Just as the welfare of the whole world depends upon the successful working of the above mentioned four classes, as settled by kings, so does the body politic depend upon the proper formation of the latter four divisions.

The sages of antiquity mention the following four persons as the chief supports of the State—1. An upright collector; who protects the husbandman, watches over the subjects, develops the country, and improves the revenues. 2. A conscientious commander of the army, active and strict. 3. A chief justice, free from avarice and selfishness, who sits on the eminence of circumspection and insight, and obtains his ends by putting various questions, without exclusively relying on witnesses and oaths. 4. An intelligencer, who transmits the events of the time without addition or diminution, always keeping to the thread of truth and penetration.

It is moreover incumbent on a just king to make himself acquainted with the characters of the following five kinds* of men of whom the world is composed, and act accordingly. 1. The most commendable person is the sagacious man who prudently does that which is proper and absolutely necessary. The fountain of his virtues does not only run along his channel, but renders verdant the fields of other men. Such a one is the fittest person for a king to consult in State affairs. After him comes, secondly, the man of good intentions. The river of his virtues does not flow over its bed, and does not therefore become an irrigating source for others. Although it may be proper to shew him kindness and respect, yet he does not merit so high a degree of confidence. Inferior to him is, thirdly, the simple man, who does not wear the badge of excellence upon the sleeve of his action, yet keeps the hem of his garment free from the dust of wicked deeds. He does not deserve any distinction; but ought to be allowed to live at his ease. Worse than he is, fourthly, the inconsiderate man, who fills his house with furniture for his own mischief, without, however, doing harm to others. Him the king should keep in the hot place of disappointment, and bring him into the road of virtue by good advice and severe reprehension. The last of all is the vicious man, whose black deeds alarm others and throw, on account of their viciousness, a whole world into grief. If the remedies employed in the case of men of the preceding class, do not amend him, the king should consider him as a leper, and confine him separate from mankind; and provided this harsh treatment does not awaken him from his sleep of error, he should feel the torture of grief, and be banished from his dwelling; and if this remedy produce no effect either, he should be driven out of the kingdom, to wander in the wilderness of disappointment; and if even this should not improve his vicious nature, he should be deprived of the instruments of his wickedness, and lose his sight, or his hand, or his foot. But the king ought not to go so far as to cut the thread of his existence; for enquiring sages consider the human form as an edifice made by God, and do not permit its destruction.

It is therefore necessary for just kings, to make themselves first acquainted with the rank and character of men, by the light of insight and penetration, and then to regulate business accordingly. And hence it is that the sages of ancient times have said that princes who wear the jewel of wisdom, do not appoint every low man to their service; that they do not consider every one who has been appointed, to be deserving of daily admittance; that those who are thus favoured, are not therefore deemed worthy to sit with them on the carpet of intercourse; that those who are worthy of this station, are not necessarily admitted to the pavilion of familiar address; that those who have this privilege, are not therefore allowed to sit in the august assembly; that those upon whom this ray of good fortune falls, are not therefore let into their secrets; and that those who enjoy the happiness of this station, are not therefore fit for admission into the Cabinet Council.

Praise be to God, the Giver of every good gift! The exalted monarch of our time is so endowed with these laudable dispositions, that it is no exaggeration to call him their exordium. From the light of his wisdom, he discerns the worth of men, and kindles the lamp of their energy; whilst ever clear to himself, and without an effort, he adorns his wisdom with the beauty of practice. Who can measure, by the rules of speech, his power as a spiritual leader, and his works in the wide field of holiness;* and even if it were possible to give a description of it, who would be able to hear and comprehend it? The best thing I can do is to abstain from such an attempt, and to confine myself to the description of such of his wonderful doings as illustrate the worldly side of his nature, and his greatness as a king. I shall speak—

First, of his regulations concerning the household; secondly, of the regulations concerning the army; thirdly, of the regulations concerning the empire, as these three contain the whole duty of a king. In doing so, I shall leave practical enquirers a present, which may seem difficult to understand, but which is easy; or rather, which may seem easy, but is in reality difficult.

Experienced men who are acquainted with the art of governing, and versed in the history of the past, cannot comprehend, how monarchs have hitherto governed without these wise regulations, and how the garden of royalty could have been fresh and verdant, without being irrigated by this fountain of wisdom.

This sublime volume then, is arranged under three heads: it enables me, in some measure, to express my feelings of gratitude for favours received.

Remark by the Author. As I had sometimes to use Hindí words, I have carefully described the consonants and vowels. Enquirers will therefore have no difficulty in reading; nor will any confusion arise from mistakes in copying. Letters like alif, lám, and a few more, are sufficiently clear from their names. Some letters I have distinguished as manqúṭah, and letters similar in form, without such a limitation. Letters which are purely Persian, have been distinguished as such; thus the p in padíd, the ché in chaman, the gáf in nigár, the zh in muzhdah. Sometimes I have added to the names of these letters, the phrase having three points. Letters peculiar to the Hindí language I have distinguished as Hindí. The letter yá, as in rúy, I have called tahtání, and the té, as in dast, fauqání. The b in adab, I have merely called bé. Similarly, the letters nún, wáw, yá, and hé, when clearly sounded, have been merely described as nún, wáw, &c. The nasal nún I have called nún i khafí, or nún i pinhán. The final and silent h, as in farkhundah, I have called maktúb, i. e., written, but not pronounced. The i and u, when modified to é or ó, I have called majhúl. As consonants followed by an alif have the vowel a, it was not necessary to specify their vowels.