English
Counsel for Kings [76-151]
76. First advise those close to you, then blame the times. No one is nearer to you than your own self: until you act on your own words, they will have no effect on others.
Do you know what keeps a kingdom and its fortune alive?
That it obeys you, and you obey God.
77. Anyone whose self will not bow in obedience to the law is unfit to command, and fortune will not come to him.
78. Patience and deliberation are praiseworthy in every matter, except in emergencies where any delay makes rescue impossible, like pulling out a drowning man or putting out a fire.
79. Faith cannot be preserved except through knowledge, nor can judgment be exercised except through forbearance.
80. Let him avoid sin by every means possible; and if, God forbid, his self and the devil overpower him and he errs, let him make up for it by giving charity to the poor, so that God may grant forgiveness.
81. Pardon the offense of one for whom everyone would pray well, not only he himself and no one else.
82. On the day of resurrection everyone will be afraid, except the one who fears God today and seeks no harm to people's hearts.
It is told that Harun al-Rashid, God's mercy upon him, would one day pray thus: 'My God, my master, my lord, if a day passes in which some bad deed comes from me, do not let that day reach its night until, aware of it, I repent, ask forgiveness, and give charity to the poor to atone for it.' And his wife Zubaydah, day and night out of fear of God, would repeat: 'O Concealer of faults, guard me from beginning to end.'
An honest official argued eloquently before Alexander. Alexander said, 'Are you not afraid of me?' He replied, 'Why should I fear, when one who acts honestly does not even fear God? Fear belongs to a servant's betrayal or a master's tyranny, and I am safe from both.'
One of the kings said to an ascetic, 'I am terribly anxious about the terror of the resurrection.' He said, 'Fear God today, and you need not fear tomorrow.'
It is told that a caliph found a treasury official had embezzled a single dinar, and dismissed him. When nobles interceded over so small a sum, he said, 'The amount is not the point. A man who takes money and does not care will shed the people's blood and feel no sorrow.'
83. Do not feel safe from anyone who is not safe from you, for a snake, fearing its own death, attacks a human. To dig out a wall's foundation and sit beneath it, or kill a snake's young and stay put, is against the counsel of the wise.
84. Avoid the company of anyone who speaks ill of another behind his back, for he will flatter you to your face and slander you behind you.
85. The saying 'the speech of kings is the king of speech' is not to be trusted. Speak thoughtful, meaningful words, so that if repeated elsewhere, mockers have no chance to sneer, and if another spoke them, they would please you.
86. The truly rich dervish does not look with covetous eyes at the wealth of kings; the beggar-hearted sultan covets the property of poor subjects.
There is no manliness in using force against the fallen:
let not a base bird snatch the grain from before the ant.
Once a merchant had a case of jewels, and the sultan of that region sent for him and requested them. The merchant said, 'O sultan, I have been away from home a year; when I left, the lady of my house charged me: do business only with one who fears God and is upright and trustworthy.' The sultan welcomed him and said, 'Go, until such time as I see the fear of God and integrity in myself, and then I will buy.'
87. It is a weakness in a ruler's judgment to belittle a small enemy, or to raise a friend so high that, should he turn hostile, he could do harm.
88. Sound judgment is to sow today for tomorrow's harvest, and not to leave today's work for tomorrow.
89. The right of the great over their subordinates is that the conditions of service be fulfilled; the perfection of a master's virtue is to thank his servants and not lord it over them.
One tyrannical king asked an ascetic, 'How will kings fare at the resurrection?' He said, 'The just sultan who guards the truth, does not wound the hearts of the people, and casts no shadow of greed over his subjects' wealth, will be a king in both worlds.'
The just ruler is a king in both worlds;
otherwise he is a beggar there and here alike.
90. As long as an enemy's harm can be warded off by generosity, hostility is not right, for blood is more precious than wealth. The Arabs say, 'The sword is the last resort': battle is proper only when no other plan remains. Better to flee than to strike with fists against a sword.
91. A true friend tells you your fault to your face, so it stings and you correct it, and hides it behind your back so you are not disgraced.
92. The wealthy and powerful command respect because they can bring comfort to a heart. When that comfort no longer reaches anyone, their merit is gone.
93. Kings and soldiers exist to protect the people, to hold back the oppressive hand of the strong from the weak. If they do not restrain the strong and themselves stretch out grasping hands, there is no benefit in such a king, and he will not endure.
94. Every blessing requires its thanks. The thanks for wealth is charity; for kingship, caring for subjects; for closeness to kings, speaking well of people; for a happy heart, sympathy for the poor; and for strength, helping the weak.
95. A sultan bound up only in his own comfort will bring no comfort to the people, and his own comfort will not last.
96. A king's appointee must put the pleasure of the Creator before the command of the king, so that he may benefit from his nearness to Him.
97. Chivalry is that when someone has received good from another, he acknowledges the debt and repays it. In truth, kings owe their fortune to the existence of their subjects, for kingship is impossible without them. So if a king does not protect the poor and does not recognize their rights, that is the height of baseness.
98. Whoever lays the foundation of evil is digging his own grave.
99. The charge of warriors and heavy swords does not accomplish what the wail of children and the prayers of old women do.
100. Do not take lightly the burning grief of the wretched, for a single spark can burn down a whole city.
101. Unless an official fears God, he will not keep his trust, and will find some way to betray it that the king will not detect.
102. To punish the wicked and then let them go is like catching a wolf and merely putting it under oath.
103. A king who harasses merchants shuts the door of prosperity and good name upon his city and land.
104. Do not place complete trust in newcomers.
105. One in whom evil is seen is better killed than banished, for it is not right to drive a snake or scorpion from yourself only to fling it into your neighbor's house.
106. Give office to someone who has means; otherwise you will get nothing but oaths.
107. When someone errs by mistake, the generous course is to overlook it. If done deliberately, warn him the first time; and if they grow bold and do it again, shed their blood, for a bad root bears no good fruit.
108. In anger, do not act in haste, for the living can be killed but the dead cannot be brought back, just as a jewel can be shattered but the pieces cannot be restored.
109. Manliness is not to launch an attack; it is to hold yourself in check at the moment of anger and not step beyond the bounds of fairness.
110. Leave the property of the dead to their orphans, for it does not befit the dignity of kings to soil their hands with such things.
111. Of all the world's gains, nothing remains but a name, and wretched is he for whom even that does not remain.
112. Wealth turns enemies into friends, but hoarding it turns friends into enemies: a child who gets no good from his father wishes for his death to take the inheritance.
113. A king who does not act justly yet expects a good name is like one who sows barley and hopes for wheat.
114. You who love wealth for the sake of rank, be generous and humble, for there is no higher rank than that people love you and praise you.
115. Hunger is better than being sated at the expense of the poor.
Even if the phoenix dies of hunger,
it will not stoop to hunt sparrows.
116. You stand in the place of those who have gone and those yet to come; so a mere existence between two voids deserves no great attachment.
117. Manliness is not conquering the world but governing it. The wise conquer it and keep it; the foolish conquer it and lose it.
118. Kings should sit where they can hear if a petitioner for justice cries out, for chamberlains do not always convey the people's affairs to the king's ear.
It is told that Nushirvan the Just kept a chain hung with bells, so that anyone with an urgent matter could shake it; one end lay beneath his pillow and the other was tied to a tree in the square.
The Arab kings would go out in disguise to observe their realms and correct any wrong they saw. They also set people to investigate the districts and villages, so that any injustice against the weak would be reported.
119. People without goodness are dead even while alive, while the righteous die and their good name lives on.
120. The thanks for greatness is to have mercy on the small, and the mark of a lofty spirit is not to soil one's hand with the property of the poor.
121. When you gain power, do only what you could bear if it were done to you by another hand.
122. The resolve of the weak strikes a heavier blow than the arm of champions.
123. Time permits no injustice; inevitably it gives the oppressed their due and knocks out the teeth of the oppressors.
124. You who sleep in comfort, think of those who lie awake; you who can walk, keep pace with the weak companion; you who are open-handed, look after the poor. Did you see what those before us did and took away? They went, and the wrong done to the oppressed ended, while the guilt remained upon the oppressors. If you want the truth, poverty in safety is better than kingship with all its perils.
125. The bones of the dead speak, if you have an ear to hear: 'I was a human like you; I did not know the worth of the days of life, and wasted my years in vain.'
Since our own days slipped away in heedlessness,
you, at least, count these few remaining breaths as opportunity.
126. Whoever wrongs no one fears no one. The scorpion trembles and flees because of its own vile deeds; the cat is safe at home because it harms no one, while the wolf wanders the wilderness because of its evil; beggars are at ease in the city for their innocence, while thieves hide in the mountains for their villainy.
127. Beware even a weak enemy, for in desperation he will fight for his life. The cat, though weak, if it comes to blows with a lion, will out of necessity strike and claw out its eyes.
128. Make friends with small and great and plant the roots of affection; do not rely on 'I am under the king's protection.' For if some scoundrel kills you in ignorance, and the king in revenge orders a whole province put to death, that cannot bring you back to life.
129. Act so that people speak well of you behind your back, for to your face they speak from fear or greed.
130. Strive in life to be better than others in deed, virtue, and generosity, for in death kings and beggars are alike; if you opened the tomb of a sultan and of a dog-keeper, you could not tell them apart.
131. Happy the souls of the mystics who saw that at death the world must be left to others, and so gave it up to others right now.
132. You cannot scatter united enemies unless you win the friendship of some among them.
133. Set enemy against enemy, so that whichever side wins, the victory is yours.
134. Do not spare an enemy while he is small, or he will grow great; do not let a pawn go, for it may reach the far end and become a queen.
135. In times of ease, win hearts, so that in times of hardship they will come to your aid.
136. Let a ruler honor the leader of every faith and seat him with respect.
137. A king who sinks into revelry and wine and neglects the realm, leaving its affairs to scribes who, busy enriching themselves, ignore the people's needs, will not last long before the kingdom falls to ruin.
138. Do not resent those who speak ill of you, for the fault is your own; why not be such that they speak well?
Once you have done injustice, do not expect
your name to be spoken well of in the land.
139. Only one who has secured himself from his own destruction can rejoice at an enemy's destruction.
140. Eat only when appetite is keen, speak only when necessary, lie down to sleep only when drowsy, and seek companionship only when longing reaches its peak.
141. Do not take lightly the wounding of weak hearts, for ants together can wear down a raging lion, and a swarm of gnats can bring down a trumpeting elephant.
142. In wielding power, act so that if one day you are no longer king, you will not suffer shame, like the wasp, which anyone who sees it weak and fallen will crush underfoot.
143. As much as you guard against poison, treachery, assassins, and night raids, guard also against the inner wounds of the broken-hearted, the prayers of the oppressed, and the moans of the injured. The sultan of Ghazna used to say, 'I do not fear the spears of men as much as the spindles of women,' meaning the burning grief within their breasts.
144. One need not fear the demons beneath the earth as much as the demons on its surface, meaning wicked human beings.
145. If you want others not to hold your faults against you, hold them against yourself first, before they occur.
146. Do not ask friends about your faults, for they will conceal them; find out what your enemies say.
147. Where gentleness is needed, do not speak harshly, for the lasso is meant for stubborn beasts; and where severity is needed, do not speak softly, for sugar cannot do the work of a purgative.
148. If you are anxious about the one who commands you, be gentle with the one who obeys you.
149. Always sit as if the enemy were at the door, so that if he suddenly bursts in, you are not caught unprepared.
150. Do not trust anyone until you have tested them in several matters.
151. When some event troubles the mind, the right course is this: at night, when people rest, seek help at God's court, pray and plead, and ask for aid and victory. Then attend upon the devout and ask for their spiritual support. Then visit holy shrines and seek help from the souls of the departed. Then show compassion to the weak, the poor, the orphans, and the needy, and free some prisoners. Then make vows and give charity. Then show kindness to the soldiers and kin and give them hope. Then, by planning and consulting with wise, single-hearted friends, strive to ward off the harm of that event. And when your heart's desire is achieved, give thanks and praise to God, not to your own power; then fulfill your vows and give the thank-offering, so that next time an event arises, hearts incline toward you and all hope for your triumph.
May Saadi's many counsels be applied with sincerity and devotion, so that by God's grace both his realm and his faith may be safe, his self and children in well-being, and his life in this world and the next fulfilled as he wishes. And God knows best what is right, and to Him is the final return.