From the Gulistan of Saadi
The Dial, Vol. IV, No. III (January 1844)
The Gulistan ('Rose Garden', 1258) by the Persian poet Saadi of Shiraz: a book of anecdotes and maxims in prose and verse that became one of the most widely read works in the Persian-speaking world. The Dial printed these extracts in the same January 1844 installment as its Hermes Trismegistus selections.
The following appeared in The Dial, Vol. IV, No. III (January 1844)
The January 1844 installment of the 'Ethnical Scriptures' closed with these extracts from the Gulistan — the 'Rose Garden' (1258) of Saadi of Shiraz — printed in The Dial under the heading 'From the Gulistan of Saadi', immediately after the extracts from Hermes Trismegistus.
Take heed that the orphan weep not; for the Throne of the Almighty is shaken to and fro, when the orphan sets a-crying.
The Dervish in his prayer is saying, O God! have compassion on the wicked, for thou hast given all things to the good in making them good.
Any foe whom you treat courteously will become a friend, excepting lust; which, the more civilly you use it, will grow the more perverse.
Ardishir Babagan asked an Arabian physician, what quantity of food ought to be eaten daily. He replied, Thirteen ounces. The king said, What strength can a man derive from so small a quantity? The physician replied, so much can support you, but in whatever you exceed that, you must support it.
If conserve of roses be frequently eaten, it will cause a surfeit, whereas a crust of bread eaten after a long interval will relish like conserve of roses.
Saadi was troubled when his feet were bare, and he had not wherewithal to buy shoes; but "soon after meeting a man without feet, I was thankful for the bounty of Providence to me, and submitted cheerfully to the want of shoes."
Saadi found in a mosque at Damascus an old Persian of an hundred and fifty years, who was dying, and was saying to himself, "I said, I will enjoy myself for a few moments; alas! that my soul took the path of departure; alas! at the variegated table of life I partook a few mouthfuls, and the fates cried, Enough!"
I heard of a Dervish who was consuming in the flame of want, tacking patch after patch upon his ragged garment, and solacing his mind with verses of poetry. Somebody observed to him, Why do you sit quiet, while a certain gentleman of this city has girt up his loins in the service of the religious independents, and seated himself by the door of their hearts? He would esteem himself obliged by an opportunity of relieving your distress. He said, Be silent, for I swear by Allah, it were equal to the torments of hell to enter into Paradise through the interest of a neighbor.
Editorial Note. The text above presents the extracts as published in The Dial. The complete selection as it appeared in The Dial can be read through the Walden Woods Project.
This selection shared its installment with the extracts from Hermes Trismegistus.