Certain classes of men are particularly deserving of patronage and encouragement, such as the literati, the judicial and revenue officers, secretaries, ambassadors, and envoys. In all political and revenue matters their advice should be taken, because by this much benefit is derived and great advantage obtained. The aid of these people is indispensably necessary. It is impossible to manage the affairs of a kingdom without their instrumentality, and a minister can do nothing without their assistance. The difficult point is, that the minister's life, not to mention his property and wealth, is endan­gered. If a man, then, must choose the profession of a minister, he should obtain the help and co-operation of these men, and conciliate them by affability and kindness. He should raise them by his bounty and favour from indigence and poverty to opulence and abundance, from insignificance and meanness to dignity and import­ance, so that if any person should be envious of him, they may through gratitude give him assistance, and remain loyal and devoted to his cause, neither opposing nor revolting from him, but prevent­ing others by their examples from quarrelling with him. For when one person shows a rebellious spirit, others join with him either secretly or openly, particularly those who may have suffered any hurt from the minister, or are jealous of his preferment. But perhaps you think, that if relations and confidants and trustworthy men be ap­pointed to all offices, no mismanagement can take place or loss be sustained. You must know that this is a great mistake. Because, on the contrary, it is very dangerous for a minister to entrust his relations with the government duties. Don't you know that from the great confidence and implicit reliance which I place in your brothers, I have appointed them to conduct the affairs of the king­dom and have made them superintendents of all the officers of the dif­ferent divisions of the country, and have entrusted one of them with the privilege of exercising a general control over all, and of report­ing all matters, good or bad, to me. I am sure that they will strive to the utmost of their power to uphold their character and preserve my fame. Now-a-days, however, the chief lady is displeased with me because she wishes that the Sultán should appoint her son his heir-apparent; but her object is not realised, because he sees the marks of greater intelligence, wisdom, and prudence, as well as the symptoms of greatness and royalty in Barkiyáruk; while she con­siders him of no worth, and thinks that I have persuaded the King to entertain the opinion. At all events, she is disgusted with me, and seeks on all sides to find some one whom she may persuade to rise against me and make the Sultán angry with me. She is in search of my enemies and adversaries, but finds none, and therefore can only complain to the King that the Khwája has sent his people to different parts of the kingdom. This is known to nobody else but himself, but it has made an impression upon the King's mind. Still, if God please, the end will be good and no evil will ensue. I mean to say that if we entrust our relations and kinsmen with offices it creates suspicions against us, and is considered incompatible with honesty and justice; but if we employ strangers, may God protect us from their rebellion and quarrels! You know well what injuries I have received, am receiving, and must receive, from these people. The origin of my quarrel with him (Hasan Sabáh) was through Imám Muwáfik Naishápúri (may the Almighty cause his soul to enjoy peace!) who was one of the most learned and holy men of Khurásán. His age had advanced beyond seventy-five, and he was known to be a very successful teacher. Every lad that read the Kurán and religious books with him obtained a great degree of proficiency in that branch of learning. For this reason my father sent me with the Saint 'Abdu-s Samad from Tús to Naishápúr, and I became his scholar. He showed me much kind­ness and favour, and I felt great love and affection towards him. I was his scholar for four years, and he taught me with great attention and care. I was associated with four other students who were of equal age with me, and possessed great quickness of perception and solidity of judgment. After leaving the Imám they always came to me, and we sat together and repeated our past lessons. Hakím 'Umar of Naishápúr did not change his ancestor's abode. He was born in Naishápúr and continued to reside in it. The father of Makhzúl Ibn Sabáh 'Alí Bin Muhammad Bin Ja'far was a very pious man, and bigoted in his religion. He generally resided in Re, and Abú Muslim Rází, the ruler of the country, placed great confidence and faith in him, so that he referred to him all questions which arose regarding the Sunní persuasion, and also consulted with him in all matters of dispute. He always spoke oracular words; but to lower himself in the estimation of Abú Muslim he com­mitted absurd and unlawful deeds.

As Imám Muwáfik Naishápúrí was the head of the people who followed the doctrines of the Sunní religion, that artful man, to clear himself of the charge of being a Ráfizí, brought his son to Naishápúr and placed him under the care of the said Imám, and himself, like a saint, chose a solitary life. At times he ascribed his descent to an infidel family of Gházat, and said that he was a descendant of Sabáh Khamírí, that his father came from Yemen to Kúfa, from that place to Kúm, and from thence to Re. But the citizens of Re, particularly the people of the country of Tús, denied the fact, and affirmed that his forefathers were natives of their country. In short, one day 'Umar Khayám (one of my schoolfellows) said to me, it is well-known that the pupils of Imám Muwáfik are sure to become men of fortune. There is no doubt of this, but let us make some agreement of union, to be fulfilled on one of the party becoming wealthy? I replied, you may propose any you like. He observed, I propose that if any one of us become rich, he shall divide his wealth equally with the other, and not consider it his own property. I agreed, and this was the promise made between us. It so happened that I went to Khurásán, Mawáráu-n nahr, Ghaznín, and Kábul, as I have shortly related before. When I returned from these places I was entrusted with the office of minister; and in the reign of Alp Arslán, Hakím 'Umar Khayám came to me, and I entirely fulfilled my promise. First, I received him with great honour and respect, and gave him presents, and then I told him, you are a clever and qualified man, worthy of being the head of all the King's officers, and by virtue of being a scholar of Imám Muwáfik, you shall be blessed in this office. I will bring you to the notice of the Sultán, and speak to him of your intelligence and honesty, in such terms that he will place confidence in you in the same degree that he does in me. On this, Hakím 'Umar observed, “you are of noble birth, and possess a generous disposition and excellent morals, and these induce you to do me this favour. Otherwise how could such an insignificant man as I am expect this kindness and hospitality from the minister of a kingdom which extends from east to west. I value your favour the more because it is shown with sincerity, and not out of compliment. Such conduct will enable you to obtain mnch higher dignity and rank. The favour and kindness which you have shown to me is undeniable, and if I were to devote my whole life to you I should still be unable to express my thanks for this single act of kindness. My sole desire is that I may always remain with you. To aspire to the rank which you advise me to obtain is not be­coming, as it would evidently be very ungrateful on my part. May God keep me from doing such a thing! I therefore propose, through your assistance, to seek some retirement where I may apply myself to scientific studies, and pray for the increase of your life.”—He persisted in this request; and when I saw that he had openly told me the secret of his heart, I wrote an order for an allowance of one thousand golden miskáls to be annually given to him out of the income of my estates at Naishápúr for his maintenance. After this he left me, and engaged in the study of sciences, particularly Astro­nomy, and made very great progress in it. In the reign of Malik Sháh he came to Merv and was greatly respected and rewarded there for his knowledge of Natural Philosophy. The King showed him much favour, and raised him to one of the highest ranks that were given to philosophers and learned men. But that irreligious man (Hasan Sabáh) was not so famous in the days of Alp Arslán as he was in Khurásán. He was born in the reign of Malik Sháh. In the year when the Sultán achieved the conquest over Kádir, and com­pletely quelled the disturbances which he had raised, this man came to me in Naishápúr. As much regard and favour was shown to him in consideration of his old friendship, as any faithful and righteous person might show to the extent of his power. He was treated with fresh hospitality and kindness every day. One day he said to me, “Khwája, you are a lover of truth and possessed of excellent virtues. You know that this world is a worthless thing. Is it proper that for the wealth and pomp of this world you should break an agreement, and enrol yourself among those to whom the passage in the Kúran about the violators of promises refers.” I observed, “May it never be!” He said, “Yes, you are exceedingly kind and affable, but you know yourself that this was not the agreement between us.” I replied, “I acknowledge and admit that we have promised to be partners not only in our titles and ranks, but also in all the estates which we may acquire.” After this (conversation took place be­tween us), I took him to the King's court, and at a suitable oppor­tunity I recommended him, and informed the King of the promise which we had made between ourselves. I praised him so much for the great wisdom and excellence of his disposition and character, that the King put confidence in him. As he was a very cunning and artful man, he put on the appearance of honesty, and gained much influence over the King's mind. He obtained such a degree of confidence, that in all important affairs and great undertakings, in which integrity and faithfulness in the agents were needed, the King engaged his assistance and acted according to his advice. In short, I assisted him in obtaining this rank; but at last, by his bad behaviour, many difficulties arose, and I was about to lose all the credit which I had acquired in the course of so many years. In the end he fully shewed the wickedness of his disposition; and marks of bitter animosity and malevolence displayed themselves in his every word and action. If any slight mismanagement took place in the ministerial office, he multiplied and magnified it and reported it to the King, and if the King consulted him about it, he represented the evil of it with some apparently specious arguments.