Sa di

Ch 01 Manner of Kings Story 35

I was sitting in a vessel with a company of great men when a boat which contained two brothers happened to sink near us. One of the great men promised a hundred dinars to a sailor if he could save them both. Whilst however the sailor was pulling out one, the other perished. I said: "He had no longer to live and therefore delay took place in rescuing him. " The sailor smiled and replied: "What thou hast said is certain. Moreover, I preferred to save this one because, when I once-happened to lag behind in the desert, he seated me on his camel, whereas I had received a whipping by the hands of the other. When I was a boy I recited: He, who doth right, doth it to his own soul and he, who doth evil, doth it against the same. " As long as thou canst, scratch the interior of no one Because there are thorns on this road. Be helpful in the affairs of a dervish Because thou also hast affairs. THE GULISTAN OF SA'DI Translated by Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890)