Men of auspicious fortune would rather take warning from the precepts and examples of their predecessors than that the rising generation should take warning from their acts:--The bird will not approach the grain that is spread about, where it sees another bird a captive in the snare. Take warning by the mischance of others, that others may not take warning by thine. CVI How can he help himself who was born deaf, if he cannot hear; and what can he do whose thread of fortune is dragging him on that he may not proceed:--The dark night of such as are beloved of God is serene and light as the bright day; but this good fortune results not from thine own strength of arm, till God in his mercy deign to bestow it. To whom shall I complain of thee? for there is no judge else, nor is any arm mightier than thine. Him whom thou directest none can lead astray, and him whom thou bewilderest none can direct upon his way. CVII The beggar whose end is good is better off than the king whose end is evil:--That sorrow which is the harbinger of joy is preferable to the joy which is followed by sorrow. CVIII The sky enriches the earth with rain, and the earth gives it dust in return. As the Arabs say: "_What the vessels have, that they give_."--If my moral character strike thee as improper, do not renounce thine own good character. CIX The Most High God discerns and hides what is improper; my neighbor sees not, and is loud in his clamor:--God preserve us! if man knew what is hidden, none could be safe from the animadversion of his neighbor. CX Gold is got from the mine by digging into the earth; and from the grasp of the miser by taking away his life:--Misers spend not, but watch with solicitude: expectation, they say, is preferable to waste. Next day observe to the joy of their enemies, the gold remains, and they are dead without the enjoyment of that hope. CXI Such as deal hard with the weak will suffer from the extortion of the strong:--It is not every arm in which there is strength that can wrench the hand of a weak man. Bring not affliction upon the hearts of the feeble, lest thou may'st fall under the lash of the strong. CXII A wise man, where he meets opposition, labors to get through it, and where he finds quiet he drops his anchor, for there safety is on one side, and here enjoyment in the middle of it. CXIII The gamester wants three sixes, but he throws only three aces:--The pasture meadow is a thousand times richer than the common, but the horse has not his tether at command. CXIV The dervish in his prayer is saying: "O God, have compassion on the wicked, for to the good thou hast been abundantly kind, inasmuch as thou hast made them virtuous." CXV