On Mercy to the Weak and Gratitude for Health

No one knows the worth of a good day until one day of hardship comes his way. The poor man's winter in a year of scarcity means nothing to the one who owns wealth. The healthy man who never lay a night in pain never once thanked God for his good health. When you are brave and quick on your feet, stop for the slow ones as an act of thanks. Let the young be kind to the aging old, let the strong show mercy to the weak. What do those beside a great river know of water's worth? Ask the ones stranded in the blazing sun. The Arab sitting by the Tigris feels no grief for the thirsty in the desert of Zarud. Only one has known the value of good health who melted for a while, helpless, in a fever. How could a dark night seem long to you, when you just roll from one side of your soft bed to the other? Think of the one tossing up and down with fever, for the sick one knows how long the night can be. The master woke to the beating of the drum; how could he know how the night passed for the watchman?