Anvār-i Suhaylī - The Anvār-i Suhaili (The Lights of Canopus)

Kalílah said, ‘They have related that a king bestowed splendid apparel and a costly robe on a Devotee. A thief having got intelligence of the circumstanc, coveted it, and going to the Devotee pretended a wish to become his disciple, and voluntarily entered his service, and displayed diligence in learning the manners of that religious persuasion, until in this way he was admitted into the confidence [of the Devotee], and one night, having found an opportunity, he carried away the dress and made off. The next day the recluse did not see the dress, and finding that that new disciple was missing, he knew that he had purloined it. He started in pursuit of him, in the direction of the city, and on the road observed two he-goats^103a who were fighting with one another and wounding each other’s heads; and during the time that these two fierce^103b adversaries, like savage lions, were engaged in battle with one another and the blood was dripping from their limbs and members, a fox had come up and was devouring their blood. All at once in the midst of their encounter, the fox happened to get between them, and on each side their heads came with violence against his ribs, and he was overtaken with the noose of death. The recluse, having gained from these circumstances another piece of experience, passed on, and at night, when he reached the city, the gate was closed. He walked about in all directions and was seeking for a place to halt in. It happened that a woman was looking from the terrace of her house into the street, and understood by the perplexity of the devotee, that he was a stranger. She invited him to her house, and the holy man, accepting her invitation, untied his sandals in her lodgings, and occupied himslf in a corner of the hut with his devotions. Now that woman was notorious for vice and profligacy, and kept several damsels ready for purposes of debauchery, and one of them—the winning glance of whose beauty might have taught blandishment to the brides of Paradise, and at the glow of whose cheeks, the sun, which warms the world, was consumed with the fire of jealousy; whose languishing eye, with the arrow of its glance, pierced the target of the bosom, and whose life-giving lips, with the sugar of her mouth, bestowed sweetness on the soul like a package of sugar,

—had become attached to a youth—of beautiful countenance and musky ringlets, witty, and of graceful stature like the cypress, whose face resembled the moon, sweet-voiced and slender-waisted so that the proud beauties of Cathay^104a—from the curl of his locks—were, like the hyacinth, writhing with envy,^104b and the honey-lipped fair ones of Samarḳand,¹⁰⁵ from the desire of his mischief-exciting sweetness, were panged like the hearts of lovers:

—and ever together, like sun and moon, they lived conjoined in one mansion, and like Venus and Mercury were united in one sign of the zodiac, and this youth from the jealousy of love would positively never allow that his other rivals should taste a draught from the cup of union with that damsel, or that those athirst in the desert of pursuit, should, after a thousand toils, arrive at that limpid fountain.

The profligate woman being embarrassed by the behaviour of the damsel, and impatient at the loss of income, could not put up with a girl who had cast aside the veil of decorum, and had given up her whole soul to the affection for her lover.^105a She was driven to aim at the destruction of that youth. On the night that the recluse came to her house she had prepared a plan and not neglected an opportunity for the deed, and, having measured out copious^105b draughts of wine to the lover and beloved one, as soon as the people of the house had gone to rest, she pounded a little deadly poison, and having placed it in a pipe and brought it before the fair youth, took one end of the tube in her mouth, and placed the other end in his nostrils, and was about to give a puff and convey the influence of the poison to the brain of the youth, when suddenly he sneezed, and from the force of the vapour which issued from his brain all the poison entered the throat and neck of that woman, and she fell lifeless on the spot.

When the recluse beheld that circumstance, and had with a hundred anxieties passed through that night—which in length equalled the day of resurrection—until the time when the devotee of the dawn, having obtained release from the cell of the darkness of night, spread the prayer-carpet of worship before the altar of the horizon, and the purport of this text of sublime meaning ‘And shall lead them out of darkness into light’¹⁰⁶ was manifest unto men;

The recluse having extricated himself from the dark abode of debauchery and crime of that band, went in search of another lodging. A shoemaker, who reckoned himself among his disciples, took the holy man to his house, by way of obtaining a blessing [for that good act] and enjoined his family to wait upon him, and he himself went to an entertainment given by some of his friends. Now his lady had a friend of an agreeable temper, of handsome face, and curling locks,

The messenger between them was the wife of a barber, who, by her witchery, could blend together fire and water, and by her oily tongue could make the hard stone melt like wax.

The shoemaker’s wife, when she found the house empty, sent some one to the go-between saying, ‘Inform my beloved that to-night there is honey without the buzzing of the bee, and intercourse without the hue-and-cry of the superintendent of police and the patrol.’

Her lover having come to the house by night, was expecting ‘the opening of the door,’ when, all of a sudden, the shoemaker, like a sudden calamity, arrived and saw this man at the door of his house. Now the fact was, that before this he had had a little suspicion, and some doubt had arisen:—when he found him in his house the side of conviction prevailed. He entered the house, and, in most violent wrath, began to beat his wife, and after he had chastised her thoroughly, he bound her fast to a post, and then placed his own head on the couch of repose. The recluse was thinking thus, ‘To beat this woman without any apparent reason and clear offence, was far from the course of kind and manly feeling. I ought to have interceded for her, and not to have acquiesced in this folly;’ when suddenly the barber’s wife came in and said, ‘O sister! why dost thou keep this young man so long waiting? quickly come forth and look upon the opportunity for love as a blessing.’

The shoemaker’s wife, with a melancholy voice, called to her and said,

O kind friend! listen¹⁰⁷ to my piteous complaint, and learn my wretched condition. This cruel and merciless husband had seen, perhaps, my lover at the door, for he entered this house like a madman, and after he had beaten me much, tied me, with the utmost violence, to this pillar. If thou hast any compassionate feeling towards me, and art disposed^107a to pity my lover, release me with all despatch, and give me leave^107b to bind thee to this pillar in place of myself, and I, having quickly made my apology to my friend, will return and release thee, and by this act thou wilt both place me under an obligation to thee, and wilt also oblige my friend.’ The barber’s wife, from exceeding kindness, having consented to the other’s release and the binding of herself, sent her out. The recluse, by hearing this dialogue, was put in possession of the clue to the quarrel of the husband and wife; and meanwhile the shoemaker awoke and called to his wife. The barber’s wife, in terror lest he should^107c recognise her voice and so become aware of what was going on, had not courage to answer. However much the shoemaker shouted, not a breath issued from the barber’s wife. The fire of his wrath blazed up, and he seized a cobbler’s knife, and came before the pillar, and cutting off the nose of the barber’s wife, placed it in her hand, saying, ‘Lo! a present that thou mayest send to thy lover.’ The barber’s wife, from fear, uttered not a sigh, but mentally ejaculated,

When the shoemaker’s wife returned and beheld her adopted sister with her nose cut off, she was excessively grieved, and, repeatedly begging her pardon, released her and fastened herself to the pillar, and the barber’s wife set off homeward, nose in hand.

The recluse beheld and heard all these proceedings, and surprise was added to surprise at these strange incidents which manifested themselves from the curtain of the unknown future. However the shoemaker’s wife kept quiet for a little, and then spreading the hand of cunning and deceit in prayer, she said, ‘O Lord and King! Thou knowest that my husband has inflicted cruel injustice upon me, and has bound on my neck, by false and slanderous accusation, a crime which I have not committed. Of thine own goodness shew mercy to me and give back to me my nose—the ornament of the page of beauty!’ The husband was awake while the wife was thus praying, and heard that hypocritical complaint and perfidious prayer of hers. He shouted out, ‘O wicked and corrupt woman! what prayer is this that thou dost make? and what supplication is this that thou employest? The prayer of the unchaste is not regarded in this court, and the requirement of the vicious obtains not the quality of currency on this road.

All at once the wife cried out, ‘O tyrant! tormentor! get up that thou mayest behold the power and infinite goodness of God, that, as my garment was pure from the stain of this false charge, God Most High has restored to me my nose that was mutilated, and has saved me from reproach and disgrace amongst men.’ The simple-minded man arose, and having lighted a lamp, came up to her, and beheld his wife safe, and her nose in its right place, and he nowhere perceived any trace of the wound or injury. Instantly he confessed his fault, and betook himself to entreaties for forgiveness, and with the utmost tenderness asking pardon for his offence,¹⁰⁸ he removed the bonds from her hands and feet, and made a vow not to proceed to similar lengths before the display of positive proof, and the manifestation of a good cause, nor at the suggestion of every mischievous tale-bearer to torment his chaste wife and virtuous spouse; and that for the rest of his life he would be guided by this woman, veiled in purity of conduct, whose prayers were assuredly free from any interposing curtain.

On the other side, the barber’s wife carrying her severed nose in her hand came home, and was overcome with bewilderment as to what artifice she should think of, and in what manner she could disclose what had happened to her husband, and what excuse she should make to her friends and neighbours on the subject, and how reply to the questions of her kinsfolk and acquaintances? In this interval the barber awoke from sleep, and called to his wife, saying, ‘Give me my tools,¹⁰⁹ for I am going to such a gentleman’s house.’ His wife was very long in answering, and dawdled in giving the instruments too, and at last put the razor alone into the barber’s hand, The latter in a passion flung the razor in the darkness of the night towards his wife, and began to utter abusive words. His wife threw herself down, and screamed out, ‘My nose! my nose!’ The barber was amazed, and their friends and neighbours, coming in, saw the woman with her dress stained with blood, and her nose cut off. Hereupon they began to loose the tongue of reproval against the barber, and that unfortunate fellow remained astonished, neither having the face to confess, nor the tongue to deny it. However, when the world-illuminating dawn removed the curtain of darkness, and the universe-displaying mirror of the sun began to shine like the goblet of Jamshíd,^109a

the relations of the wife assembled and carried the barber before the Ḳáẓí. By chance the recluse too, having come forth from the house of the shoemaker, by reason of a bond of friendship which existed between him and the Ḳáẓí, was present at the tribunal. After they had gone through the customary interrogatories, and the friends of the barber’s wife had stated their case the Ḳází demanded, ‘Master barber! without any apparent crime, and without legal cause, why didst thou think fit to mutilate this woman?’ The barber, being bewildered, was unable to state any reason, and the Ḳáẓí, according to the clear mandate, ‘Wounds shall be punished by retaliation,’¹¹⁰ gave commandment that retaliation should be exacted, and that he should be tortured. Then the recluse rose up and said, ‘O Ḳáẓí! in this matter there is need of deliberation, and the eye of sagacity must be opened, because the Thief did not carry off my dress, and the Goats did not kill the Fox, nor did the poison destroy the profligate woman, nor did the Shoemaker cut off the nose of the Barber’s Wife, but we have all drawn upon ourselves these calamities.’ The Ḳází let the barber go, and turning to the recluse, said, ‘Please to favor us with an interpretation of this compendium, and an explanation of the import of this!’ The recluse recited from beginning to end what he had heard and seen, and said, ‘If I had not had a desire to take a pupil, and had not been fascinated by the pleasant talk of the thief, that deceitful impostor could not have found an opportunity, and would not have carried off my dress; and if the Fox had not displayed excessive greediness and gluttony, and had abstained from blood-thirstiness, the fatal concussion of the he-goats would not have reached him; and if the profligate woman had not schemed the destruction of the young man, she would not have given to the winds her dear life; and if the Barber’s Wife had not rendered assistance in that unlawful act, she would not have been mutilated nor disgraced. Whoever does evil must not look for good, and he who requires sugar-cane must not sow colocynth.

And I have adduced this story that thou mayst know that thou hast shewn this troublous way to thyself, and hast opened upon thyself this gate of pain and difficulty.’

Damnah said, ‘Thou speakest truly, and I have done this deed, yet, nevertheless, what plan dost thou advise for my escape, and of what contrivance dost thou think for untying this knot?’ Kalílah said, ‘From the commencement I disagreed with thee as to this business, and did not coincide with thee in consenting to undertake this matter, and now too I find myself [justified in keeping] aloof in this affair, and see no reason for meddling with it. But perhaps thou wilt thyself excogitate somewhat for thyself, for they have said:

Damnah said, ’I have been thinking that I will set about this business with the most delicate finesse, and will exert myself in every possible way, until I overthrow the Ox from this position, nay, until I drive him out of this country, for I cannot admit of procrastination and neglect in the duty of self-preservation, and should I choose to be remiss, I should not be excusable in the opinion of men of prudence and spirit. Nor do I seek any new dignity, nor claim more than belongs to my office: and the wise have said, ‘Men of sense are justified in laboring for five things:—First, in pursuit of the rank and station, which they have held before. Secondly, in avoiding harm of which they have already had experience. Thirdly, in protecting advantages which they possess. Fourthly, in extricating themselves from the whirlpool of calamity which may have come upon them. Fifthly, in watching the attainment of advantage and the averting of evil in time to come. And I exert myself for this that I may get back to my own office, and that the lustre of my condition may be renewed. And the method is as follows,—to pursue the Ox with artifices until he bid farewell to earth’s surface,¹¹¹ or pack up his chattels from this place; and I am not inferior to that weak Sparrow who obtained his revenge on the Falcon.’ Kalílah inquired, ‘How was that.’

Damnah said, ‘I have heard that two Sparrows had fixed their nest on the branch of a tree; and of worldly gear, water and grain sufficed them; and on the summit of a mountain, beneath which that tree lay, a Falcon had its abode, which, at the time of stooping on its quarry, issued from its lurking-place like lightning, and like heaven’s bolt, clean consumed the harvest of life of the feebler birds.

Whenever the sparrows produced young, and the time was near at hand for them to fly, that falcon, rushing forth from its ambush, used to carry them off and make them food for its own young. Now to those sparrows—in accordance with the saying, ‘The love of home is a part of faith’—to migrate from that place was impossible, and yet from the cruelty of the tyrannous hawk it was difficult to be enabled to reside there.

On one occasion, their young ones, having gained strength and put forth feathers and wings, were able to move; and the father and mother, pleased with the sight of their offspring, testified their joy at their attempt to fly. Suddenly the thought of the falcon passed through their minds, and, all at once, having folded up the carpet of delight, they began to wail and lament from distress and anxiety. One of their children—in whose countenance the signs of discretion and ripe intellect were visible—having inquired into the circumstances of that state [of emotion] and the reason of their change from hilarity to despondency; they replied, ‘O son!

They then recounted the history of the falcon’s oppression and of its carrying off their young, with all the particulars. The son said, ‘To draw back the neck from the command of fate and the mandate of destiny, is not the way for creatures, yet ‘The Causer of causes’ has appointed a remedy for every pain, and has sent a cure for every sorrow. It is probable that if ye exert yourselves in repelling this misfortune, and take steps to untie this knot, both this calamity will be averted from our heads, and this burden, too, will be removed from your heart.’ These words pleased the sparrows; and while one of them stopped to attend to the condition of the young ones, the other flew forth in search of relief. When it had flown a little way, it began to reflect, saying, ‘Alas! whither shall I go? and to whom shall I tell the affliction of my heart?

At last he resolved in his mind, that he would tell his story to whatsoever animal his eyes first fell upon, and ask a remedy for his heart’s distress from it. It happened that a Salamander having come forth from a mine of fire, was wandering in the spreading plain of the desert. When the glance of the sparrow lighted upon him, and that strange form and extraordinary appearance came into his view; he said to himself, ‘I have fallen upon good;’ come on, I will disclose the grief of my heart to this marvelous bird; perhaps he may undo the knot of my affairs and may shew me the way to a remedy. Then with the utmost respect, he advanced to the Salamander, and after the requisite ceremonies and salutation,¹¹² he paid the conventional compliments of offering service. The Salamander, too, in a kind and encouraging tone, expressed the due courtesy required towards travelers, and said, ‘The traces of weariness are discernible in thy countenance. If this arises from the fatigue of journeying, be pleased to halt some days in this neighbourhood, that [this fatigue] may be exchanged for repose: and if the case be aught else, explain it, that to the extent of my power I may exert myself to remedy it. The sparrow loosed his tongue, and represented to the salamander his piteous condition, after a fashion, that had he told it to a rock it would have been rent in pieces by his distress.

After hearing this tale, the salamander, too, felt the fire of compassion kindled, and he said, ‘Grieve not! for I will this night take such measures as to consume his abode and nest and all that therein is. Do thou point out to me thy dwelling, and go to thy offspring until the time I come to thee. The sparrow indicated his dwelling in such a way as not to leave a doubt in the mind of the salamander; and with a glad heart and a mind freed from the load of grief, turned towards his own nest. When the night came on, the salamander, with a number of its own kind, each carrying a quantity of naphtha and brimstone, set off in the direction of that spot, and under the guidance of that sparrow, conveyed themselves to the vicinity of the falcon’s nest. The latter unaware of that [impending] misfortune, had, with its young, eaten plentifully, and fallen asleep. The salamanders cast upon their nest all the naphtha and brimstone that they had brought with them, and turned back: and the blast of divine justice having blown the flame of vengeance, fell upon those oppressors. They rose up from the sleep of negligence, at a time when the hand of prevention was unequal to the quenching of that flame; and all of them, with their abode and nest, were at once consumed to ashes.

And I have given this instance that thou mayest know that every one who labors to repel an enemy, though he may be small and weak, and his foe great and strong, may yet hope for victory and triumph. Kalílah said, ‘Now that the Lion has distinguished him above the rest, and has exalted the banner of his fortune; to expel the lion’s attachment to him from his heart, and to alter the Lion’s feelings towards him, appears very difficult; and kings, when they shew favor to any one do not disgrace him without full cause, nor cast from their sight any one whom they have exalted, unless on the occurrence of some extraordinary act.’

Damnah said, ‘What cause can be fuller than this, that the King has gone to excess in favoring him, and has indulged in contempt for his other ministers, till, as a necessary consequence, they have become disgusted with his service, and the advantage of their services and benefit of their advice has been cut off from him; and from this state of things great calamities are to be expected: and sages have said, danger arises to a King, and misfortune to a country, from one of six things. First, disappointment, that is to say, making his loyal subjects destitute of hope in him, and abandoning people of judgment and experience, to disgrace. Secondly, mischievous embroilment, and this may be characterised as causeless war, and the occurrence of ill-digested undertakings, and provoking hostile parties to unsheath their swords. Thirdly, sensuality, which is being passionately fond of women, and being too addicted to the chase, and engaging in drinking, and shewing an inclination for idle amusements. Fourthly, adverse fortune, being such accidents as time produces, as plague, famine, earthquakes, conflagrations and inundations, and the like. Fifthly, violence of temper, which is carrying anger to great lengths, and being excessive in tortures and punishments. Sixthly, ignorance, which is such that in a crisis that calls for peace the king has recourse to war, and at the moment for war he inclines to peace, and when he should use gentle measures he adopts roughness, and when he ought to close up the barriers of severity he opens the door of kindness.’

Kalílah said, ‘I saw that thou hadst girded thyself for revenge, and wast lying in wait for Shanzabah; and thou wishest that some evil may befall him by what proceeds from thee; and I know that to inflict injury has no good result, and that by way of retribution, every one’s mischief recoils on himself.

And whoever will open the eye of experience, and observe the retribution of good and bad, there is no doubt that he will incline to goodness and gentleness, and will keep his hand and tongue from annoyance and injury, as the just King said.’ Damnah asked, ‘How was that?’

Kalílah said, ‘I have heard that in former times there was a King, who had opened the hand of despotic power and oppression, and had set the foot of obstinate wickedness beyond the beaten path of justice and beneficence.

The people night and day had lifted up their hands in prayer against his injustice, and had loosed the tongue of detestation. One day this King went to the chase, and when he returned, he ordered a proclamation, saying, ‘O people! the eye of my heart has to this day been covered with a veil from beholding the aspect of rectitude, and the hand of my transgression has drawn the scymitar of tyranny against the countenances of the despairing oppressed, and the unhappy objects of persecution. Now I have become sincerely disposed to cherish my subjects, and steadfast in the office of administration of justice. My hope is that after to-day the hand of an oppressor will not strike the ring of vexation on the door of any peasant, nor the foot of a persecutor reach the court of the dwelling of any poor man.’

The people felt new life at these tidings, and to the poor, the rose of desire blossomed in the garden of hope.

In short the felicitous influence of his justice reached such a point, that the lambs drank milk from the dugs of the savage lioness, and the pheasant sported in communion with the hawk, and on this account they bestowed on him the title of ‘The Justice-dispensing King.’

One of the confidential ministers of the cabinet of state, took an opportunity to ask the state of the case, and inquired into the change of the bitterness of oppression and tyranny for the sweetness of mercy and good faith. The King said, ‘That day that I went to hunt, I was galloping on every side, when suddenly I observed a dog pursue a fox, and bite through the bone of his leg with his teeth:—the hapless fox escaped into a hole with a maimed leg, and the dog came back. Presently a footman threw a stone and broke the leg of that dog, and had not yet gone on a few steps, when a horse kicked the footman, and his leg was fractured, and the horse too had advanced no distance, when his foot went down in a hole and snapped.’ I came to myself and said, ‘Sawest thou what they did, and what they experienced? Whoever does what he ought not, suffers what he would not.’

And I have hit off this example with this view, that thou mayest dread retribution, and abandon a malevolent disposition, lest disastrous results should reach thee, and the meaning [of the saying] ‘Whoever dug a pit for his brother assuredly fell into it himself,’ be manifested in thy case; and a sage has said, ‘Do not evil, that thou mayest keep back evil;¹¹⁶ dig not a pit, lest thou fall therein thyself.’ Damnah said, ‘In this matter I am the oppressed—not the oppressor, and I am he that suffers cruelty—not he that inflicts it; and if the oppressed should be occupied with the design of revenging himself upon his oppressor, what retribution can there be for that? and if injury should result from him to the injurer, what harm can therein ensue to him?’ Kalílah said, ‘Granted that by this proceeding no obstruction occurs to thy fortunes, but in what manner wilt thou exert thyself for the destruction of the Ox? since his power surpasses thine, and his friends and allies are more numerous than those who befriend and support thee.’ Damnah said, ‘One must not base one’s proceedings on the greatness of one’s strength, and the infinite number of one’s allies; but prudence and counsel must be esteemed as superior to these, since it is probable that what can be effected by skill and stratagem, is unattainable by violence and force; and has it never reached thee how a Raven destroyed a Serpent by stratagem?’ Kalílah said, ‘How was that?’

Damnah^116a said, ‘They have related that a Raven had taken up its abode on the side of a mountain, and had made its nest in the fissure of a rock, and in the vicinity of it was the hole of a Snake, the water of whose mouth was deadly poison and the locality of death, and the venom of the roots of whose teeth was destructive to the constitution of existence and life. Whenever the Raven had young, the Serpent devoured them, and consumed the liver of the Raven with the brand of the loss of her offspring. When the cruelty of the Serpent had passed all bounds, the Raven, reduced to despair, made complaint of her plight to a jackal who was her friend, and said, ‘I am thinking how I can deliver myself from the calamity of this Snake and the affliction of this life-pursuing tyrant.’ The jackal asked, ‘What steps wilt thou take in this emergency? and by what artifice wilt thou get rid of his annoyance?’ The Raven said, ‘I intend, when the Snake is asleep, to peck out with my blood-drinking beak the eyes with which he surveys the world, that he may not be again able to attack those that are the lustre of my eyes; and that my offspring, the light of my vision, may remain secure from the wickedness of that malignant one.’ The jackal said, ‘This plan swerves from the right course, for wise men ought to attack their enemy in such a manner that there may be no peril of losing their life by it. Take care that thou abandonest this thought, that thou mayest not destroy thyself like the Heron who exerted himself for the destruction of the Crab, and gave his own dear life to the winds.’ The Raven asked, ‘How was that?’

The jackal said, ‘There was a Heron which had made its home on the margin of a piece of water, and had turned the countenance of his heart from all other objects to the pursuit of fish. In proportion to his wants he used to catch fish, and pass his life in comfort. When the infirmity of old age found its way to him, and his bodily faculties inclined to decay, he was unequal to the pursuit of fish, and being overtaken with the noose of grief, said to himself,

Alas! that I have wasted in sport my precious life, and that I have not stored up anything which could afford me assistance^117a in the season of old age, or be a support to me; and at this day my vigour has failed, yet I cannot do without victuals. My best course is to base my proceedings on artifice, and spread the snare of deceit and pretended abstinence;

He then seated himself at the brink of the water, lamenting and sighing and weeping. A Crab beheld him from a distance and, advancing, accosted him familiarly, and said, ‘Friend! I observe thee sorrowful, what is the reason of this?’ He replied, ‘How can I not be grieved, for thou knowest that the material of my sustenance and the support of my life was the one or two fishes which I daily used to catch and by which I obtained enough to keep in the breath of life, and food sufficient to prevent me from dying. No extraordinary detriment accrued to the fishes therefrom, and my days, too, were decked with tho ornament of contentment and happiness. To-day two fishermen passed by this spot, and were saying, ‘In this lake there is an abundance of fish—we must settle them.’ One said, ‘In such a lake there are more fish than in this. First let us manage their business, and then let us turn this way.’ Now, if events are to take this course, I must detach my heart from sweet life, and must fix it on the bitterness of death.’ As soon as the Crab heard these tidings, it went back with all haste, and going to the fish, recounted to them this dismal news just as it had heard it. Hereupon, a commotion ensuing among them, they, in company with the Crab, betook themselves to the Heron, and said, ‘Such and such intelligence has reached us from thee, and has wrested the reins of counsel from our hands;

Now we would consult with you^118a for ‘He who is consulted is trustworthy.’ It behoves a wise man, even when enemies apply to him for advice, not to slight the obligation of counseling rightly, especially in a matter where the advantage may revert to himself, and thou thyself sayest that the continuation of thy existence is bound up in us, and that thy life is dependent on our continuing to be. Therefore what dost thou consider advisable in our affair?’ The Heron replied, ‘I have myself heard this speech from the tongue of the fishermen, and there is no possibility of opposing them, and I can think of nothing but this device,—I know a pool in the neigbourhood of this, the water of which, in purity, boasts of rivaling the real dawn,^118b and surpasses the world-displaying mirror in showing the images of forms. The grains of sand may be counted at the bottom of it, and the eggs of the fish may be seen in its basin, and yet with all this, neither can the diver of the understanding reach to its bottom, nor the traveller of the fancy see its shore, and the net of no fisherman has fallen in that lake, and the fish of that water have experienced no captivity but the chain of water.^118c

If you could migrate thither, you might pass the remainder of yonr life in security and contentment, and delight and ease.’ They replied, ‘The thought is good, but without thy aid and friendly assistance, our departure thither is impossible.’ The Heron answered, ‘I will not withhold from you whatever strength and power I possess: but time presses; every moment the fishermen may come, and the opportunity will be lost.’ The fishes besought him, and after much entreaty, it was determined that every day he should remove some fish and convey them to that lake. The Heron, then, every morning carried some fish, and on the top of a hillock, which was near, devoured them, and when it returned, the others hasted to remove and emigrate, and sought for precedence and priority over one another; and wisdom wept with a warning eye over their folly and unwariness, and time, with its thousand eyes, shed tears over their lamentable condition. And undoubtedly any one who is beguiled by the flattery of an enemy and thinks fit to place confidence in a mean person of innate wickedness, this is his punishment. When many days had passed, the desire of (going to) this lake entered into the head of a Crab also. He wished to remove, and informed the Heron of that idea. The Heron reflected, ‘There is not a more thorough enemy of mine than this. My best plan is to convey him to his friends.’ He then advanced, and having taken the Crab on his neck, turned his face towards the resting-place of the fishes. The Crab, who saw the bones of the fish from a distance, perceived how the matter stood. He reflected that a wise man, when he sees an enemy intent on his life, is exerting himself for his own destruction if he neglects to struggle; and that, should he exert himself, his condition will not fail to be one of two things. If he comes off victorious, he leaves a reputation for courage upon the page of time; and if he fails, he at least escapes being reproached for want of courage and spirit in defending himself.

The Crab then threw himself on the neck of the heron and began to squeeze his throat tightly. The Heron was old and weak, and with a little throttling became insensible, and falling down from the air was leveled with the dust. The Crab, having descended from his neck, went his way, and having stepped along the road, came to the remaining fishes, and mingling lamentations for lost friends with congratulations on the life of the survivors, informed them how matters stood. All of them rejoiced, and reckoned the death of the Heron as a renewal of existence and a life without limit.

And I have introduced this story with this object, that thou mayest know that many a one perishes by his own stratagems and deceit and the mischievous effects of his perfidiousness, according to the text, ‘but the contrivance of evil shall only encompass the authors thereof,’¹²⁰ recoil upon himself, nevertheless I will point out a way to thee, in accordance with which, if thou shouldest act, it may be the cause of thy preservation, and of the destruction of thy enemy. The Raven said, ‘One must not slight the suggestions of friends, nor act in opposition to the wise.’

The jackal said, ‘The advisable course is this, that thou shouldest soar aloft in air and cast thine eyes on the terraces of the houses and plains, and wherever thou beholdest an ornament which it is possible to carry, there stoop and snatch it up, and fly through the air in such a way as to be visible to men’s eyes, and there is no doubt that some persons will follow thee to recover the ornament. When thou drawest near to the Serpent cast the ornament upon it, so that when the eyes of those men light upon him they may release him from the bonds of life, and then recover the ornament. And thy heart will be freed from care without any exertions on thy own part.’ The Raven, in accordance with the suggestion of the jackal, turned towards an inhabited place. Presently it saw a woman who had put down an ornament on the corner of a terrace, and was herself occupied with her ablutions. The Raven carried off the ornament, and in the same manner as the jackal had said, threw it on the Serpent. The men who had come in pursuit of the Raven forthwith crushed the Serpent’s head, and the Raven was set free [from its foe].’

Damnah said, ‘I have coined this fable that thou mayest know that things which may be accomplished by artifice, are impossible by mere force.’ Kalílah replied, ‘The Ox possesses strength and fierceness and understanding and prudence, all these things—and over such a person it is not possible to prevail by stratagem, since on every side that thou by deceit preparest a trench, he by forethought will repair it, and perhaps before thou canst make a supper off him, he may breakfast upon thee. But perhaps the story of that Hare never reached thy ears, who formed the design of entrapping the fox, and got caught itself?’ Damnah asked, ‘How was that?’

Kalílah said, ‘I have heard that a hungry wolf was running along a plain on the scent of a meal, when he beheld a Hare asleep under the shade of a bush, and whose limbs the slumber of negligence had occupied. The wolf, accounting it a rare prize, began to steal gently towards it. The Hare being put on the alert by the terror of his breath, at the alarm of his step, started up, and was about to fly. The wolf, obstructing the road, exclaimed,

The Hare, from fear of him, was fixed motionless to the spot, and beginning to supplicate, rubbed the face of humble entreaty on the ground, and said, ‘I know that the fire of the hunger of the prince of beasts is burning fiercely, and that his appetite is raging in quest of food, and I with this weak body and slender form, am no more than a mouthful to the king. What is the good of me, and what will be effected¹²¹ by eating me? In this neighbourhood there is a fox, who is unable to move from excessive fatness, and from his quantity of flesh finds it impossible to stir. I imagine that his flesh by its succulence, resembles the water of life, and his blood from its sweetness and freshness is comparable to sharbat made with the finest sugar. If my lord will deign to take the trouble of stepping with me, I, by any stratagem that I find practicable, will make him a prisoner, and my lord may break his fast upon him. If this gratification is obtained, why so much the better; if otherwise I myself am still your prisoner and captive.

The wolf, deceived by his plausible speeches, took the way to the abode of the fox. Now in that vicinity there was a fox who in cunning might have lectured Satan, and in wily devices and trickery, have given lessons to fancy and imagination.

The Hare had an old quarrel with him, and on the present occasion, having obtained an opportunity, he determined on revenge, and having left the wolf at the entrance of the hole, he went into the abode of the fox and performed the customary salutations and benedictions. The fox, too, with the utmost deference, returned his salutations, and said,

The Hare replied, ‘It is a long time that I have continued still in the desire of being exalted by a meeting, and by reason of the obstacles of deceitful fortune, and the accidents of faithless and inconstant time, I remain excluded from that happiness. At this time a holy man¹²² who has been exalted to kingly dignity in the Egypt of divine favor, and in the region of saintship is a sage indulgent to his disciples, has honored us by coming from the sacred shrine to this country, and having heard the fame of the monastic seclusion and retirement of your highness, has made this humble slave the medium of introduction, in order that he may irradiate the eye of his heart with your world-adorning beauties, and perfume the nostrils of his soul with the sweet scents of your musk-resembling thoughts. If there be permission for a visit, it is well and good, but if the occasion does not admit of it, another time may serve.

The fox read from the page of this discourse the writing of fraud, and beheld in the mirror of these words, the delineation of the form of deceit. He said to himself, ‘My advisable course is this, that I should act to them in accordance with their own conduct, and pour too part of their own mixture into their own throat.

The fox then made use of sundry complimentary expressions, and said, ‘We have on this account girded our loins in the service of travelers, and have for this reason opened the door of our cell in the face of holy men, that we may benefit by the beauty of their enraptured state and the perfection of their sentiments. And especially to such a saint as thou representest, and to a perfectly holy man of the kind thou describest, how can I fail in hospitality, or what particle of service could I omit? for ‘the guest when he alights, alights to his own appointed food,’ and the ancients have said,

Nevertheless I entertain the hope that thou wilt delay thus long, until I sweep out the corner of my cell and spread for my guest of fortunate footstep, a carpet which may befit the occasion.’ The Hare imagined that he had succeeded in cajoling the fox,¹²³ and that the latter would soon do himself the honor of waiting on the wolf. He [therefore] replied, ‘The guest is a man without ceremony, and of the simplicity of character suited to a darvesh; and is indifferent to decoration in place or dress; but since your noble mind desires to observe some ceremony, there is no harm, too, in that.’ With these words the Hare went out and detailed all that had occurred to the wolf, and imparted to him the pleasing tidings of the fox having been deceived, and began again to renew—for, ‘in everything new there is pleasure’—his encomium of the flesh and fat, and juiciness and freshness of the fox; and the wolf, having whetted the teeth of appetite, was licking his lips^123a at the anticipated relish of the fox’s flesh, and the Hare flattered himself,^123b on account of the service, with the idea of release. The fox, however, through prudence and foresight, had, a very long time previously, dug a deep pit in his abode and had gradually carried out the earth from it and covered the top of it with a little rubbish and straw, and he had also a secret passage by which, on emergency, he could make his way out. When he had sent the Hare away,^123c he came to the mouth of the pit and disposed the rubbish in such a manner that it would give way on the slightest movement. He then came to the mouth of the secret way and called out, saying, ‘Respected guests, be pleased to take the trouble of stepping forward!’ and simultaneously with their ingress he went forth from that hole. The Hare with prodigious alacrity, and the wolf with the utmost greediness, entered that dark cell, and their stepping on the rubbish was simultaneous with their falling to the bottom of the pit. The wolf imagined that that stratagem, also, was of the Hare’s doing and he tore him to pieces in an instant, and delivered the world from the reproach of his existence. And I have adduced this story in order that thou mayest know that artifices do not succeed against the wise, and one who possesses a share of caution and foresight, does not suffer himself to be infatuated by the deceitful arts of any one.’ Damnah said, ‘It is as thou sayest, but the Ox is conceited of himself, and is not on his guard against my hostility; and through this supineness I may overthrow him; for the arrow of perfidy which they discharge from the ambush of friendship, penetrates the more deeply; and perhaps thou hast not heard in what way the treachery of that Hare became effectual against the young Lion, and as he was not on the alert against his treachery, he fell, in spite of his good sense and sagacity, into the whirlpool of destruction.’ Kalílah inquired ‘How was that?’

Damnah said, ‘They have related that in the environs of Baghdád there was a meadow, the breeze of which might have imparted fresh perfume to the fragrance of Paradise, and the bright reflection of whose sweet herbs might have added lustre to the eye of heaven. From every branch of its flowery borders a thousand stars were shining, and at the beauty of each of those stars the nine heavens were amazed.¹²⁴

And in that verdant plain were many wild beasts,^124a and in consequence of the excellent air and exhilarating country, and the abundance of water, and ample supply of food, they passed their time in pleasure and enjoyment. But in that neighbourhood lived a fierce and cruel Lion, who every day displayed his ill-omened visage to those helpless animals, and embittered their happiness and existence. One day they, with one accord, went to the Lion, and after declaring their loyalty and submissive obedience, said, ‘O king! we are thy subjects and followers, and thou, each day, after much trouble and infinite exertion, art able to hunt down one of us or not, and we, through dread of thee, are always distracted with distress, and thou, too, in troublous inquietude in pursuit of us. We have now thought of a plan which may be a source of comfort to thee, and to us the cause of security and rest. If thou wilt discontinue molesting us as heretofore, and wilt not daily distract us, we will send a quarry at breakfast-time as a daily supply for the royal kitchen, and will not allow of any failure in the performance of this.’ The Lion assented and they used daily to cast lots, and on whichever beast’s name the lot fell, him they used to send as a portion to the Lion; till in this manner some time had elapsed. One day the lot fell on a Hare, and fortune made him a target for the arrow of calamity. He said to his friends, ‘If ye will show me a little forbearance in despatching me, I will deliver you from the oppression of this tyrant.’ They replied, ‘There is no difficulty about this.’ The Hare delayed for an hour, till the time of breakfast had passed, and the ferocious nature of the Lion being excited, he ground his teeth together from anger and fury. The Hare went very gently towards him and found him excessively vexed. The fire of hunger had seated him on the winds,¹²⁵ and the glare of anger was evident in all his movements and postures.

The Hare saw that the Lion, from excess of fury, was lashing the ground vengefully with his tail, and wishing in his heart to infringe the treaty. He advanced slowly and saluted him. The Lion asked, ‘Whence comest thou? and what are the beasts about?’ He replied, ’They, according to established custom, sent a Hare in company with me, and we set out together to wait on your highness. A Lion met us in the way and carried off the other Hare, and in spite of our vehement protestations that, this is the food of the king of beasts and the allowance provided for their monarch, he heeded not my words, and said, ‘This is my hunting-ground and the game here belongs to me.‘

O king! he made use of such boasts and enlarged so on his own might and prowess, that I lost all patience, and running from his presence, hastened hither that I might represent to your enlightened mind the state of the case.’ A blind sense of honor was stirred in the Lion [by these words], and he exclaimed,

He then added, ‘O Hare! canst thou show him to me that I may wrest from him the justice thy heart requires, and may also wreak on him my own revenge?’ The Hare replied, ‘Why should I not be able, when he has spoken many disrespectful things of the king? and had I had the power, I should have made his skull a cup¹²⁶ for the beasts of the desert.

Saying this he led the way, and the simple-hearted Lion, ensnared by his wiles, went on after him. The Hare brought the Lion to the mouth of a large well, the water of which, from its clearness, like a Chinese mirror, reflected objects distinctly, and could faultlessly represent, to the lookers in, the external shape and countenance of every one.

[The Hare said], ‘O King! thy worthless foe is in this well and I am afraid of his terrors: if the King will take me up in his arms I will shew him his enemy.’ The Lion lifted him up and looked down into the well. He beheld his own shape and that of the hare in the water. He imagined that it was that very lion and hare that had been his own allotted food which he held in his hug. He put down the Hare and plunged into the well, and after sinking twice or thrice consigned his bloodthirsty spirit to the flames of hell: and the Hare returning in safety, announced to the beasts the circumstances of the adventure, and performing due thanksgiving to God, fed at pleasure in the gardens of security and peace, and continued to recite this couplet,

And by the citation of this example it may be discerned that however powerful an enemy may be, it is possible to get the better of him in a moment of supineness.’ Kalílah said, ‘If thou destroy the Ox, in such a manner as not to afflict the lion, it might have a shew of reason, and one might excuse it, but if his ruin is not to be effected without hurt to the lion, take care that thou dost not meddle in this matter, since no sensible person willingly disturbs his master to secure his own comfort.’ With these words the conversation came to an end, and Damnah having retired from attendance [on the lion], betook himself to the corner of retirement, until one day having found an opportunity he thrust himself in private upon the lion, and stood like one grieved and pensive, heart-sore and hanging down his head. The Lion said, ‘It is some days since I have seen thee, is all well?’ He replied, ‘Please God it may turn out well!’ The Lion was startled¹²⁷ and said, ‘Has anything happened?’ ‘Indeed, yes!’ replied he. ‘Relate it,’ said the Lion. Damnah answered, ‘For that a private audience and leisure are necessary.’ ‘This moment is the time,’ said the Lion, ‘explain it with all despatch, for a matter of importance admits not of delay, and if the business of to-day be put off till to-morrow a thousand calamities result.

Damnah said, ‘No statement, the hearing of which may cause aversion in the hearer, should be rashly delivered, nor should it be uttered without thorough consideration and much thought, unless there be perfect confidence in the good sense and discretion of the hearer, and the latter too should consider the circumstances of the speaker, as to whether he is in a position to give faithful advice or not, and when he knows that the speaker can have no object but the discharge of the debt which he owes for past favours, he ought to listen to his word with the ear of attention, particularly when the advantages and benefits thereof will revert to himself.’ The Lion said, ‘Thou knowest that I am an exception to kings through the excellence of my judgment and the superabundance of my understanding, and that in listening to the words of every one I propose to myself, for observance, the discrimination that becomes a monarch; say therefore, without ceremony, whatever thou wishest, and unhesitatingly reveal whatever has come into thy mind.’ Damnah said, ‘I too have found permission to be thus bold, in that my confidence in the understanding and wisdom of the king is excessive, and it is moreover palpable that I speak from pure affection and the most genuine honesty, and stain not my words with doubt and suspicion and interested and corrupt motives; and, save the touchstone of the imperial mind, there is no standard for assaying language.

The Lion said, ‘The abundance of thy honesty is manifest and the traces of it are evident on the visage of thy affairs, and thy words are altogether pregnant with good feeling and excellent advice, and doubt and suspicion find no possibility of entering into the precincts thereof.’ Damnah said, ‘The existence of all the beasts is bound up in the continuance of the king’s life. Wherefore it behoves every subject who is characterised and impressed with the marks of sincerity and royalty,¹²⁸ that he withhold nothing from the king of the right discharge of his duties, and the representation of faithful counsel: for the wise have decreed that, ‘Whosoever conceals the truth from the king, keeps back an ailment from the physician, and does not see fit to disclose his proverty and hunger to his friends, may be regarded as a traitor to himself.’ The Lion responded, ‘Thy loyalty and singleness of mind, have long ago been apparent to me and I have long since known thy uprightness and good faith. Now speak! what event has happened? in order that, after acquaintance with the circumstances of the case, we may occupy ourselves with deliberation.’ Damnah, when he had ensnared the Lion by his artful words, loosed his tongue, and said,

Shanzabah has held private meetings with the leaders of the army, and has entered into conversation with the Pillars of the state, and said, ‘I have tried the Lion, and fathomed the extent of his strength and might and judgment and sagacity, and in each have clearly discerned many defects and infinite weakness.

And I am in amazement—that while the king has shewn all this profuseness in honoring that faithless ingrate and has made him the ‘alter ego’^128a in the government and administration of the empire—in return for these favors, this procedure should have been developed by him, and in requital of such benefits such a pretension should have been set up by him: and assuredly in accordance with the saying, ‘Verily man becometh insolent because he seeth himself to abound in riches,^128b one who beholds his hand unrestrained in command and prohibition, and finds the reins for slackening or compressing state affairs in the grasp of his own power, will have eggs deposited in the nest of the brain by the imp of mischief, and the tempest of rebellion will break forth from the blackness of his heart.

The Lion said, ‘O Damnah! ponder well what words these are which thou speakest. Whence hast thou learnt these circumstances? and if it be as thy words import, what measures can be adopted in relation to this affair?’ Damnah replied, ‘The loftiness of his rank, and the elevation of his position, is well known to the king, and when a sovereign beholds one of his servants vieing with himself in rank, dignity, wealth and pomp, he should speedily away with him, otherwise the affair will become impracticable, and the king will be overthrown, and as to a remedy for this matter, in such-wise as the enlightened soul of the king requires, how can our dull mind, and deficient intelligence arrive at it? But I know this much, that preventive measures should be promptly adopted in the case of the Ox, and that if your majesty deliberates, it is possible the affair may come to that point, that the step of counsel will be unequal to the extent of its measurement.

And they have said that men are of two classes, the man of caution, and the weak man. The weak man is he who, at the time of the occurrence of an event, and the event of an occurrence, is confounded and distracted, and irre-solute and perplexed; and the man of caution is he who, making use of foresight, considers the issues of affairs; and the man of caution is also of two kinds. The first is he who, before the appearance of danger has already thoroughly appreciated its character, and who, in the beginning of an affair, by the eye of understanding, discerns what others discover at the termination, and who consults for the issue of things at their commencement.

And such a person, before falling into the whirlpool of calamity, will be able to convey himself to the shore of safety, and him they call ‘most cautious.’ And the other is he, who, when calamity arrives, maintains an unshaken heart, and does not allow himself to be penetrated by dismay and terror, and doubtless from such a person the right road and advisable course will not remain concealed, and him they call ‘cautious.’ And with reference to the state of these three persons, of whom one is wise, and the second half-wise, and the third ignorant—the story of those Three Fishes is applicable, who chanced to be together in a pond.’ The Lion asked, ‘How befell that?’

Damnah said, ‘They have related that there was a pool of water at a distance from the highway, and hidden from the notice of travelers, and its retired waters were pure like the faith of the spiritual, and its appearance such as to suffice those who were in search of the water of life, and this lake communicated with a running stream. In it abode three large fishes, such that the celestial fish,¹³⁰ through envy of them, was broiled on the frying-pan of jealousy, like Aries by the heat of the sun. And one of those three fishes was Very Cautious, and the second Cautious, and the other Helpless. Suddenly, in the season of spring, when the world, from the adornment of its flower-gardens, was like the garden of paradise, and all parts of earth’s surface, from its bright and sweet-scented plants, resembled the azure valut full of stars; when the chamberlain, the morning breeze, had adorned earth’s floor with many-hued carpets, and the peerless gardener of creation had ornamented the world with flowers of divers colors,

All at once, two or three fishermen happened to pass by that water, and by the will of God they discovered the circumstances of the abode of those three fishes in that lake, exactly as things really were. Having agreed therefore on a rendezvous with one another, they hastened to bring their nets, and the fishes, having gained intelligence of that circumstance, immersed as they were in water were, nevertheless, made to consort with the fire of anguish. When night drew on, the fish that was perfectly wise and possessed extreme caution, inasmuch as he had often witnessed the violence of oppressive fortune, and the petulance of the faithless heavens, and as his foot was planted firmly on the carpet of experience, began to reflect on the means of escape from the net of the fishermen, and to ponder on deliveranoe from their bonds.

He therefore adopted expeditious measures, and before even consulting with his friends, made his exit on the side adjacent to the flowing stream. In the morning the fishermen came and firmly secured both sides of the lake. Then the half-wise fish, who was adorned with the ornament of good sense, but who possessed no share of the stores of experience, when he beheld this state of things, felt much contrition, and said, ‘I have chosen to be negligent, and the termination of the affairs of the supine is like the present. It behoved me, like that other fish, before the descent of calamity, to have taken thought for myself, and previous to the assault of misfortune to have pondered the way to escape.

Now since the opportunity of flight is gone, it is the time for stratagem and artifice, and although they have said that deliberation during the time of disaster yields but little advantage, and but small fruition is derivable from the produce of good sense in the period of calamity; still, notwithstanding all this, it behoves a wise man in no way to despair of the benefits of wisdom, nor to allow of delay or tardiness in repelling the devices of an enemy. He then made himself appear dead, and went floating on the surface of the water. One of the fishermen picked him up, and fancying him to be dead, threw him on the ground; and he, craftily flinging himself into a rivulet, preserved his life.

And the other fish in whose proceedings supineness prevailed, and in whose actions imbecility was apparent, darted about right and left, astounded and bewildered and fatuous, and, trying to escape, rushed to the surface and to the bottom,¹³¹ until at last he was captured. And by considering this story, the prince may be convinced that measures should be speedily taken with reference to Shanzabah; and before opportunity and power expire, he should strike the fire of regret into the soul of that miscreant, with a high-tempered sword; and having given the harvest of his life to the winds of destruction, raise up the smoke of affliction^131a from his family to the sky.

The Lion said, ‘I understand what thou hast spoken, but I have no suspicion that Shanzabah meditates any treason, and will allow himself to requite past favors by subsequent ingratitude, for up to this period I have indulged in nothing but goodness and kindness towards him.’ Damnah responded, ‘Exactly so, but by these bounties of the King he has reached his present elevation.

A worthless fellow naturally bad, will be a sincere and loyal adviser so long as he has not reached the station which he hopes to gain, but when his wish is accomplished, ambition to obtain further advancement—which befits him not—will shew itself from the store-house of his thoughts: and the wise have said¹³² that the service of the mean and ignoble is based on the canon of fear and hope. When once he is secure from the intrusions of fear, he darkens the fountain of his loyalty, and when he has been rendered independent by the attainment of his object, he kindles the fire of ingratitude and mischief.’ The Lion said, ‘How then ought we to treat servants of a base disposition and sordid mind, in order that the traces of their ingratitude may not be evinced?’ Damnah replied, ‘You ought not to exclude them from your favors to such a degree that they should suddenly despond, and, abandoning your service, affect the side of your enemies; nor ought you so to bestow on them favors and wealth, that, having reached the zenith of success, extravagant fancies may develop themselves in them. But rather they ought to pass their life always between hope and fear, and their course of action should be perpetually governed by promises and threats, and dread and expectation; since opulence and immunity make them self-sufficient, and that becomes a cause of rebellion and guilt; and [on the other hand] despair and destitution render menials bold, and hence arises injury to the royal power.

The Lion said, ‘To my mind it seems that the mirror of Shanzabah’s condition, is pure from the stain of this deceit, and the page of his heart clear and unsullied by the character of these thoughts; and I have always been in the position of benefactor towards him, and have continuously associated his career with indulgence, and after an undeviating course of kindness and favor to him from me, how could he devise evil and mischief in return?

Damnah said, ‘The king must understand that straightforward conduct never proceeds from a crooked nature, and that one of an evil disposition and a bad stock, neither by the efforts of others nor self-exertion, will become of a praiseworthy character or pure, for ‘Every vessel allows that to percolate which is in it.’

But perhaps the story of the Scorpion and the Tortoise may not have reached the august hearing of your majesty?’ The Lion asked, ‘How was that?’

Damnah said, ‘A Tortoise had a friendship with a Scorpion, and they always reciprocated the breathings of attachment, and practised unanimity.

Once on a time it so happened that in obedience to an exigency, they were compelled to migrate from their country, and in companionship with one another, sought a more secure abode. By chance their way lay across a mighty stream, and a vast river intercepted their passage, and as it was impossible for the Scorpion to cross water, he remained aghast. The Tortoise said, ‘Dear friend! what has come to thee that thou hast given the collar of the robe of life into the hand of grief, and snatched the skirt of thy heart from gladness and mirth?’ The Scorpion replied, ‘O brother! anxiety how to pass this water hast cast me into the whirlpool of dismay. It is neither possible to cross the water, nor can the separation from my friend be endured.

The Tortoise said, ‘Do not distress thyself, for I will convey thee without inconvenience across the water and bring thee to the shore; and making a vessel of my back will shield thee from calamity with my breast, for it would be a pity to gain a friend with difficulty, and let him slip with indifference.’

Then the Tortoise having taken the Scorpion on his back, breasted the water, and set off. In the middle of the swim a sound reached the ear of the Tortoise and he perceived a tapping made by the Scorpion.¹³³ He asked, ‘What noise is this that I hear? and what operation is this in which thou art employing thyself?’ The Scorpion replied, ‘I am trying the sharp point of my sting against the armour of thy body.’¹³⁴ The Tortoise was thunder-struck, and exclaimed, ‘O unfeeling wretch! I, for thy sake, have cast my life into the whirlpool of danger, and by the aid of the barque of my back thou art crossing this water; if thou dost not feel obliged for the favor, and allowest no weight to our old companionship, what at least is the reason for stinging, when moreover it is positively certain that no injury will reach me from this action, and that thy heart-lacerating sting will have no effect upon my marble-like back?

The Scorpion answered, ‘God forbid that sentiments like these should approach my mind in the whole course of my life or should have ever done so! It is nothing more than this, that my nature instigates me to sting, whether I wound the back of a friend or the breast of a foe.

The tortoise reflected thus, ‘Truly have the sages said that to cherish a base character is to give one’s own honor to the wind, and to involve one’s own self in embarrassment.^134a

It is a saying of the ancients, that hope has no portion in the man who has no nobility in his descent, since it would be inadmissible for the scion of a corrupt stock to leave the world without requiting with evil the parties who have benefited him.

And by citing this story, it will have crossed the enlightened mind of the king, that Shanzabah’s lack of noble descent, and the baseness of his nature, ought to cause him apprehension, and that he ought to listen with the ear of attention to the advice of his attached dependants. Whoever gives no heed to the words of councillors, though they be harsh and undeferential, the issue of his transactions, and the termination of his affairs, will not be devoid of regret and reproach: as when an invalid looks contemptuously on the directions of the physician, and eats and drinks according to his inclination, most certainly weakness and debility will every moment prevail more and more over him.

And it must be understood that the weakest of princes is he who is careless of the issues of affairs, and who despises the concerns of the kingdom, and, whenever an event of importance occurs, lays aside caution and circumspection, and after opportunity has expired, and the enemy has got the mastery, casts suspicion on those about him, and imputes^135a to them indiscriminately the then state of things.

The Lion said, ‘Right roughly hast thou spoken and hast overstepped the limits of respect, yet the words of a councillor should not be rejected because they are harsh. On the supposition that Shanzabah be my enemy, the extent of his power is clear enough, and in point of fact, he is my food, and his material energies^135b derive their existence from herbs, while the support of my strength is drawn from flesh, and vegetable natures are always subdued by animal, and I do not make such account of him as to suppose that the thought of encountering me would pass through his mind, or that the insane idea of slaying me should find place in his heart’s core.’^135c

And if Shanzabah should pretend, like the moon, to rival the sun of my splendour, which shines from the horizon of the divine favor, he will wane and fail; and if, like the sun, he array^135d himself against the crescent on my august and phœnix-like canopy, which is a symbol of that of heaven, he will in the end sink.’

Damnah said, ‘The king should not be misled by what he says as to Shanzabah’s being his food, or that he is able to overcome him, since, although, in his own person, he may not have power for the encounter, he may by the aid of a number of his allies advance towards his object, or by dissimulation and fraud, and lying tales, and perfidy, excite mischievous delusions;^136a and I fear lest when he has implanted in the beasts a zeal of opposition to the king, they may act in unison with him, and a single person, however strong-bodied and powerful he may be, cannot make head against many.

The Lion said, ‘Thy words have made an impression on my heart, and I perceive the sincerity of thy advice, but nevertheless this person is [in the sacred character of] a suppliant^136c to me, for I have raised him up, and it is I who have set up the banner of his power and advancement, and have uttered encomiums of him in assemblies and meetings, and have poured from my tongue statements of his intelligence, and loyalty, and sincerity, and uprightness. If then I allow myself to declare the contrary of this, I shall be charged with breaking my word, and personal levity, and weakness of judgment, and all hearts will hold my words in reprobation, and all minds disregard my promises.’

Damnah replied, ‘Right judgment and prudence lies in withdrawing one’s business and plucking the skirt of friendship and companionship from a friend the instant he shews signs of enmity, and from a servant as soon as he displays the airs of a prince, and before an enemy can find opportunity for breakfast, to have his supper ready for him; and though a tooth be man’s old comrade, and a source of various benefits and advantages to him, when it begins to ache he can find no cure for the torment of it, save by extraction; and food which supplies the waste¹³⁷ [of our corporeal frame], and is the support of the material of life, after it has become corrupt in the belly, must be expelled in order that one may be quit of its injurious effects.

The insidious whispers of Damnah having made an impression on the Lion, he said, ‘I am disgusted with the society of Shanzabah, and for me to meet him again is of the number of impossibilities. The best way is to send some one to him and declare to him how matters stand, and give him permission to go where he likes.’ Damnah was afraid that if these words should reach Shanzabah, he would presently make known to the Lion his letters of indemnity,^137a and that his (Damnah’s) deceit and artifice would come from the hidden chamber of concealment into the expanse of manifestation. He said [therefore], ‘O king! this method is far from prudent, and so long as a word has not been spoken there is room for option left, but after declaration, the remedy has gone beyond the confines of ability.

The word which has issued from the mouth, and the arrow from the bow, return not, either the one to the option,^137b or the other to the string;^137c and it has passed into a proverb, that whatever comes to the lip may prove a slip,^137d and, a sage has said, ‘The tongue is the interpreter of the heart, and the heart the ruler of the dominion of the body, and speech is the displayer of the jewels of existence.’ As long as the door of the casket of speech is fastened with the bolt of silence, and the seal of taciturnity is placed on the lid of the repertory of discourse, all the sweet herbs in the garden of life grow safely, and the young tree of existence yields all the fruit of security and enjoyment; but, when the rose-bud of eloquence unfolds its smiles, and the nightingale of oratory begins to warble, one cannot be safe, for the perfume of the rose-garden of language will be the source of gladness to the heart, and invigoration to the brain, or the cause of the display of the material^137e of the defluxion of the brain and the occasion of megrims; for tongues which had been bound, have by one approved and clever speech solved many difficult knots; and mischievous words have by a single inopportune allusion, bound the neck of the speaker with heavy chains.

O king! if these words should reach Shanzabah, and he should discover the nature of his situation and ascertain his disgrace, it is possible that he may attempt to resist, and begin to fight or excite rebellion: and masters of prudence have not thought secret punishment suitable for a public offence, nor assigned public punishment to secret crimes. The advisable course is to meet his concealed offence with a hidden retribution.’ The Lion said, ‘To banish and remove my intimates on mere suspicion, and, without a palpable certainty, to endeavour to ignore all their claims, is with one’s own hand to strike an axe against one’s own foot, and to turn suddenly aside from the path of generous conduct and the road of good faith.

Damnah replied, ‘There is no evidence that rulers can have better than their own discernment. When this perfidious traitor approaches, let the king cast a scrutinizing glance upon him, and the foulness of his principles will be exhibited in his graceless visage, and the deformity of his purpose in his repulsive appearance, and the crookedness of his heart will be shewn by his changing color,^138b and his emotion as he advances, and by his looking to the left and right, and before and behind him, and by his being prepared for a struggle and collected for an encounter.’ The Lion said, ‘Thou hast well said, and if any of these signs be observable, of course the dust of doubt will be removed from the path of certainty, and the anxiety of suspicion will be changed for a state of absolute conviction.’ When Damnah perceived that by his mischief-exciting insinuations, the fire of calamity had begun to blaze on that side, he wished to see the Ox, and on his part, too, to kindle the flame of disastrous results.

He bethought himself that his interview with Shanzabah ought also to spring from the Lion’s suggestion and advice, that he might avoid suspicion. He said [therefore], ‘O king! if the high command obtains the honor of being issued, I will see Shanzabah, and having ascertained somewhat of the secrets of his mind and of his hoarded intentions, I will respectfully state it.’ The Lion gave his permission, and Damnah approached Shanzabah like one grief-stricken and visited by calamity, and performed the required salutations and compliments. Shanzabah, after shewing him suitable respect, thus, with courtesy and affection, addressed him; ‘O Damnah!

It is many days since thou hast enlightened the eyes of thy intimates with the rays of thy beauty, or converted the cottage of thy friends into a rose-garden with the flowers of the plants of social and kindly intercourse.

Damnah said, ‘Though personally I have been excluded from the honor of an interview, yet in thought and spirit I have constantly kept company with the idea of thy heart-enlivening beauty, and have unceasingly sown the seed of friendship and affection in the ground of the heart.

And in the cell of retirement and the corner of solitude, I have been engaged in the daily duties of prayer and praise, which may be to thee the cause of increasing fortune; and I shall continue so occupied.’ The Ox said, ‘What is the cause of this retirement?’ Damnah replied, ‘When a person cannot be master of his own will, and is captive to the authority of another, and draws not a single breath without fear and danger, and does not pass a moment without dread and trembling for his life and body, and when he cannot utter a word without terror and alarm, wherefore not choose the corner of his cot and close the door in retirement against both stranger and acquaintance?

The Ox answered, ‘O Damnah! develope thy statement more clearly, and explain, in detail, the matter to which thou hast briefly alluded, in order that the advantage of thy counsels may be more general, and the benefit of thy discourse more complete.’ Damnah responded, ‘Six things in this world are impossible without six things, viz.:—worldly wealth without pride, and¹⁴⁰ the pursuit of the objects of desire without difficulty, and to sit with women without calamity, and to expect^140a aught from the sordid without disgrace, and association with the wicked without regret, and attendance on kings without misfortune. To no one do they give a draught from the wine-cellar of the world, but he becomes intoxicated and presumptuous, and raises up the head of rebellion from the collar of contumacy and pride. And no one moves a step in pursuit of lust that he does not fall into a state of ruin; and no man sits with women but he becomes calamitously involved in a variety of mischievous results; and no person enters into friendship with wicked and depraved men, but eventually loads himself with remorse; and no one applies to mean and low people who does not become contemptible and dishonored; and not an individual chooses to attend on princes without finding it impossible to escape from that cruel vortex.

And on the same subject they have said,

Shanzabah said, ‘Thy words indicate that thou hast met with something offensive from the Lion, and that thou art overcome with dread and alarm of his terrors.’ Damnah replied, ‘I do not speak these words with reference to my own person, nor am I distressed on my own account, but I am thinking more of my friends than of myself in this matter, and this grief and chagrin which has overwhelmed me is for thy sake, and thou knowest how the antecedents of friendship and early ties of attachment have existed between us, and the promises and compacts which we formed at the first, and which during this interval have been mainly fulfilled with good faith; and I have no alternative but to convey to thee information of whatever may have occurred, whether good or bad, beneficial or injurious.’ Shanzabah quaked inwardly, and rejoined, ‘O kind comrade and sympathising friend! acquaint me, with all speed, as to the true state of the case, and fail in no particular of the minutiæ of kind feeling and attachment.’ Damnah answered, ‘I have heard from an authentic source, that the Lion has spoken with his august tongue to this effect, ‘Shanzabah has become excessively fat, and he is not wanted at this court, and it is no matter whether he be absent or present. I shall give an entertainmeut to the beasts with his flesh, and I will make of his body, one day, the royal repast and a banquet for the public.’ I, when I heard this speech—being aware of his violence and injustice—came hither, that, having warned thee, I might establish the goodness of my faith by a clear proof, and might fulfil what is incumbent on me by the law of honor and the rules of right feeling and generosity.

At present it appears to me that thy advisable course is to devise a plan, and with the utmost expedition to turn thy attention to the preparation of some expedient, and the encountering this crisis; if peradventure, a means of escape from this vortex should appear, and by some ingenious device salvation from this peril be attainable.’ When Shanzabah had heard the words of Damnah, and resolved in his mind the promises and covenants of the Lion, he said, ‘O Damnah! It is impossible that the Lion should play me false, and now moreover I have displayed no perfidy, and my firm step has not slipped from the path of true service, and again I have a belief of the sincerity of thy words, and an opinion of thy good intentions. The conclusion is therefore that [some parties] have concocted falsehoods against me, and by imposture and deceit have moved the Lion to wrath, and in his service there is a faction of worthless persons all profound masters of slander, and bold and audacious in treason and violence, and them he has oft proved, and has observed a variety of treacherous acts and foul deeds, and of course whatever they say, on that head, of others he believes and judges accordingly, and assuredly through the evil influence of the society of the wicked, evil suspicions arise with regard to the good, and by these groundless doubts the right course becomes concealed, and the story of the Goose and his false impressions from experience, is a proof of what I have said quite sufficient, and bears ample testimony to this state of things.’ Damnah inquired, ‘How was that?’

Shanzabah said, ‘A Goose saw the brightness of the moon in the water, and, thinking that it was the moon, tried to lay hold of it, but got nothing. Several times it made a similar effort, and when it saw that all it got by the chace was what the man athirst gets by gazing on the mirage, or what the deluded destitute obtains by searching through ruined habitations [for treasures], it altogether abandoned the pursuit of fish, and all at once discontinued its occupation. The next night, whenever it saw a fish, it fancied it was the glitter of the moon, and made no effort after it, and gave no heed whatever to it, and exclaimed,

So the fruit of his experience was this, that he continued hungry and passed his time fasting and foodless.

And if they have made the Lion listen to anything about me, and, in accordance with the saying, ‘he who listens is alienated,’ a feeling of aversion has arisen in his heart, and he has given credit to what has been said, the cause of all this has been that same experience which he has had of others; and yet in point of reality, there is as much difference between me and the rest, as between bright day and dark night, and the vault of heaven and earth’s centre.

Damnah said, ‘Perhaps the aversion of the lion may not spring from this cause, but on account of its being a custom with kings to promote a person to high rank, undeserved on his part, while without any apparent reason they make another, who is a man of worth, the object of ruinous spoliation.’

Shanzabah said, ‘If this aversion on the part of the Lion, which thou hast reported to me, is without cause, then no submission will enable me to step securely into the path^143e of safety: and it is impossible for the eye of hope to behold the face of the desired object, for if there be a reason for wrath it may be dispelled by attempts to please and by apologies; but if, which God avert!^143f there be no reason for it, or if they have affected a change in his mind by deceit and calumny, the hand of remedy will be too short for it, and the thought of compassing its cure will be hopeless; since there is no visible measure to falsehood and slander, and no fixed limit to deceit and artifice. Now in what has passed between me and the Lion, I do not perceive any fault on my part, save that occasionally, and that too for his own good, I have opposed his opinion and plans, and that now and then, as exigency required, I have spoken with reference to the arrangements and furtherance of important matters, not in accordance with what he wished. This, perhaps, he may have imputed to boldness and disrespect, and have reckoned it akin to audacity and imprudence; yet not one of those things which I have originated has been immaterial with reference to the public weal; and with all this I have preserved the respect due to his exalted rank and majesty, without, through the whole course of my career, shewing presumption; but have to the utmost degree possible displayed the reverence and veneration due to him; so how can it possibly be supposed that loyal advice could be viewed as a cause for distrust, and faithful service as a ground for enmity?

And if this too be not the case, it is possible that the pride of royalty and the haughtiness of empire, may cause him to be offended with me, for it is a necessary condition of dominion, and a requisite of greatness, to be naturally ungrateful to those who give advice, and to bestow confidence and distinguished notice on sycophants and flatterers; and hence it is that the wise have said that it is more safe to dive to the bottom of a river with a crocodile, and to suck the poisonous drops from the lip of a serpent, whose tail has been struck off, than to attend upon kings, and that it is better and more conducive to security and freedom from anxiety, than to be in close proximity to princes: and I was aware that the perils of serving princes, were numerous, and the harm of superintending their affairs immense. Some philosophers also have compared kings to fire, since, although, the beams of their favor illuminate the dark cell of the hopeful, nevertheless the flame¹⁴⁴ of their severity too consumes the harvest of the former claims of their servants; and sound reason avers that whoever is nearest the fire suffers most; but parties, who, admiring the brightness of the fire at a distance, are ignorant of its power to burn, hold an idea of some intense gratification in having access to princes, and suppose it to be beneficial; while in point of fact, it is not so, for if they were to get a taste of the rigor of kings, and of the terror and awe a monarch inspires, it would be clear to them that a thousand years of favor are not equivalent to one hour of torture, and the story of the dispute of the Hawk with the Domestic Fowl verifies this. Damnah inquired, ‘How was that?’

Shanzabah said, ‘Once on a time a Hunting Falcon engaged in a dispute with a Domestic Fowl, and, beginning to wrangle with it, said, ‘Thou art a most false and faithless bird! and yet fidelity is the frontispiece of the page of commendable qualities, and moreover, in accordance with the import of this saying, ‘Verily, fidelity is a part of faith,’ fidelity is a perfect proof of right religious feeling and generosity; and honor, too, demands that none stigmatize the pages of his career with the character of unfaithfulness.

The Domestic Fowl replied, ‘What ingratitude hast though seen in me? and what unfaithfulness hast thou observed on my part?’ The Hawk replied: ‘The sign of thy ingratitude is this, that notwithstanding men shew so much kindness towards thee, and without any inconvenience or trouble on thy part, prepare for thee water and grain, from which the vital energy derives support, and looking after thee day and night, are constant in protecting and guarding thee, and that thou owest to them thy food and lodging; still, whenever they want to catch thee, thou runnest before and behind them, and fliest from roof to roof, and hurriest from corner to corner.

And I, although I am a wild bird, and associate with men but for two or three days, and eat from their hands [for so short a time],¹⁴⁵ still keep in view what I owe to them, and hunt and give them the quarry: and however far I may have gone, at the slightest call that I hear, I come flying back.’

The Hen answered, ‘Thou sayest the truth. Thy returning and my flight is owing to this, that thou hast never seen a hawk roasted on a spit, and I have seen many domestic fowls frying in a frying-pan. Hadst thou been accustomed to see this spectacle thou wouldst never flutter about with them, and if I fly from roof to roof, thou wouldst fly from mountain to mountain.’ And I have introduced this story in order that thou mayst know that the class who seek the company of princes have no knowledge of their severity, for whoever has experienced the effect of their rigor has no acquaintance with repose, nor any feeling of rest.

Damnah said, ‘It cannot surely be that the Lion entertains these thoughts with regard to thee on account of the grandeur of his imperial sway and the pride of success, for thou possessest many accomplishments and numberless excellencies, and princes are never independent of persons of talent.’ Shanzabah replied, ‘It may be that my talents may have caused his aversion, for the merit of a fleet horse proves his bane, and a fruit-bearing tree gets its topmost branches broken by reason of its fruit. The nightingale is imprisoned in a cage on account of its very talent, and the peacock is plucked and shamed, owing to its beauty and showy appearance.

And of a truth, as the undeserving are more numerous than men of merit, and an inherent animosity exists between them; by means of their number they overwhelm the meritorious, and so violently distort their acts as to array their actions in the garb of guilt, and make their good faith put on the guise of perfidy, and their honesty look like foul conduct, and thus they turn that very virtue, which is the source of good-fortune and the means of happiness, into the material of distress and an auxiliary of woe.

And a sage has said, with reference to this,

And again in describing the injustice of the censorious, they have said,

Damnah said, ‘It is possible that the malevolent may have made this attempt. On that supposition; what would be the issue of the affair?’ Shanzabah said, ‘Unless destiny second their endeavours, no injury will thence result; but if the divine decree and God’s predestination assist their artifice and treachery, it will be impossible to avert the consequences by any device.

Damnah rejoined, ‘It behoves a man of understanding, whatever the position of his affairs may be, to make far-sighted prudence the guide of his actions, since no one ever based his proceedings on prudence but obtained triumphant success as regards the object of his wishes.’ Shanzabah replied, ‘Prudence is then serviceable when fate has not issued its decree against it, and stratagem then yields advantage when the ordinance of destiny is not promulgated in opposition to it: but against the requirements of fate, neither is any shift serviceable nor any stratagem of use; for that any can escape from the bonds of destiny and the shackles of fate—by artifice or counsel—is not to be thought of.

And when the Creator, the Most High God—may He be sanctified!—causes His decree to issue, He clouds and darkens the eye of the vision of the clear-sighted with the anointing needle¹⁴⁷ of negligence, so that the way of escape from that mandate, becomes hidden to them, for, ‘When fate comes, the sight is blinded.’^147a

But perhaps thou hast not heard the story of the Villager and the Nightingale,^147b and hast not listened to their dispute?’ Damnah said, How was that?’

Shanzabah said, ‘They have related that a villager possessed a sweet and pleasant orchard, and a garden more fresh than the bower of Iram. The air of it gave mildness to the gales of spring, and the scent of its herbs, refreshing the spirits, conveyed perfume to the very soul.

And in one corner of his garden there was a rose-bush, fresher than the shrub of successful desire,and more lofty than the branch of the tree of delight. Every morning on the top of the rose-bush the roses blossomed, colored like the cheek of heart-alluring damsels with gentle minds, and the face of silver-bosomed maids, scented like jessamine. The gardener began to shew an exceeding fondness for these excellent roses, and said,

One day the gardener, according to his established custom, came to view the roses; he saw a plaintive Nightingale who was rubbing his face on the leaves and tearing asunder, with his sharp bill, the gold-besprinkled binding of that volume.

The gardener, beholding the scattered condition of the rose-leaves, tore, with the hand of confusion, the collar of patience, and pierced the mantle of his heart with the soul-transfixing thorn of uneasiness. The next day he found the same action repeated, and the flames of wrath, occasioned by the loss of his roses,

The third day by the passes of the Nightingale’s bill,

Then the resentment caused by the Nightingale broke out in the breast of the gardener; he set a deceitful springe in his way, and having caught him with the bait of treachery, confined him in the prison of a cage. The disheartened Nightingale opened his mouth, like a parrot, and said, ‘O Sir! for what cause hast thou imprisoned me? and for what reason hast thou resolved to distress me? If thou hast thus acted through desire of hearing my songs, my own nest is in thy garden, where in the morning thy bower shall be the house of my music; but if thou hast another idea, inform me, O venerable sir!¹⁴⁸ of what thou hast in mind’ The gardener said,

Dost thou not know how thou hast spoiled my fortune, and how often thou hast distressed me with the loss of my favourite rose? it is right that thy action should be requited, and that thou, being separated from thy friends and country, and secluded from all joy and diversions, should’st mourn in the corner of a prison; whilst I, afflicted with the anguish of separation from my darling flowers, weep in the cottage of care.

The Nightingale said, ‘Quit this resolve, and consider that if I am imprisoned for such an offence as tearing a rose, what will be thy punishment if thou tearest a heart asunder?’

This discourse, taking effect upon the heart of the gardener, he set the Nightingale at liberty. The bird tuned his voice in his free state, and said, ‘Since thou hast done me this service, assuredly, according to the sentence, ‘Shall the reward of good works be any other than good?’¹⁴⁹ it is necessary to reward thee first. Know that under the tree where thou standest there is a vessel^149a full of gold; take it, and spend it to supply thy wants.’ The villager searched the spot and found the words of the Nightingale to be true. He said ‘O nightingale! what a wonder it is that thou couldst see the vessel [of gold] beneath the earth, and not discover the springe above ground!’ The Nightingale replied, ‘Dost thou not know that, ‘when fate descends caution is vain.’’

When the mandate of the Divine will has been issued, no light remains to the eye of understanding, and neither prudence nor wisdom bring any advantage.

And I have invented this story in order that thou mayest perceive that I am not an opponent of the hand of destiny and omnipotent power, and have no alternative but to bow my head reverently on the writing of the Divine decree.’

Damnah rejoined ‘O Shanzabah! what I am positively sure of, and know of a certainty,¹⁵⁰ is this, that what the lion meditates with respect to thee is neither owing to the slanders of thy enemies, nor the success of thy merit, nor the peevishness of kings; but it is rather consummate ingratitude and treachery which impels him to it: for he is a successful tyrant, a morose and perfidious person, and a deceiver. The beginnings of intercourse with him impart^150a the sweetness of life, but the issue of his services has the bitterness of death. We must regard him as a poisonous painted serpent: his outside adorned with various colors, but filled within with deadly venom, against which no antidote avails.

Shanzabah replied, ‘I have tasted the food of the honey of favor, it is now the time for the wound of the sting of oppression; and I have passed a long interval in mirth and ease, now is the season for the assault of adversity and war.

It was, in truth, death which grasped my collar and brought me into this wilderness, otherwise how was I fitted to associate with a lion? One who feeds upon me, and to whom I am food, he ought not to have been able to drag me to him even with a thousand cords, nor to plunge me by a hundred thousand stratagems or sleights into the snare of his friendship.

But the Divine decree, and thy too flattering words, O Damnah! plunged me into this vortex of destruction; and now the hand of counsel falls short of the skirt of remedy, and the course of events, by reason of my having neglected caution and forethought, is not in accordance with my wishes; and I, through my vain longings and unreasonable desires, have kindled such a fire as this for myself, so that, even ere the smoke has reached me, I am consumed by the heat of my grief and the flame of my disappointment.

And the sages have said, ‘Whoever is not content with a sufficiency of worldly gear, but pursues a superfluity, is like a person who arrives at a hill of diamonds, and every moment his sight falls on a larger piece, and, engaged with the thought of its greater value, he proceeds onward until he reaches the spot where he obtains the desired object, but his return becomes impracticable, because the fragments of the diamonds have cut and wounded his feet; but that heedless person, absorbed in his covetous fancies, is insensible to his situation, and, consequently, perishing most lamentably on that hill, is lodged in the craw of birds.’

Damnah said, ‘Admirable are these words which thou hast uttered, for the source of every calamity which befalls a man will prove to be avarice and desire.

The neck that is bound by the chain of covetousness is at last severed by the sword of regret, and the head in which the madness of desire has fixed itself will in the end be rubbed in the dust of disgrace. Many a one, from excess of covetousness and greed, has been led, by the hope of wealth, into the vortex of calamity; and has been involved, by the scent of gain, in ruinous disaster: just as that Hunter greedily desired to catch the fox, and the claws of the leopard tore the breath out of his body.’ Shanzabah said, ‘How was that?’

Damnah said, ‘One day a Hunter, passing through a waste, saw a fox excessively brisk and active, who was roaming about in the expanse of that wilderness, and showed himself gamboling in every direction. The Hunter was pleased with his fur, and formed the idea of selling him at a great price; and the violence of his longing led him to pursue the fox until he found out his hole, and near it he dug a pit and covered it over with rubbish, and upon it he laid some carrion, and seating himself in ambush waited to catch the fox. Presently it happened that the fox came out of his hole, and the smell of that carcase drew him on gradually till it brought him to the brink of that pit. He here reflected, ‘Although the brain of longing is perfumed by the aroma of this dead animal, nevertheless the smell of danger too reaches the nostril of caution; and the wise never meddle with a business which is fraught with peril, nor do the prudent commence an affair in which the possibility of mischief is discernible.

And though it is possible that some dead animal may be here, it is also possible that they may have arranged beneath it a snare, and in every case caution is best.

Pondering thus, the fox relinquished the thought of that carcase, and took the path of safety. Meanwhile a hungry leopard came down from the top of a mountain, and, from the smell of the carcase, sprang into the pit. The Hunter, when he heard the noise of the snare, and the sound of the animal’s fall into the pit, thought it was the fox, and, through excessive greediness, cast himself unreflectingly upon it; and the leopard, imagining that he would prevent him from eating the dead animal, leapt up and tore open his belly. Thus the greedy huntsman, through the ill luck that attended his cupidity, was caught in the snare of destruction, and the contented fox, by retrenching his desires, escaped from the whirlpool of adversity; and the moral of this story is, that the calamitous results of greediness, and the evil of excessive concupiscence will make a slave of a free man and hurl a slave headlong [to destruction.]’

Shanzabah said, ‘I did wrong to choose the service of the Lion at the first, and I was ignorant of his want of appreciation of merit: and they have said, that to associate with one who does not understand the value of your society, and the waiting on one who does not recognize the worth of your attendance, is like a man’s scattering seed on salt ground in hopes of a crop, or whispering into the ear of one born deaf one’s griefs and joys, or writing fresh^152a verses on the face of a stream, or to sport with the ornamental figures in a bath in the hope of begetting offspring, or to expect drops of rain from a furious whirlwind.^152b

Damnah said, ‘Cease these sayings and take thought for thine own matters.’ Shanzabah replied, ‘What plan can I set up, and what stratagem can I adopt? And as for the qualities of the Lion, I know them well, and my sagacity admonishes me that the Lion has no wish with reference to me but what is good and kind, but those who are about him strive for my death, and exert themselves for my ruin; and if it be so, the inclination of the tongue of the balance of my life is rather toward the scale of destruction than that of continuance; for when crafty and cruel persons, and perfidious oppressors combine,¹⁵³ and join hand to hand, and set themselves unanimously against any one, they are sure to triumph over him, and overthrow him, as the Wolf, and the Crow, and the Jackal, made a set against the Camel, and by uniting, prevailed against him, and obtained their object and desire.’ Damnah asked, ‘How was that?’

Shanzabah said, ‘They have related that a black-eyed Crow, and a Wolf with sharp claws, and a crafty Jackal, were in the service of a lion, accustomed to hunt his prey, and their forest lay near the highway. A merchant’s camel was left behind in those parts, and recovering his strength, after a time, wandered about in every direction in quest of provender. He happened to pass through that wild spot, and when he approached the lion he saw no alternative but to do him service, and shew him respect. The lion, too, spoke him fair, and inquired into the state of his affairs, and after acquainting himself with them asked him as to his story and movements. The Camel replied,

Whatever the king commands will doubtless comprehend all that is salutary for his subjects.

The lion replied, ‘If thou desirest it, remain in our company—tranquil and secure.’ The Camel was pleased, and remained in that forest until a long interval had elapsed and he had become extremely fat. One day the lion had gone in pursuit of a quarry, and a furious elephant had encountered him, and between them a mighty battle and a huge conflict had arisen, and the lion having received several wounds, came back to the forest and lay down in a corner groaning and wounded. The Wolf, the Crow, and the Jackal, who were the favorites that fed from the table of his liberality, were left without food, and from the lion’s innate generosity, and the pure beneficence which kings feel towards their servants and attendants—when he saw them in that state he was, affected, and said, ‘Your sufferings are more difficult for me [to bear] than my own. If hereabouts ye can find any game I will come out, and having done the business for you, will return.’ They, quitting their places, in attendance on the lion, came out and went into a corner, and beginning to consult with one another,¹⁵⁴ said, ‘What is the use to us of the Camel’s being in this forest? Neither does the king derive any advantage from him, nor have we any friendship with him; now we must induce the lion to tear him to pieces, and thus for two or three days the king will be put at his ease from the pursuit of food, and we, too, shall be proportionably benefited.’ The Jackal said, ‘Do not coquette with this fancy, for the lion has given him a safe-conduct and introduced him into his service; and whoever instigates the king to act perfidiously, and emboldens him to break his word, will commit treason; and the traitor is universally reprobated, and both God and man are displeased with him.

The Crow said, ‘We might devise some stratagem in this matter, and extricate the lion from the obligation of this promise, and do you mind and stay here and I will go and return.’ He then went to the lion and stood still. The lion inquired, ‘Have you marked down any quarry and brought intelligence of any game?’ The Crow said, ‘O king! the eyes of every one of us fail through hunger, and we are bereft, too, of the power of motion. A method, however, has come into our minds, by which, if the king assents, we shall gain perfect ease and abundant blessings.’ The lion said, ‘Inform me of thy meaning that I may distinctly apprehend it.’ The Crow answered, ‘This Camel is a stranger among us, and we cannot contemplate any advantage from associating with him. For a hurried makeshift, here is a quarry come to hand and game caught in the net.’ The lion was wroth, and exclaimed, ‘Dust on the head of the helpers of this age, who have no habit but that of hypocrisy nor any feeling but that of perfidy, and who altogether abandon the part of courtesy and liberality, and manly and generous sentiment.

In what sect is it lawful to break faith? and by what creed is an attack sanctioned upon one to whom thou thyself hast given protection?

The Crow said, ‘I know these principles; but the wise have said that an individual may be sacrificed for all the inmates of a house, and the people of a house for a tribe, and a tribe for a city, and the inhabitants of a city for the august person of a monarch who is in danger because his safety might benefit the people of a whole region. And, besides, an evasion may be found, so that he who made the promise of neglect may be clear, and his person secured from the pain of fasting^155a and the dread of starvation.’ The lion hung down his head, and the Crow returned and said to his friends, ‘I have laid the case before the lion. At first he was refractory, but at last he became tractable. Now our plan is to go all together to the Camel and recount the story of the lion’s hunger and of the distress that he is suffering, and say that we have passed our lives happily under the protection of the fortunes and beneath the shade of the majesty of this fortunate king. To-day, that this event has occurred, honor demands that we should lay down our lives and breath for him, otherwise we shall be stigmatized for ingratitude, and shall be deprived of the character of generosity and manliness. Our right course is to go, all of us, to the lion and reiterate to him thanks for his gifts and bounties, and acknowledge that we have no power to make any return save in offering up our lives and breath for him. Whereupon let each of us say, “To-day let the king break his fast upon me,” and let the others make some objection; and thus, probably, death will be the doom of the Camel.’ They then came together to the Camel and repeated all these particulars to him; and he, in consequence of the simplicity of his heart, was deluded by them; and so having settled matters as has been described, they went to the lion, and when they had acquitted themselves of the duty of setting forth their thankfulness and his praise, and offering eulogies and prayers for his welfare, the Crow loosed his tongue and said,

Our tranquillity depends on the king’s personal health; and now that an exigency has occurred, and my flesh may suffice to eke out the king’s existence, he must condescend to kill me and turn me to account.’ The others exclaimed, ‘What good will eating thee do? and what satisfaction would thy flesh give?’

When the Crow heard these words he hung down his head, and the Jackal began to speak, and said,

A long interval has elapsed during which we have lived safe from the fierceness of the sun of vicissitude under the shade of thy daily increasing fortunes. To-day, when the moon of the splendor of your majesty is involved in the eclipse of distress, I desire that the star of success may rise from the horizon of my condition; and that the king having made me his food, should be freed from the care of thinking about how to break his fast.’ The rest replied, ‘What thou hast said proceeds from an excess of affection and a proper sense of obligation, but thy flesh smells rank, and is coarse and unwholesome. Heaven forefend that by eating it the king’s indisposition should be increased!’ The Jackal was silent, and the Wolf came forward and loosed his tongue, saying,

I, too, am desirous of sacrificing myself for the king, and hope that he will smilingly assign a place to my limbs in his gums.’ His comrades said, ‘Thou hast spoken these words from pure attachment and thorough faithfulness, but then thy flesh would make one choke,¹⁵⁶ and, in ill effects, it is the next thing^156a to deadly poison.’ The Wolf stepped back again, and the Camel, extending its long neck on high,¹⁵⁷ broke the rein, ‘Every tall person is a fool,’^157a and began to speak, and, after the due recital of blessings, said,

I have been brought up in this presence, and have been educated at this court; if I am fit for the royal kitchen, or may serve for the supply of thy table, I grudge not my life.’

On this, the others with one voice exclaimed, ‘This speech proceeds from excess of kind feeling and from true fidelity, and, in very truth, thy flesh is digestible, and suits the king’s constitution. Blessings on thy magnanimity, that thou hast not grudged thy life for thy benefactor; and by dealing thus thou hast left a good name for a remembrance.

Hereupon they all made a unanimous assault on the Camel, and before the poor creature could draw breath, they tore his limbs to pieces. And I have adduced this story that thou mayest know that the artifices of interested persons, especially when they combine with one another, will not fail of effect.’ Damnah said, ‘What defence dost thou think of?’ Shanzabah replied, ‘I can think of nothing now but what deviates from the path of wholesome procedure, nor do I know of any remedy save war and conflict, and strife and slaughter: for every one who is slain for the protection of his own life is admitted into the circle of martyrs, and participates in the benefit of the saying, ‘Whoever is slain in defence of his life is a martyr.’ Moreover, if my death is fixed by the hand of the Lion, and predestinated; at least, then, let me be slain honorably, and let me perish gallantly and with spirit.

Damnah said, ‘A wise man is not precipitate in war, nor does he allow himself to anticipate matters at the time of battle, for ‘The aggressor is the most in the wrong.’ And by one’s own choice to engage in great dangers is no proof of cleverness; nay, men of understanding handle the affairs of an adversary with civility and courtesy, and consider it best to avert a quarrel by gentleness.

And, moreover, it is not right to hold even a weak enemy cheap, for even if he be wanting in strength, he will not be so helpless as regards artifice and stratagem, and he will by perfidious and false measures kindle the fire of mischief to the extent that its flame will not be quenched by the water of counsel; and thyself hast learnt to know the power of the Lion, and his might stands not in need of commentary or amplification; wherefore do not undervalue his hostility, but be on thy guard against the impetuosity of his attack, for every one that contemns his foe and disregards the issue of a conflict, will rue it as did the Genius¹⁵⁸ of the Sea owing to despising the Sand-piper.’^158a Shanzabah inquired ‘How was that?’

Damnah said, ‘They have related that on the shore of the Indian Ocean there is a kind of bird which they call Ṭiṭawạ or ‘Sand-piper.’ A pair of these had their nest on the sea-shore, and had fixed their abode at the brink of the water. When the time for depositing their eggs had come, the female said, ‘We must seek a place to lay our eggs where we may live in peace.’ The male replied, ‘Here is a pleasant place and agreeable spot, and to migrate from hence appears impossible. The eggs must be laid.’ The female rejoined, ‘Here is the place for deliberation, for if the sea roll up its waves and carry off our young, and all our life’s labor should be wasted, how shall we remedy that?’ Her mate answered, ‘I do not suspect that the Genius of the Sea would show this hardihood, or put such a slight upon us;¹⁵⁹ and admitting that he should imagine such a disrespect and allow our offspring to be drowned, he may be forced to do us justice.

The female replied, ‘To step without the limits of one’s own rank, and to boast of what exceeds our power, is unsuitable to persons of discretion. What strength hast thou that thou shouldest threaten the Genius of the Sea with thy vengeance, and what terrors are thine to enable thee to rise to the dignity of a conflict and feud with him?

Abandon this idea, and choose for our eggs a place of security and a safe spot, and turn not away thy head from my advice; for whoever hearkens not to the words of those who give him counsel, and does not act upon the advice of friends who wish him well, meets with what befell the Tortoise.’ The male Sandpiper inquired, ‘How was that?’

The female said, ‘They have related that in a pool whose water from the pureness of its nature reflected every image like a clear mirror, and by its sweetness and excellence gave a foretaste of the spring of life and of the fountain of Salsabíl,^159a resided two geese and a Tortoise, and in consequence of their being neighbours, the thread of their circumstances had been drawn out into sincere friendship, and vicinity had ended in cohabitation, and, being pleased with the sight of each other, they passed their lives contentedly.

Suddenly the hand of perfidious fortune began to lacerate the cheek of their condition with the nails of vicissitude, and the glass-coloured sky began to display in the mirror of their life the form of separation.

In that water which was the source of their life and the support of their existence, a complete failure manifested itself, and a glaring alteration was evident. When the geese perceived that state of things they withdrew their hearts from the home to which they were accustomed and determined on emigrating.

Therefore with hearts full of sorrow and eyes full of tears, they approached the Tortoise, and introducing the subject of parting, said,

The Tortoise wept at the pang of parting, and in the utmost sorrow piteously exclaimed, ‘What words are these? and how can I expect to live without you? or how can existence be supported without sympathising friends?’

And since that I have not power even to take leave, how can I endure the load of separation?

The Geese replied, ‘Our hearts too are wounded by the sharp points of separation, and our breasts consumed overmuch by the fierceness of the flame of the fire of parting: but the distress of being without water is on the point of giving the mould of our existence to the wind of annihilation, and therefore of necessity we are about to forsake our friend and country, and to make choice of the anguish of exile.

The Tortoise rejoined, ‘O friends! ye know that the distress of the want of water affects me more, and that without water I cannot support myself. At this crisis the rights of ancient companionship demand that ye should take me with you, and not leave me alone in the sorrowful abode of separation.’

The Geese answered, ‘O friend unique, comrade esteemed! the pang of parting from thee is more poignant than that of exile, and the grief of leaving thee a greater cause of despondency and depression, and wherever we go, though we should be in the happiest circumstances, and should pass our time in the utmost comfort, yet, deprived of seeing thee, the eye of our rejoicing would be darkened, and the vision of our fortune obscured; and we too have but one wish, and that is thy society and companionship; but for us to proceed on the earth’s surface and so to traverse a great and long distance is impossible, and for thee too to fly through the expanse of air and accompany us is impracticable; and such being the case, how can we travel together? or in what manner can we keep company?’ The Tortoise answered, ‘Your sagacity will be able to devise a remedy for this matter too, and the contrivance of this affair will be attained by your discernment, and what plan can I excogitate while my spirit is broken by the thought of separation, and my heart crushed with the load of parting?

The Geese replied, ‘O friend! during this period [of our friendship] we have observed in thee somewhat of levity and precipitancy and rashness: perhaps thou wilt not act upon what we say, nor keep firm to thy promise after thou hast made it?’ The Tortoise rejoined, ‘How can it be, that ye should speak with a view to my advantage, and I act in opposition, or fail to perform a compact which is for my own good?

Said the Geese, ‘The condition is that when we take thee up and fly through the air thou wilt not utter a single syllable, for any one who may happen to see us will be sure to throw in a word, and say something in reference to us directly or indirectly.¹⁶² Now how many soever addresses or allusions thou mayest hear, or whatever manœuvres thou mayest observe, thou must close the path of reply, and, good or bad [whate’er betide] not loose thy tongue.’ The Tortoise answered, ‘I am obedient to your commands, and I will positively place the seal of silence on my lips, so that I shall not be even disposed to answer any creature.’

The Geese then brought a stick, and the Tortoise laid hold of the middle of it firmly with his teeth, and they lifting the two ends of the stick, bore him up. When they got to a height in the air, they happened to pass over a village, and the people of the village having discovered them, were astonished at their proceedings, and came out to look at the sight, and raised a shout from left and right, ‘Look! how [two] geese are carrying a tortoise.’ And as in those days the like of it had never been witnessed by that people, their cries and exclamations increased every moment. The Tortoise held his peace for a time, but at length the cauldron of his self-esteem began to boil, and his patience being exhausted, he exclaimed,

No sooner had he opened his lips but he fell from on high. The Geese exclaimed, ‘The duty of a messenger is but to convey his message.’^162b It is the part of friends to give advice and of the fortunate and well-disposed^162c to listen to it.’

And the moral of this story is, that whoever listens not to the admonition of friends with the hearing of acceptance, will have hastened his own destruction and torn away the veil¹⁶³ of disgrace from the face of his own ignominy.

The male Sand-piper said, ‘I have heard this apologue that thou hast recited, and have become acquainted with its import; nevertheless, fear thou not and keep where thou art, for the faint-hearted and fearful never attain their wish; and I keep to what I have said, that the Genius of the Sea will see fit to be tender of us.’ The female laid her eggs, and when the young—rending the white vest of the shell—raised their heads from the collar of life, the sea, rolling onwards in waves, snatched them under the skirt of destruction. The female on witnessing the catastrophe, became agitated, and exclaimed, ‘O wretch! I well knew that there was no striving^163a with the waters. Now that thou hast destroyed our young and set my spirit on fire, at least devise some plan by which my lacerated feeling may be salved.’ The male replied, ‘Speak respectfully, for I keep to the promise thou dost wot of, and I will acquit myself of the vow I have made and wrest justice from the Genius of the Sea.’ He immediately went to the other birds, and having convened in one place all the leaders and chiefs of each class, he explained his case to them, and having requested their assistance and aid, began, in a voice of supplication, this song.

Unless all my friends act in concert and unison in this matter, and by a combined effort extort justice for me from the Genius of the Sea, his boldness will increase and he will afterwards attack the young of other birds: and when this custom has become established, and this habit been confirmed, we must tear away our hearts from our children and bid adieu to our country and our homes.

The birds, sad and dejected at what had happened, serried their pinions and hastened to present themselves at the court of the Símurgh, and caused the statement of what had occurred, to arrive at the place of representation, and said, ‘If thou feelest commiseration for thy subjects, thou mayest fitly be their king; but if thou hast no care for the distresses of the oppressed, and dost not sympathize with the injured, efface the writing of the sovereignty of the birds from the page of thy fortunes, and the title to be their guardian shall be made over to another.’

The Símurgh consoled them and set off from his metropolis with his servants and retinue, to repel that unfair attack, and the birds, encou raged by his aid and protection, turned their faces towards the shore of the Indian Ocean; and when the Símurgh with an army—the limits of whose ranks^164a could not be contained in the capacity of the computation of any accountant, and the number of whose lines and classes could not be weighed in the scales of surmise and possibility—

arrived near the sea, the morning breeze, which agitates the line of billows, conveyed that news to the Genius of the Sea, who not finding in his resources ability to contend with the Símurgh and the army of the birds, was compelled to put himself in the posture of supplication and restore the young of the Sand-piper.

Now my object in addressing this tale, is to shew that one ought not to despise any enemy though he may be very contemptible, for a diminutive needle may effect that to which the lofty spear is incompetent, and a burning stick from the fire, though it seem small to view, will consume whatever comes in contact with it; and the sages have said, ‘the friendship of a thousand persons will not countervail the hostility of one.’

Shanzabah said, ‘I will not commence the battle, that I may not be stigmatized with the infamy of ingratitude, but when the Lion attacks me I shall consider self-preservation and defence of my own person a duty. Damnah said, ‘When thou approachest the Lion, and seest that, having raised himself up, he is lashing the ground with his tail, and the flame of his wrath appears kindled like the fire of his eyes, know that he is about to attack thee.’ Shanzabah said, ‘Should anything of this sort be observable, undoubtedly the veil of suspicion will be removed from the cheek of certainty, and information will be afforded on the point of the perfidious intentions of the Lion.’ Damnah then, mirthful and inspirited, betook himself to Kalílah.

Kalílah inquired, ‘How have affairs progressed? and what is the upshot of the matter?’ Damnah made answer,

Praise be to God! the most complete solution of the matter has been effected, and this so difficult affair has been well and easily accomplished.’ Thus spake Damnah, while fate, with the tongue of retribution, was whispering the import of this couplet in the ear of the wise men of the assembly of discernment.

Then both set off to the Lion, and by chance the Ox arrived immediately on their traces. The Lion caught sight of the Ox, and the insinuations of Damnah produced the desired effect, and the Lion, beginning to roar, lashed the ground with the tail of fury, and ground his teeth together through excess of wrath. Shanzabah felt certain that the Lion meant to attack him, and said to himself, ‘The service of kings in terror and dread, and attendance on princes in fear and alarm, resemble being in the same house with a serpent, and lying under the same shelter with a lion. Although the snake may be asleep and the lion slumbering, in the end one will raise his head and the other open his jaws.’

He thus reflected and then prepared for battle. Each side beheld the signs that the shameless Damnah had pointed out to them, and commencing the conflict, spread their shoutings and cries through the extent of earth and the expanse of heaven.

Kalílah, beholding this spectacle, turned to Damnah, and said,

O unwise! seest thou or not the evil results of what thou hast done? and perceivest thou or not the disgraceful issue of thy proceedings?’ Damnah said, ‘What is the evil result?’ Kalílah answered, ‘In this act which thou hast perpetrated seven hurtful consequences are apparent. One is, that thou hast unnecessarily plunged thy benefactor into difficulty, and hast brought mighty trouble on the person of the Lion. The second is, that thou hast stirred up thy master so to act as to incur the stigma of a breach of promise and faithlessness, and has consented to this his dishonor. The third is, that thou hast considerably exerted thyself for the slaughter of the Ox, and hast submerged him in the whirlpool of destruction. The fourth is, that thou hast taken upon thine own neck the murder of that innocent creature who will be slain through thy efforts. The fifth is, that thou hast made a large number suspicious of the king, and it is probable that through fear of him they will abandon their country and betake themselves to some other place, and, wandering from their families, will sink under the woes of expatriation and the calamities of exile. The sixth is, thou hast exposed the generalissimo of the armies of the wild beasts to the possibility of destruction, and consequently the knot of their union may hereafter be left disordered. The seventh is, thou hast made thy own weakness and imbecility palpable, and hast not fulfilled that boast of thine, that thou wouldest manage this business with courtesy and kindness; and he is the most doltish of mankind^166b who rouses slumbering mischief, and desires to carry on by conflict and ferocity, an affair which admits of being arranged peacefully and with gentleness.’ Damnah replied, ‘Perhaps thou hast not heard what they have said,

Kalílah said, ‘In this affair, what point hast thou settled by the canon of reason? or how hast thou disposed thy plans by the aid of the architect of counsel, which not succeeding there was occasion to resort to violence and roughness? After all, dost thou not know that sound judgement and correct thought take the lead of courage and valor?

And thy infatuation and conceit of thine own opinion, and the manner in which thou art deluded by the pomp of this deceitful world—which, like the attractions of the mirage, possesses nought but mere semblance—were always known; but I hesitated to lay them open to thee, thinking that thou mightest take warning and awake and rouse thyself from the sleep of pride and negligence, and intoxication from the liquor of conceit and ignorance; but since thou hast passed all bounds, and every moment becomest more dizzy and distracted in the wilderness of error and the abyss of self-deception, it is time that I should recount some little of thy complete ignorance and darkness and excessive boldness and blind obstinacy, and reckon up—though it be but a drop from the ocean, and an atom from a mountain—a few of thy faulty speeches and foul acts.

Damnah said, ‘I believe, brother! that from the beginning of my life to this period, an unfitting word or improper action has never proceeded from me; yet if thou hast observed any fault in me, thou oughtest, assuredly, to represent it to me.’ Kalílah rejoined, ‘Thou hast numerous faults, and the first is, that thou imaginest thyself faultless; and next, that thy talk exceeds thy deeds: and they have said that there is no greater danger to a king than this, that the words of his minister should outstrip his actions. Now the people of this world are divisible into four classes as regards their words and actions. First, there is the man who says and does not, and this is the custom of hypocrites and misers. Secondly, there is he who does not speak but act, and this is the habit of gallant^167a men. The third is he who says and does, and this is the characteristic of men who know¹⁶⁸ how to pass through life. The fourth is he who neither says nor does, and this is the quality of the mean and sordid. And thou belongest to that class who say and do not invest their words with the ornament of action; and I have always found thy talk to outrun thy capacity; and the Lion, deluded by thy sayings, has been exposed to so perilous an affair as this, and if (which God prevent!) a calamity should befal him, anarchy and confusion would prevail in this region and the disorders and disquiet of the people would exceed all bounds, and the lives and property of all would incur the risk of plunder and spoilation, and the guilt of all this misery would be on thy neck.

Damnah replied, ‘I have always been a faithful minister to the king, and have planted nought in the orchard of his affairs save the shrub of wholesome advice.’ Kalílah rejoined, ‘A plant whose fruit is this proceeding which we now witness, were better plucked up by the root; and advice which produces such a result as this we now behold, ought rather never to have been spoken nor heard; and how can any advantage be looked for in thy discourse, when, in point of fact, it is not adorned with the ornament of deeds? Learning, without practice—like wax without honey—is devoid of all flavour; and talking without doing—like a tree without leaves and fruit—is only fit to be burned.

And men of eminence, have, with the pen of condescension, deigned to inscribe on the pages of their records, this writing, that there are six things from which it is impossible to derive advantage. The first is, talk without action: the second, wealth without prudence: the third, friendship without experience: the fourth, knowledge without virtue: the fifth, alms without pious intentions: the sixth, life without health.^168a And though a king be, in his own person, just and inoppressive, yet one ill-disposed and of foul character, will cut off from his subjects the benefits of their monarch’s justice and clemency, and from dread of his opposition the afflicting tale of the oppressed will never gain the honor of representation to the king, like water, sweet and limpid—in which the form of a crocodile is visible—wherein no swimmer, though athirst and even exceedingly parched, dare strike out with his arms or with his feet.’

Damnah replied, ‘My object in this transaction was simply to attain the honor of the king’s service.’ Kalílah answered, ‘Efficient servants and active attendants and experienced ministers, are the ornament and grace of the court of kings; but thou desirest that all others should be discharged from waiting on the Lion and that thou shouldst be the confidant and counsellor, and that intimate access to his majesty should be restricted to thyself alone; and this notion proceeds from complete ignorance and excessive want of understanding, for princes cannot be confined to any one thing or any single person, and kingly rank is like the possession of loveliness and beauty; for just as a charmer seeks the more to display her attractions, the more men are in love with her; so a king, too, the more numerous his attendants and the larger his retinue, is the more desirous of increasing his train and multiplying those about him. And this vain longing that thou entertainest, is a clear proof of excessive stupidity; as the sages have said, ‘Five things are marks of folly: first, to seek one’s own advantage by injuring others: secondly, to look for the rewards of the future life without mortifying the flesh,¹⁶⁹ and piety: thirdly, to make love to women with rough language and ill-temper: fourthly, to expect to learn the niceties of science in slothful indulgence and ease: fifthly, to expect friendship from men without being faithful, and observing the duties of a friend.’ And it is from excess of the kindly feeling that I entertain for thee, that I say these things; but it is as clear as the sun that the dark night of thy depravity will not be illuminated by the torch of my preaching. The gloom of ignorance and foulness of envy, which is interwoven in thy nature, will not be dispelled by the lustre of my counsels.

And my case, in relation to thee, is like what the man¹⁷⁰ said to that bird, namely, ‘Take not useless trouble nor waste thy words upon a set who are not inclined to listen to thee.’ It would not however give heed and was punished in the end.’ Damnah inquired, ‘How was that?’