English
Story 16: The Friend Who Sought Office
One of my friends came to me complaining of hard times: I earn little and have many mouths to feed, and I can no longer bear the weight of poverty. More than once it has crossed my mind to move to another land, where I could live whatever life I please without anyone knowing my good fortune or my failures.
Many have slept hungry and no one knew who they were;
many have breathed their last and no one so much as looked.
But then I dread the gloating of my enemies, who would mock me behind my back and read my efforts to provide for my family as a lack of honor, saying:
Look at that spineless man who will never
see the face of good fortune,
who chooses ease for himself
and abandons wife and child to hardship.
As you know, I have some skill in accounting; if through your standing a fixed position could be found for me, one that would set my mind at rest, I would spend the rest of my life unable to repay such kindness. I said: Serving a king, my brother, has two sides, hope and fear, hope of bread and fear for your life. It goes against the wisdom of the wise to court that danger for the sake of that hope.
No one comes to a poor man's door
demanding taxes on his land and orchard.
Either be content with worry and grief,
or lay your very heart before the crows.
He said: You have not spoken to my situation, nor answered my question. Have you not heard that whoever practices treachery, his back trembles at the reckoning?
Honesty earns God's pleasure;
I have never seen anyone lose their way on the straight path.
The wise say: four people are tormented by four others, the bandit by the king, the thief by the watchman, the sinner by the informer, and the prostitute by the vice inspector. But one whose accounts are clean has nothing to fear from the auditor.
Do not overreach in your duties, if you wish
that when you fall, your enemy finds little room to strike.
Be clean yourself and fear no one, my brother;
launderers beat only the dirty cloth against the stone.
I said: Your case is like the fox who was seen running for his life, stumbling and beside himself. Someone asked him: What danger has so frightened you? He said: I have heard they are seizing camels for forced labor.
The man said: You fool, what does a camel have to do with you? What resemblance is there between you and it? The fox said: Quiet! If my enviers say out of spite that I am a camel, and I am seized, who would care to secure my release and investigate my case? And by the time the antidote is brought from Iraq, the snakebitten man is already dead. You too have such merit, faith, piety, and honesty, but the fault-finders lie in wait and the accusers sit in their corners. If they twist your good character into its opposite and you fall under the king's reproach, would you have any chance to speak? So I think the wisest course is to guard the kingdom of contentment and give up ambition for high office.
In the sea there is boundless profit,
but if you want safety, it lies on the shore.
My friend heard these words, grew angry, frowned at my story, and began speaking bitterly: What sense and competence is this, what understanding and wisdom? The saying of the wise proved true: friends prove their worth in prison, for at the dinner table even enemies seem like friends.
Do not count as a friend the one who, in your prosperity,
boasts of loyalty and calls you brother.
I call him a friend who takes his friend's hand
in distress and helplessness.
I saw that he was upset and taking my advice as spite, so I went to the chief minister, on the strength of an old acquaintance between us, described his situation, and vouched for his ability and worthiness until they gave him a modest post. Some time passed; they saw the kindness of his nature and admired his good judgment, so his work advanced and he rose to a higher rank. His star of fortune kept climbing until he reached the peak of favor, becoming a confidant of the court, one entrusted and relied upon. I rejoiced at his good fortune and said:
Do not fret over closed doors or keep a broken heart,
for the water of life flows within the darkness.
Let no one in affliction cry out in despair,
for the Merciful has hidden kindnesses.
Do not sit sour at the turning of the days, for patience,
though bitter, bears sweet fruit.
Around that time I happened to travel with a group of friends. When I returned from the pilgrimage to Mecca, he came two stages out to meet me. I saw him looking distressed, dressed like a beggar. I asked: What has happened? He said: Just as you warned, a group grew envious and accused me of treachery, and the king, may his reign endure, did not trouble to uncover the truth. My old comrades and close friends fell silent from speaking the truth and forgot our long friendship.
Do you not see how, before a man of power,
people press their hands to their chests in reverence?
But if fortune throws him down,
the whole world sets its feet upon his head.
In short, I suffered all kinds of punishment until this week, when the good news of the pilgrims' safe return arrived; that freed me from my heavy chains and restored my inherited estate. I said: That time you would not accept my counsel, when I told you that serving kings is like a sea voyage, dangerous yet profitable: you either seize the treasure or die within the spell.
Either the merchant gathers gold with both hands to his chest,
or a wave one day casts him dead upon the shore.
I did not think it wise to scratch the wound within him further with blame and rub salt into it. I limited myself to these words:
Did you not know you would end up in chains,
since people's advice never reached your ears?
Again, if you cannot bear the sting,
do not put your finger in the scorpion's hole.