Story 20

I heard of a heedless official who ruined the homes of the common people to fill the king's treasury, unaware of the sages' words: whoever offends God to win a crowd's favor, God sets that very crowd against him to wreck his life. The scorching fire does not do to wild rue seeds what the smoke rising from a wounded heart can do. They call the lion the chief of all beasts, and the donkey the lowliest. Yet by common agreement a load-bearing donkey is better than a man-devouring lion. The poor donkey, though it lacks all discernment, is prized because it carries its load. Load-bearing oxen and donkeys are better than people who torment others. Let us return to the tale of the heedless minister. The king learned of his vile character from the evidence, put him to torture, and killed him with every kind of punishment. You will never win the king's approval until you have won the hearts of his servants. Do you want God to forgive you? Then do good to God's people. They tell that one of his former victims passed by, gazed at his ruined state, and said: Not everyone with the strength of a high office should devour people's wealth recklessly by his power. You can force a coarse bone down your throat, but it will tear your belly when it lodges at the navel. The wicked tyrant does not last, but a lasting curse remains upon him.