This Good Works Translation is made from the 1888 Arabic printed text of Kitab Bilawhar wa-Budhasaf fi al-mawa'iz wa-al-amthal al-hikmiyah. This opening passage gives the praise, title, King Janaysar's worldly rule, the queen's dream, and the first confrontation between the king and a renunciant.

Translation

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

Praise belongs to God, who made wisdom run upon the tongues of His friends, who cleared away the dark, engulfing glooms by the shining proof of their demonstration, and who made them guides to the path of light from the road of darkness. Through them He guided the whole community, and through them He rescued it from doubts and perplexity: a praise that fulfills the continual succession of favors and blessing. I thank Him with a thanks that calls for more from the overflowing abundance of His grace and mercy.

May God bless His trustworthy prophet, who speaks out the clear truth and brings miracles and proofs: the lord of the worlds, Muhammad, possessed of firm honor; and may blessing and peace be upon his excellent, blessed family, his noble companions, and all of them together.

This is the Book of Bilawhar and Budhasaf, on admonitions and wise parables.

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

They related that Janaysar was one of the kings of India, mighty in kingship, numerous in troops, granted victory, and awe-inspiring in the eyes of the people. His dominion in this world was great; his desire for it was great; his insistence upon it was intense. He set his judgment and his strength only upon it. He prepared only for it, and occupied himself only with it. He saw as an adviser only the one who helped him in it, and as a deceiver only the one who helped him toward religion and renunciation of it; he counted such a person an enemy.

He had come into kingship in the bloom of youth and amid the intoxication of desires. He was a man of judgment in the thing he was engaged in, and he was young; he knew this about himself and admired it. So the intoxication of sovereignty, the intoxication of youth, the intoxication of self-admiration, and the intoxication of desires all gathered upon him. Then all this was strengthened and reinforced by the victory, domination, and coercive power he had gained, until he grew arrogant over the people, despised them, and subdued them. Then this became entrenched in him because he listened to people praising him to his own face, adorning his opinion for him, and settling in his breast the claim that there was no knowledge but his knowledge and no judgment but his judgment.

He had no concern except the world. The world was compliant toward him: he wanted nothing from it except that it was made ready for him and he gained it. Yet he was a man who fathered daughters, and no male child was born to him.

Asceticism had been widespread in his land before his reign and after he became king. The king hated it, and Satan enticed him into enmity against asceticism, religion, and its people, because of his intense love and cleaving to the world, his finding the mention of the afterlife burdensome, and his anxiety for his kingship lest there be among the people someone who would attack him and pull him away from it. So he harmed the people of religion and scattered them; he brought near the people of idols, made idols of gold and silver for them, and strengthened each faction of them against its rival, though they differed among themselves. He attended their festivals and bowed to their idols. The cause of the idol-worshipers rose high, the people of religion were abandoned, and the people rushed into that way because it was light upon them. It imposed no burden or worship on them except what they already found delightful: sacrifices, dancing, eating, drinking, and wearing brocade.

The people of religion were abandoned and harmed. No one stood firm in the matter except everyone who was patient and true.

The chief of the king's women was a woman of beauty, lineage, virtue, and purity. She spent the night seeing in sleep as though a white elephant were flying through the air. Then it drew near to her until it stood over her belly, but it did not harm her in any way. When morning came she told the king her vision. The king summoned the interpreters of dreams and recounted her vision to them, and they gave the king good news of a boy who would be born to him.

Then one day the king asked about a man from among the notable people of his realm, a man with whom he had a bond and affection, and whose help he used in some of his important affairs. There had already been affection between the king and this man, and the king wished to honor him with some of his gifts and make use of him in some of his affairs. Then it was said to him: "He has cast off the world, left his family and property, and joined the renunciants."

This weighed heavily on the king. He sent for him until he was brought in. When the king looked at him and saw him in the garb of the renunciants, he reviled him and said, "While you were counted among my companions and were one of my trusted people in my kingdom, suddenly you have disgraced yourself, wasted your family and property, followed the people of loss and falsehood, and become a laughingstock for the people."

The renunciant said to him, "O king, if I have no right upon you, your own reason has a right upon you: that you hear me without anger, and then command whatever seems right to you after understanding me and verifying my affair. Anger is an enemy to reason. That is why it comes between its possessor and understanding and hearing."

The king said, "Say what seems right to you, for I will not turn you back from your need."

The renunciant said, "I will ask you, O king: are you reproaching me for a wrong I have done to myself, or for a wrong I have done to you?"

The king said, "Your wrong against yourself is, to me, the greatest of wrongs. If I granted you license in this, I would grant license to the people of my kingdom, and corruption would multiply among them. Whenever a man from my subjects wishes to destroy himself, I do not simply leave him alone in that. I count his destroying himself like his destroying the life of someone else for whom I am guardian, caretaker, and judge. So I judge over you for your own soul and take it back from you. For my own sake I reproach you for destroying a soul from among my subjects, namely your own soul, along with the harm you have brought upon it and the loss and disorder you have brought down upon your family."

The renunciant said to him, "I see, O king, that you only mean to take me by an argument; but an argument has no standing except before a judge. No human being is judge over you. Yet you have judges whose rulings you enforce. With some of them I am satisfied, and from some of them I ask to be excused."

The king said to him, "Who are those judges?"

The renunciant said, "As for those whose judgment I accept: they are your knowledge, your reason, and your forbearance. As for those with whom I am angry and from whom I ask to be excused, they are your desire, your anger, and your zeal."

The king said, "Say what has appeared to you, and tell me your story truthfully. When did this become your view? Who are your helpers, your companions, and your ministers among these?"

The renunciant said, "As for my own private story: in my youth I heard a saying that fell into my heart. It was like a seed sown there. It kept sprouting and growing until its tree became what you see. This was what I heard someone saying:

"The ignorant man counts the thing that is something as nothing, and counts the thing that is nothing as something. Whoever does not reject the thing that is nothing will not attain the thing that is something. Whoever does not see the thing that is something, his soul will not be content to reject the thing that is nothing. The thing that is something is the matter of the hereafter. The thing that is nothing is the matter of the world."

"So that saying found a dwelling place with me and a resting place in my heart. The passions had mastery over it and kept it busy from benefit and from looking into the world, until the world itself was the one that told me about itself, showed me what it had, unveiled its disgraces, and claimed kinship with me even when I did not claim kinship with it. It showed me the opposite of what reached me from it morning and evening. So I found, O king, that its life is death, its health sickness, its strength weakness, its honor humiliation, its wealth poverty, its joy grief, and its fullness hunger.

"How, O king, could its life not be death, when a person lives in it only in order to die? Death is certain, and life is a thing to be torn away and despaired of. How could its health be anything but sickness, when its health comes from its four humors, and the soundest of its humors, the one nearest to life, is blood? The more manifestly full of blood a human being is, the nearer he is to sudden death, plague, choking sickness, canker, and pleurisy.

"How could its strength not be weakness, when the strong man gathers against himself what harms him and destroys him? How could its honor not be humiliation, when no honor has ever been seen in it that did not bequeath humiliation? If we consider the most honored, there is no honor like that of the kings who have passed away, yet you find that humiliation has struck them, and has struck their very bones, according to the measure by which they differed from others in honor. The days of honor are short, and the days of humiliation are long.

"The people with the strongest right to blame the world, hate it, complain of it, and keep watch against it are those for whom the world has spread its wing and raised up their need of it. Morning and evening such a person expects it to rush upon his wealth and sweep it away, to turn aside to his beloved and snatch him, to come against his rule from the foundations and bring it down, to creep through his body without his knowing it and make him sick, to make him chronically ill until he becomes foul and deranged, or to aim at the core of his soul and uproot him. It bereaves him of everything he holds dear.

"How could its wealth not be poverty? No misfortune strikes it except that the thing struck needs another thing to repair it, something indispensable to it. So it is with the owner of a beast: when something happens to it, he needs its fodder, its tethering place, and its gear, and then each of those things needs something else. When can the poverty of one who does not obtain what he needs from family or wealth ever be satisfied, when that need calls out for other needs?

"How could its joy not be grief, when it lies in wait for everyone who has won some joy from it, only for grief to follow from it. No one who sees in any matter a delight for the eye is safe from seeing, in that very same thing, many times that amount of sorrow. If he sees joy in a child, then the griefs awaiting him in the child's sickness and death, or in some calamity that falls on the child, or some trial that afflicts him, and what he fears for the child from all of this, are greater than his joy in him.

"If he sees joy in wealth, his joy in what comes to him does not reach even the beginning of his grief when loss descends on it and enters upon him through it. If separation from a thing, and bereavement over it, are unavoidable and stand in this place, and if separation and vanishing cannot be escaped, how fitting it is for anyone who clothes himself in what the heedless rejoice over to know that a bond of sorrow, harm, and trial has been placed around his neck.

"How could its fullness not be hunger? It is a fire blazing in the body. If it does not find something by which it may be quenched, it eats the body. If one keeps it busy from all his body by paying it the ransom of food and drink, that gives it strength to return with that same blaze. The habit of fullness is only an increase in hunger.

"The most blameworthy thing to you, O king, is the world, because it takes everything it gives, and then afterward it bequeaths weariness; it strips away everything it clothes, and then afterward bequeaths exposure and panic; it lowers whomever it raises, and then afterward bequeaths fear; it turns away from whoever loves it, and then afterward bequeaths regret. It seduces whoever obeys it into its places of destruction, and then afterward bequeaths wretchedness. It calls those who seek it, by its own words, into its snares; it delights them with its outward show, and by its evasive transformations it tempts them.

"It is the bucking mount, the abandoning companion, the treacherous intimate, the ruinous road, the slippery path, the plunging descent, the house full of snakes, the ship with a breach in it, and the garden full of beasts.

"It is the honorer that honors no one, the one clung to that holds to no one, and the beloved that loves no one who befriends it. It betrays anyone who is true to it, lies with its reports, and breaks what it promises. It gets in the way of whoever is straight toward it and toys with whoever comes under its power. While it serves him, it makes him a servant; while it feeds him, it turns him into food; while it makes him laugh, it laughs at him; while it makes him weep, it weeps over him; and while it gives him over to sale, it sells him. While it opens his palm with a gift, it opens it for begging. In the morning it ties the crown on his head, and in the evening it rubs him in the dust. Today it ornaments hands with bracelets, and tomorrow it fastens them in chains. Today it seats a man on the throne, and tomorrow it throws him into prison. Today it spreads brocade for him in the hall, and tomorrow it spreads dust for him in the grave.

"Today it gathers players and musicians for him, and tomorrow it gathers women wailing and weeping over him. Today it makes his nearness beloved to his family, and tomorrow it makes his absence beloved to them. Today it points him out by the pleasantness of his scent, and tomorrow it points him out by the stink of his smell. It fills his soul with its tales and his hand with what it has gathered; then the soul becomes empty and the hand bare.

"What has gone is gone; what has perished has perished; what has fallen has fallen. For everything you find a replacement in something else, and for everything you are compensated with another thing. It makes one generation dwell in the house of another generation, feeds one people from the leavings of another people, seats the wicked in the place of the good, replaces the excellent with the low, and puts the incapable in the place of the resolute. It transfers people from barrenness to abundance, from walking to riding, from hunger to fullness, and from thirst to drink.

"Then, when it has plunged them into that, it turns back with them and strips them of abundance. It has taken from them the habit of patience in barrenness; it has come between them and the softness and ease of life; and it has taken from them strength for hardship. So they return to a state poorer than poverty, more barren than barrenness, and more miserable than misery.

"As for what you said, O king, about wasting my family and leaving them: I have not wasted my family, and I have not left them. Rather, I have joined myself to them and cut myself off toward them. But I used to look at them with an enchanted eye, by which I did not know family from strangers or enemies from friends.

"When the enchantment cleared from my eye, and I exchanged the enchanted eye for a sound eye, I distinguished by it the near from the far and the enemy from the friend. Then those whom I had reckoned and counted as family, friends, pure companions, brothers, and close associates were ravening, voracious beasts, now eating me and eating by means of me. Yet their ranks in that differ according to the measure by which they differ in strength: among them are some like the lion in greatness of eating and fierceness of attack. Some are like the wolf in raiding, snatching, and stealing. Some are like the dog in growling and fawning. Some are like the fox in treachery and theft. The roads differ, but the argument is one.

"If you, O king, despite the greatness you are in through the abundance of royal power, and despite the greatness of your family, subjects, retinue, servants, many dependents, and obedient people, looked into your own affair, you would know and understand that you are single and alone. No one from the people of the earth is with you. You already know that the nations as a whole are enemies to you, and that this nation over which you have been given rule is densely filled with people of hostility, envy, and roughness toward you, people more hostile to you and more harmful as companions than ravening beasts and destructive creeping things, more furious and spiteful toward you than the distant, remote, foreign nations.

"If you examine those who obey you and assist you, you find people doing defined works for defined wages, while still striving to have their wages increased and your work diminished. And when you come to the inner circle of family and kinship, you have come to people for whom you have made your toil, your labor, your earnings, your occupations, your weariness, and your service. You pay them the levy, and not all of them, even if you divided among them everything you possess, would be pleased with you. If you hold it back from them, none of them excuses you. You do not obtain any escape from their manifest enmity toward you and their treachery toward you.

"Do you know, O king, that you are single, that you have no family, no close friend, and no protector? As for me, I have family, friends, and brothers who do not eat me and do not eat by means of me; nor do I eat them. I love them, and they love me with what does not run out, and love between us is not lost. They befriend me in agreement after which there is no disagreement, so the friendship between me and them is not cut off.

"They work for me, and I work for them, for wages that do not run out, so the work remains standing. They seek the good which, when I seek it with them, they do not fear that I will overcome them and take it for myself against them. There is no mutual corruption among us, no envy over gains and stores, no hiding things from one another, and no lying. We are free of faults and disgraces, and have kept ourselves above gains and stores, and there is no mutual transgression among us. These are my family, whom I have joined and to whom I have given myself. Those are my enemies, whom I used to count as my family, so I avoided them and sought safety for myself from them.

"As for the world, about which I told you, O king, that it was named 'nothing': this is its lineage and its account; these are its deeds and its description. I have avoided it because I knew it, and rejected it when I tested it and saw the matter that is the thing, once I had rejected it. If you wish, O king, for me to describe to you what I have known of it, prepare yourself to hear it. You will hear something other than what you used to hear about the affairs of the world."

The king gave him no answer except to say to him, "You lie. You have obtained nothing; you have not seen it, and you have won nothing by it except misery and toil. Leave, and do not remain in any part of my kingdom, for you are corrupt and corrupting. Were it not for the affection between us, I would make you an example to creation. Leave, and do not stay. I covenant with you that if I see you in any part of my kingdom after my warning to you, I will punish you. I have now excused myself in what lies between me and you."

Colophon

This Good Works Translation was made from the Arabic text of Kitab Bilawhar wa-Budhasaf fi al-mawa'iz wa-al-amthal al-hikmiyah, al-Matba' al-Safdari, 1888. The English body is newly written from the Arabic source.

Source Colophon

Primary source witness: Google Books volume vYacAQAACAAJ, Kitab Bilawhar wa-Budhasaf fi al-mawa'iz wa-al-amthal al-hikmiyah, al-Matba' al-Safdari, 1888, original from Harvard.

Translated passage: the opening praise, title, and first king-renunciant episode, printed Arabic pages 2-17. The translated passage ends before the next narrative movement, where the king's child is born.

Public source: https://books.google.com/books?id=vYacAQAACAAJ

Source Text

Arabic Text

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الحمد لله الذي جرى على ألسنة أوليائه الحكمة،
وجلى بباهر برهانهم الغياهب المدلهمة، وجعلهم
هداة إلى سبيل النور عن طريق الظلمة، وهدى بهم
كافة الأمة، وأنقذهم بهم من الشكوك والحيرة، حمدا
يقضي بتتابع الآلاء والنعمة، وأشكره شكرا يقتضي
المزيد من فائض طوله ورحمته. وصلى الله على
نبيه الأمين، الصادع بالحق المبين، والآتي بالمعجزات
والبراهين، سيد العالمين، محمدا ذا الشرف المكين، على آله
الفضلاء الميامين، أصحابه الأكرمين، وسلم عليهم أجمعين.

هذا كتاب بلوهر
وبوذاسف في المواعظ والأمثال الحكمية

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

ذكروا أن جنيسرا كان ملكا من ملوك الهند عزيز
المملكة كثير الجنود مرزوق الظفر مهيبا في أعين
الناس. وكان عظيم الملك في الدنيا كثير الرغبة
فيها شديد الإلحاح عليها، لا يجعل رأيه ولا قوته
إلا فيها، ولا يستعد إلا لها، ولا يشتغل إلا بها،
ولا يرى الناصح له إلا من أعانه عليها، ولا الغاش
له إلا من أعانه على الدين والزهد فيها، وكان يعده
عدوا. وكان قد أصاب الملك في عنفوان الشباب
وعند سكرة الشهوات، وكان رجلا ذا رأي
فيما كان فيه وذا شباب، يعرف ذلك من نفسه
ويعجب به، فاجتمع عليه سكر السلطان وسكر
الشباب وسكر العجب وسكر الشهوات. ثم شد ذلك

وقواه ما أصابه من الظفر والغلبة والقهر حتى
استطال على الناس، احتقرهم وقهرهم. ثم استحكم
ذلك منه باستماع من الناس في مديحهم إليه
نفسه، وتزيينهم له رأيه، وتقريرهم في صدره بأنه
لا علم إلا علمه، لا رأي إلا رأيه، وكان لا هم له
إلا الدنيا، وكانت الدنيا له مواتية، لا يريد
منها شيئا إلا هيأ له وظفر به. إلا أنه كان رجلا
مئناثا لا يولد له ولد ذكر. وكان النسك فاشيا
في أرضه قبل ملكه وبعد ما ملك، فأبغضه
الملك، وأغراه الشيطان على عداوة النسك
والدين وأهله، لشدة محبته وإخلاده إلى الدنيا
واستثقاله لذكر الآخرة، وشفقته على ملكه
من أن يكون في الناس من يطعن عليه يجذبه
منها، فأضر بأهل الدين وشردهم، وقرب أهل
الأوثان، وصنع لهم أصنام الذهب والفضة،
وقوى

وقوى كل طائفة منهم على صاحبه وهم فيما بينهم مختلفون،
وحضر أعيادهم وسجد لأصنامهم، فاستعلى أمر عباد
الأوثان وهجر أهل الدين، وأسرع الناس إلى ذلك
وخف عليهم، ولم تكن منه عليهم مؤنة ولا عبادة
إلا ما كانوا له مستلذين من الذبائح والزفن
والأكل والشرب ولبس الديباج. وهجر أهل
الدين وأوذوا، فلم يقم عليه إلا كل صبور صادق.
وكانت رأس نساء الملك امرأة ذات جمال وحسب
وفضيلة وطهارة، فباتت فيما يرى النائم كأن فيلا أبيض
يطير من الجو، ثم دنا منها حتى قام على بطنها فلم
يضرها بشيء. فلما أصبحت حدثت الملك برؤياها،
فدعى الملك معبري الأحلام، فقص عليهم رؤياها،
فبشروا الملك بغلام يولد له. ثم إن الملك في بعض
الأيام سأل عن رجل من وجوه أهل مملكته كان له
عنده عهد وود يستعين به في بعض مهماته

وكان بينه وبينه قبل ذلك ود، وأراد أن يحبوه
ببعض حبائه ويستعين به على بعض أموره، فقيل له
إنه قد خلع الدنيا وخرج من أهله وماله ولحق
بالنساك. فثقل ذلك على الملك، وأرسل في طلبه حتى
أتي به. فلما نظر إليه فرآه في زي النساك شتمه وقال:
بينا أنت في عددي من أصحابي وثقتي من أهل مملكتي
إذ فضحت نفسك وضيعت أهلك ومالك، واتبعت
أهل الخسران والباطل، وصرت مضحكة للناس.
قال له الناسك: أيها الملك، إنه إن لم يكن لي عليك حق
فإن لعقلك عليك حقا أن تسمع مني بغير غضب، ثم
تأمر بما بدا لك بعد الفهم عني والتثبت في أمري؛ فإن
الغضب عدو للعقل، ولذلك يحول بين صاحبه و
بين الفهم والسمع. قال الملك: قل ما بدا لك، فإني
غير مرددك عن حاجتك. قال الناسك: إني سائلك
أيها الملك، أبذنبي إلى نفسي عتبت علي أم بذنب
كان

كان مني إليك؟ قال الملك: إن ذنبك إلى نفسك
هو أعظم الذنوب إلي، وذلك إلى أن رخصت لك
في ذلك رخصت لأهل مملكتي ويكثر فيهم الفساد.
وليس كلما أراد رجل من رعيتي أن يهلك نفسه
خليت بينه وبين ذلك، ولكني أعد إهلاكه نفسه
كإهلاكه نفس غيره ممن أنا وليه والقيم له والمحاكم
عليه وله، فأنا أحكم عليك لنفسك وآخذها منك،
وأعتب عليك لنفسي في إهلاكك نفسا من رعيتي،
وهي نفسك، مع ما أدخلت عليها من الضر وأنزلت
بأهلك من الضياع والإخلال بأمرهم. قال له الناسك:
أراك أيها الملك لا تزيد أن تأخذني إلا بحجة، ولا
ثبات لحجة إلا عند قاض، وليس عليك من الناس
قاض، ولكن عندك قضاة أنت لأحكامهم منفذ؛
أنا ببعضهم راض ومن بعضهم مستعف. قال له الملك:
من أولئك القضاة؟ قال الناسك: أما الذين أرضى

قضاؤهم فعلمك وعقلك وحلمك، وأما الذين أسخط
وأستعفي منهم فهواك وغضبك وحميتك. قال الملك:
قل ما بدا لك وأصدقني خبرك، ومتى كان هذا رأيك؟
ومن أعوانك ومن أصحابك ووزرائك من هؤلاء؟
قال الناسك: أما خبري في خاصة نفسي فإني
كنت سمعت في حداثة سني كلمة وقعت في قلبي
فكانت كالحبة المزروعة، فلم تزل تنبت وتنمى حتى
صارت شجرتها إلى ما ترى. وذلك أني سمعت قائلا
يقول: يحسب الجاهل الأمر الذي هو الشيء لا شيئا،
ويحسب الأمر الذي هو لا شيء شيئا. ومن لم يرفض
الأمر الذي هو لا شيء لم ينل الأمر الذي هو الشيء،
ومن لم يبصر الأمر الذي هو الشيء لم تطب نفسه
برفض الأمر الذي هو لا شيء. فالأمر الذي هو الشيء
أمر الآخرة، والأمر الذي هو لا شيء أمر الدنيا، فكان
لهذه الكلمة عندي مسكن وفي قلبي قرار، وكانت الأهواء

لها غالبة وعن الانتفاع والنظر فيها شاغلة حتى كانت
الدنيا هي التي تخبرني عن نفسها وتظهر لي ما عندها وتكشف
عن سوآتها وتنتسب إلي وإن لم أنتسبها وتريني نقيضي
ما يبلغني عنها صباحا ومساء، فوجدت أيها الملك حياتها موتا
وصحتها سقما وقوتها ضعفا وعزها ذلا وغناها فقرا و
فرحها ترحا وشبعها جوعا. وكيف لا تكون أيها الملك
حياتها موتا وإنما يحيى فيها صاحبها ليموت؟ فمن الموت
على يقين ومن الحياة على قلعة ويأس. وكيف يكون صحتها
سقما وإنما صحتها من أخلاطها الأربع، وأصح أخلاطها وأقربها
من الحياة الدم، وأظهر ما يكون الإنسان دما أقرب ما يكون
من موت الفجأة والطاعون والذبحة والأكلة والبرسام؟
وكيف لا يكون قوتها ضعفا وإنما يجمع القوي على
نفسه ما يضره ويوبقه؟ وكيف لا يكون عزها ذلا
ولم ير فيها عز قط إلا وقد أورثته ذلا؟ فإذا اعتبرنا
بالأعز فلا عز من مضى من الملوك فإنك تجدهم

أصابهم وأصاب عظامهم من الذل على قدر تفاضلهم
في العز غير أن أيام العز قصيرة وأيام الذل طويلة. فأحق
الناس بذم الدنيا ومقتها وشكواها وتوقع اتقائها
من بسطت له الدنيا جناحها وأعلى حاجته منها، فهو يتوقع
منها كلما أصبح وأمسى أن تعدو على ماله فتجتاحه وتعرج
على حبيبه فتخطفه، أو تأتي سلطانه من القواعد فتهد
أو تدب على جسده دبيبا من حيث لا يدري فتسقمه
أو تزمنه فتقذره وتخبله، أو تصمد لمهجة نفسه فتستأصله،
فتفجعه بجميع ما هو ضنين به. وكيف لا يكون غناؤها فقرا ولا
يصيبها مصيبة إلا احتاج لذلك الشيء الذي أصاب إلى
شيء آخر يصلحه لا بد له منه، كما يحتاج صاحب الدابة إذا
أصابها إلى علفها ومربطها وأدواتها، ثم يحتاج كل
شيء من ذلك إلى شيء آخر. فمتى تقضى فاقة من لا يصيب
حاجته من أهل ولا مال إلا دعت تلك الحاجة إلى حاجات؟
وكيف لا يكون فرحها ترحا وهي مرصدة لكل من أصاب منها
سرورا

سرورا بأن تعقبه منها حزنا. فليس يأمن إذا رأى في أمر
من الأمور قرة عين أن يرى في ذلك بعينه أضعاف ذلك
من الحزن. إن رأى السرور في ولد فما ينتظر من الأحزان
في سقمه وموته أو جائحة إن نزلت به أو بلاء إن ابتلي
به وما يتخوف عليه من ذلك أعظم من سروره به. وإن
رأى السرور في مال فليس سروره بما يصيبه ببالغ مقدم
حزنه إذا نزل به ودخل عليه فيه. فإذا كان فراق
الشيء والفجيعة به لا بد منه هذه المنزلة وكان الفراق
والزوال لا بد منه، فما أحق من تلبس بما يفرح منه الغافلون
أن يعلم قد وضع في عنقه ربقة حزن وأذى وبلية. وكيف
لا يكون شبعها جوعا وإنما هي نار تضطرم في الجسد، فإما
يجد ما يطفيها به أكلت الجسد، وإن شغلها عن كل جسده
بفدية من الطعام والشراب كان لها ذلك قوة لها على
العودة بمثل ذلك التضرم، غير أن عادة الشبع زيادة
في الجوع. فأذم الأشياء إليك أيها الملك الدنيا لأنها الآخذة

جميع ما تعطي والمورثة بعد ذلك المتعبة والسالبة لجميع
ما تكسو والمورثة بعد ذلك للفضوح والجزع الواضعة
من ترفعه والمورثة بعد ذلك الفزع والفاركة من عشقها
والمورثة بعد ذلك الندم والمغوية لمن أطاعها إلى
مهالكها والمورثة بعد ذلك الشقوة والداعية لبغاتها
بلفظها إلى فخاخها والمحبرة إلى رياها والمفتنة بتغولها من
روغانها هي المركب القموص والصاحب الخاذل والمؤنس الخؤون
والطريق الموبق والسبيل الزلق والمهبط المهوي البيت
ذو الأفاعي السفينة ذات الخلل والبستان ذو المسبعة
هي المكرمة التي لا تكرم أحدا والملزومة التي لا تلزم
أحدا والمحبوبة التي لا تحب أحدا يواليها فتغدر بمن صدق
لها فتكذب بخبرها فتخلف هي المعترضة لمن استقام لها
والمتلعبة بمن استمكنت منه بينما هي تخدمه إذ جعلته
خادما وبينما هي تطعمه إذ حولته مأكولا وبينما هي تضحكه
إذ ضحكت منه وبينما هي تبكيه إذ بكت عليه وبينما هي

توليه البيع إذ باعته وبينما هي تبسط كفه بالعطية إذ
تبسطها بالمسألة تعقد التاج على رأسه غدوة وتعفره
في التراب عشية تحلي الأيدي بالأساور اليوم وتغلها
في الأغلال غدا وتقعد المرء على السرير اليوم وترمي به
في السجن غدا وتفرش له الديباج في الإيوان اليوم وتفترش
له التراب في القبر غدا تجمع له اللاعبين والمعازف اليوم
وتجمع عليه النوائح والبواكي غدا تحبب إلى أهله قربه
اليوم وتحبب إليهم بعده غدا تدل عليه بطيب ريحه اليوم
وتدل عليه بنتن ريحه غدا تملأ نفسه من أحاديثها
وكفه من جمعها ثم تصبح النفس خلاء والكف صفر اذهب
ما ذهب باد ما باد وهوى ما هوى تجد من كل بكل خلفا
وتعوض من كل بكل بدلا وتسكن دار كل قرن قرنا وتطعم
سؤر كل قوم قوما وتقعد الأشرار مكان الأخيار و
تستبدل الأراذل مكان الأفاضل وبالعجزة مكان
الحزمة وتنقل قوما من الجدب إلى الخصب من الرجلة

إلى المركب من الطوى إلى الشبع ومن الظمى إلى الري
حتى إذا غمستهم في ذلك انقلبت بهم فسلبتهم الخصب وقد
نزعت منهم عادة الصبر على الجدب حالت بينهم وبين
لين العيش وخفضه وقد نزعت منهم القوة على خشونة
فيعودوا إلى أفقر من الفقر وأجدب من الجدب
وأبؤس من البؤس وأما قولك أيها الملك في
إضاعة الأهل وتركهم فإني لم أضع أهلي ولم أتركهم
بل وصلتهم وانقطعت إليهم لكنني قد كنت أنا أنظر
إليهم بعين مسحورة لا أعرف بها الأهل من الغرباء ولا
الأعداء من الأولياء فلما تجلى عن عيني السحر واستبدلت
بالعين المسحورة عينا صحيحة فاستبنت بها القريب من البعيد
والعدو من الولي فإذا الذين كنت أحسبهم وأعدهم
أهلا وأصدقاء وأصفياء وإخوانا وخلطاء سباع ضارية
لاهمة لهم الآن تأكلني وتأكل بي غير أن اختلاف
منازلهم في ذلك على قدر تفاضلهم في القوة فمنهم كالأسد

في عظم الأكل وشدة الصولة ومنهم كالذئب في الغارة
والخطفة والخلسة ومنهم كالكلب في الهرير والبصبصة
ومنهم كالثعلب في الختر والسرقة والطرق مختلفة والحجة
واحدة ولو أنك أيها الملك مع عظم ما أنت فيه لكثرة الملك
في عظم أهلك ورعيتك وحاشيتك وحشمك وكثرة خولك
وأهل طاعتك نظرت في أمرك لعلمت وعرفت أنك فريد
وحيد ليس معك أحد من أهل الأرض وذلك أنك قد عرفت
أن عامة الأمم أعداء لك وأن هذه الأمة التي أوتيت
الملك عليها كثيف الحشو من أهل العداوة والحسد الخشن
لك الذين هم أشد لك عداوة وأضر لك صحبة من السباع
الضارية والهوام المفسدة والذين هم أشد عليك حنقا
وحقدا من الأمم الغربية القاصية النائية عنك فإذا
حصلت في أهل طاعتك وأعوانك وجدت أقواما يعملون
لك أعمالا معروفة بأجور معلومة يحرصون مع ذلك أن
يزدادوا في الأجر وينقصوك من العمل فإذا صرت إلى خاصة

الأهل والقرابة صرت إلى ناس قد جعلت لهم كدك و
كدحك وكسبك ومهنك ونصبك وخدمتك فأنت
تؤدي إليهم الضريبة وليس كلهم ولو وزعت بينهم جميع
ما حويت براض عنك وإن أنت حبست ذلك عنهم فليس
أحد منهم لك عاذرا ولا تنال عن حضور عداوتهم إياك
وغشهم لك إفلاتا أو تعلم أيها الملك أنك فريد
لا أهل لك ولا حميم ولا ولي لك فأما أنا فإن لي أهلا و
أولياء وإخوانا لا يأكلونني ولا يأكلون بي ولا آكلهم أحبهم
ويحبونني على ما لا ينفد ولا يفقد الحب بيننا ويوالونني
على الموافقة التي ليس بعدها اختلاف فلا تنقطع الولاية
بيني بينهم ويعملون لي وأعمل لهم بأجور لا تنفد فلا يزال
العمل قائما ويبتغون الخير الذي إذا أنا ابتغيته معهم لم
يخافوا أن أغلبهم وأستأثر به عليهم فلا تفاسد بيننا
ولا تحاسد في المكاسب والذخائر ولا تكاتم بيننا ولا
تكاذب برئنا من العيوب والمخازي وتنزهنا عن المكاسب

والذخائر ولا تباغي بيننا فهؤلاء أهلي الذين وصلتهم
وانقطعت إليهم وأولئك أعدائي الذين كنت أحسبهم أهلي
فاجتنبتهم والتمست لنفسي السلامة منهم وأما الدنيا التي
أخبرتك أيها الملك أنها سميت لا شيئا فهذه نسبتها
وحسبها وهذه أفعالها وصفتها وقد اجتنبتها لما عرفتها
ورفضتها حين اختبرتها وأبصرت الأمر الذي هو الشيء
لما رفضتها وإن أردت أيها الملك أن أصف لك ما عرفت
منها فاستعد لاستماعه تسمع غير الذي كنت تسمع به
من الأشياء من أمر الدنيا فلم يزده الملك غير أن قال له
كذبت لم تنل شيئا ولم تبصره ولم تظفر به إلا الشقاء
والعناء فاخرج ولا تقيمن في شيء من ملكي فأنت فاسد
مفسد ولولا الود الذي بيننا لجعلتك نكالا للخلق
فاخرج ولا تقم فإني أعاهد إليك إن رأيتك في شيء من
ملكتي بعد تقدمي إليك لأعاقبنك وقد أعذرت فيما
بيني وبينك