On the Benefit of Being Silent
I
I spoke to one of my friends, saying: "A prudent restraint on my words
is on that account advisable, because in conversation there on most
occasions occur good and bad; and the eyes of rivals only note what is
bad." He replied: "O brother! that is our best rival who does not, or
will not, see our good!--_The malignant brotherhood pass not by the
virtuous man without imputing to him what is infamous_:--To the eye of
enmity, virtue appears the ugliest blemish; it is a rose, O Sa'di! which
to the eyes of our rivals seems a thorn. The world-illuminating
brilliancy of the fountain of the sun, in like manner, appears dim to
the eye of the purblind mole."
II
A merchant happened to lose a thousand dinars. He said to his son: "It
will be prudent not to mention this loss to anybody." The son answered:
"O father, it is your orders, and I shall not mention it; but
communicate the benefit so far, as what the policy may be in keeping it
a secret." He said: "That I may not suffer two evils: one, the loss of
my money; another, the reproach of my neighbor;--Impart not thy
grievances to rivals, for they are glad at heart, while praying, _God
preserve us_; or _there is neither strength nor power, unless it be from
God!_"
III
A sensible youth made vast progress in the arts and sciences, and was of
a docile disposition; but however much he frequented the societies of
the learned, they never could get him to utter a word. On one occasion
his father said: "O my son, why do not you also say what you know on
this subject?" He replied: "I am afraid lest they question me upon what
I know not, and put me to shame:--Hast thou not heard of a Sufi who was
hammering some nails into the sole of his sandal. An officer of cavalry
took him by the sleeve, saying, 'Come along, and shoe my horse.'--So
long as thou art silent and quiet, nobody will meddle with thy business;
but once thou divulgest it, be ready with thy proofs."
IV
A man, respectable for his learning, got into a discussion with an
atheist; but, failing to convince him, he threw down his shield and
fled. A person asked him, "With all your wisdom and address, learning
and science, how came you not to controvert an infidel?" He replied: "My
learning is the Koran, and the traditions and sayings of our holy
fathers; but he puts no faith in the articles of our belief, and what
good could it do to listen to his blasphemy?" To him whom thou canst not
convince by revelation or tradition, the best answer is that thou shalt
not answer him.
* * * * *
VI
They have esteemed Sahban Wabil as unrivalled in eloquence, insomuch
that he could speak for a year before an assembly, and would not use the
same word twice; or should he chance to repeat it, he would give it a
different signification; and this is one of the special accomplishments
of a courtier:--Though a speech be captivating and sweet, worthy of
belief, and meriting applause, yet what thou hast once delivered thou
must not repeat, for if they eat a sweetmeat once they find that enough.
VII
I overheard a sage, who was remarking: "Never has anybody acknowledged
his own ignorance, excepting that person who, while another may be
talking, and has not finished what he has to say, will begin
speaking:--A speech, O wiseacre! has a beginning and an end; bring not
one speech into the middle of another. A man of judgment, discretion,
and prudence, delivers not his speech till he find an interval of
silence."
VIII
Some of the courtiers of Sultan Mahmud asked Husan Maimandi, saying:
"What did the king whisper to you to-day on a certain state affair?" He
said: "You are also acquainted with it." They replied: "You are the
prime minister; what the king tells you, he does not think proper to
communicate to such as we are." He replied: "He communicates with me in
the confidence that I will not divulge to anybody; then why do you ask
me?" A man of sense blabs not, whatever he may come to know; he should
not make his own head the forfeit of the king's secret.
IX
I was hesitating about the purchase of a dwelling-house. A Jew said: "I
am an old housekeeper in this street: ask the character of this house
from me and buy it, for it has no fault." I replied: "True! only that
you are its neighbor:--Any such house as has thee for its neighbor could
scarce be worth ten dirams of silver; yet it should behoove us to hope
that after thy death it may fetch a thousand."
X
A certain poet presented himself before the chief of a gang of robbers,
and recited a casidah, or elegy, in his praise. He ordered that they
should strip off his clothes, and thrust him from the village. The naked
wretch was going away shivering in the cold, and the village dogs were
barking at his heels. He stooped to pick up a stone, in order to shy at
the dogs, but found the earth frost-bound, and was disappointed. He
exclaimed: "What rogues these villagers are, for they let loose their
dogs, and tie up their stones!" The chief robber saw and overheard him
from a window. He smiled at his wit, and, calling him near said: "O
learned sir! ask me for a boon." He replied, "I ask for my own garments,
if you will vouchsafe to give them:--_I shall have enough of boons in
your suffering me to depart_.--Mankind expects charity from others; I
expect no charity from thee, only do me no injury." The chief robber
felt compassion for him. He ordered his clothes to be restored, and
added to them a robe of fur and sum of money.
* * * * *
XII
A preacher of a harsh tone of voice fancied himself a fine-spoken man,
and would hold forth at the mosque to a very idle purpose. You might say
that the croaking of the raven of the desert was the burden of his
chant, and this text of the Koran expressive of his manner:--_The most
abominable of noises is the braying of an ass:--"Whenever this ass of a
preacher sets up a braying, his voice will make the city of Istakhar, or
Persepolis, shake to its base_."
In reverence of his rank his townsmen indulged this defect, and would
not distress him by remarking on it, till another preacher of those
parts, actuated by a private pique, came on one occasion to tantalize
him, and said, "I have seen you in a dream; may it prove fortunate!" He
asked: "What have you seen?" He replied: "So it seemed in my vision that
your voice had become harmonious, and mankind were charmed with your
melodious cadences." For a while the preacher bowed his head in thought,
then raised it, and said: "What a fortunate vision is it that you had,
that has made me sensible of my weakness! I am now aware that I have an
unpleasant voice, and that the people are distressed at my delivery. I
have vowed that I will henceforth preach only in a soft tone of voice."
I am distressed with the society of friends who extol my vices into
virtues, my blemishes they view as excellences and perfections, my
thorns they regard as roses and jasmines. Where is that rude and bold
rival who will expose all my deformities?
XIII
At a mosque in the city of Sanjar, the capital of Khorasan, a person was
volunteering to chant forth the call to prayers with so discordant a
note as to drive all that heard him away in disgust. The intendant of
that mosque was a just and well-disposed gentleman, who was averse to
giving offence to anybody. He said: "O generous youth, there belong to
this mosque some mowuzzins, or criers, of long standing, to each of
whom I allow a monthly stipend of five dinars; now I will give you ten
to go elsewhere." To this he agreed, and took himself off. After a while
he came to the nobleman, and said: "O my lord! you did me an injury when
for ten dinars you prevailed upon me to quit this station, for where I
went they offered me twenty to remove to another place, but I would not
consent." The nobleman smiled and replied: "Take heed, and do not accept
them, for they may be content to give you fifty!--No person can with a
mattock scrape off the clay from the face of a hard rock in so grating a
manner as thy harsh voice is harrowing up my soul."
XIV
A person with a harsh voice was reciting the Koran in a loud tone. A
good and holy man went up to him, and asked: "What is your monthly
stipend?" He answered, "Nothing." "Then," added he, "why give yourself
so much trouble?" He said: "I am reading for the sake of God." The good
and holy man replied: "For God's sake do not read:--for if thou chantest
the Koran after this manner, thou must cast a shade over the glory of
Islamism or Mussulman orthodoxy."