A lasting state stands firm on obedience to the law;
a traveler's profit rests on having the right resources.
Explanation: The couplet draws a parallel: as a state endures through order and rule, a traveler prospers through proper means. 'Bezaat' here means capital or provisions.
Don't imagine the world is worthy of your trust; nothing comes into being without carrying its own vanishing.
Explanation: The couplet plays on the pairing of 'existence' and 'nonexistence': everything that exists is already bound to non-being, so nothing is permanent.
Original
شمارهٔ ۱۴
گمان مبر که جهان اعتماد را شاید
که بیعدم نبود هر چه در وجود آید
You can still eat bread even if you have no teeth;
the real disaster is when there is no bread at all.
Explanation: The couplet contrasts a minor lack (teeth) with the true catastrophe: having nothing to eat. It points to poverty and scarcity as the deeper misfortune.
Original
شمارهٔ ۱۶
توان نان خورد اگر دندان نباشد
مصیبت آن بود که نان نباشد
What can a master with full power do if he gives no command? And what can a servant do but bow his head to that command?
Explanation: The couplet plays on the mutual dependence of authority and obedience: power is meaningless without a command, and service is meaningless without one to follow.
Original
شمارهٔ ۱۷
چه کندمالک مختار که فرمان ندهد
چه کند بنده که سر بر خط فرمان ننهد
If harm comes down from the seven heavens,
it lands straight on the one who is already weak and in need.
Explanation: The 'seven heavens' is a traditional cosmological image; here it stands for fate or misfortune from above, which always strikes the most vulnerable.