“Philosophers in defining Wisdom say that this consists in ‘seeking to perfect the human soul in its intellectual and practical aptitudes;

First chapter of the “Ethics of the Aristocracy,” on Wisdom whereof the former is effected by an apprehension of the true nature of things as they really are, and the latter by the acquisition of a psychical habit or faculty, whereby the soul is able to perform virtuous actions and to abstain from evil actions, which is called Character.’ In other words, * there are centred in the Rational Soul two faculties, on the perfecting of which its perfection depends; one, the speculative faculty, the other the practical faculty. The first is that which craves after the appre­hension of knowledge and the acquisition of science, so that, impelled by its promptings, the soul acquires a power of knowing things as they truly are, whereby eventually it attains the felicity of knowing that true Object of all Search and Universal Goal Who (Exalted and Holy is He!) is the Consummation of all Existences. So, guided by this know­ledge, the soul attains to the Realm of Unity, nay, even to the Pre­cincts of Union, and becomes tranquil and composed (for ‘are not hearts composed by the remembrance of God?’), * while the dust of doubt and the rust of uncertainty are cleansed from the visage of its mind and the mirror of its heart, even as the poet says:

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‘Wherever Certainty entered, Doubt departed.’

“Now as for the Practical Faculty, it is that which coordinates and arranges the powers and actions of the soul, so that they cooperate and agree with one another, by virtue of which equipoise and accord its qualities become pleasing in God's sight. And when such knowledge and practice are combined in this degree in any person, he may fitly be entitled the ‘Perfect Man’ and ‘Vicar * of God,’ and his rank becomes the highest attainable by the human race, even as God Most High hath said: ‘He giveth Wisdom to whom He will, and whosoever is given Wisdom hath been given abundant good.’ * Moreover his spirit, after its separation from the body, becomes fitted to dwell in Paradise, to enjoy everlasting happiness, and to become receptive of God's grace…

“Thus far is the view of the ancient philosophers.”

The writer now passes immediately to the

“When the great and wise men of subtle understanding, with whose honoured persons the face of the earth is now adorned, reflected on the perfecting of the human soul and its future destiny, and examined the practices and opinions of the famous men of former times, they soon formulated a complete and categorical denial of all these beliefs. They say: ‘It has been revealed to us that the “Rational Soul” is a thing of no consideration; that its continuance absolutely depends on the continuance of the body, and that its destruction is involved in the destruction of the body.’ They further say: ‘What is asserted by the Prophets as to its having perfections and defects, and as to its sub­sisting and continuing in itself after its separation from the body is impossible, as is also the Resurrection. Life consists in the just equipoise of the elements comprising the body, and when this is decomposed its owner becomes for ever extinct and null. What is intended by the joys of Paradise and the torments of Hell must be in this world, as the poet says:

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‘He to whom they give receives his gift even here,
And he who has nothing [here] is put off with promises for “to-
morrow.”’*

“Consequently our leaders of thought are entirely unconcerned with such matters as the Resurrection, Future Punishment, Nearness to or Remoteness from God, the Divine Approval or Wrath, Perfection and Imperfection, and the like; and the result of this conviction is that they spend every day of their life in satisfying their lusts and pursuing their pleasures, saying:

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‘O Final Outcome of the Seven and Four, *
Who by the Four and Seven art vexéd sore,
Drink wine! A thousand times I've told thee this—
When once thou'rt gone, thou shalt return no more!’

“While they commonly inscribe this quatrain on their fathers' tomb­stones:

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‘No mansions lie beyond this earth and sea;
No reason dwells outside of me and thee:
That Nothing which is deemed by some men All,
O pass it by; 'tis but vain phantasy!’

“And it is for this reason that in their eyes attacks on men's lives, property and honour seem insignificant and of small account.

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‘To such one draught of wine in hue like fire
Outweighs the blood of brethren or of sire.’

“In truth our applause is the just meed of these our great and favoured guides to whom matters which, notwithstanding the cultivation of the reasoning powers, remained hidden for several thousand years have been made plain without trouble.”

So in like manner 'Ubayd-i-Zákání deals with the other virtues. Thus in speaking of the “adopted” or current view about Courage, which is the subject of the second chapter, he says:

“Our teachers say that when one confronts a dangerous enterprise, or engages in combat and conflict with another, one of two things will 'Ubayd-i­Zákání on Courage happen: either his adversary will prevail and slay him, or the contrary. If he slays his adversary, he will have on his neck the burden of innocent blood, and as a consequence thereof will undoubtedly sooner or later be overtaken by punishment. If, on the other hand, his adversary prevails, that person will assuredly go the road to Hell. How, then, can a wise man under­take an action presenting such alternatives? What proof, indeed, is clearer than this, that whenever there is a wedding, or a dance, or any social function where delicate meats, sweets, robes of honour and money are in evidence, rakes, effeminate persons, minstrels and jesters are invited there, while when arrows and spears are the entertainment pro­vided, some stupid fool is persuaded that he is a man, a hero, a defeater of armies, a captain courageous, and is thus induced to confront the swords, so that when the poor wretch is slain in battle the rakes and effeminates of the town wag their tails, saying:

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‘Scant attraction have arrow and axe and spear for me;
Minstrels, wine and delicate meats far better agree!’”

The third chapter, dealing with Chastity, hardly lends itself to translation, but the “adopted view” concerning Justice in the fourth chapter is worth quoting.

“The view of our teachers is that this quality is the worst of all attributes, and that Justice involves much loss; a thesis which they have proved by the clearest arguments. For they say: ‘The founda­tion of sovereignty, lordship and mastery is punishment, since men Ubayd-i­Zákání on Justice will not obey any one until they fear him; all will feel themselves equal; the foundations of administration will be undermined, and the order of public business dis­organized. He who practices Justice (which God forbid!) refrains from beating, killing and fining any one, and does not intoxicate him­self and quarrel or be angry with his subordinates, him none will fear. Then the people will not obey their kings, nor sons their sires, nor servants their masters, while the affairs of the lands and the people will lapse into chaos. Hence it is that they say:

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‘Kings to gain a single object oft will slay a hundred souls.’

“And they further say: ‘Justice bequeaths disaster.’

What proof, indeed, can be more convincing than this, that so long as the Kings of Persia played the tyrant, like Ḍaḥḥák the Arabian and Yazdigird ‘the Sinner’ (who now confer distinction on the chief seats of Hell, together with other later potentates who followed them), their Empire increased and their realm flourished; but when the reign of Khusraw Anúsharwán came, who, by reason of his weak judgement and the policy of his feeble-minded ministers chose the attribute of Justice, in a little while the pinnacles of his Palace fell to the ground, the Fire Temples, which were their places of worship, were extinguished, and all trace of them disappeared from the face of the earth. * The Commander of the Faithful and Confirmer of the Laws of Religion 'Umar ibnu'l-Khaṭṭáb (may God be well pleased with him), who was noted for his justice, made bricks and ate barley-bread, while his cloak, as they relate, weighed seventeen maunds. Mu'áwiya, by the blessing of Injustice, wrested the kingdom from the hands of the Imám 'Alí (may God ennoble his countenance). Nebuchadnezzar did not establish his authority, nor become eminent in both worlds, nor did his empire in­crease, until he slew twelve thousand innocent prophets in the Holy City and cast into bondage many thousand more. Chingíz Khán, who to-day, in despite of his enemies, stands supreme in the lower depths of Hell as the exemplar and guide of all the Mongols, ancient and modern, did not attain to the sovereignty of the whole world until with ruthless sword he had destroyed millions of innocent persons.