No More Learning

Sa'di has not the epic force nor the romantic strain of Firdausī or
Nizāmī, nor again the mystic elevation and abstract introspection of
Jāmī and Jalāl-ad-din Rūmi, nor has he the lyric ecstasy for which
Hafiz is renowned; but he possesses certain qualities that none of the
others can claim, and which give to his writings a peculiar attract-
iveness, an enduring element, that insures their lasting throughout
Flourishing at a period when Europe had yet to feel the
quickening touch of the revival of learning, Sa'dī stands in the East
as a bright light of higher aim and nobler purpose, as a character of
generous open-heartedness and liberal-minded thought. In his long
life devoted to study and travel, or spent in productive activity and
repose, he gave to the world a vast fund which he had gathered, of
sound wisdom, wholesome philosophy, broad ethics, good judgment,
and common-sense. Enjoying the personal favor of potentates, he
seems to have availed himself of the privileges which money confers,
chiefly for the purpose of bestowing gifts in charity or for advancing
worthy causes; he religiously felt and practiced what he preached-
the doctrine of contentment and resignation.


## p. 12635 (#49) ###########################################

SA'DI
12635
Sa'di's life was of such unusual length that it could not but be
somewhat eventful. He was born in 1184 at Shiraz, then the capital
of Persia. His father died while he was still a child, as we know
from the touching lines on the orphan in the 'Būstān' (ii. 2, 11). The
boy now received the exalted patronage of the ruling Atābeg Sa'd
bin Zangi of Fars, and he was educated upon a fellowship foundation
at the Nizamiah College of Baghdad. For thirty years (1196-1226) he
was a student and earnest worker, imbibing the principles of Sufi-
ism, and gaining a deep insight into the doctrines and tenets of the
Moslem faith. It was his pious good fortune to make no less than
fourteen pilgrimages, at different times, to the shrine of Mecca.
The second period of his life, from the age of forty to seventy (1226-
1256), was spent in travel, east and west, north and south. He not
only visited the cities of the land of Iran, but he journeyed abroad
to India, Asia Minor, and Africa. Among other places he resided at
Damascus, Baalbec, and Jerusalem; and was taken prisoner by the
Crusaders in Tripolis, as is shown by the incident connected with his
married life that is recorded in the selections given below. When
already a septuagenarian he returned to his native city of Shīrāz, and
there he spent the third or remaining part of his life (1256-1291).
He once more enjoyed courtly favor, this time from the son of his
former royal patron; and he devoted his time to producing or com-
pleting the literary work which was prepared for, or doubtless partly
composed, during the long preceding period of his career.
In the world of letters, therefore, Sa'di presents the peculiar phe-
nomenon of one whose writing seems to have been done late in life.
The 'Būstān' (Garden of Perfume) was finished in one year (1257).
It is written in verse, and comprises ten divisions. Sa'di's themes
are justice, government, beneficence and compassion, love, humility,
good counsel, contentment, moral education and self-control, gratitude,
repentance and devotion, or the like, as a summary of the titles of
the work shows. The 'Gulistān' (Rose-Garden) was completed in the
following year (1258); and this work, by which Sa'di's name is best
known, has been familiar to Western students since the days when
Gentius published a Latin version entitled 'Rosarium Politicum,' in
Amsterdam, 1651. The 'Gulistan' is written in prose, with inter-
mingled verses, and it comprises eight chapters. Like the 'Būstān' it
is didactic in tendency, but it is lighter and more clever; it is a per-
fect storehouse of instructive short stories with moral design, enter-
tainingly presented, and abounding in aptly put maxims, aphorisms,
or sententious sayings, which make the work entertaining reading.
Sa'di's productiveness, however, was not confined to the ethical and
didactic field; he was also under the influence of the lyrical strain,
and he composed a series of odes, dirges, elegies, and short poems,


## p. 12636 (#50) ###########################################

12636
SA'DI
which have warm feeling and a distinctly human touch. A book of
good counsel, 'Pandnāmah,' bears Sa'di's name; but its authenticity
has been open to some doubt. Some jests of a lower order in poetical
vein are said to be his; and he is also the author of several shorter
prose treatises known as 'Risalah. ' Besides his native Persian, he
could compose in Arabic, and he was acquainted with Hindūstānī.
Sa'di was twice married; and his lament over the loss of a beloved
son, who died before him, is preserved in the 'Būstān. ' His own death
occurred at a very advanced age in 1291 (or 1292) in his native city,
where his tomb is still seen; and Sa'di's name and fame have con-
tributed to making Shīrāz renowned in Persian literature.
Abundant material is accessible, in English and in other languages,
to those who may be interested in Sa'di. The best information on
the subject is given by Ethé in Geiger and Kuhn's 'Grundriss der
Iranischen Philologie,' ii. 295-6. English translations of the 'Būstān'
have been made by H. Wilberforce Clarke (London, 1879), and G. S.
Davie, 'The Garden of Fragrance' (London, 1882); and selections have
been rendered by S. Robinson, Persian Poetry for English Read-
ers' (Glasgow, 1883), specimens of which are given below.
There are
German renderings by K. H. Graf (Jena, 1850), by Schlechta-Wssehrd
(Vienna, 1852), and by Fr. Rückert (Leipzig, 1882); and a French
version by Barbier de Meynard (Paris, 1880). Among the English
translations of the 'Gulistan' may be mentioned those by Dumoulin
(Calcutta, 1807), Gladwin (London, 1822), J. Ross (London, 1823), Lee
(London, 1827), J. T. Platts (London, 1873), the Kama Shastra Society
(Benares, 1888); and the translation by Eastwick in Trübner's Oriental
Series (London, 1880), which has also been drawn upon for the pres-
ent article, as well as S. Robinson's Persian Poetry' (Glasgow, 1883),
mentioned above. Material in French and in German may easily be
obtained, as a glance at Ethé's bibliography will show; Ethé should
also be consulted by those who desire references on the subject of
Sa'di's lyrical and miscellaneous pieces.
s Jackens
A. r. Williams


## p. 12637 (#51) ###########################################

SA'DI
12637
A MEDITATION
From the Garden of Perfume>
IN
THE name of the Lord, who created the soul; who gave to
the tongue words of wisdom;
The Lord, the Benevolent, the Sustainer, who generously
accepteth excuses and forgiveth sins;
The Mighty One, from whose door whoever turneth away will
find Might at no other door;
In whose court the most exalted monarchs must humble them-
selves as suppliants;
Who is not quick to repress the arrogant, nor repulseth with
violence those who sue for pardon;
Who, when he is angry for some evil deed, if thou turnest to
him again, writeth it amongst the things of the past;
Who, when he beholdeth the sin, covereth it with the veil of
his mercy; in the ocean of whose omniscience the universe is but
a drop.
If a son is at variance with a father, thou wilt immediately
behold the father in the glow of passion;
And if he doth not soon give him satisfaction, will drive him
forth from his presence like a stranger.
If the slave doth not bestir himself actively at his work, his
master will deem him but of little value;
Or if thou art not amiable amongst thy companions, thy com-
panions will flee from thee to a mile's distance;
Or if a soldier deserteth his duty, his commander will speedily
dismiss him from the service.
But he who is Lord of the high and of the low shutteth not
the door of his riches against even the rebellious.
The expanse of the earth is the table of his people; and to
his free banquet, friend and foe are alike welcome.
If he hurried to involve him in trouble, who would be secure
from the hand of his power?
Independent in his essence of the judgment of any one of his
creatures, his dominion is rich in the obedience of men and
spirits.
Every thing and every person must bow down to his man-
date: the sons of Adam, and the bird, and the ant, and the
worm.


## p. 12638 (#52) ###########################################

12638
SA'DI
So broadly is the table of his bounty spread, that the vulture
on the Caucasus receiveth his portion.
Benevolent and beneficent, and the dispenser of blessings, he
is the Lord of Creation, and knoweth every secret.
This man he judgeth worthy of grandeur and a high destiny,
for his kingdom is ancient, and his race is wealthy.
On the head of one he setteth the diadem of fortune; another
he bringeth down from a throne to the dust.
On the head of one he placeth the crown of prosperity; an-
other he clothes in the weeds of poverty.
For his friend [Abraham] he turned fire into a bed of roses,
and cast into the flames the host from the waters of the Nile.
If he did that, it was marked with his favor; and if he did
this, it was signed with his order.
He throweth his veil over evil deeds, and hideth behind it
his own benefits;
If he unsheath his sword of power in wrath, the very Cheru-
bim are dumb with terror;
But if he giveth victuals from the table of his bounty, even
the Evil One says: "I too shall have a portion. "
In the court of his benignity and greatness the greatest must
lay their greatness aside;
But to such as are cast down he is nigh with his mercy, and
he ever lendeth his ear to the prayer of the suppliant.
By his prescience he foreseeth what hath not yet been; in his
goodness he provideth for what hath not yet been spoken.
By his power he is the keeper of the heights and the depths,
and he is master of the Book of the Day of Account.
No one's back is strong enough to throw off obedience; nor is
there room for any one to lay a finger on a letter.
The Ancient Benefactor is still ever beneficent; by decree.
upon decree he fashioned the beautiful image in the womb.
From east to west he set in motion sun and moon, and spread
out the earth on the face of the waters.
And though it trembleth sometimes and dreadeth its ruin, he
hath nailed down the roots of the mountains to its skirts.
He who hath imprinted its form upon the waters gave to the
pearl its Peri-like semblance.
He hid the ruby and the turquoise in the bosom of the
stone, and hung the ruby-colored rose on the turquoise-tinted
branches.


## p. 12639 (#53) ###########################################

SA'DI
12639
Of one globule he maketh a pearl-white lily, and fashioneth
another into the lofty cypress.
From his knowledge not an atom lieth concealed; for the hid-
den and open are both to him but one.
For the ant and for the serpent he hath alike provided its.
food; and for that which hath no hand, nor feet, nor strength.
At his decree non-existence hath been embellished with exist-
ence, for no one knoweth but he how to change nonentity into
being.
So at one time he burieth an act in silence, and bringeth it
forth again in the Plain of the Last Judgment.
The universe is agreed in the acknowledgment of his Deity,
but is confounded when it attempteth to investigate his Essence.
Man cannot comprehend the extent of his majesty; the sight
hath not penetrated to the limits of his excellence.
The wing of bird hath not soared to the summits of his
knowledge, nor the hand of intelligence touched the skirts of his
attributes.
In this whirlpool have been sunk a thousand vessels, of which
not a single plank hath come to the shore.
How many a night have I sat completely lost, till I have
exclaimed in terror: "Up, and be doing. "
Of the kingdoms of the earth the knowledge is attainable; but
the knowledge of him with thy measure thou canst not attain.
The bounds of his knowledge thy intellect cannot reach; nor
can thy thoughts fathom the depths of his attributes.
To equal Sohlan in eloquence is possible: but innumerable
are they who have fallen exhausted in the race.
To urge thy steed over every ground is impossible; and there
are occasions on which thou must throw away thy shield.
If the traveler is forbidden to penetrate to the secret place,
he will find the door barred, and will have to return.
To many a one at this banquet is offered the goblet, who
findeth it to be but a stupefying drug.
Let every one tremble who hath trusted himself to this
ocean of blood, from which no one yet ever brought back his
vessel.
One falcon soareth up, but with bandaged eyes; another re-
turneth, but with singed eyes and feathers.
No one hath found his way to the treasure of Karūn; or if he
hath found it, hath he brought anything back.


## p. 12640 (#54) ###########################################

12640
SA'DI
Seekest thou to survey this country? as well mayest thou
begin by hamstringing the horse on which thou wouldst return.
Let each one look into the mirror of his own soul, and grad-
ually it will acquire the same clearness.
Perhaps the odor of love will inebriate thee, and seeking for
a compact with the Divine, thou mayest thyself become divine.
Proceed on the road of inquiry on foot, till thou reach the
goal, and thence fly upwards on the pinions of affection.
Truth will rend in twain the veils of illusion; yea, even the
veil which concealeth the glory of God.
But the courser of intellect can run no further. Astonishment
tighteneth the reins, and exclaimeth, "STAND! "
Graf's Text. Translation of S. Robinson.
THE ORPHAN
From the Garden of Perfume'
CAS
AST protection over the head of the one father-dead;
Scatter his dust of affliction, and pluck out his thorn.
Knowst thou not how very dejected his state was?
May a rootless tree be ever green?
When thou seest an orphan, head lowered in front [from grief],
Give not a kiss to the face of thy own son.
If the orphan weeps, who buys for his consolation?
And if he becomes angry, who leads him back [to quietude] ?
Beware that he weep not; for the great throne of God
Keeps trembling when the orphan weeps.
Pluck out with kindness the tear from his pure eye;
Scatter with compassion the dust of affliction from his face.
If his [father's] protection departed from over his head,
Do thou cherish him with thy own protection.
I esteemed my head crown-worthy at that time
When I held my head in my father's bosom.
If a fly had sat on my body,
The heart of some would have become distressed.


## p. 12641 (#55) ###########################################

SA'DI
12641
If now enemies should bear me away captive,
None of my friends is a helper.
For me [there] is acquaintance with the sorrows of orphans,
For in childhood my father departed in death, from my head.
Translation of H. Wilberforce Clarke.
HUMILITY
From the Garden of Perfume'
A
YOUTH, intelligent and of good disposition, arrived by sea at
a Grecian port.
They perceived that he was endowed with excellence,
and judgment, and an inclination to asceticism, and placed him
accordingly in a sacred building.
The Head of the devotees said to him one day:
"Go and cast out the dirt and the rubbish from the mosque. >>>>
As soon as the young traveler heard the words he went forth,
but no one discovered any sign of his return.
The Superior and the brethren laid a charge against him, say-
ing:
"This young devotee hath no aptness for his vocation. "
The following day one of the society met him in the road,
and said to him:-
"Thou hast showed an unseemly and perverse disposition.
Didst thou not know, O self-opinionated boy, that it is through
obedience men attain to honor? "
He began to weep, and replied: "O friend of my soul and
enlightener of my heart, it is in earnestness and in sincerity that
I have acted thus.
"I found in that sacred building neither dust nor defilement;
only myself was polluted in that holy place.
"Therefore, immediately I drew back my foot, feeling that to
withdraw myself was to cleanse the mosque from dirt and rub-
bish. "
For the devotee there is only one path,- to submit his body
to humiliation.
XXII-791
Thine exaltation must come from choosing self-abasement; to
reach the lofty roof there is no ladder save this.
Graf's Text. Translation of S. Robinson.


## p. 12642 (#56) ###########################################

12642
SA'DI
MORAL EDUCATION AND SELF-CONTROL
From the Garden of Perfume ›
M
Y THEME is rectitude, and self-government, and good habits;
not the practicing-ground, and horsemen, and mace, and
ball.
Thine enemy is the spirit which dwelleth with thyself; why
seek in a stranger one to contend with?
He who can bridle his spirit from that which is forbidden
hath surpassed Rustam and Sām in valor.
Chastise thou thyself like a child with thine own rod, and
brain not others with thy ponderous mace.
An enemy will suffer no harm from one like thee, unless thou
art able to overcome thyself.
The body is a city full of good and evil; thou art the Sultan,
and reason is thy wise Vizier.
In this city, side by side, live base men, self-exalted,- Pride
and Sensuality, fierce Passions;
Contentment, Conscientiousness, men of good name; Lust and
Ambition, Robbery and Treachery.
When the Sultan maketh the bad his familiars, where can the
prudent find a place of rest?
Appetite, and Greediness, and Pride, and Envy, cleave to thy-
self as the blood in thy veins, and the soul in thy vitals.
If these enemies have once obtained the mastery of thee, they
rush out, and will overpower all thy discretion.
There need be no contest with appetite and passion, if so be
that Reason hold out a sharp claw.
The chief who knoweth not how to manage his enemy will
hardly save his chieftainship from his enemy's hand.
What need can there be in this book to say much? A little
is enough for him who goeth right to his mark.
Graf's Text.
Translation of S. Robinson.
KEEP YOUR OWN SECRET
From the 'Garden of Perfume ›
SUL
ULTAN TAKISH once committed a secret to his slaves, which
they were enjoined to tell again to no one.
For a year it had not passed from his breast to his lips;
it was published to all the world in a single day.


## p. 12643 (#57) ###########################################

SA'DI
12643
He commanded the executioner to sever with the sword their
heads from their bodies without mercy.
One from their midst exclaimed: "Beware! slay not the slaves,
for the fault is thine own.
"Why didst thou not dam up at once what at first was but a
fountain? What availeth it to do so when it is become a tor-
rent? "
Take heed that thou reveal not to any one the secret of thy
heart, for he will divulge it to all the world.
Thy jewels thou mayst consign to the keeping of thy treas-
urer; but thy secret reserve for thine own keeping.
Whilst thou utterest not a word, thou hast thy hand upon it;
when thou hast uttered it, it hath laid its hand upon thee.
Thou knowest that when the demon hath escaped from his
cage, by no adjuration will he enter it again.
The word is an enchained demon in the pit of the heart; let
it not escape to the tongue and the palate.
It is possible to open a way to the strong demon; to retake
him by stratagem is not possible.
A child may untether "Lightning," but a hundred Rustams
will not bring him to the halter again.
Take heed that thou say not that which, if it come to the
crowd, may bring trouble to a single individual.
It was well said by his wife to an ignorant peasant:
"Either talk sensibly or hold thy tongue. "
Graf's Text.
W
Translation of S. Robinson.
BRINGING UP A SON
From The Garden of Perfume ›
HEN a boy has passed ten years of age,
Say: "Sit apart from those not unlawful» [to him in
marriage].
It is not right to kindle a fire on cotton;
For while thou wink'st the eye, the house is burned.
When thou wishest that thy name may remain in place [of
honor]
Teach the son wisdom and judgment.
When his skill and judgment are insufficient
Thou wilt die, and none of thy family will remain.


## p. 12644 (#58) ###########################################

12644
SA'DI
He endures severity for much time,-
The son whom the father tenderly cherishes.
Keep him wise and abstinent;
If thou lovest him, keep him not by endearing expres-
sions.
Rebuke and instruct him in childhood;
Exercise promise and fear as to his good deeds.
For the young student, commendation and reward
[Are] better than the master's reprimand and threaten-
ing.
Teach the one matured, hand-toil,
Even if, Kārūn-like, thou hast command as to wealth.
How knowest thou? The revolution of time
May cause him to wander in exile in the country.
Rely not on that resource which is;
For it may be that wealth may not remain in thy hand.
When for him there are the resources of trade,
How may he bear the hand of beggary before any one?
The purse of silver and gold reaches its limit;
The purse of the trader becomes not empty.
Know'st thou not how Sa'di obtained his object?
He neither traversed the desert nor plowed the sea.
In childhood he suffered slaps from the great;
In matureness God gave him purity.
Whosoever places his neck [in submission] to order,
Not much time passes but he gives orders.
Every child who the violence of the teacher
Experiences not, will suffer the violence of time.
Keep the son good and cause ease to reach him
That his eyes [of expectation] may not remain on the hands
of others.
Whosoever endured not grief for his son,
Another suffered grief and abused him.


## p. 12645 (#59) ###########################################

SA'DI
12645
Preserve him from the bad teacher,
For the unfortunate and road-lost one makes him like him-
self.
Suffer not regret as to the destruction and ruin [of a wicked
son],
For the degenerate son dead before his father [is] best.
Translation of H. Wilberforce Clarke.
HUMANITY
From the Garden of Perfume ›
A
MAN found in the desert a thirsty dog, which from want of
drink was at its last gasp.
The worthy man made a bucket of his cap, and twisted
his muslin sash into a rope;
Then he girded his waist and extended his arms for service,
and gave to the feeble dog a sup of water.
The Prophet revealed of his future condition, that the Supreme
Judge had for this act pardoned his sins.
Oh, if thou hast been a hard man, bethink thee; learn to be
kind, and make beneficence thy business!
If a kindness done to a dog is not lost, how should that be
which is done to a worthy man?
Do good as you find it offered to your hand; the Master of
the Universe hath closed against no one the door for doing some
good.
To give from your treasury a talent of gold is of less worth
than a carat bestowed by the hand of labor.
Each one shall bear the burthen proportioned to his strength:
the foot of a locust would be heavy for an ant.
Graf's Text. Translation of S. Robinson.


## p. 12646 (#60) ###########################################

12646
SA'DI
SA'DI AND THE RING
From the Garden of Perfume'
I
RECALL to my memory how, during the life of my father,-
may the rain of mercy every moment descend upon him!
He bought for me in my childhood a tablet and a writing-
book, and for my finger a golden seal-ring.
As it happened, a peddler came to the door, and in exchange
for a date carried off the ring from my hand;
For a little child cannot estimate the value of a seal-ring, and
will easily part with it for anything sweet.
And thou too dost not estimate the value of a life, who
throwest it away in luxurious indulgences.
In the Resurrection, when the righteous arrive at the lofty
place, and are raised from the damp pit to the region of the
Pleiades,
Will thy head not be bowed down in abasement, when all thy
works shall be assembled before thee?
O brother, be ashamed now to do the deeds of the bad, that
thou mayest not need to be ashamed in the face of the good.
On that day when inquest shall be made into deeds and
words, and the body even of those who have striven after holi-
ness shall tremble,
W
With what excuse for thy sins wilt thou hear thy summons,
when the very Prophets will be overwhelmed with terror?
Graf's Text. Translation of S. Robinson.
SA'DI AT THE GRAVE OF HIS CHILD
From the Garden of Perfume>
HILST I was at Sanaa, I lost a child; - why talk of the
blow which then fell upon my head?
Fate never formed an image of comeliness like Joseph's,
that a fish did not become, like Jonah's, its tomb.
In this garden no cypress ever reached its full stature, that
the blast of Destiny did not tear its trunk from the root.
It is not wonderful that roses should spring out of the earth,
when so many rose-like forms sleep within its clay.
I said in my heart: "Die! for, shame to man, the child de-
parteth unsullied, and the old man polluted! "


## p. 12647 (#61) ###########################################

SA'DI
12647
In my melancholy and distraction, whilst dwelling on his
image, I erected a stone over the spot where he reposeth.
In terror of that place, so dark and narrow, my color paled,
and my senses failed me.
When from that disturbance my understanding came back to
me, a voice from my darling child struck mine ear:
"If that dark spot make thee feel thy desolation, recall thy
reason, and come out into the light.
"Wouldst thou make the night of the tomb bright as day,
light it up with the lamp of good works. "
The body of the gardener trembleth as in a fever, lest the
palm-tree should not produce its date.
Crowds are there of those who, greedy of the world's pleas-
ures, think that, not having scattered the grain, they can yet
gather in the crop;
But Sa'di telleth you: Only he who planteth a tree will eat
the fruit of it; only he who casteth the seed will reap the har-
vest.
Graf's Text. Translation of S. Robinson.
SA'DI THE CAPTIVE GETS A WIFE
From the Rose-Garden ›
-
H
AVING become weary of the society of my friends at Damas-
cus, I set out for the wilderness of Jerusalem, and asso-
ciated with the brutes, until I was made prisoner by the
Franks, who set me to work along with Jews at digging in the
fosse of Tripolis; till one of the principal men of Aleppo, between
whom and myself a former intimacy had subsisted, passed that
way and recognized me, and said, "What state is this? and how
are you living? " I replied:-
-
STANZA
"From men to mountain and to wild I fled,
Myself to heavenly converse to betake;
Conjecture now my state, that in a shed
Of savages I must my dwelling make. "
COUPLET
Better to live in chains with those we love,
Than with the strange 'mid flow'rets gay to move.


## p. 12648 (#62) ###########################################

12648
SA'DI
He took compassion on my state, and with ten dīnārs redeemed
me from the bondage of the Franks, and took me along with
him to Aleppo. He had a daughter, whom he united to me in
the marriage knot, with a portion of a hundred dīnārs. As time
went on, the girl turned out to be of a bad temper, quarrelsome
and unruly. She began to give a loose to her tongue, and to dis-
turb my happiness, as they have said:-
DISTICHS
In a good man's house an evil wife
Is his hell above in this present life.
From a vixen wife protect us well;
Save us, O God! from the pains of hell.
At length she gave vent to reproaches, and said, "Art thou not
he whom my father purchased from the Franks' prison for ten
dīnārs ? " I replied, "Yes! he redeemed me with ten dīnārs, and
sold me into thy hands for a hundred. "
DISTICHS
I've heard that once a man of high degree
From a wolf's teeth and claws a lamb set free.
That night its throat he severed with a knife;
When thus complained the lamb's departing life:-
"Thou from the wolf didst save me then; but now,
Too plainly I perceive the wolf art thou. "
Translation of E. B. Eastwick.
HOW THE STUDENT SAVED TIME
From the Rose-Garden>
--
A
DISCIPLE said to his spiritual master, "What shall I do? for
I am in great straits because of the numbers of people
who come to visit me; and my occupations are disturbed
by their coming to and fro. " He replied, "Lend something to
those who are poor, and ask something of those who are rich,
in order that they may not come about thee again. "
If a mendicant were the leader of Islam's hosts,
The infidels would fly to China [itself] through fear of his soliciting
something.
Translation of J. T. Platts.


## p. 12649 (#63) ###########################################

SA'DI
12649
A POWERFUL VOICE
From the Rose-Garden'
NCE on a time, in traveling through Arabia Petræa, a com-
ON pany of devout youths shared my aspirations and my
journey. They used often to chant and repeat mystic
verses; and there was a devotee en route with us, who thought
unfavorably of the character of darweshes, and was ignorant of
their distress. When we arrived at the palm grove of the child-
ren of Hallal, a dark youth came out of one of the Arab fami-
lies, and raised a voice which might have drawn down the birds
from the air. I saw the camel of the devotee begin to caper,
and it threw its rider, and ran off into the desert. I said, "O
Shekh! it has moved a brute: does it not create any emotion in
thee? "
VERSE
Knowest thou what said the bird of morn, the nightingale, to me?
"What meanest thou that art unskilled in love's sweet mystery?
The camels, at the Arab's song, ecstatic are and gay:
Feel'st thou no pleasure, then thou art more brutish far than they! "
COUPLET
When e'en the camels join in mirth and glee,
If men feel naught, then must they asses be.
COUPLET
Before the blast the balsams bend in the Arab's garden lone;
Those tender shrubs their boughs incline: naught yields the hard firm
stone.
DISTICHS
All things thou seest still declare His praise;
The attentive heart can hear their secret lays.
Hymns to the rose the nightingale his name;
Each thorn's a tongue his marvels to proclaim.
Translation of E. B. Eastwick.


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12650
SA'DI
A VALUABLE VOICE
From the Rose-Garden'
PERSON
A
was performing gratis the office of summoner to
prayer in the mosque of Sanjāriyah, in a voice which dis-
gusted those who heard him. The patron of the mosque
was a prince who was just and amiable. He did not wish to
pain the crier, and said, "O sir! there are Muazzins attached to
this mosque to whom the office has descended from of old, each
of whom has an allowance of five dinārs, and I will give thee
ten to go to another place. " This was agreed upon, and he
departed. After some time he returned to the prince and said,
"O my lord! thou didst me injustice in sending me from this
place for ten dinārs. In the place whence I have come they
offered me twenty dīnārs to go somewhere else, and I will not
accept it. "
The prince laughed and said, "Take care not to
accept it, for they will consent to give thee even fifty dīnārs. ”
COUPLET
No mattock can the clay remove from off the granite stone
So well as thy discordant voice can make the spirit moan.
Translation of E. B. Eastwick.
FOR GOD'S SAKE! READ NOT
From the Rose-Garden>
A
MAN with a harsh voice was reading the Kur'an in a loud
tone. A sage passed by and asked, "What is thy monthly
stipend ? » He replied, "Nothing. " "Wherefore, then,"
asked the sage, "dost thou give thyself this trouble? " He
replied, "I read for the sake of God. " "Then," said the sage.
"for God's sake! read not. "
COUPLET
If in this fashion the Kur'ān you read,
You'll mar the loveliness of Islam's creed.
Translation of E. B. Eastwick.


## p. 12651 (#65) ###########################################

SA'DI
12651
THE GRASS AND THE ROSE
From the Rose-Garden'
I
SAW Some handfuls of the rose in bloom,
With bands of grass suspended from a dome.
I said, "What means this worthless grass, that it
Should in the roses' fairy circle sit? "
Then wept the grass, and said, "Be still! and know,
The kind their old associates ne'er forego.
Mine is no beauty, hue, or fragrance,―true;
But in the garden of the Lord I grew. "
His ancient servant I,
Reared by his bounty from the dust:
Whate'er my quality,
I'll in his favoring mercy trust.
No stock of worth is mine,
Nor fund of worship, yet he will
A means of help divine;
When aid is past, he'll save me still.
Those who have power to free,
Let their old slaves in freedom live,
Thou Glorious Majesty!
Me, too, thy ancient slave, forgive.
Sa'di! move thou to resignation's shrine,
O man of God! the path of God be thine.
Hapless is he who from this haven turns;
All doors shall spurn him who this portal spurns.
Translation of E. B. Eastwick.
A WITTY PHILOSOPHER REWARDED
From the Rose-Garden'
A panegyric upon him.
POET went to the chief of a band of robbers and recited a
He commanded them to strip off his
clothes and turn him out of the village. The dogs, too,
attacked him in the rear. He wanted to take up a stone, but
the ground was frozen. Unable to do anything, he said, "What
a villainous set are these, who have untied their dogs and tied
up the stones. " The chieftain heard this from a window, and


## p. 12652 (#66) ###########################################

SA'DI
12652
said with a laugh, "Philosopher! ask a boon of me. " He replied,
"If thou wilt condescend to make me a present, bestow on me
my own coat. "
COUPLET
From some a man might favors hope: from thee
We hope for nothing but immunity.
HEMISTICH
We feel thy kindness that thou lett'st us go.
The robber chief had compassion on him. He gave him back
his coat, and bestowed on him a fur cloak in addition; and fur-
ther, presented him with some dirhams.
Translation of E. B. Eastwick.
THE PENALTY OF STUPIDITY
From the Rose-Garden'
Α
MAN got sore eyes.
He went to a horse-doctor, and said,
"Treat me. " The veterinary surgeon applied to his eyes a
little of what he was in the habit of putting into the eyes
of quadrupeds, [and] he became blind. They carried the case
before the judge. He said, "No damages are [to be recovered]
from him: if this fellow were not an ass, he would not have gone
to a farrier. " The object of this story is, that thou mayst know
that he who intrusts an important matter to an inexperienced
person will suffer regret, and the wise will impute weakness of
intellect to him.
The clear-seeing man of intelligence commits not
Momentous affairs to the mean.
Although the mat-weaver is a weaver,
People will not take him to a silk factory.
Translation of J. T. Platts.


## p. 12653 (#67) ###########################################

SA'DI
12653
THE DEATH OF THE POOR IS REPOSE
From the 'Rose-Garden'
I
NOTICED the son of a rich man, sitting on the grave of his
father, and quarreling with a Dervish-boy, saying:-"The sar-
cophagus of my father's tomb is of marble, tessellated with
turquoise-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.
Translation of the Kama Shastra Society.
THY WORST ENEMY
From the Rose-Garden'
I
ASKED an eminent personage the meaning of this traditionary
saying, "The most malignant of thy enemies is the lust which
abides within thee. " He replied, "It is because every enemy
on whom thou conferrest favors becomes a friend, save lust;
whose hostility increases the more thou dost gratify it. "
STANZA
By abstinence, n n might an angel be;
By surfeiting, his nature brutifies:
Whom thou obli st will succumb to thee —
Save lusts, which, sated, still rebellious rise.
Translation of E. B. Eastwick.


## p. 12654 (#68) ###########################################

12654
SA'DI
MAXIMS
From the Rose-Garden>
SAW with my eyes in the desert,
I
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.
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 possess 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. "
He who acquires knowledge and does not practice it, is like
him who drives the plow and sows no seed.
Translations of the Kama Shastra Society and J. T. Platts.
SHABLI AND THE ANT
From the Garden of Perfume
LIST
ISTEN to one of the qualities of good men, if thou art thyself
a good man, and benevolently inclined!
Shabli, returning from the shop of a corn dealer, carried
back to his village on his shoulder a sack of wheat.
He looked and beheld in that heap of grain an ant which kept
running bewildered from corner to corner.
Filled with pity thereat, and unable to sleep at night, he car-
ried it back to its own dwelling, saying:-
"It were no benevolence to wound and distract this poor ant
by severing it from its own place! "
Soothe to rest the hearts of the distracted, wouldst thou be at
rest thyself from the blows of Fortune.


## p. 12655 (#69) ###########################################

SA'DI
12655
How sweet are the words of the noble Firdausi, upon whose
grave be the mercy of the Benignant One! -
«<
Crush not yonder emmet as it draggeth along its grain; for
it too liveth, and its life is sweet to it. "
A shadow must there be, and a stone upon that heart, that
could wish to sorrow the heart even of an emmet!
Strike not with the hand of violence the head of the feeble;
for one day, like the ant, thou mayest fall under the foot thyself!
Pity the poor moth in the flame of the taper; see how it is
scorched in the face of the assembly!
Let me remind thee that if there be many who are weaker
than thou art, there may come at last one who is stronger than
thou.
Graf's Text. Translation of S.