Beloved! I cannot be far from Thy door, Cannot be satisfied with Paradise and with houris. My head is on Thy threshold by Love's command, not for wages. Whatever I may do, I cannot bear to be away from this door. FRIENDSHIP He is a friend, who although meeting with enmity From his friend, only becomes more attached to him. If he strikes him with a thousand stones of violence, The edifice of his love will only be made more firm by them. SECOND GARDEN "A SECRET" O boy! A secret necessary to be concealed from a foe Thou wilt do well not to reveal it even to a friend. I have seen many who in course of capricious time Became foes from friends, and amity to enmity turned. "THE INDISPENSABLE KNOWLEDGE" Cultivate the knowledge which is indispensable to you, And seek not that which you can dispense with. From the moment you acquire the indispensable knowledge, You must not desire to act except in accordance therewith. SILENCE No one repented for keeping a secret under seal, But many for having revealed it. Remain silent, because to sit quietly with a collected mind Is better than speaking what will distract it. OCCUPATION ENNOBLED BY A GREAT MAN Alexander degraded one of his officials by removing him from a high and employing him in a low post. One day this man waited upon Alexander, who asked him what he thought of his occupation, and he replied: "May the life of my Lord be long! A man is not ennobled by a great occupation, but an occupation is ennobled by a great man. In every post honesty, justice and equity are needed." Alexander was pleased with this opinion, and re-installed him in his former office. THIRD GARDEN WISE MAXIMS Every [wise], maxim by the mouth and teeth is a jewel: Happy is he who has made of his breast a casket of jewels; A sage is a treasury of the jewels of philosophy, Do not separate thyself from this treasure. THE DOWNFALL OF THE MIGHTY The favourites of Sultáns are like people climbing up a precipitous mountain, and falling off from it in consequence of the quakes of anger and the vicissitudes of time. There is no doubt that the fall of those who are higher up is more disastrous than the coming down of those who are in lower positions. JUSTICE AND VIRTUE A culprit having been brought before the Khalifa, he ordered the punishment due to the transgression to be administered. The prisoner said: "O Commander of the Faithful, to take vengeance for a crime is justice, but to pass it over is virtue; and the magnanimity of the Prince of the Faithful is more exalted, than that he should disregard what is higher, and descend to what is lower." The Khalifa, being pleased with his argument, condoned his transgression.