The Patience of Great Souls Under Insult

I heard that in the land of Vakhsh there lived one of the noble ones, hidden away in a quiet corner. A man truly detached, not one who wears the mystic's robe only to stretch out a begging hand to the crowd. Fortune had opened a door toward him, while the doors of ordinary needs stayed shut against his face. A foolish smooth talker set out, out of mischief, to slander this good man. He warned: 'Beware his tricks, his cunning and deceit; he sits like a demon in Solomon's own place.' 'They keep washing their faces like cats, all the while scheming to catch the mice of the street.' 'He wears out his body with penance only for fame and pride, for an empty drum makes the loudest sound from far off.' So he ranted, and a crowd gathered around him, men and women all watching the spectacle. I heard that the wise man of Vakhsh wept and said: 'Lord, grant this servant repentance.' 'And if what he says is true, O pure God, grant me repentance too, so I am not destroyed.' 'I am pleased with the one who found fault in me, for he made my own bad nature clear to me.' If you truly are what your enemy claims, do not be hurt; and if you are not, tell him to go weigh the wind. If a fool calls musk foul-smelling, stay whole and composed; it was he who talked nonsense. And if the same is said of an onion, say: 'It is true, so stop being rotten-brained.' A wise man with a clear conscience does not take the trick of silencing his enemy from some street huckster. It is not the way of reason, judgment, or wisdom for the wise to be fooled by a conjurer's sleight. Whoever wisely minded his own work has already sealed the tongue of the ill-wisher against himself. Keep your own conduct good, so the malicious find no room to speak of any flaw in you. When your enemy's words sting you, look closely at the fault he named, and stop doing it. I know of no one who speaks better of me than the one who lays my faults out plainly before me.