A Story

A man let loose with insults during a fight, and hands reached out and tore his collar apart. Beaten, stripped, and weeping, he sat down. An experienced man said to him: You self righteous fool, If you had kept your mouth closed like a bud, you would not have had your shirt ripped open like a flower. The reckless one talks nonsense at random, like a hollow drum that is all noise and boasting. Don't you see that the tongue is nothing but fire, and a little water in one breath can put it out? If a man truly has some skill, let the skill speak for itself, not the one who holds it. If your musk isn't pure, don't advertise it; and if it is, its own scent will announce it. Why swear oaths that your gold is the finest? The touchstone itself will tell what it is. A thousand of these fault finders may say that Sadi is unworthy and shallow in company. Let them tear my coat, that's fine by me, as long as I can't bear to have my real worth stolen.