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Selections: Gulistan of Saadi
by Meam Wye
Selections from 'Gulistan'' (The Rose Garden/The Flower Garden) written in 1258 by Persian Muslim Abu Muṣliḥ bin Abdallah Shirazi, commonly known as Saadi:
Human beings are members of a whole,
In creation of one essence and soul.
In creation of one essence and soul.
If one member is afflicted with pain,
Other members uneasy will remain.
If you have no sympathy for human pain,
The name of human you cannot retain.
The above is written on the entrance of the united Nations building in New York.
More Excerpts:
"A learned man who has got into an argument with the ignorant can have no hopes of supporting his own dignity; and if an ignoramus by his loquacity gets the upper hand it should not surprise us, for he is a stone and can bruise a gem. No wonder if his spirit flag; the nightingale is cooped up in the same cage with the crow.---If the man of sense is coarsely treated by the vulgar, let it not excite our wrath and indignation; if a piece of worthless stone can bruise a cup of gold, its worth is not increased, nor that of the gold diminished."
"Whoever does no good in the time of ability will see distress in the time of inability."
"Two men took useless trouble and strove without any profit, when one of them accumulated property without enjoying it, and the other learnt without practising what he had learnt.
However much science thou mayest acquire
Thou art ignorant when there is no practice in thee.
Neither deeply learned nor a scholar will be
A quadruped loaded with some books.
What information or knowledge does the silly beast posses
Whether it is carrying a load of wood or of books?"
"A scholar without diligence is a lover without money; a traveler without knowledge is a bird without wings; a theorist without practice is a tree without fruit; and a devotee without learning is a house without an entrance."
"Whatever is produced in haste goes hastily to waste."
In Conclusion of the Book:
"The book of the "Gulistan, or Flower-Garden," has been completed through the assistance and grace of Allah, the Almighty. Throughout the work the custom of authors to insert verses from ancient writers by way of loan, has not been followed.
To adorn oneself with one's own rag
Is better than to ask for the loan of a robe.
Most of the utterances of Sa'di being exhilarant and mixed with pleasantry, shortsighted persons have on this account lengthened the tongue of blame, alleging that it is not the part of intelligent men to spend in vain the kernel of their brain, and to eat without profit the smoke of the lamp; it is, however, not concealed from enlightened men, who are able to discern the tendency of words, that pearls of curative admonition are strung upon the thread of explanation, and that the bitter medicine of advice is commingled with the honey of wit, in order that the reader's mind should not be fatigued, and thereby excluded from the benefit of acceptance; and praise be to the Lord of both worlds.
We gave advice in its proper place
Spending a lifetime in the task.
If it should not touch anyone's ear of desire
The messenger told his tale; it is enough.
O thou who lookest into it, ask Allah to have mercy
On the author and to pardon the owner of it.
Ask for thyself whatever benefit thou mayest desire,
And after that pardon for the writer of it.
If I had on the day of resurrection an opportunity
Near the Compassionate one I should say: 'O Lord,
I am the sinner and thou the beneficent master,
For all the ill I have done I crave for thy bounty.'
Gratitude is due from me to God that this book is ended Before my life has reached its termination."
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December 16, 2009 8:26 PM
The things you find to share always amaze me. We could all learn from this book.
December 16, 2009 9:57 PM
Being a lover of all language of that period I am constantly fascinated with the various ways it chooses to convey nuggets of wisdom, and your bits and sayings from Saadi are ones that though I don't know are well thought, well written and fun to read too.
December 16, 2009 10:05 PM
Thank you Ciss B. I personally am not much into reading Poetry and literature. However, majority of the readers of this blog very much appreciate and read poetry/literature so I thought it's time to have a series of post on this subject as well :)
December 18, 2009 2:51 PM
Very wise and yet simple sayings although so very hard to live by.
Dorothy from grammology
grammology.com
December 18, 2009 6:45 PM
I do love this 'archaic sound'. Who did the translating? Going back into the wisdom of earlier centuries, exposing to modern minds the parables that still sound wise -- poetic now as well as then
December 20, 2009 8:10 PM
The translations are by either Sir Edwin Arnold (1899) or James Ross (1890). Thank you for your interest and feedback.
December 25, 2009 6:58 AM
hello dear i got an award from a friend which to forward to you ,its not about that you accept it or not its only a little tribute to your beautiful blog which i really appreciate take care
December 27, 2009 10:11 PM
Thank you so much for your lovely words and for this honor :)
December 28, 2009 12:21 AM
hello dear thanks for excepting the award i am really honored have nice life god bless you take care