English
On the Virtue of Silence and the Harm of Too Many Words
So spoke an old man of admirable wit,
for the words of elders are pleasant to the ear.
In India I once slipped into a corner,
and what did I see? A long black shape, like the longest winter night.
You would have said the demon of the Queen of Sheba himself,
in ugliness the very image of Satan.
In his arms a girl as lovely as the moon,
sinking her teeth into his lips.
He held her so tightly against him
that you would think night was folding over day.
My urge to correct wrong seized me by the collar;
my meddling flared up like fire and took hold of me.
I hunted for sticks and stones, front and back,
shouting: You godless creature with no name or shame!
With insults, curses, uproar, and threats
I sorted white from black, like the dawn.
That foul cloud lifted from the garden,
and the egg appeared from beneath the crow.
At my curse the monstrous demon leapt away,
but the fairy-faced girl clung to me with her hands.
She cried: You fraud in a prayer rug and patched cloak,
you dark-dealing worldling, seller of religion!
For years my heart had been lost over this man,
my soul distracted and mad for him.
Now, just as my raw morsel had finally cooked,
you drove it, still warm, out of my mouth.
She raised a complaint and screamed for help:
Compassion is gone and mercy is no more!
Is there no young man left to lend a hand
and win my rights against this old man?
This one who feels no shame despite his age,
laying hands on a woman who is no relation of his!
She kept shouting, clutching at my hem,
while I stood with my head sunk in my collar from shame.
My reason whispered in the ear of my mind:
Strip off your clothes and slip away like a peeled garlic clove.
She is no opponent you can outbid in a wager;
she would drag you around the world by the nose.
So I ran off naked, away from the woman,
figuring it was better she keep the clothes than keep me.
After a while she crossed my path and asked, Do you know me?
I said to her: Mercy, spare me!
For I have repented at your hands,
I will never meddle in others' business again.
No such trouble ever befalls a man
who is wise enough to mind his own affairs.
From that disgrace I took away this lesson:
from then on I treated what I saw as unseen.
Hold your tongue if you have reason and sense;
speak like Saadi, or else stay silent.