Story 20

They tell of a greedy beggar who had piled up great wealth. One of the kings said to him: They tell me you have boundless riches, and I have a pressing need. If you lend me a portion of it, when the revenue comes in you will be repaid, and I will be grateful. He answered: Ruler of the earth! It would not befit the noble dignity of a king to soil his generous hand with the money of a beggar like me, coins I have scraped together grain by grain through begging. The king said: No matter, I am giving it to an infidel; foul things are for foul people. If the water of a Christian's well is not clean, what harm if you wash a dead Jew with it? They said: Plaster paste is not pure. We answered: Then we will use it to seal the cracks of the latrine. I heard that the man refused the king's command, began to argue his case, and behaved with insolence. The king ordered that the sum be extracted from him through punishment and rebuke. When a matter cannot be settled by gentleness, it inevitably ends in disgrace. Whoever shows no mercy to himself, it is only fitting that no one shows mercy to him.