L
Whoever will not listen to admonition harbors the fancy of hearing reprehension: — When advice gains not an admission into the ear, if I give thee reproof, hear it in silence.
LI
The idle cannot endure the industrious any more than the curs of the market-place, who, on meeting dogs employed for sporting, will snarl at and prevent them passing.
LII
A mean wretch that cannot vie with another in virtue will assail him with malignity: — The narrow-minded envier will somehow manage to revile thee, who in thy presence might have the tongue of his utterance struck dumb.
* * * * *
LV
To hold counsel with women is bad, and to deal generously with prodigals a fault: — Showing mercy upon the sharp-fanged pard must prove an injustice to the harmless sheep.
LVI
Whoever has his foe at his mercy, and does not kill him, is his own enemy: — With a stone in his hand, and the snake’s head convenient, a wise man hesitates not in crushing it.
Certain people have seen this maxim in an opposite point of view, saying: “It were wiser to delay the execution of captives, inasmuch as the option is left so that you can slay, or you can release them; but if you shall have heedlessly put them to death, the policy is defunct, for the opportunity of repairing it is lost”: — There is no great difficulty to separate the soul from the body, but it is not so easy to restore life to the dead: prudence dictates patience in giving the arrow flight, for let it quit the bow and it never can be recalled.
LVII
A learned man who has got into an argument with the ignorant can have no hopes of supporting his own dignity; and if an ignoramus by his loquacity gets the upper hand it should not surprise us, for he is a stone and can bruise a gem: — No wonder if his spirit flag; the nightingale is cooped up in the same cage with the crow: — If the man of sense is coarsely treated by the vulgar, let it not excite our wrath and indignation; if a piece of worthless stone can bruise a cup of gold, its worth is not increased, nor that of the gold diminished.
* * * * *
LX
Genius without education is the subject of our regret, and education without genius is labor lost. Although embers have a lofty origin (fire being of a noble nature), yet, as having no intrinsic worth, they fall upon a level with common dust; on the other hand, sugar does not derive its value from the cane, but from its own innate quality: — Inasmuch as the disposition of Canaan was bad, his descent from the prophet Noah stood him in no stead. Pride thyself on what virtue thou hast, and not on thy parentage; the rose springs from a thorn-bush, and Abraham from Azor (neither his father’s name, or fire).
LXI
That is musk which discloses itself by its smell, and not what the perfumers impose upon us: — If a man be expert in any art he needs not tell it, for his own skill will show it.
LXII
A wise man is, like a vase in a druggist’s shop, silent, but full of virtues; and the ignorant man resembles the drum of the warrior, being full of noise, and an empty babbler: — The sincerely devout have remarked that a learned man beset by the illiterate is like one of the lovely in a circle of the blind, or the holy Koran in the dwelling of the infidel.
LXIII
A friend whom they take an age to conciliate, it were wrong all at once to alienate: — In a series of years a stone changes into a ruby; take heed, and destroy it not at once by dashing it against another stone.
LXIV
Reason is in like manner enthralled by passion, as an uxorious man is in the hands of an artful woman. Thou may’st shut the door of joy upon that dwelling where thou hearest resounding the scolding voice of a woman.
LXV
Intellect, without firmness, is craft and chicanery; and firmness, without intellect, perverseness and obstinacy: — First, prudence, good sense, and discrimination, and then dominion; for the dominion and good fortune of the ignorant are the armor of rebellion against God.
LXVI
The sinner who spends and gives away is better than the devotee who begs and lays by.
LXVII
Whoever foregoes carnal indulgence in order to get the good opinion of mankind, has forsaken a lawful passion and involved himself in what is forbidden: — What, wretched creature! can that hermit see in his own tarnished mirror, or heart, who retires to a cell, but not for the sake of God?
LXIX
A wise man should not through clemency overlook the insolence of the vulgar, otherwise both sustain a loss, for their respect for him is lessened and their own brutality confirmed: — When thou addressest the low with urbanity and kindness, it only adds to their pride and arrogance.
* * * * *
LXXIV
In a season of drought and scarcity ask not the distressed dervish, saying: “How are you?” Unless on the condition that you apply a balm to his wound, and supply him with the means of subsistence: — The ass which thou seest stuck in the slough with his rider, compassionate from thy heart, otherwise do not go near him. Now that thou went and asked him how he fell, like a sturdy fellow bind up thy loins, and take his ass by the tail.
LXXV
Two things are repugnant to reason: to expend more than what Providence has allotted for us, and to die before our ordained time: — Whether offered up in gratitude, or uttered in complaint, destiny cannot be altered by a thousand sighs and lamentations. The angel who presides over the store-house of the winds feels no compunction, though he extinguish the old woman’s lamp.
LXXVI
O you that are going in quest of food, sit down, that you may have to eat. And, O you that death is in quest of, go not on, for you cannot carry life along with you: — In search of thy daily bread, whether thou exertest thyself, or whether thou dost not, the God of Majesty and Glory will equally provide it. Wert thou to walk into the mouth of a tiger or lion, he could not devour thee, unless by the ordinance of thy destiny.
LXXVII
Whatever was not designed, the hand cannot reach; and whatever was ordained, it can attain in any situation: — Thou hast heard that Alexander got as far as chaos; but after all this toil he drank not the water of immortality.
LXXVIII
The fisherman, unless it be his lot, catches no fish in the Tigris; and the fish, unless it be its fate, does not die on the dry land: — The wretched miser is prowling all over the world, he in quest of pelf, and death in quest of him.
* * * * *
LXXXI
The envious man is niggard of the gifts of Providence, and an enemy of the innocent: — I met a dry-brained fellow of this sort, tricked forth in the robe of a dignified person. I said: “O sir! if thou art unfortunate in having this disposition, in what have the fortunate been to blame? — Take heed, and wish not misfortune to the misanthrope, for his own ill-conditioned lot is calamity sufficient. What need is there of showing ill-will to him, who has such an enemy close at his heels.”
LXXXII
A scholar without diligence is a lover without money; a traveller without knowledge is a bird without wings; a theorist without practice is a tree without fruit; and a devotee without learning is a house without an entrance.
LXXXIII
The object of sending the Koran down from heaven was that mankind might make it a manual of morals, and not that they should recite it by sections.
LXXXIV
The sincere publican has proceeded on foot; the slothful Pharisee is mounted and gone asleep.
LXXXV
The sinner who humbles himself in prayer is more acceptable than the devotee who is puffed up with pride: — The courteous and kind-hearted soldier of fortune is better than the misanthropic and learned divine.
LXXXVI
A learned man without works is a bee without honey: — Tell that harsh and ungenerous hornet: As thou yieldest no honey, wound not with thy sting.
* * * * *
LXXXIX
Though a dress presented by the sovereign be honorable, yet is
our own tattered garment preferable; and though the viands at a great man’s table be delicate, yet is our own homely fare more sweet: — A salad and vinegar, the produce of our own industry, are sweeter than the lamb and bread sauce at the table of our village chief.
XC
It is contrary to sound judgment, and repugnant to the maxims of the prudent, to take a medicine on conjecture, or to follow a road but in the track of the caravan.
XCI
They asked Imaam Mursheed Mohammed-bin-Mohammed Ghazali, on whom be God’s mercy, how he had reached such a pitch of knowledge. He replied: “Whatever I was ignorant of myself, I felt no shame in asking of others”: — Thy prospect of health conforms with reason, when thy pulse is in charge of a skilled physician. Ask whatever thou knowest not; for the condescension of inquiring is a guide on thy road in the excellence of learning.
XCII
Anything you foresee that you may somehow come to know, be not hasty in questioning, lest your consequence and respectability may suffer: — When Lucman perceived that in the hands of David iron was miraculously moulded like wax, he asked him not, How didst thou do it? for he was aware that he should know it, through his own wisdom, without asking.
XCIII
It is one of the laws of good breeding that you should forego an engagement, or accommodate yourself to the master of the entertainment: — If thou knowest that the inclination is reciprocal, accommodate thy story to the temper of the hearer. Any discreet man that was in Mujnun’s company would entertain him only with encomiums on Laila.
* * * * *
XCVI
Whoever interrupts the conversation of others to make a display of his fund of knowledge makes notorious his own stock of ignorance. Philosophers have said: — A prudent man will not obtrude his answer till he has the question stated to him in form. Notwithstanding the proposition may have its right demonstration, the cavil of the fastidious will construe it wrong.
* * * * *
XCVIII
To tell a falsehood is like the cut of a sabre; for though the wound may heal, the scar of it will remain. In like manner as the brothers of the blessed Joseph, who, being notorious for a lie, had no credit afterwards when they spoke the truth: — God on high has said — Jacob is supposed to speak — (Koran xii. Sale ii. 35):— “Nay, but rather ye have contrived this to gratify your own passion; yet it behooves me to be patient”: — If a man who is in the habit of speaking truth lets a mistake escape him, we can overlook it; but if he be notorious for uttering falsehoods, and tell a truth, thou wilt call it a lie.
XCIX
The noblest of creatures is man, and the vilest of animals is no doubt a dog; yet, in the concurring opinion of the wise, a dog, thankful for his food, is more worthy than a human being who is void of gratitude: — A dog will never forget the crumb thou gavest him, though thou may’st afterwards throw a hundred stones at his head; but foster with thy kindness a low man for an age, and on the smallest provocation he will be up against thee in arms.
* * * * *
CI
It is written in the Injeel, or Gospel, stating: “O son of man, if I bestow riches upon you, you will be more intent upon your property than upon me, and if I leave you in poverty you will sit down dejected; how then can you feel a relish to praise, or a zeal to worship me?” — (Proverbs xxx. 7, 8, 9.) In the day of plenty thou art proud and negligent; in the time of want, full of sorrow and dejected; since in prosperity and adversity such is thy condition, it were difficult to state when thou wouldst voluntarily do thy duty.
CII
The pleasure of Him, or God, who has no equal hurls one man from a throne of sovereignty, and another he preserves in a fish’s belly: — Happy proceeds his time who is enraptured with thy praise, though, like Jonah, he even may pass it in the belly of a fish!
CIII
Were the Almighty to unsheath the sword of his wrath, prophets and patriarchs would draw in their heads; and were he to deign a glimpse of his benevolence, it would reach the wicked along with the good: — Were he on the day of judgment to call us to a strict account, even the prophets would have no room for excuse. Say, withdraw the veil from the face of thy compassion, that sinners may entertain hopes of pardon.
CIV
Whoever is not to be brought into the path of righteousness by the punishments of this life shall be overtaken with the punishments of that to come:— “Verily, I will cause them to taste the lesser punishment over and above the greater punishment”: — (Koran xxxii. Sale ii. 258.) Princes, in chastising, admonish, and then confine; when they admonish, and thou listenest not, they throw thee into prison.
CV
Men of auspicious fortune would rather take warning from the precepts and examples of their predecessors than that the rising generation should take warning from their acts: — The bird will not approach the grain that is spread about, where it sees another bird a captive in the snare. Take warning by the mischance of others, that others may not take warning by thine.
CVI
How can he help himself who was born deaf, if he cannot hear; and what can he do whose thread of fortune is dragging him on that he may not proceed: — The dark night of such as are beloved of God is serene and light as the bright day; but this good fortune results not from thine own strength of arm, till God in his mercy deign to bestow it. To whom shall I complain of thee? for there is no judge else, nor is any arm mightier than thine. Him whom thou directest none can lead astray, and him whom thou bewilderest none can direct upon his way.
CVII
The beggar whose end is good is better off than the king whose end is evil: — That sorrow which is the harbinger of joy is preferable to the joy which is followed by sorrow.
CVIII
The sky enriches the earth with rain, and the earth gives it dust in return. As the Arabs say: “What the vessels have, that they give.” — If my moral character strike thee as improper, do not renounce thine own good character.
CIX
The Most High God discerns and hides what is improper; my neighbor sees not, and is loud in his clamor: — God preserve us! if man knew what is hidden, none could be safe from the animadversion of his neighbor.
CX
Gold is got from the mine by digging into the earth; and from the grasp of the miser by taking away his life: — Misers spend not, but watch with solicitude: expectation, they say, is preferable to waste. Next day observe to the joy of their enemies, the gold remains, and they are dead without the enjoyment of that hope.
CXI
Such as deal hard with the weak will suffer from the extortion of the strong: — It is not every arm in which there is strength that can wrench the hand of a weak man. Bring not affliction upon the hearts of the feeble, lest thou may’st fall under the lash of the strong.
CXII
A wise man, where he meets opposition, labors to get through it, and where he finds quiet he drops his anchor, for there safety is on one side, and here enjoyment in the middle of it.
CXIII
The gamester wants three sixes, but he throws only three aces: — The pasture meadow is a thousand times richer than the common, but the horse has not his tether at command.
CXIV
The dervish in his prayer is saying: “O God, have compassion on the wicked, for to the good thou hast been abundantly kind, inasmuch as thou hast made them virtuous.”
CXV
Jemshid was the first person who put an edging round his garment, and a ring upon his finger. They asked him: “Why did you bestow all the decoration and ornament on the left hand, whilst the right is the superior?” He answered: “Sufficient for the right is the ornament of being right.” Feridún commanded the gilders of China that they would inscribe upon the front of his palace: “Strive, O wise man, to make the wicked good, for the good are of themselves great and fortunate.”
CXVI
They said to a great and holy man: “Notwithstanding the superiority that the right hand commands, who do they wea
r the ring on the left hand?” He replied: “Are you not aware that the best are most neglected! He who casts our horoscope, provision, and fortune, bestows upon us either good luck or wisdom.”
CXVII
It is proper for him to offer counsel to kings who dreads not to lose his head, nor looks for a reward: — Whether thou strewest heaps of gold at his feet, or brandishest an Indian sword over the Unitarian’s head, to hope or fear he is alike indifferent; and in this the divine unity alone he is resolved and firm.
CXVIII
It belongs to the king to displace extortioners, to the superintendent of the police to guard against murderers, and to the cazi to decide in quarrels and disputes. No two complainants ever referred to the cazi content to abide by justice: — When thou knowest that in right the claim is just, better pay with a grace than by distress and force. If a man is refractory in discharging his revenue, the collector must necessarily coerce him to pay it.
CXIX
Every man’s teeth are blunted by acids excepting the cazi’s, and they require sweets: — That cazi, or judge, that can accept of five cucumbers as a bribe, will confirm thee in a right to ten fields of melons.
* * * * *
CXXI
They asked a wise man, saying: “Of the many celebrated trees which the Most High God has created lofty and umbrageous, they call none azad, or free, excepting the cypress, which bears no fruit; what mystery is there in this?” He replied: “Each has its appropriate produce and appointed season, during the continuance of which it is fresh and blooming, and during their absence dry and withered; to neither of which states is the cypress exposed, being always flourishing; and of this nature are the azads, or religious independents. Fix not thy heart on what is transitory; for the Dijlah, or Tigris, will continue to flow through Bagdad after the race of Khalifs is extinct. If thy hand has plenty, be liberal as the date-tree; but if it affords nothing to give away, be an azad, or free man, like the cypress.”
CXXII
Two orders of mankind died, and carried with them regret: such as had and did not spend, and such as knew and did not practise: — None can see that wretched mortal a miser who will not endeavor to point out his faults; but were the generous man to have a hundred defects, his liberality would cover all his blemishes.
The Collected Works of Saadi Page 22