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 Qaroon (Korah): ‘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.
Maxim 4
A learned man who is not
abstinent resembles a torchbearer who guides others but does
not guide himself.
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.
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.
Admonition
8
As long as an affair can
be arranged with gold, it is not proper to endanger life.
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
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.
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 1
If thou art aware of news
which will grieve a heart, remain silent that others may convey
it.
Caution
1
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.
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 still 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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Admonition
18
Who has power over his foe
and does not slay him is his own enemy.
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 Qaroon (Korah) among unbelievers.
Maxim 38
A friend whom people have
been cherishing during a lifetime they must not suddenly insult.
Maxim 39
Intellect may become captive
to lust like a weak man in the hands of an artful woman.
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.
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.
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.
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 Qaroon (Korah) 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.
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.
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.
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.
Maxim 70
A mendicant with a good
end is better than a padshah with a bad end.
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.
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?’
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.
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.
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