wall
>         Because an ear may be behind the wall.
> 
>                              Admonition 6
> 
>   Whoever makes peace with the enemies of his friends greatly
> injures his friends.
> 
>         Wash thy hands, O wise man, from a friend
>         Who is sitting together with thy foes.
> 
>                              Admonition 7
> 
>   When thou art uncertain in transacting an affair, select that
> portion of it which will entail no danger to thee.
> 
>         Speak not harshly to a man of gentle speech.
>         Seek not to fight with him who knocks at the door of peace.
> 
>                              Admonition 8
> 
>   As long as an affair can be arranged with gold, it is not proper
> to endanger life.
> 
>         When the hand is foiled in every stratagem
>         It is licit to put the hand to the sword.
> 
>                              Admonition 9
> 
>   Do not pity the weakness of a foe because when he gains strength
> he will not spare thee.
> 
>         Boast not of thy moustaches when thou seest thy foe is weak.
>         There is marrow in every bone, a man in every coat.
> 
>                              Maxim 9
> 
>   Whoever slays a bad fellow saves mankind from a calamity and him
> from the wrath of God.
> 
>         Condonation is laudable but nevertheless
>         Apply no salve to the wound of an oppressor of the people.
>         He who had mercy upon a serpent
>         Knew not that it was an injury to the sons of Adam.
> 
>                              Maxim 10
> 
>   It is a mistake to accept advice from an enemy but permissible to
> hear it; and to act contrary to it is perfectly correct.
> 
>         Be cautious of what a foe tells thee to do
>         Lest thou strike thy knee with the hand of pain.
>         If he points thy way to the right like an arrow
>         Deflect therefrom and take that to the left hand.
> 
>                              Admonition 10
> 
>   Wrath beyond measure produces estrangement and untimely kindness
> destroys authority. Be neither so harsh as to disgust the people
> with thee nor so mild as to embolden them.
> 
>         Severity and mildness together are best
>         Like a bleeder who is a surgeon and also applies a salve.
>         A wise man uses neither severity to excess
>         Nor mildness; for it lessens his authority.
>         He neither exalts himself too much
>         Nor exposes himself at once to contempt.
> 
>         A youth said to his father: 'O wise man,
>         Give me for instruction one advice like an aged person.'
>         He said: 'Be kind but not to such a degree
>         That a sharp-toothed wolf may become audacious.'
> 
>                              Maxim 11
> 
>         May that prince never govern a kingdom
>         Who is not an obedient slave to God.
> 
>                              Admonition 11
> 
>   It is incumbent upon a padshah to give way to anger towards his
> slaves only so far as to retain the confidence of his friends. The
> fire of anger first burns him who has given cause for it and
> afterwards the flame may or may not reach the foe.
> 
>         It is not proper for sons of Adam born of earth
>         To inflate their heads with pride, violence and wind.
>         Thou who displayest so much heat and obstinacy
>         Must be, I think, not of earth but of fire.
> 
>         I visited a hermit in the country of Bilqan
>         And requested him to purge me of ignorance by instruction.
>         He replied: 'Be patient like earth, O lawyer,
>         Or else, bury under the earth all thy learning.'
> 
>                              Maxim 12
>   An ill-humoured man is captive in the hands of a foe, from the grasp
> of whose punishment he cannot be delivered wherever he may go.
> 
>   If from the hand of calamity an ill-natured man escapes into the sky
>   The evil disposition of his own nature retains him in calamity.
> 
>                              Admonition 12
> 
>   When thou perceivest that discord is in the army of the foe, be thou
> at ease; but if they are united, be apprehensive of thy own distress.
> 
>         Go and sit in repose with thy friends
>         When thou seest war among the enemies;
>         But if thou perceivest that they all agree
>         Span thy bow and carry stones upon the rampart.
> 
>                              Maxim 13
> 
>   When all the artifices of an enemy have failed he shakes the chain
> of friendship, and thereon performs acts of friendship which no
> enemy is able to do.
> 
>                              Admonition 13
> 
>   Strike the head of a serpent with the hand of a foe because one of
> two advantages will result. If the enemy succeeds thou hast killed the
> snake and if the latter, thou hast been delivered from a foe.
> 
>                              Advice
> 
>   If thou art aware of news which will grieve a heart, remain silent
> that others may convey it.
> 
>         Nightingale, bring tidings of spring.
>         Leave bad news to the owl.
> 
>                              Caution
> 
>   Give not information to a padshah of the treachery of anyone, unless
> thou art sure he will accept it; else thou wilt only be preparing
> thy own destruction.
> 
>         Prepare to speak only when
>         Thy words are likely to have effect.
>         Speech is a perfection in the soul of man
>         But do not ruin thyself by speaking.
> 
>                              Maxim 14
> 
>   Whoever gives advice to a self-willed man stands himself in need
> of advice.
> 
>                              Admonition 14
> 
>   Swallow not the deception of a foe. Purchase not conceit from a
> panegyrist. The one has laid out a snare for provisions and the
> other has opened the jaws of covetousness.
> 
>                              Maxim 15
> 
>   A fool is pleased by flattery like the inflated heel of a corpse
> that has the appearance of fatness.
> 
>         Take care not to listen to the voice of a flatterer
>         Who expects cheaply to derive profit from thee.
>         If one day thou failest to satisfy his wishes
>         He enumerates two hundred faults of thine.
> 
>                              Maxim 16
> 
>   Unless an orator's defects are mentioned by someone, his good points
> will not be praised.
> 
>         Be not proud of the beauty of thy speech,
>         Of the approbation of an ignoramus and of thy own opinion.
> 
>                              Maxim 17
> 
>   Everyone thinks himself perfect in intellect and his child in
> beauty.
> 
>         A Jew was debating with a Musalman
>         Till I shook with laughter at their dispute.
>         The Moslem said in anger: 'If this deed of mine
>         Is not correct, may God cause me to die a Jew.'
>         The Jew said: 'I swear by the Pentateuch
>         That if my oath is false, I shall die a Moslem like thee.'
>         Should from the surface of the earth wisdom disappear
>         Still no one will acknowledge his own ignorance.
> 
>                              Maxim 18
> 
>   Ten men eat at a table but two dogs will contend for one piece of
> carrion. A greedy person will stir be hungry with the whole world,
> whilst a contented man will be satisfied with one bread. Wise men have
> said that poverty with content is better than wealth and not
> abundance.
> 
>   Narrow intestines may be filled with dry bread
>   But the wealth of the surface of the world will not fill a greedy
>     eye.
> 
>         When the term of my father's life had come to an end
>         He gave me this one advice and passed away:
>         Lust is fire, abstain therefrom,
>         Make not the fire of hell sharp for thee.
>         In that fire the burning thou wilt not be able to bear,
>         Quench this fire with water today.
> 
>                              Admonition 15
> 
>   Whoever does no good in the time of ability will see distress in the
> time of inability.
> 
>         No one is more unlucky than an oppressor of men
>         Because in the day of calamity no one is his friend.
> 
>                              Maxim 19
> 
>   Life is in the keeping of a single breath and the world is an
> existence between two annihilations. Those who sell the religion for
> the world 'are asses', they sell Joseph but what do 'they buy'? Did
> I not command you, O sons of Adam, that ye should not worship Satan?
> 
>   On the word of a foe thou hast broken faith with a friend.
>   See from whom thou hast cut thyself off and to whom united.
> 
>                              Maxim 20
> 
>   Satan cannot conquer the righteous and the sultan the poor.
> 
>         Lend nothing to a prayerless man
>         Although his mouth may gasp from penury;
>         Because he who neglects the commands of God
>         Will also not care for what he may be indebted to thee.
> 
>                              Maxim 21
> 
>   Whatever takes place quickly is not permanent.
> 
>         I have heard that eastern loam is made
>         In forty days into a porcelain cup.
>         A hundred are daily made in Baghdad.
>         Hence thou seest also their price is vile.
> 
>   A little fowl issues from the egg and seeks food
>   Whilst man's progeny has no knowledge, sense or discernment.
>   Nevertheless the former attains nothing when grown up
>   Whilst the latter surpasses all beings in dignity and excellence.
>   Glass is everywhere, and therefore of no account,
>   But a ruby difficult to get, and therefore precious.
> 
>                              Maxim 22
> 
>   Affairs succeed by patience and a hasty man fails.
> 
>         I saw with my eyes in the desert
>         That a slow man overtook a fast one.
>         A galloping horse, fleet like the wind, fell back
>         Whilst the camel-man continued slowly his progress.
> 
>                              Maxim 23
> 
>   Nothing is better for an ignorant man than silence, and if he were
> to consider it to be suitable, he would not be ignorant.
> 
>         If thou possessest not the perfection of excellence
>         It is best to keep thy tongue within thy mouth.
>         Disgrace is brought on a man by his tongue.
>         A walnut, having no kernel, will be light.
> 
>         A fool was trying to teach a donkey,
>         Spending all his time and efforts in the task.
>         A sage observed: 'O ignorant man, what sayest thou?
>         Fear blame from the censorious in this vain attempt.
>         A brute cannot learn speech from thee.
>         Learn thou silence from a brute.'
> 
>         Who does not reflect what he is to answer
>         Will mostly speak improperly.
>         Come. Either arrange thy words like a wise man
>         Or remain sitting silent like a brute.
> 
>                              Admonition 16
> 
>   Whenever a man disputes with one who is more learned than himself to
> make people know of his learning, they will know that he is ignorant.
> 
>         If one better than thyself begins to speak,
>         Although thou mayest know better, contradict him not.
> 
>                              Maxim 24
> 
>   Whoever associates with bad people will see no good.
> 
>         If an angel associates with a demon
>         He will learn from him fear, fraud and hypocrisy.
>         Of the wicked thou canst learn only wickedness.
>         A wolf will not take to sewing jackets.
> 
>                              Admonition 17
> 
>   Reveal not the secret faults of men because thou wilt put them to
> shame and wilt forfeit thy own confidence.
> 
>                              Maxim 25
> 
>   Who acquires science and does not practise it, resembles him who
> possesses an ox but does not use him to plough or to sow seed.
> 
>                              Maxim 26
> 
>   From a body without a heart obedience does not arise and a husk
> without a kernel is no stock in trade.
> 
>     Not everyone who is brisk in dispute is correct in business.
> 
>         Many a stature concealed by a sheet
>         If revealed appears to be the mother of one's mother.
> 
>                              Maxim 27
> 
>   If every night were to be the night of Qadr, the night of Qadr would
> be without Qadr.
> 
>         If all stones were rubies of Badakhshan,
>         The price of rubies and of stones would be the same.
> 
>                              Maxim 28
> 
>   Not everyone who is handsome in form possesses a good character; the
> qualities are inside not upon the skin.
> 
>         It is possible in one day to know from a man's qualities
>         What degree of science he has reached.
>         Be however not sure of his mind nor deceived.
>         A wicked spirit is not detected sometimes for years.
> 
>                              Caution 2
> 
>   Who quarrels with great men sheds his own blood.
> 
>         One who thinks that he is great
>         Is truly said to be squinting.
>         Thou wilt soon see thy forehead broken
>         If thou buttest it in play against a ram.
> 
>                              Maxim 29
> 
>   To strike one's fist on a lion, and to grasp the sharp edge of a
> sword with the hand, is not the part of an intelligent man.
> 
>         Do not fight or try thy strength with a furious man.
>         Hide thy hands in thy arm-pits to avoid his finger-nails.
> 
>                              Caution 3
> 
>   A weak man trying to show his prowess off against a strong one
> only aids his foe to encompass his own destruction.
> 
>         What strength has one brought up in the shade
>         To go against champions in a fight?
>         A man with weak arms in his folly throws
>         His fist upon a man with iron claws.
> 
>                              Maxim 30
> 
>   Whoever does not listen to advice will have occasion to hear
> reproof.
> 
>         If admonition enters not thy ear
>         Be silent when I blame thee.
> 
>                              Elegant saying 1
> 
>   Men void of accomplishments cannot behold those who possess some,
> without barking like the curs of the bazar on seeing a hunting dog,
> but dare not come forward; that is to say, when a base fellow is
> unable to vie with an accomplished man he sets about slandering him
> according to his own wickedness.
> 
>         The envious mean fellow will certainly slander,
>         Whose tongue of speech is dumb when face to face.
> 
>                              Maxim 31
> 
>   If there were no craving of the stomach, no bird would enter the
> snare of the fowler; nay, he would not even set the snare.
> 
>                              Maxim 32
> 
>   Sages eat slow, devotees half satisfy their appetite, recluses
> only eat to preserve life, youths until the dishes are removed, old
> men till they begin to perspire, but qalandars till no room remains in
> the bowels for drawing breath and no food on the table for anybody.
> 
>         A slave to constipation spends two sleepless nights,
>         One night from repletion and another from distress.
> 
>                              Maxim 33
> 
>   To consult women brings on ruin and to be liberal to rebellious
> men crime.
> 
>         To have mercy on sharp-toothed tigers
>         Is to be tyrannical towards sheep.
> 
>                              Admonition 18
> 
>   Who has power over his foe and does not slay him is his own enemy.
> 
>         With a stone in the hand and a snake on a stone
>         It is folly to consider and to delay.
> 
>   Others, however, enounce a contrary opinion and say that it is
> preferable to respite captives because the option of killing or not
> killing remains; but if they be slain without delay, it is possible
> that some advantage may be lost, the like of which cannot be again
> obtained.
> 
>         It is quite easy to deprive a man of life.
>         When he is slain he cannot be resuscitaied again.
>         It is a condition of wisdom in the archer to be patient
>         Because when the arrow leaves the bow it returns no more.
> 
>                              Maxim 34
> 
>   When a sage comes in contact with fools, he must not expect to be
> honoured, and if an ignorant man overcomes a sage in an oratorical
> contest, it is no wonder, because even a stone breaks a jewel.
> 
>         What wonder is there that the song
>         Of a nightingale ceases when imprisoned with a crow
>         Or that a virtuous man under the tyranny of vagabonds
>         Feels affliction in his heart and is irate.
>         Although a base stone may break a golden vase,
>         The price of the stone is not enhanced nor of the gold lost.
> 
>                              Maxim 35
> 
>   Be not astonished when a wise man ceases to speak in company of vile
> persons, since the melody of a harp cannot overcome the noise of a
> drum and the perfume of ambergris must succumb to the stench of rotten
> garlic.
> 
>         A blatant ignoramus proudly lifted his neck
>         Because he had overcome a scholar by his impudence.
>         Knowest thou not that the Hejazi musical tune
>         Succumbs to the roar of the drum of war?
> 
>                              Maxim 36
> 
>   Even after falling into mud a jewel retains its costliness, and
> dust, although it may rise into the sky, is as contemptible as before.
> Capacity without education is deplorable and education without
> capacity is thrown away. Ashes are of high origin because the nature
> of fire is superior, but as they have no value of their own, they
> are similar to earth and the price of sugar arises not from. the
> cane but from its own quality.
> 
>         The land of Canaan having no natural excellence,
>         The birth of a prophet therein could not enhance its worth.
>         Display thy virtue if thou hast any, not thy origin.
>         The rose is the offspring of thorns and Abraham of Azer.
> 
>                              Maxim 37
> 
>   Musk is known by its perfume and not by what the druggist says. A
> scholar is silent like the perfumer's casket but displays
> accomplishments, whilst an ignoramus is loud-voiced and
> intrinsically empty like a war-drum.
> 
>         A learned man among blockheads
>         (So says the parable of our friends)
>         Is like a sweetheart among the blind
>         Or a Quran among unbelievers.
> 
>                              Maxim 38
> 
>   A friend whom people have been cherishing during a lifetime they
> must not suddenly insult.
> 
>         It takes a stone many a year to become a ruby.
>         Beware not to break it in a moment with a stone.
> 
>                              Maxim 39
> 
>   Intellect may become captive to lust like a weak man in the hands of
> an artful woman.
> 
>         Bid farewell to pleasure in a house
>         Where the shouting of a woman is loud.
> 
>                              Maxim 40
> 
>   A design without strength to execute it is fraud and deception and
> application of strength without a design is ignorance and lunacy.
> 
>   Discernment is necessary. Arrangement and intellect, then a realm;
>   For realm and wealth with an ignorant man are weapons against
>     himself.
> 
>                              Maxim 41
> 
>   A liberal man who eats and bestows is better than a devote who fasts
> and hoards.
> 
>                              Maxim 42
> 
>   Who has renounced appetites for the sake of approbation by men has
> fallen from licit into illicit appetites.
> 
>         A devotee who sits in a corner not for God's sake
>         Is helpless. What can he see in a dark mirror?
> 
>   Little by little becomes much and drop by drop will be a torrent;
> that is to say, he who has no power gathers small stones that he may
> at the proper opportunity annihilate the pride of his foe.
> 
>         Drop upon drop collected will make a river.
>         Rivers upon rivers collected will make a sea.
>         Little and little together will become much.
>         The granary is but grain upon grain.
> 
>                              Maxim 43
> 
>   A scholar is not meekly to overlook the folly of a common person
> because thus both parties are injured; the dignity of the former being
> lessened, and the ignorance of the latter confirmed.
> 
>         Speak gracefully and kindly to a low fellow,
>         His pride and obstinacy will augment.
> 
>                              Maxim 44
> 
>   Transgression by whomsoever committed is blamable but more so in
> learned men, because learning is a weapon for combating Satan and,
> when the possessor of a weapon is made prisoner, his shame will be
> greater.
> 
>         It is better to be an ignorant poor fellow
>         Then a learned man who is not abstemious;
>         Because the former loses the way by his blindness
>         While the latter falls into a well with both eyes open.
> 
>                              Maxim 45
> 
>   Whose bread is not eaten by others while he is alive, he will not be
> remembered when he is dead. A widow knows the delight of grapes and
> not the lord of fruits. Joseph the just, salutation to him, never
> ate to satiety in the Egyptian dearth for fear he might forget the
> hungry people.
> 
>         How can he who lives in comfort and abundance
>         Know what the state of the famished is?
>         He is aware of the condition of the poor
>         Who has himself fallen into a state of distress.
> 
>   O thou who art riding a fleet horse, consider
>   That the poor thorn-carrying ass is in water and mud.
>   Ask not for fire from thy poor neighbour's house
>   Because what passes out of his window is the smoke of his heart.
> 
>                              Admonition 19
> 
>   Ask not a dervish in poor circumstances, and in the distress of a
> year of famine, how he feels, unless thou art ready to apply a salve
> to his wound or to provide him with a maintenance.
> 
>         When thou seest an ass, fallen in mud with his load,
>         Have mercy in thy heart and step not on his head.
>         But when thou hast gone and asked him how he fell,
>         Gird thy loins and take hold of his tail like a man.
> 
>                              Maxim 46
> 
>   Two things are contrary to reason: to enjoy more than is decreed and
> to die before the time appointed.
> 
>         Fate will not change by a thousand laments and sighs,
>         By thanks or complaints, issuing from the mouth.
>         The angel appointed over the treasures of wind
>         Cares not if the lamp of a widow dies.
> 
>                              Admonition 20
> 
>   O thou asker of food, sit for thou wilt eat; and 0 thou asked by
> death, run not for thou wilt not save thy life.
> 
>         Whether thou strivest for a maintenance or not
>         God the most high and glorious will send it to thee;
>         And if thou rushest into the jaw of a lion or tiger
>         They will not devour thee unless on the day decreed.
> 
>                              Maxim 47
> 
>   What is not placed cannot be reached by the hand and whatever is
> placed will be reached wherever it is.
> 
>     Hast thou heard that Alexander went into the darkness
>     And after all his efforts could not taste the water of
>       immortality?
> 
>                              Maxim 48
> 
>   A rich profligate is a lump of earth gilded and a pious dervish is a
> sweetheart besmeared with earth. The latter is the patched garment
> of Moses and the former is the bejewelled beard of Pharaoh.
> Nevertheless good men retain a cheerful countenance in adversity
> whilst the rich droop their heads even in prosperity.
> 
>         Who possesses wealth and dignity but therewith
>         Succours not those whose minds are distressed,
>         Inform him that no kind of wealth and dignity
>         He will enjoy in the mansion of the next world.
> 
>                              Maxim 49
> 
>   An envious man is avaricious with the wealth of God and hates the
> guiltless as foes.
> 
>         I saw a crackbrained little man,
>         Reviling a possessor of dignity,
>         Who replied: 'O fellow, if thou art unlucky,
>         What guilt is there in lucky men?'
> 
>     Forbear to wish evil to an envious man
>     Because the ill-starred fellow is an evil to himself.
>     What needest thou to show enmity to him
>     Who has such a foe on the nape of his neck?
> 
>                              Maxim 50
> 
>   A disciple without intention is a lover without money; a traveller
> without knowledge is a bird without wings; a scholar without
> practice is a tree without fruit, and a devotee without science is a
> house without a door. The Quran was revealed for the acquisition of
> a good character, not for chanting written chapters. A pious
> unlettered man is like one who travels on foot, whilst a negligent
> scholar is like a sleeping rider. A sinner who lifts his hands in
> supplication is better than a devotee who keeps them proudly on his
> head.
> 
>         A good humoured and pleasant military officer
>         Is superior to a theologian who injures men.
> 
>   One being asked what a learned man without practice resembled,
> replied: 'A bee without honey.'
> 
>         Say to the rude and unkind bee,
>         'At least forbear to sting, if thou givest no honey.'
> 
>                              Maxim 51
> 
>   A man without virility is a woman and an avaricious devote is a
> highway robber.
> 
>         O thou, who hast put on a white robe for a show,
>         To be approved of men, whilst the book of thy acts is black.
>         The hand is to be restrained from the world,
>         No matter whether the sleeve be short or long.
> 
>                              Maxim 52
> 
>   Regret will not leave the hearts of two persons and their feet of
> contention will not emerge from the mire: a merchant with a wrecked
> ship and a youth sitting with qalandars.
> 
>         Dervishes will consider it licit to shed thy blood
>         If they can have no access to thy property.
>         Either associate not with a friend who dons the blue garb,
>         Or bid farewell to all thy property.
>         Either make no friends with elephant-keepers
>         Or build a house suitable for elephants.
> 
>                              Maxim 53
> 
>   Although a sultan's garment of honour is dear yet one's own old robe
> is more dear; and though the food of a great man may be delicious, the
> broken crumbs of one's own sack are more delicious.
> 
>         Vinegar by one's own labour and vegetables
>         Are better than bread received as alms, and veal.
> 
>                              Maxim 54
> 
>   It is contrary to what is proper, and against the opinion of to
> partake of medicine by guess and to go after a caravan without
> seeing the road. The Imam Murshid Muhammad Ghazali, upon whom be the
> mercy of Allah, having been asked in what manner he had attained
> such a degree of knowledge, replied: 'By not being ashamed to ask
> about things I did not know.'
> 
>         The hope of recovery is according to reason,
>         That he should feel thy pulse who knows thy nature.
>         Ask what thou knowest not; for the trouble of asking
>         Will indicate to thee the way to the dignity of knowledge.
> 
>                              Admonition 21
> 
>   Whatever thou perceivest will become known to thee in due course
> of time. Make no haste in asking for it, else the awe of thy dignity
> will be lessened.
> 
>         When Loqman saw that in the hands of David
>         All iron became by miracle soft like wax,
>         He asked not: 'What art thou doing?' Because
>         He knew he would learn it without asking.
> 
>                              Maxim 55
> 
>   One of the requirements for society is to attend to the affairs of
> thy household and also at the house of God.
> 
>         Tell thy tale according to thy hearer's temper,
>         If thou knowest him to be biased to thee.
>         Every wise man who sits with Mejnun
>         Speaks of nothing but the story of Laila's love.
> 
>                              Maxim 56
> 
>   Anyone associating with bad people, although their nature may not
> infect his own, is supposed to follow their ways to such a degree that
> if he goes to a tavern to say his prayers, he will be supposed to do
> so for drinking wine.
> 
>         Thou hast branded thyself with the mark of ignorance,
>         When thou hast selected an ignoramus for thy companion.
>         I asked some scholars for a piece of advice.
>         They said: 'Connect thyself not with an ignorant man,
>         For if thou be learned, thou wilt be an ass in course of time
>         And if unlearned thou wilt become a greater fool.'
> 
>                              Maxim 57
> 
>   The meekness of the camel is known to be such that if a child
> takes hold of its bridle and goes a hundred farsakhs, it will not
> refuse to follow, but if a dangerous portion occurs which may occasion
> death and the child ignorantly desires to approach it, the camel tears
> the bridle from his hand, refusing any longer to obey because
> compliance in times of calamity is blamable. It is also said that by
> complaisance an enemy will not become a friend but that his greed will
> only be augmented.
> 
>         To him who is kind to thee, be dust at his feet
>         But if he opposes thee fill his two eyes with dust.
>         Speak not kindly or gently to an ill-humoured fellow
>         Because a soft file cannot clean off inveterate rust.
> 
>                              Maxim 58
> 
>   Who interrupts the conversation of others that they may know his
> excellence, they will become acquainted only with the degree of his
> folly.
> 
>         An intelligent man will not give a reply
>         Unless he be asked a question.
>         Because though his words may be based on truth,
>         His claim to veracity may be deemed impossible.
> 
>                              Maxim 59
> 
>   I had a wound under my robe and a sheikh asked me daily how, but not
> where it is, and I learned that he refrained because it is not
> admissible to mention every member; and wise men have also said that
> whoever does not ponder his question will be grieved by the answer.
> 
>         Until thou knowest thy words to be perfectly suitable
>         Thou must not open thy mouth in speech.
>         If thou speakest truth and remainest in captivity,
>         It is better than that thy mendacity deliver thee therefrom.
> 
>                              Maxim 60
> 
>   Mendacity resembles a violent blow, the scar of which remains,
> though the wound may be healed. Seest thou not how the brothers of
> Joseph became noted for falsehood, and no trust in their veracity
> remained, as Allah the most high has said: Nay but ye yourselves
> have contrived the thing for your own sake.
> 
>         One habitually speaking the truth
>         Is pardoned when he once makes a slip
>         But if he becomes noted for lying,
>         People do not believe him even when speaking truth.
> 
>                              Maxim 61
> 
>   The noblest of beings is evidently man, and the meanest a dog, but
> intelligent persons agree that a grateful dog is better than an
> ungrateful man.
> 
>         A dog never forgets a morsel received
>         Though thou throwest a stone at him a hundred times.
>         But if thou cherishest a base fellow a lifetime,
>         He will for a trifle suddenly fight with thee.
> 
>                              Maxim 62
> 
>   Who panders to his passions will not cultivate accomplishments and
> who possesses none is not suitable for a high position.
> 
>         Have no mercy on a voracious ox
>         Who sleeps a great deal and eats much.
>         If thou wantest to have fatness like an ox,
>         Yield thy body to the tyranny of people like an ass.
> 
>                              Maxim 63
> 
>   It is written in the Evangel: 'O son of Adam, if I give thee riches,
> thou wilt turn away from me with mundane cares, and if I make thee
> poor thou wilt sit down with a sad heart; then where wilt thou enjoy
> the sweetness of adoring me, and when wilt thou hasten to serve me?'
> 
>         Sometimes thou art made haughty, and careless by wealth,
>         Sometimes art in distress from exhaustion and penury.
>         If thy state be such in joy and in distress,
>         I know not when thou wilt turn to God from thyself.
> 
>                              Maxim 64
> 
>   The will of the Inscrutable brings down one from the royal throne,
> and protects the other in the belly of a fish.
> 
>         Happy is the time of the man
>         Who spends it in adoring thee.
> 
>                              Maxim 65
> 
>   When God draws the sword of wrath, prophets and saints draw in their
> heads, but if he casts a look of grace, he converts wicked into
> virtuous men.
> 
>         If at the resurrection he addresses us in anger
>         What chance of pardon will even prophets have?
>         Say: 'Remove the veil from the face of mercy
>         Because sinners entertain hopes of pardon.'
> 
>                              Maxim 66
> 
>   Whoever does not betake himself to the path of rectitude in
> consequence of the castigations of this world will fall under
> eternal punishment in the next. Allah the most high has said: And we
> will cause them to taste the nearer punishment of this world besides
> the more grievous punishment of the next.
> 
>     Admonition is the address of superiors and then fetters.
>     If they give advice and thou listenest not, they put thee in
>       fetters.
> 
>                              Maxim 67
> 
>   Fortunate men are admonished by the adventures and similes of
> those who have preceded them, before those who follow them can use the
> event as a proverb, like thieves who shorten their hands, lest their
> hands be cut off.
> 
>         The bird does not go to the grain displayed
>         When it beholds another fowl in the trap.
>         Take advice by the misfortunes of others
>         That others may not take advice from thee.
> 
>                              Maxim 68
> 
>   How can he hear whose organ of audition has been created dull, and
> how can he avoid progressing upon whom the noose of happiness has been
> flung?
> 
>         To the friends of God a dark night
>         Shines like the brilliant day.
>         This felicity is not by strength of arm
>         Unless God the giver bestows it.
> 
>     To whom shall I complain of thee? There is no other judge
>     And there is no other hand superior to thine.
>     Whom thou guidest -no one can lead astray.
>     Whom thou castest off no one can guide.
> 
>                              Maxim 69
> 
>   The earth receives showers from heaven and gives to it only dust.
> Every vessel exudes what it contains.
> 
>         If my humour appears to thee unbecoming
>         Lose not thy own good humour.
> 
>                              Maxim 70
> 
>   A mendicant with a good end is better than a padshah with a bad end.
> 
>         The grief thou sufferest before the joy
>         Is better than the grief endured after joy.
> 
>                              Maxim 71
> 
>   The Most High sees a fault and conceals it, and a neighbour sees
> it not, but shouts.
> 
>         Let us take refuge with Allah.
>         If people knew our faults
>         No one could have rest from interference by others.
> 
>                              Maxim 72
> 
>   Gold is obtained from a mine by digging it, but from a miser by
> digging the soul.
> 
>         Vile men spend not, but preserve.
>         They say hope of spending is better than spending.
>         One day thou seest the wish of the foe fulfilled
>         The gold remaining and the vile man dead.
> 
>                              Maxim 73
> 
>   Who has no mercy upon inferiors will suffer from the tyranny of
> superiors.
> 
>         Not every arm which contains strength
>         Breaks the hand of the weak for showing bravery.
>         Injure not the heart of the helpless
>         For thou wilt succumb to the force of a strong man.
> 
>                              Maxim 74
> 
>   When a wise man encounters obstacles, he leaps away and casts anchor
> at the proper opportunity, for thus he will be in the former
> instance safe on shore, and in the latter he will enjoy himself.
> 
>                              Maxim 75
> 
>   The gambler requires three sixes and only three aces turn up.
> 
>     The pasture is a thousand times more pleasant than the racecourse
>     But the steed has not the bridle at its option.
> 
>                              Story 1
> 
>   A dervish prayed thus: 'O Lord, have mercy upon the wicked,
> because thou hast already had mercy upon good men by creating them
> to be good.'
> 
>                              Maxim 76
> 
>   The first sovereign who laid stress on costume and wore rings on his
> left hand was Jamshid; and being asked why he had adorned his left
> whereas excellence resides in the right hand, he replied: 'The right
> hand is fully ornamented by its own rectitude.'
> 
>         Feridun ordered Chinese embroiderers
>         To write around the borders of his tent:
>         'Keep the wicked well, O intelligent man,
>         Because the good are in themselves great and fortunate.'
> 
>                              Story 2
> 
>   A great man having been asked why he wore his seal-ring on his
> left hand, whereas the right possesses so much excellence, replied:
> 'Knowest thou not that the meritorious are always neglected?'
> 
>         He who has created joy and distress
>         Apportions either excellence or luck.
> 
>                              Maxim 77
> 
>   He may freely warn who neither fears to lose his life nor hopes
> for gold.
> 
>         Pour either gold at the feet of a monotheist
>         Or place an Indian sabre to his head.
>         He entertains no hope nor fear from anyone
>         And this is a sufficient basis of monotheism.
> 
>                              Maxim 78
> 
>   The padshah is to remove oppressors; the police, murderers; and
> the qazi to hear complaints about thieves; but two enemies willing
> to agree to what is right will not apply to him.
> 
>         When thou seest that it must be given what is right
>         Pay it rather with grace than fighting and distressed.
>         If a man pays not his tax of his own accord
>         The officer's man will take it by force.
> 
>                              Maxim 79
> 
>   The teeth of all men are blunted by sourness, but those of the
> qazi by sweetness.
> 
>         The qazi whom thou bribest with five cucumbers
>         Will prove that ten melon-fields are due to thee.
> 
>                              Maxim 80
> 
>   What can an old prostitute do but vow to become chaste, and an
> policeman not to commit oppression upon men?
> 
>         A youth who sits in a corner is a hero in the path of God
>         Because an old man is unable to rise from his corner.
> 
>     A youth must be strong minded to abstain from lust,
>     Because even the sexual tool of an old man, of sluggish desire,
>       rises not.
> 
>                              Maxim 81
> 
>   A sage was asked: 'Of so many notable, high and fertile trees
> which God the most high has created, not one is called free, except
> the cypress, which bears no fruit. What is the reason of this?' He
> replied: 'Every tree has its appropriate season of fruit, so that it
> is sometimes flourishing therewith, and looks sometimes withered by
> its absence; with the cypress, however, neither is the case, it
> being fresh at all times, and this is the quality of those who are
> free.'
> 
>         Place not thy heart on what passes away; for the Tigris
>         Will flow after the Khalifs have passed away in Baghdad.
>         If thou art able, be liberal like the date tree,
>         And if thy hand cannot afford it, be liberal like the cypress.
> 
>                              Maxim 82
> 
>   Two men died, bearing away their grief One had possessed wealth
> and not enjoyed it, the other knowledge and not practised it.
> 
>         No one sees an excellent but avaricious man
>         Without publishing his defect
>         But if a liberal man has a hundred faults
>         His generosity covers his imperfections.
> 
>                      Conclusion of the Book
> 
>   The book of the Gulistan has been completed, and Allah had been
> invoked for aid! By the grace of the Almighty, may his name be
> honoured, throughout the work the custom of authors to insert verses
> from ancient writers by way of loan, has not been followed.
> 
>         To adorn oneself with one's own rag
>         Is better than to ask for the loan of a robe.
> 
>   Most of the utterances of Sa'di being exhilarant and mixed with
> pleasantry, shortsighted persons have on this account lengthened the
> tongue of blame, alleging that it is not the part of intelligent men
> to spend in vain the kernel of their brain, and to eat without
> profit the smoke of the lamp; it is, however, not concealed from
> enlightened men, who are able to discern the tendency of words, that
> pearls of curative admonition are strung upon the thread of
> explanation, and that the bitter medicine of advice is commingled with
> the honey of wit, in order that the reader's mind should not be
> fatigued, and thereby excluded from the benefit of acceptance; and
> praise be to the Lord of both worlds.
> 
>         We gave advice in its proper place
>         Spending a lifetime in the task.
>         If it should not touch anyone's ear of desire
>         The messenger told his tale; it is enough.
> 
>     O thou who lookest into it, ask Allah to have mercy
>     On the author and to pardon the owner of it.
>     Ask for thyself whatever benefit thou mayest desire,
>     And after that pardon for the writer of it.
>     If I had on the day of resurrection an opportunity
>     Near the Compassionate one I should say: 'O Lord,
>     I am the sinner and thou the beneficent master,
>     For all the ill I have done I crave for thy bounty.'
> 
>   Gratitude is due from me to God that this book is ended Before my
> life has reached its termination.                           -THE END-
> .
>
> — *Gulistan of Sadi (Edwin Arnold tr)*