The Persian Literature Volume Ii Part 14

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 pa.s.sion, 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 G.o.d.

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 pa.s.sion 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 G.o.d?

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 a.s.s which thou seest stuck in the slough with his rider, compa.s.sionate from thy heart, otherwise do not go near him. Now that thou went and asked him how he fell, like a st.u.r.dy fellow bind up thy loins, and take his a.s.s 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 grat.i.tude, 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 G.o.d 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.

Lx.x.xI

The envious man is n.i.g.g.ard 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."

Lx.x.xII

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.

Lx.x.xIII

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.

Lx.x.xIV

The sincere publican has proceeded on foot; the slothful Pharisee is mounted and gone asleep.

Lx.x.xV

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.

Lx.x.xVI

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.

Lx.x.xIX

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.