CONCERNING EDUCATION  
Those who turn the reins of their desires from unlawful things have surpassed Rustam[31] and Sām[32] in valour.
 
None is so fearful of the enemy as thou, slave of thine own passions.
 
Thy earthly body is a city, containing both good and evil; thou art the King, and Reason is thy wise minister.
 
In this city, the headstrong men pursue their trades of avarice and greed; Resignation and Temperance are the citizens of fame and virtue; Lust and Wantonness the thieves and pick-pockets.
 
When the king shows favour to the wicked, how can the wise remain in peace?
 
The passions of evil, envy, and hatred are inherent in thee as is the blood of thy veins. If these thine enemies gained in strength they would turn their heads from thy rule and counsel; no resistance do they offer when they see the mailed fist of Reason.
 
Night-thieves and vagabonds wander not in the places where the patrols guard.
 
[89]
 
The chief who punishes not his enemy is bereft of power by the strength of the latter.
 
More on this point I will not speak—a word suffices to him who puts into practice what he reads.
Discourse concerning the Excellence Of Taciturnity
 
Be silent, O thou who knowest many things! for he that speaketh little will be free from reproach on the Day of Judgment.
 
The man of many words is deaf; no counsel does he heed like silence.
 
When thou desirest continually to speak thou findest no sweetness in the speech of others.
 
Those who reflect upon right and wrong are better than triflers with ready answers.
 
He that speaks little thou dost never see ashamed; a grain of musk is better than a heap of mud.
 
Beware of the fool whose volume of words is as that of ten men—a hundred arrows shot and each one wide of the target. If thou art wise, shoot one, and that one straight.
 
Utter not slander before a wall—oft may it happen that behind are listening ears.
 
Enclose thy secrets within the city walls of thy mind, and beware that none may find the gates of thy city open.
 
A wise man sews up his mouth: the candle is burned by means of its wick.
 
[90]
Story concerning the Keeping of Secrets
 
Takash, king of Persia, imparted a secret to his slaves, adding, “Tell it not to any one.” For a year they kept the secret in their hearts; in one day it became diffused throughout the world.
 
The king ordered the slaves to be executed. One among them begged for mercy, saying: “Kill not thy slaves, for the fault was thine. Thou didst not dam up that secret when it was a spring: why seek to arrest its course now that it has become a flood?”
 
Entrust jewels to treasurers, but be the keeper of thine own secrets. Thou hast the power until the word be spoken; then, does it gain mastery over thee.
 
Speech is a demon confined in the well of the mind: leave it not free on thy palate and tongue. When the genii has escaped from the cage, no stratagem will bring him back.
Story illustrating the Fact that Silence is Best for Fools
 
There was once in Egypt a religious mendicant who never opened his mouth in speech. Wise men assembled around him from far and near, like moths around a candle.
 
One night, he reflected: “Merit is concealed beneath a silent tongue. If I remain thus silent, how will men know that I am learned?”
 
[91]
 
Therefore he indulged in speech, and his friends and enemies alike found him to be the most ignorant man in Egypt. His followers dispersed and his glory vanished. So he went on a journey and wrote on the wall of a mosque: “Had I but seen myself in the mirror of understanding I should not imprudently have torn the veil from off my mind. Although deformed, I exposed my figure in the thought that I was handsome.”
 
A little-talker has a high reputation.
 
Silence is dignity, and the concealer of blemishes.
 
Express not in haste the thoughts of thy mind, for thou canst reveal them when thou wilt.
 
The beasts are silent, and men are endowed with speech—idle talkers are worse than the beasts.
Story illustrating the Folly of Impertinence
 
In the course of a dispute some one uttered improper words and was, in consequence, seized and nearly throttled.
 
“O thou conceited fellow!” said an experienced man, “if thy mouth had been closed like a bud, thou wouldst not have seen thy skirt torn like a flower.”
 
Dost thou not see that fire is nothing but a flame, which at any moment can be quenched with water?
 
[92]
 
If a man possess merit, the merit speaks for itself, not the owner of the merit.
 
If thou hast not the purest musk, claim not to possess it; if thou hast, it makes itself known by its perfume.
Discourse on Slander
 
Speak no evil concerning the good or the wicked, for thus thou wrongest the former and makest an enemy of the latter.
 
Know that he who defames another revealeth his own faults.
 
If thou speak evil of any one, thou art sinful, even though what thou sayest be true.
Story concerning the same Subject
 
To one who stretched his tongue in slander, a wise man said: “Speak not evil of any one before me, so that I may not think ill of thee. Although his dignity is lowered, thine own honour is not increased thereby.”
Why Thieving is Better than Slandering
 
Some one said: “Thieving is better than back-biting.”
 
I replied: “That is strange to me. What good seest thou in thieving that thou givest it preference to slander?”
 
“Thieves,” he explained, “live by virtue of[93] their strength and daring. The slanderer sins and reaps nothing.”
Sadi and his Envious Class-friend
 
A fellow-student at Nezamiah displayed malevolence towards me, and I informed my tutor, saying: “Whenever I give more proper answers than he the envious fellow becomes offended.”
 
The professor replied: “The envy of thy friend is not agreeable to thee, but I know not who told thee that back-biting was commendable. If he seek perdition through the path of envy, thou wilt join him by the path of slander.”
Story of Sadi’s Childhood
 
When a child, unable to distinguish between right and wrong, I once resolved to fast, and a certain devout man thus taught me to perform my ablutions and devotions: “First,” he said, “repeat the name of God, according to the law of the Prophet; secondly, make a vow; and thirdly, wash the palms of the hands. Then wash thy nose and mouth three times and rub thy front teeth with thy forefinger, for a tooth-brush is forbidden when fasting. After that, throw three handfuls of water upon thy face; then wash thy hands and arms up to the elbows and repeat thy prayers by the telling of beads and the recital of the attributes and praises of God.[94] Lastly, wipe again thy head and wash thy feet—thus end in the name of God.”
 
“No one,” added the old man, “knows the form of ablution better than myself. Dost thou not see that t............