So strong grew his arm and so brave had he got,
That with war-seeking people encounter he sought.
Of the foe, disunited, a number he killed;
The remainder assembled, with one spirit filled.
They circled him round in a fortress so tight,
That the raining of arrows and stones cowed him quite.
To an eminent saint he made some one repair;
Saying, "I am distressed! oh reliever of care,
With your prayers assist! for the arrow and sword,
Do not always, in battle, assistance afford."
When the worshipper heard this, he smiled, and then said: "Why did he not sleep on a half loaf of bread?
Karun, the wealth-worshipper, was not aware,
That the treasure of peace hugs the corner of pray'r."
(ON PATIENCE IN WEAKNESS AND HOPE OF BETTER DAYS).
In a gen'rous man's spirit perfection is bred;
If no money he owns, what's the harm or the dread?
Were a miser with Crasus in riches to range,
Do not think that his miserly spirit would change!
If a liberal person obtains not his bread,
His spirit is rich, just as if he were fed.
The giving's the ground and the means, the sown field; Bestow ! that the root fertile branches may yield.
I would wonder where God, who makes man out of clay,
To make his humanity vanish away.
In hoarding up wealth, do not strive to excel !
For water when stagnant emits a bad smell.
In munificence labour! for water that flows,
By the favour of Heav'n to a mighty flood grows!
If a miser should fall from his wealth and estate,
Very rarely again will his riches be great.
If you are a jewel of worth, do not fret!
For Time will not cause your existence to set.
A clod may be lying exposed on the way;
Yet I do not see any one heed to it pay.
If a clipping of gold should escape from the shears,
With a candle they search for it, till it appears.
From the heart of a stone they can crystal obtain;
Where under the rust does a mirror remain ?
The manners must please and exhibit much grace,
For, coming and going are Fortune and Place.
(ON REPOSE AFTER DIFFICULTY).
By the vet'rans of affable speech, I've been told,
That there dwelt in this city a man very old.
He had seen many monarchs and times and decrees,
And had lived since the days of the great Amralis.
The withered, old tree had a fruit, fresh and sweet,
With the fame of whose beauty the town was replete.
In the chin of that charmer a wonder was shown,
For an apple has never on cypress-tree grown.
On account of his mirth and the torture he spread,
His father found pleasure in shaving his head.
The old life of short hope, with a razor's keen blade,
The head of his son like the sun's surface made.
From its sharpness, the steel that from stone, once, had
On the fault of the fairy-cheek fastened its tongue.
The razor that 'gainst his rare beauty transgressed,
Had its head, then, within its own belly depressed.
Like a harp, very bashful, the pretty-faced head
Hung down, and the fall'n hair around it was spread.
To a person, whose heart had inclined to the child, When his heart-fettered eyes grew distracted and wild, Some one said, "You have suffered oppression and pain; Do not flit round this fanciful passion again!
Turn your back, like the moth, from his love that appears,
For his candle of beauty's extinguished with shears.'
The lover astute gave a harrowing yell;
Saying, "Fickle engagements with profligates dwell.
It is right that the son be good-natured and fair;
Let the father in ignorance cut off his hair!
My soul with his friendship is thoroughly mixed;
My heart to his hair's not suspended or fixed.”
When you own a good face, let not sorrow remain !
For although the hair falls it will grow in again.
The vine will not always a ripe cluster show;
either throw leaves or to fruit it may go.
Great men drop 'neath a veil, like the sun's brilliant ball;
Like a live coal in water the envious fall.
The sun by degrees from the cloud will arise,
And under the water the live ember dies.
Oh agreeable friend, for the darkness don't care!
Who knows but the water of life may be there?
Did not Earth, after trembling, composure acquire?
Did not Sádi make journeys to gain his desire?
At defeated desires, burn your head not with thought!
Night pregnant with daylight, oh brother, you've got!
ON TRAINING AND INSTRUCTION.
OF rectitude, counsels and manners I tell;
Not on battle-fields, polo and studs do I dwell.
With the foe, lustful passion, why housed are you found?
To a stranger's forced labour, how can you be bound?
From unlawful affairs those who twist passion's reins,
In bravery, pass Rustam and Sam,1 for their pains.
No one cherishes fear for a foeman like you;
For you have not the strength your own self to subdue.
Like a boy, teach respect to yourself with the cane!
A man, with a ponderous mace, do not brain!
Your body's a town, full of good and bad gear;
You're the sultan, and wisdom's the polished vizier.
In this city, resembling the arrogant mean,
Are haughtiness, passion and avarice seen.
Contentment and chasteness are good men and true;
In envy and lust, thieves and cut-purses view!
When the Sultan to vile-minded men favour shows,
In people of wisdom, where lodges repose ?
Lust and avarice, malice and envy, full rife,
Are like blood in your veins, in your body, the life.
If foes of this stamp have indulgence obtained,
By your order and counsel they will not be reined.
1 Sam, grandfather of Rustam.
From passion and lust flees the courage to fight,
When intellect's fingers are sharp in their sight.
Don't you see that the night-thief, the rake and the mean, Do not loiter about where the night-watch is seen?
The chief who to punish his enemy failed,
Was unable to rule, for his foe's hand prevailed.
This subject I care not to further pursue,
For if one is observant, a letter will do.
On the Excellence of Silence and the Sweetness of Self-denial.
If you draw in your feet 'neath your skirt, mountain-wise,1 Past the heavens in grandeur your head will arise.
Oh man of great knowledge, have little to say!
For the dumb will be saved on the Last Judgment Day!
Those knowing the gems of God's mystery well,
Do not open their mouths, but for pearls, like the shell.
The garrulous man has so plugged up his ears,
That excepting in silence no counsel he hears.
When your wish is perpetual talking, of course,
No relish you'll get from another's discourse.
To make unconsidered remarks is not meet;
It is wrong to reply till the speech is complete!
Those reflecting on error and rectitude, rise
Superior to prattlers, with ready replies.
Since speech is a perfect attainment in man,
Do not make yourself faulty by talk! if you can.
Him ashamed you won't see who has little to say;
Better one grain of musk than a hillock of clay.
1 By restraining all passions you will be secure as a mountain, and your dignity will be raised.
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