A Mirror for Princes (The Qabus Nama)

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A MIRROR FOR PRINCES THE Q..ABOS NAMA

E. P. DUTTON Be CO. INC.

A MIRROR FOR PRINCES THE QJBVS NAMA b,y

KAl

KA'US

rBN lSK,A,N'OAR

PRINCE ,OF GUR,G,AN

Trdutlted from the

PemtllJ

".!

RE'U'BEN LEVY Profaso,r ofPe'nian III the UNvenlty 01

Cambridae aod,Fellow of Christ'. Collqe

:B. P,. DU'T 'T O:N & 'C 'O . INC,. 'P 'U,B,LISHER,S

-NEW 'y 'O RIt

Puh1 isMJ

:19,5:1 by B. P.

Dutton t?J Co,. Inc.

Primd in Great Britain

by J. W. AnowsmiJh Ltd., Bmtol ,All Rig,hts ,RtserveJ

CONTENTS PQ~

INTRODUCTION

ix

BmLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

xxi

AUTHOR'S PREFACE

I

I.

ON KNOWING GOD

7

U.

CONCERNINOTHE

CREAnON

OF

mE,

9

APOSTLES AND THEIR MISSION III .

ON GRA'T ITUDE. TO THE ,L ORD O:FBOUNTY

IV.

ACTS

OF PIETY TO BE .INCREASED WITH :1 S

INCREASE OF WEALTH

v ,. VI.

ON SHOWING GltAnntDE TO PARENTS NATURAL

QUALITIES

HEIGHTENED

19 BY

INCREASE OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS VII. VIII.

12

THE GOOD AND BAD IN SPEECH

21 3~

THE COUNSELS OF NUSHiRWAN THE JUST TO HIS SON

45'

AGE AND YOUTH

49

THE ETIQUEITE OF EATING

S~

XI.

THE R.E GUUnON OF YOUR WINE ..DRlNKING

57

XII.

HOSPITALITY' AND THE DUTIES OF A HOST

6 1'

XlII.

ON JESTING ,A ND THE PLAYING OF BACK-

IX..

x.

GAMMON A.NO CHESS XIV •

ON R.OMANTIC PASSION

v

67 70

Contents

fH'ge XV.

77

ONTAICING ONE' 5, PLEASURE

XVl..PR'O 'C EDUIlE

WHEN

VlSmNG

THE

WARM,

78

BATHS XVD. XVIO.

XIX.

xx. .X XI. XXlI.

SLEEP AND REST

80

ON HUNTING

8]

m .E GAME OPPO'L O

8$

ON GIVINGBATrLE TO AN ENEMY

87

ON THE ACQUISmON OF WEALTH

90

OP TRUSTS fOR SAFE ...

ON THE PLACING

9S

KEEPING

9'9

XXIII.

ON THE PURCHASE OF SLAVES

XXIV.

THE PURCHASE OF HOUSES AND ESTATES

109

BUYING HORSES

J 12

MARRYING A WIFE

117

ON IlEARIN'G CHlLD'R EN

119

XXV. XXVI.

XXVD.

xxvw.

ON FRIENDSHIP AND THE A'C QUISITION OP

fRIENDS, XXIX.

I

ON TAKING THOUGHT CONCERNING THE ENEMY

XXX.

27

132

PAIlDON AND PUNISH.M ENT'

140

REUGIOUS SCIENCE AND ALLIED TOPICS

144-

BEING A ,M ERCHANT

IS'

XXXIU.

THE SCIENCE OF MEDICINE

166

XXXIV.

ON THE SCIEN'C E OF ASTROLO'GY

176

HOW TO BE A POET

182

O;N BEIN,G A MUSICIAN

186

XXXI.

XXXII.

,. xxxv. XXXVI.

vi

,~8e

XXXVII. XXXVIII.,

THE SERVIC.E O'P kIN'GS

J ., .I

TH:E PUNC'I'ION 'o p BOONC'O .M PANIONSHIP

19161

XXXlX.TH'E SE,C RETARY A.N D' THE ART' O'F SECIlE,T~Il~S~HIP

XL. XL,I .

2,I I

RUL:ES FIOR THEVI'ZlEIlATB 'niE

ART

OP

'C ONTR'O LUNG

,A N

ARMED

PO'R ICE

XLll.

'THE CONDUCT Of .JCI'NGSHIP

:X LIII.

AIGlllC·U LTUR.E ,A ND 'CRAFTSMANSHIP

237

XLIV.

KNIGHT·,ERRANTRY, THE, SU:FI PATH AND 'T HE 'C O:D :ES OF 'T .H EC.R.APTSME:N

239'

"N'D EX

:2 6.3 1

~ HE Qgb'us-n'Om'Q is

'T . ··

describe,dby' its, auth,or as,a, guide

,son

,~_ inte,nde:d, to,warnhisfa:YQ,urite: an,d destined success:or against th,e p,itfalls, on life's jo'urn,ey' an,d tO direct him in th,e :path likely' to lead to, th,egreatest be,nefits. In essenc,e it combines the, fUnctio:nsof po'p,ular educator"man:ual of political cond,u,ct an,d, textbook, of'ethi.cs,with e,xpediency as, its, 'motto. T'he a,uthor ,declares, at the o,uts,et that it c:ontains, th,e distilled esse,nc'e of ,his own, life,"s exp,erie:nce" setdolwn I

whenh,e was, sixty,-thre'e: years of ~g:e ;:if'his a,dvi,ce ,does, not re:ceive the attention, it dese:rv'es, from, the belolved s,on, to w'ho'm it is ad dress ed-and, the author i.s, not sangu,in,e: that it will so,meon,e destine:d fo,r felicity in this w'o,rld,and the 'n,ext will d,Q,ubtless be fO'UD,d tOI take: advanta,ge ,of it. lnan,y e,venthe himself will h:a,ve: ful6.l1eeJ. :his:duty as a father in proffering: it:. H:e:gi'v'esth,e:date of compos,itio'nas, the year 47 5 of the Hijra,corres,p'on,ding to A.D. 1082. Kai K,a,'iis ib,D IS,kan,da.'r ib,D, Qibiis ib'nWas,hm,gi'r , the' auth,Q1r, 'belonged to theprin,cely' d,ynasty of' the Ziyari,ds" 'who,h,eld swa,y in th,e Sou,th Casp,ian 'p1rovinces, of G'ilan, T:a,baristan, (Mhan,da,rin) an,d Jurjan, (or Gurgm). The: first member of the dynasty to gain power was a certain Mard,awij lbn, Ziyir,whose n,arne, is. said, to be anarab,ic'js,ed, fo"rm, of the :P'ersian ma'rd"'Qwiz', i.e. ,I c:The M,an",'hanger" Th,e b'io'gr~p,he:r 'Yaqiit (A.D. 1 1,79:-.1 229')" a, Gre,ek,b,y hirth" who in his childhood was sold as slave to a Baghdad merc:hant" tells how Marda,w'ij" on attaining: to, the: kings,hip", ha,d a, throne o,f pure; gold, ,co'nstru,c,ted, fo,r hi,mself" upon whic,h, he seated hims,elf 'with, the declaratio,n, thath,e, was another lGn,g Soilo,m,o,n and thathisT'urkish slaves, of wh,o,m.h,e had, "I.

.

I.X

Introduction'

'p,'urchas,e,d ,a great: h,orde, 'w'ere, the d,e:mons", o,ve,r' wh,om he ,heldmast1ery,. His, tr:eatmentof th,em was in fact so brutal as, to goad them into secr,etr'evolt" an,d they' did, him, to ,d'eath ,on, an occas,io,:n w':hen he: was taldnghisease: in the hammam. His most influenti.al s'ubJects'tl,membersof' the D'ailam,ite tribe, chose hIs 'brotherWasholgi'r to 8u,cce,ed him,;, b,uthis ,rei~, 'was, disturbedb:ytwenty'years, ,of 'war ,against' the neighbourin,g Buwaihid 'princ1es, atone timeZi,yi,ri,d ,vassals:. ,Peac,e, was d,le,clare,d,in there:i~of his so,n, Be,hi,stiin,who, ga'v,e one ,of 'his ,daughters, ,in m,arriag,e tO a,B,uwaihld prin:celing. Washmgir himself, like his brother before him, met a vlolenten,d, and for the samereaso,os"his, c'ruelty, an~ harshn,ess having driven his, slav'e-soldiery to ,conspire, agains,'t ,him. Th.ey one d,ay':"in, the, de:pth of winter" co'm'pelledhis ,son M,in,u,chih.r tos:eiz:e, an,d im,plrlson him, in a f01rtre,ss, wh,ere, they left ,him to fr'eeze, to death" witho,ut clothes or oth,er covering. To ,him th,er.e su,cceede,d. his,sonQ,~bUs, a famous, charact'er w'h,omthe autho'r of 'the present work" his, gran,dso,n" appears to havev'en'erated, and, from whom, see:mingl.y" th.e w'o,rk ,de:rives ·its, title,. 'This Qlb,\is, we, are: info,rmed 'b,y' YIq'ut,was, ,a. 'mlxtu.r,e: of fie,rc,e,an,d cru,elwarrior an.d accOlmplish,e,dman of lette:rs,. He: W'a9, a s,killedArablst',. w'ell. read in philosop1hy andas,tro'D,om,y", a :po1et an,d patron of' poets, a prolific-correspondent and generally well~versed in the arts ,ofhis ti.me. -Yet: h,e ,displayed, hlslnh,erited traits byputtin,g' t'o d.eath, the officers, of hisbo"dyguard oneb,y' on.e until ha,rdly' ,any' were left. A conspiracy- among his troops drove him into e'xile fo'f' aperi,'od of ,ei,ghte,en years, after whIch he manag,ed, toco,Ue,ct a, force stro,ng en,o,'ugh t:o, regain poss,ess,io'n of the I

,x

thro'ne for hlm., Finally, h,o,w'ev'er" he, wasauassinate:d an,d, h,is 'body carried, to J'urjm. His, co,ffinwas p,lace,d in,a lo,fty tow'er-to1m'b which, he had,himself erec't,ed and, whic,h, is, still stan,dj,n:g. ,Robert Byron, in hisRoo,d to' O%:lana,re,peats a l~end, that Q3bUs, was: placed, in, a,crystal coffin which was suspended hy' chains,m.idway'betwe,en roofan,d, 8oor' ofth,e, tom,b., 'That legend"how'e,ve,r', :ismerel.y'a repetitio'n, of'one originally' . told of the Prophet DaniePs tomb by Rabbi Benjamm of Tudela", w'ho traveU,edin the lands, of'th,e, E'aste:m, Mediterranean, in th,e years, 'betw'e,en, A.,D. 116,6 and 1111. When speaklngof ,Khilzis,tIn the Rab:bl says:, 1, "'In the: mi,dst of ,its ruins is S,hus,:han, th,e capital" th,esite, of th,epalace o,f' King: Ahasuerus,. Theriv'er Tigris, ,dIvides, the city an,d the bridge: connects, the, tW:Olparts, • • • On the o',n,e si,dew'here th,e: Je:ws, d,wellisth,e' sepulchre olD'ani,el ... In, th,le: course of ti.m,e [the Sultan]Sinjiar S,:hah came to th,fs,p,lace an,d, [seeing' th,e riv'aJry'betw'e'en, th,e, Je,ws and th,e othe:rinhablt.ants, fo,r th,e possessio,n of the: 'Pro:phet's, co,ffin""whi,c:h brought pros,· perity] he said, 'I command you to take the coffin of D'an,:i,el and place it insi,d,e, an,othercoffin 0'£ c,ry,stal and, to s,us'pen,d this, fro"m the, mid:dle, of the, b'fi.d,ge by a chain of iron'." K:ai Ki,'iisclear]y' a,dmire,d, his, grandfatherd,espite: the very' o'b vi 0 us' defects in, his c,haracter" which he d,oes n:ot attemlpt to exten,uate and so'm,e ,of w'hichit'is,qluite poss,lblc: that he s:hare,d h,imself;, for in v'iew' ,of his gospel of expedj,en,cY'"h,e is unli.kely to' ha,v'e had any scru,ples, ,abo,ut: remov'ing,from, his path anyone who stood in his way. He says as m-uch in 'Ch,ap'ter' XX" w'hereh,e: u,r,g:es, his, son, n,ot t01ne:glect h,is, d:uty lBenJamlD

of

Tude/a, ed.M. N. Adler', Oxford 19'0" pp. Sif. I' am

indebted, for the referen,ce t,o ProfenorV.Mln:orsky.

xi

Introduction when the ‘‘general welfare’ * demands the shedding of blood . And here a word of caution may not be out of place . With expediency always his first consideration , his words cannot be regarded as containing the ideals or ideas of all Persians, still less of all Muslims . Indeed , they no more reflect official Islamic doctrine and ethical theory than Machiavelli’s Prince or Lord Chesterfield ’s Letters those of Christianity. Yet the normal and customary exhortations are not lacking in the work , and in the passage describing his views of noblesse oblige, the author rises to a very great height. And, in general , he appears anxious to impress upon his son the necessity for living the life of a good Muslim. In its mixture of the ideal and the practical the QJfcurnama reflects standards prevailing in official life in the East to this day , the essence being succinctly stated in a passage in Sir Charles LyalPs Life of Warren Hastings, published in 1889. “ There is no such school for practical politics ” , says he, “ as Asia , where the good old rule of taking and keeping still prevails side by side with the most solemn and laudable precepts of justice and virtue ; and where inconsistencies between acts and axioms trouble no one, ” It may not be devoid of significance that the India Office Library ’s manu script copy of the Qgbus-nama bears the autograph signature of Warren Hastings . Although the author of that work urges his son to be observant in his faith, his family had probably not long been converted to it, the provinces bordering on the Caspian Sea having been among the last in Persia to accept Islam . As late as A.D. 912 we read how Hasan ibn ‘All, the “ Great Missioner ” , invited the inhabitants of Tabaris tan and Dailam , of whom some were idolaters, others Magians, to become Muslims. By no means all responded , and records of xii

the

year ,3,94/10103 ,sh,o'w that 'th,e poet Abu'liiiH,asan, a nati-vle

of the Dailamite province who had been a fire-worshipper, was o,nl:y the'n 'rec,ei'vle,d 'i nto the ,n ew ,faith ,. In the early stages of the Muslim conquest, it would appear that it was chiefly the members of noble families who accepted the religion of the invaders, for material as well as other reasons. A good lexample is that of the Ba'r mecides (Ba'rmakids). Th'e ,name BarmaIc 'was ,o:riginally ,says 't h,e traveller ,a ndhistorlan ,Mas"uidi:l, :a 'o tl,e 'b orne by 'the H'i,g~ Pries't- ,o f th,e great ,M~gian fire,· temple at 'N,aw &bar in Bactrla. But his ,d,escen,d. . ants, Id own to the destruction 'o f th,e family 'b:y Harlin ,al,RashI,d, pro'udly' retainle dthe nam,e ,o f Bann,ecid,es. The spirit-of ancient Iran refused to die with the coming of'Islam. j it merely took on the colOUring of the n~w faith and its observances. In a, lan,d, where lifewas", an,d j,s:"particularly' full of uncertainties, the doctrines preached by Muhammad did not to e,very'on,e,"s, sati,s faction solv'e: the p,rolblem of'good and" evil which ha,d long been argue:d there. P'rofessor E., 'G'., B,r o,w n,e" in, on,e, o,f his, lectu,res:" declare,d that Pess:i m.is,m, ha,d, been..9n,e, of the chief influence,s, iD the evoluti.o,n, o.f' mOis t of' the: religio,DS an,d p'hilosophies ofP'ersia and that hardly ,an,ywhere,had so 'much tho'u ght b'ee,D, dev'o ted tOI th.e pro,blem of the, nature an,d , olr igin of Evil., "The: old, dile:mma that: th,e Cr,e ator ,. if He co,uld havepre,vente:d th,e appearance of' E,vil in the, 'universe"and di,d. not: ,do so,, cann,o t be All-Good", while if He wi,sh.ed to prevent it, but cOluld not, Hecann,o t be AII-Powe:rful" has troubled the: P'ersi an, more than it. tro,u hles the Eurolp,eanmind." The two, ,p re:-Muhamma,dan reli.gions whi,ch, o,riginated ,o r' developed ~ Iran,nam,e ly' Zoroas,t rianism an,d, M,anichae,ism, certainly reco,g nise tw'o indepe:n d,e nt and h,o,s tllepow'e rs, in lMUrDJ al-D'bah'tl'b, "Prairi,e ad'Q'r ", ed,. Barbier de Meynard, iv', pp" 41f.

xiii

Introduction the universe, struggling for supremacy ; whereas primitive Islam hardly regarded it as a problem , since Allah was AllKnowing as well as All- Powerful. In the utterances of Kai Ka’ iis there is neither speculation nor judgment about good or evil. He shows himself influenced by the feeling pervading all Persian literature that life is transitory and that 41 the end and aim of all human activity is death and departure from the world * \ There is also present the old Iranian conception of an inexorable fate ruling the world . But it is incalculable as well as inexorable, and brings good as well as evil . The wise man therefore will suffer its decrees passively and with equanimity. The author advises his son to await what the heavens may send with shoulders braced and mouth open, and so be ready either for blows or titbits. It is here if anywhere that some parallel is to be found with Lord Chesterfield 's counsels to his son , although the polished Englishman 's lucubrations were characterised by Dr Johnson as teaching the morals of a whore and the manners of a dancing- master, while there is a good deal that is genuine in the medieval Persian warrior , who advised what he thought good for success in living regardless of conventional ethics. The world in which he existed was politically in a state of flux, with life uncertain and hard . Some of his territory , sloping northwards down to the Caspian Sea ^ was fertile , but much was covered with forest , while most of the eastern part was barren desert . All was liable to Turcoman invasions , which have been endemic throughout Persian history , and he himself, as a vassal of the Seljuq Turkish Sultans, was burdened by payment of tribute . These Seljuqs were a restless marauding family of warriors, who appeared xiv

Introduction on the Persian scene from Central Asia at a time when the Abbasid Caliphate , with its capital at Baghdad , had lost all temporal power They had themselves been newly con verted to Islam and by over-running Persia , Mesopotamia , Syria and Asia Minor , they gave unity to a great stretch of territory which had long been without it. With the zeal of

-

.

they stiffened the wavering faith of the original inhabitants of those lands and so combined them that they were able to drive back the Byzantines, who had been

converts

creeping Back on to their ancient territories and were in part

recovering them. The Seljuq efforts “ bred up a generation of fanatical Muhammadan warriors, to whom , more than to anything else, the Crusades owed their repeated failure ”.1 Gibbon describes with apparent satisfaction the overthrow, in A.D. 1071 at Malazkerd or Manzikert , of the Byzantine forces, which were made up “ of the subjects and allies of Europe , , and , above all, the mercenary and adventurous bands of French and Normans. Their lances were com manded by the valiant Ursel of Baliol , the kinsman or father of the Scottish kings ”. Socially, the world which the book describes was a man’s world and the general picture of life in it that of a small town lying in the midst of agricultural land , on which many of the town’s inhabitants were employed and from which they returned to sleep at home in the evening. Distinctions of class were recognised , but the divisions between them were extremely tenuous and easily broken through. Indeed the social circumstances revealed in the book do not greatly differ from those described in James Morier’s Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan, where a man might by his efforts raise himself from slavery to princedom and be cast by his evil

.

-

. Lane-Poole : Muhammadan Dynasties , S .Y . Seljuks .

1S

XV

J'ntrod U'ction

star from th,eheight ofp,rosp,erity into the d,e:pths of ,penu,ry ,an,d :ign,omin:y, ,and where all things,w'ere pos,sible. This is not to say' th,at all ach:ievede,quality 'o,r ha,d, th,e same kin~ of privileges- open to them. Only men belongin&. to prin,cely fa'milies., for exa'mple, 'orm,en ,destined for the le,arn,e,d pr,ofessi.1ons" receive,d or attaine,d by th,eir own e£fo'rts an,y fo:nn,al,e,d'ucation. 'O'ur' ,author for on,ea,p'pears, to nave, been instructed. in the arts regarded as suitable for acquisition 'b:y a 'man Q,fgood family in his time", and almost certainl,Y ,ac'q,uire,d 'othe'rs, by' himself. ,Althou,gh it is unlikely th,at ,he 'w'Q'uldha'vebur:den,e,d, ,himself 'with, the, task of setting ,down 'his 'work in writing, for whi,ch he: prio'ba,bly emplo,y'ed, ,a sc'rlbe, the, co'ns is t,ent style ,of t~h,e 'w'hole: indIcates, the,hand ,of a ,single ,a,c,co,mpli.s:he,d auth,o,r" wlthpo,,ssibly so'me additions in t'h,!e way of anecdotes borro'wed, fro,m other s,ources" whe'th,erP,ers'ian or foreign. In 'the c'ou,rse of 'his readin,g ,and instruction"or in conv,ersation, 'with savants ,vh,o r~sided at his fat~her"s cou,rt" he d,ou~tless leamtm'ucholf the reli,gious ,and,p,hilo,s,o'p,hicallore of his lan,d ,an,d faith, and, .since Islamic tradition is filled with 'r-emirilsc,ences ,of the stories in the ,Old and New' Testaments" it n.'eed Dlot ,surp"rise,us, to, com,e across su,ch, a, story' as that ,of the 'yo'u,thF,at~, who, fo:und loaves ,floating d,own, to, him on the Tigr:is. It is a characteristically naive,illustratio,n, o,f the behest to ' 'Cast thy bread upon the waterS" (Ecclesiastes., xi, I,). It i.s Similarly at se,'condhand th,at the author w'o,uld, ha,ve, ha,dan:y ,knowledg,e of th,e G'ree'k classics,w'hich so,me o,f :his instru,cto'rs mi,ght well have read in translatio,n. N'ot all the 'Greek classiCS, it :m,usth,ow'ev,erbe said, b,utrath,er th,e 'w,orks ,ofth,e :philoso:p:hers ,and, doctors. ,Amo'ng th,e lands-of theN,ear 'East, SyrIa ,and Mesopotamiah,ad c'ome 'under the

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~

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XVI.

-

lntr,oduction influe,nce of Greek leam.ing: an,d sc.ie:n,c,e ,in, the, da,ys, ,of

Alex'and,er the,G'reat ,and, his,SU,CC'es9O'rs. Propagatio,n of su,ch learning was: en,C'o'urag,ed, still furthe,r b,y the ByzantIne :rulefS':, whose etrorts were greatly helped hy Christianity. Monb in, ~yrian, m,onasteries.eng~~ in translating, sacred boo1es fr:o,m,G'reek to Syri,a,c" but did not confine th,e:'DlS,elves merely to wo,rksof ,e,cclesiastical inte:rest;, ,philoso'p,hy'an,d science in all its,branc:hes ,als:o ~g,age:d th,eirmin,ds:. When" in the fifth century, the 'Nestonans expelled from the Byzantine, empire: too,k,re:fug~,in scattered comm,unities ,in Mes1o'potamia and .Iran " they' fo'unded, special se,hocls in . ,k' me . ·di.-erne - . an" ·,··d·th.,-· ,-d .". O',·P'··_'·_OSO',P'.Y f cC:.hil ' ·,h"" hi· h' G--_,ree,_., 'w'.,c. o._er.' Sl_es we,re ta,ught. Them~o,st famo'us of th,ese schools, was: one", ,established at: Gun,day Sh"apiir, some little distance to, the' north ofAhwaz"w'hich, was, in, e,xisten,c,e as late ,as the time ,of' th,e Caliph, Mans,iir (A.D. '),S'4-7'7S)" gran,dfathe:r ,of'

Harlin, al-Ras,:hl'd. ThJ~ wo,rk,of p,ro'p-agating

'Greek science was ,carried,a, stage furthe:r when, C,hristians, an,d Jews en,~g,ed in, trans,lating texts from the intermediate Syriac form into Arabic. With, the: esta'blishm,ent of'the C'alip:hate at Bagh,dad" such learnin,gand activity 'was greatly e,n,co,uraged, so that. Greek, p,h.ilosop,hy and sicienceb'ecame 'wid,espread, wherever Muslim savants w,e:re tob,e foun,d,. An,d, in, this co,ntext,it is, to b'e:borne in 'mind that A,rab,ic was. as muc'h the language, of learning in the Muhammadan world as Latin that learning i.n m,e.dieval :E,uro'p,e,.Me:n, of 'Persian, culture, though :not alwa,ys of Iranian stock" eagerly'a,bso,rbed th,e new learning:", and thenam,esof Rhazes, ,an,d. ,al,. . Fara'b,I"wh,o flourished hi the ninth century A.D., and Avicerma, who died in A,.D. '1031", bear witness to th,e, competen,cywith, whic,h the:y'handle~d it.

of

B

xvii

Introduaion Avi,cenna at: OD.e ·pe,ri,old. of his, caree:rbadQ,lbQs i.bn, WashmgIr as his patron and would have r'emained with him had not the prince been exiled. There were numerous similar co,urts of the. kind, whichspran,g up all. o,ver Persia as the Caliphate declined and local spirit and patriotism began to assert itself. The most farnolU, perhaps, was that of Mahmiid of Ghazna, where many a poet and learned scholar was ke,pt asa gu.est,. hono·ur:ed but, often un:willmg, to' add. lustre to the monarch's name. Had the poet Firdawsi not escaped this would.be patron's clutches in time, his great epic recounting the legends of Iran's pre-Muslim heroes and heroines would probably never have survived, at least in its present form.

It Was the work of such men as these, locally encouraged, which achieved national fame. What commanded a market best,ho,w,ev'er" was; la,u,datory v'erse" much of which" perhaps too much, has survive·d. Essays and belles lettres were a co~paratively late development, and not having a specifically personal appeal were always of rare occurrence. :In the 'period, 'm,oreo,r less, co,nt.e~m,po'rarywith, o'ur author" only three works in that class having any merit are known, the Q.gbus-nama being the earliest. Of the others, one is the S,!yQsat-nama:, or "Treatise on Govenunent", of the Nizim a),-,Mulk", the famo'us vi.z'ie,r of'th,e G'reat, Selj,u,qs,wh,o,m leg,en,d, connects with Omar Khayyam and who died by the hand of an Assassin envoy in ~8S/lo92-3. The second was the , 'Four Discourses' , (on, Se,cretari,es, Poets, Astrologers and, :Physicians) of NlzimI' "the, Samarqandi 'Plrosodist", wh,o flourished in the first half of the twelfth century A.D. and was personally acquainted with Omar Khayyam. Manuscri,Plts of the o,ri,ginaIPers.i.an text olfall thre,e wo'r ks are rare:"b'ut C'harles Scheferpublis,h ed the text: of xviii

the Siyasa> t-nom'a ,with, a F'rench translation, in 18'91'" and ,Mirza ,M'uhamma,d, Q,azwini an,d, P'rofesso·r Brown,e r'espec,· ' tiy,e lyth:e text and English translatio,n o,f th,e c'Fo,uf' Dlsco'urses," ', under the auspices of 't heE. J. W. Gib,b, ,M,e m'orial (1910, 1921). The,'T 'rustees,of the sam,e Mem,o,ri.al, in th,e early part of the pres'e nt century entrusted th,e wOlr k of e:ditlng the Pe:rsi,an, te:x t of the Q.gbiis'-nam'Q' to th,e late Mr Ed,ward, E,dwa,r dsof the O'riental D'e partmentof the B,ritish M,useum" 'b ut he was :p1rev'e nted fro,m maki,ng any m,o re than a, beginnin,g: by pressure: ofoth,e:r wor'k and the: 'O'I lS,e t ,o,f s,erio,us illness;. It 'may be ,as'ked, why such works ,as, these are, D;O t better" an,d more g~,erally, known. Pure chan'c emay hav'e, bee,n one reaso,n , rari~ ,o f texts--d'u,e to ,d,e struction 'wro'ug~t b'y,the 'Tartar 'h or,des under Chingiz 'Khan,'s subo'ro,inates,- an,o th,e r (pr'eferre,d 'by 'P'ersians), and still another that betw,e en, the, ,s,eventeenth, ,c,e,ntury, when Perslanstudies ar'e first heard of j,n ,this country, an,d the 'be,ginning ,of the nineteenth", th,e 'm ain con,c,e rnof sc'holars was, with Biblical literature. With the more secular outl,ook ,o f the nin,eteenth, century" when P,ersian literature began to be stu,d ied fo,r its own ,sake, in th'e ,first instanc'e 'by m'en who w 'ere", or had, been, in contact wi,t:h the ,Mogul Empire ,o r its ,su,ccesso,rs, th,e first task ,o f scholars 'was see:n,to be 'the deliverance from obscuri~ 'o'r ,oblivion of the ,great 'nurnb'ers of works whIch lay''b uried in ,man'uscript. 5,cholars th,erefo'f,e d,eyoted thems'elves to ,cataloguing,the a,ccurnulations in ,European an:d, ,Asiatic, Ilbraries and only veryslo,wly be,gan to engage in the arduous, an,d, from the point of view of earning a living, unremunerative task of editing and publishing the texts that were being demanded. 'Slnc,e these w,e'r e for the benefit of l,eamed fello·w-workers

xix

I

.Introduaion in. the same 6eld,translati:oDS were ,de:emed unnec:e ssarypossibly even inexpedient sometimes. Ordinarily too, it was the poetical literature, steeped in mysticism, which attracted, rather than the prose, much of which dates from tim,es when Mo·ogol,. Turkish and Indian authors w'ere imposing their own intricate and flowery patterns on the basic simplicity of Persian. It remains to say that the princel~ Gtlinshlh, .for whom the Qjbas..nOma was composed" was the last ruling member 'o f his line. After a reign of seven years he was overthrown by Hasan-i Sabb~ (the OldMan of the Mountains of whom, an,d ofwh,o,s e S'u ccessors, th,e Crusa,d ers ,stood laters'o much in dread) in the year +83 of the HiJra, i.e. A.D. 1090-1. IlEUBEN LEVY

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

., w.ish to th,an,k Mr. Jo.h nHaywardfo,r .h,elping me with, t:he translation oj some oj the verses quoted in the text. R.L.

BIBL.IOGRAP'HICAL, N'OTE, .H .A sma.d ethe present version, '.. ,fro'm :aP,ersi,an, text edite,d 'by :him, and to 'bep,ub,lished, by 't h'e 'T rustees ofth'e E. J. 'We Gibb Memo,ri.al" O'D the~ basis mainly of the following manuscripts: India 'O,ffice Library: Ethenol.2 I S,3 ;un,date,d" but prolbably of 'the ,sle'v,e nteenth century ,A ,. D., British Mus'eum,: Cod. 'O r. ,325"2; dated 86'I/I+S7'" p,ans (Bibllothe,q ueNational,e ) : Ancien, fonds I 3 8; date:d

T ··n_

....

,H E 'T RANSLATOR

an,d Leiden:Cod,. +49 W,arn. (Catalogu,e IV', P'. 819/1+1,4 "

20 1 );

dated

7 1 9/ 1 3 1 9.

The Persian text has been twice printed: A"bazaa .' d·_ucti' · .o.n bY· '.-~' R -- i• ..l~ QuI I. .. _ _.. r ." , '. text". Wl·th ... an' ''mtro _ 'I Khan "'Hi1diyat "', Ti'luin ,12 ,8 S/ I 868, and :2 . An editi-o,n with ,good ,notes by ,S a'ldNaIlSi; Tlhrin :131 '2 / :193,+ . ,An lexp~gate,d e,d ition, fo,r s'cho'ol use has, be,e n made from the latter. At vari,ous periods th,e work, was translate,d ,from P'ersian into 'T'u r,kis'h ,an,d ,o f theseve,rsio,ns, tWOI are e:'x tant"one made for the Sultan ,M'ur3d II (A.D. 1+21-1+43) an,d the se,con:d for H,asan P,asha" Gove11l0r '0 :£ Baghdad in I 117/ 170S-06. Man'uscri,pts ,of 't he Turkish translation appear to' 'be co'mmo:ne:r 't han 'thos,e ,o f the Perslanoriginal. IThe w,o rk was twic,e translated into a European language in 't he nineteenth century: :1 . Bu,c'h ,des :Kabus, oder Lehren ,d espersische,n 'Koni~, K]e'kJawus fur s'e'in'en Sohn 'Ghilan, Schach, . . . aus d,em 'Tiirldsch,· P,ersisch-,Arabischen iibersetzt unddurc'h, Ab,handlungen un,d Anm,e rkung,e n erliutert 'vo,n, ,H. F.von Diez. xxi, u

u._

B,ib1.iographical No,te

Berlin, 118 I, I. (Thisap:pearsto, have been, made fro,m on,e, of' th,e Turkish versions.) 1. 'Le Cabo us' Name, ou ,Livre d,e, 'Cabolus, de Cabo,us1 'Q,ns orel ,Moalj"lso'uv,erain d,u DJordJan, et d,u Guilan" traduit . . . e:n, fran,~ avec d,es n,otes par A. Q,u,e:rry. (Biblioth1eq'ue Orie,ntale ,Elzevirienne,xlviii). 'P'aris", 188,6., 1

AMIR,RO R, FO'RP RIN 'C ES,

AUTHOR,'S, PREFA,C,E

·P

a A I S E, BET 0 , Go~d, 'Lor,d, ,o f the worlds" an,d blessin,gs . and peace upon Muhammad and his kinsmen, aU of 'These ,are the, words of couns'el given to his son, Gilan.sh.ah by their compile'r cU:~ur' al-M,a,':al,i Kai Ka'iis, ib'n Is'kan,dar ibn Qab'Us ibn 'Washmgir, Client of the Command,e,r ' of' :Believers : Kn,o,w" my son, that I have becom,e old,an,d that feeblen,ess has taken possession of :m e:frio m [the colo'u r' of] 1 my hair I see"as ,i t wer'e written in my ap'pearanc'e, the p,roclamation of my ,dis:missal from life:. See.k as, he 'm ,ay no 'man's han,d, can I

them.

ann'u lit.Therefo,r e" myson, since I find 'my name 'in the co'm,pany ,o f them that are ,a bout to pass a"Wa:Y" I deem it :f ittin;g "b1e fore the i.n,t imation of my dismissal aJ11v~es" to r,ecoro :i nwriting m,y views on showmg: a proper indiffer.., ence to destiny·s decrees and on the advantages to be acquired from 'possessing ,a goo,d, repute. I impart: this to, you o'u t ,o fpate'rnai affection" so that befo're you are, crushed b,y the han,d, of fat,e 'y:ou 'may read these w,ords, of mine with an,

unde:rs'tanding eye and"benefitmg fr·o'm my' counsel, gain repute whic'h s'hall b,e good, both in, this wo,rld and the n,e xt. Let your 'm ind not :hesltate to :r eceivemy eo,unsels" although, in any event, I shall have discharged my fatherly I

Words in square brackets are additions by the translator. Words in round brackeu are the author"s. I

Author' $' PrgQ'ce

,d'uty.If you ,do ,n,ot wish to' ,p,ro,fitby'w'hat 'I. say', the:re are, others whowlU, re,gard it as abooln t.o h,earken tO it an,d, apply it to 'us"e.But the fashi'on of the tittle ins i.s ts, th,atn,o' slo'n 'will take, his, father's ad,vi,c:e, becawe the:re: is a, 'b,urQin,g ~d,our in the hearts ,of 'yo'ung, m,eln, w'h,ich, throu,gh folly persuadles the:'ir intellects that theirownkno,wledg:e, i.s~ SU:pieri,or to that of their eld,e:rs,. I ,am aware ,of' all this, yet my 'pate'rnalafl'ection, would not allow me to re:main. silent: anld I have therefo:r.e searc.he,dm,y min"d fo,r ev,e:ry' kind, of tlopicanld ,co'llected som'e matteru:pon each", settin,g: down, what is most appropriate and beneficial in this record. If yo'u decide to use it" allis 'well; if n,ot" at least I. shall hav',e d,onemy ,duty as a fathe,r. There is~ a saying, that: the functio,n of the .spleaker is nom'or'e, than to speak; the're is D,O' cause for ,griev,ance if the 'heare'r ,is, DOlt r,ec:e:ptiv,e. Be ,a'wa:re:, my' so'o" 'that men are so,co,nstitute,d that th.ey' I

·a're e:'ver in a fe'ver about the transmissio'D to tholse dearest 'to the'm ,of the fortun.e allotted them, inth.is world,., My fortunle ,qonsists,of ,these,wlo·rds.ofmine an,d you, a,f'e the, oln.e, d·ea'r,est to 'm,e. Sine,e, now, 1 have begun m.y' j:ourn.ey on.wa:rds:. :I transmit to :youth,le: fortune,w'hich,has c:om,e tOI me: 'I

to enable y'O'U to, avoid becoming self-willed, and, refrain fr'om 'what isunfitting:,1 s,oo'rderin,gy:o'Uf life: that. it m,ay be 'worthy of your unsullied ,o:rigin.. Y'o,u,r o,rigininde,ed is, lofty" 'n,o'ble on 'bothsides"your ancesto1rs, having e:ve,r been w'o,rld,d,ominating 'monarc·hs. For ex,ample"yo,ur ,grandfa,the,r was: King sh.affis al-Ma'ali Qibiis ibn Washmgir, grandson of ,Arghis'h ,s'on of Farhadan wh'oin the, ti.me of Ch,o,sro,es ruled over Gilan and ,of whom Ab,u'l·,Mu,'ai.yad Balkhi: ~v'e, an, ,acclount In his Book of Kina's. Th,e kingd,om of Gilin remained after' 'him, th,e inh,e,ritan,c:e ·of y;our' an.cestors,and,y:ol'ur grandmolther, mymothe,r" was 2

A,uthor's Preface the, da:ughte'r of Prince Marzu,b:an, so,n, of Rus,tam, son of Sharwin", author of the, ,Marzuban-nama,whose ,ancest.or thirteen ,gen,erations ,earlier 'was, Ka'lis ib,nQ'ub,ad" 'bro,ther of Niishirwin the Just, whiley:ou,rmother was th,e da'ughter

of'th,at ro'y,aI p'rotag,onist in, holy 'wars, Mahmii,d ib'n, Nasir ai-DIn,. 'Furth,er" o:n,e ,of my an,cesto'rs W'as, Hasani Firiizin, king, of the :D'ailamites. Be quic,k of understanding ther'efo're,

my

so,n", to'ap'p,reciate the valueofyou.rb1irth, and not to disgra,c,eit,..Alth,o·ug,h I perceiv,e, :in you, the marks ,o.f g~od .. ness and vi,rtue, 'yet I r~rd it ,as 'myd,uty to repeat w,h,at 'I :ha,ve said. 'y'o,u m'ust realis,e, my' son"that th,e ,day of :m:y de:parture a,pproaches andth,e, da:y 'when you will ,succee,d 'me is near. Kno'W' then that this world is ,plou,g,hland; as you SO'W" he it ,good or Ill" 'yo'u, reap. Yetnom,an enJoys, on. 'his, own, groun,d 'whathe has 'reap"e,d there. It is in the place. ofD'elight that he enjoys, it" an.d that is the Everlasting A,bode. 'Now in this

present world virtuous men are imbued with the spirit of lio,ns", wh,ereas wicked 'menhave, the spirit of ,d,o~", fo,r while t'be ,d,o,g co:nsumes ,his 'p:rey where, he seizes it th,e lion tak'es itelse'where. Yo'ur'hunting-groundis this8eetmg: world and your 'q,uarry is kn10wledge ,and virtuous, co'nduct. Carry thro,ugh ,yo'ur p,'urs,uit to, the e,nd 'here, so that. when t'he timeco,'mes. for enjoyule.nt in th,e 'Everlasting Abode it maybe wit.hthe, ,greatest degre,e of ·pleasure. Th'e one, w:ay toac:hieve it is 'b,y' s,ubm,ission to G'od, ,Almighty. The parallel to th,eman wh:o seeks after G'od is fir.e, w,hich, striv,es toe'v"ergreaterh,eight and volume the more it is sup'p,ressed,;whereas the m,an fro,m 'w,h,om the path ,of 'God (and, of obedience to, Him) is remote is, like water "w'hich, howev"erhi,gh you may' carry it, ,se.eks ,ever to run d~o~·wn.:war:,ds~·. -

-.~-

. .

~-~.

Author's Priface

Ihav,e, p'ut this book into fo,rty-four' ,chapters wbi,cb I ,set down as follows here:

I. Knowledge 0 £ God,. n,. 'Th,e creatlo,n of the prop'bets,. ill. Gratitude to the Giver of bounty. IV • The performance of religiOUS duties to the best of ,o:n,e',s ,abilities. 'V,. Ac'kn,o'wle,dgm,e nt of thedebto:w'e d to, par'ents,. VI. Enrichment of personality by acquisition of 1

talents. 'VD. Speech; th,egood ,and the evil. Vill. Theclounsels of 'Nushlrwin the J'ust. IX. Old age and youth. x. The etiquette of eating. Xl. The etiquette ,of 'win,e.,drinking.

XII. The practice of ho,spitality, and pro,viding entertainment.

X1D. On playin,g backgammon and chess. XIV. XV. XVI. XVll. ,XVIn. XIX.

xx.

The art of love. Sexual enjoyment. On going to the warm baths. Sleep and repose. 'Th,e chas'e. Polo.

War.

XXI. The accumulatio,n of wealth. ,XXII. Loy,alty to trusts. XXIII. Buying slaves. XXIV . Buying houses and estates. XXV • BUyin,g horses. ,XXVI. Seeking for a wife. 4-

c··hi·' __ ._l,dr,,-'e~ n__,. Ch:oo,sing, friends.

XX,VU'. '._~ ~-,es~, Duti'

xxv·m. XXIX., XXX. XXXI., XXXD. XXXIII. XXXIV. XXXV. XXXVI. XXXVD,.

,'.~ t ... -;--·-..J -, tOwaJ"lWS

. '., r,e,cau,t),ons P

.

-

~mst

..

en,errues.,

Pardon, an,d :p,unishment. Stu,dy' of reli,giolus;d,octrine; the: o,ffice, of qadi. The: practice: of co'mme:rc,e. Thestu,d,y' ,of medicin,e:. Astro,no,my' and, geom,etry. The art of ve:nifica,tio,n,. The :m.instrel" s' ,art. Th,es,e,rvic:e. of th,e kin,g:. XXX,VIII. COmpanionship'wi.th, thekin,g. XXXIX,. The functions of scribes and the conditions they -

~

-

- -

fulfil. XL. Th.e Vizj,e:rate. XL,I. The c.olmm,and,o,ftroo:p,s,. XLD. ~,hip. XLm. The :P'easantry'. XLIV. Knight.-errantry .

C:.HAPTER, I

On Knowina God

'· M canno1t be

Y S, 'O' N, T HE, REisn,o thing'" exis,ting: ornon,. .:...existent or capable of existence; the nature of which cOlm,p,r eh,ended, bly m,e:n,.But when, Y'o 'u, c:o 'm ,e to unde'r standing the Creator" yOlu fail, since th,e reis n,o' medium by which such an understanding can be attained. With th,e ex,ception, of him all has. 'b ecomeknowa,ble, and you will be:c,ome a know'e ro,f ,God only wh,en you, a,cknowledg,e, yo,urself 'with,o ut :knolwle,dg,e. Knolwin,g:is, lik,e: a, blank s,urface to be engraved,thelcno,w er' res,e,mbling, th,e e'ngra,v,e r ; unless, the blank, surface is, ca:pa,ble of being: en-' grav'ed no o:n e can carve a, legend, in it. It is evident that Seals are mad,e with wax rathe,r thanston,e because it is more susce,p tible of takin,g an impression.Wlth all Ien,owing" therefo,r e:, th,e re is mo,wability" but th,e C'reato,r ' is unknowable. In your thinking', therefo,re, di.rect your min,d toyo,urs,elf ,a nd not to the, Creator; 1. refiecton, what he made and so

recognise the Maker. And take heed lest delay match from yo,u r han,d [deprive you, of] the kn,owledge of the Wa,y to the Maker" for'dela,y is cOD,c emed,'w ith time,w'h ich is trans,i tory and as, such, has, a beginning and an e:nd,. So, far' as conce,m s, this world" whi,ch yOlu regard as, barre,d [so thaty'o ucannot ad,vance on the Way]., do, no,t reg~rd the barrier it fo,rms as, animpassa,b le olne. Haveno misgivin,gs" for the barrier w'ill l

not remainsh,u t [against you]. Think about thebe,nefactions, and, blessings, of th,e 1

"Knowth·enthyself" pr'esu.m en.o,t God to scan •." P:ope,.w 'Q)' on Man-.

7

Creator" but ,n,ot about the Creato,rhimself: is, th,ere: anyo,ne, so utte:rly lo,stas he, that: se,eks, awa,y' wh,ere th,ere is, n,o, way?' As the :P'rop'hetsaid, 'C:Think, on, the b'e,nefa,ctio'n.s; of Go,d, and n,ot o'D,whathe is". If th,e Lord", spea,king: b,y th,e, to'ngu,e: of th,e la,~giver [M,uham,'ma,d],refus:e:d, to permit m,en such presumption, then no one can have the temerity to speak of 'lcno'wing the Way of God. Whate:v'ernam,e, O,f attribute yOlu 'ma'y,employ to, designate G'o,d o,ri,gi.nates:iny'olur own, h,elpless.ness, and your' la,ck, ,of' capacity to con,ceiv'e: o,f anything :nobler-:it cannot ,a,ccord with, his, ,Godh,ead, o,r so,ver:ei,gnty,. You cannotprais,e God, in, tenns, worthy of him., If you cann:ot e've'npraise him, wOlrth,ily" how' can, Y'ou Icno,w

him? If you de.s,ire, the: truth, about [G'od"s,] o'n,en,ess" yOlu m,ust: r,ealise th,atany'meta,ph:o,r poss.esses some reality in G'od,'s ,sovereignty, 'but, e,ve,n ,h,e 'wh,Q realises that on,e:n,es5, achi,eves, no more than either innocence or polytheism. The One, in . verity. is God Almighty ; all ,els,e, 'is dual. 'The, reaso,nis that th,~

'mark of d,uality a,p:p'ears upo,n ev'erything' 'w'hicb, be:colmes, tw:o through an ,attri,but:e or throug;h, bein,g: c'o,mpo'UD,ded, 0'£ two (or more) things, ," fo,rexam,ple: the body', or becom,es two by division like a number, or becomes two by co'mbination, as, 'with [th,e: emplo:ym,e:nt of] a,djiectiv'es, o,r'is two 'in olutline like plane surfaces"o'f' in, co,n,jiunctio'D is two, lik'eq'ui.ddity and form, O'l' b,y 'contrast is two, lik,e ess~e,nc:e: and attribute,o,r hy' generati,on, is two' like root andb,ranc:h, 'or in space is two like m:od,el and c:OPY'" or as w'hen, ,on~ thing is the product. of another likem,atte:r and ele:m,ent, o,r in, ,dimensio'ns is, tw'o like ,an area " O'l in e,:xte,ns,io,n, is two, llk,e time:, or ,in, limitatio,nis, two like id,ea an,d,proo,f, or is, two b'ypotentiality lik,e a,personal character, o,rwhi,c.hmay 'be two' in the 'mind"se,ye like a thing ,do,ub,tfu} as: to its, S,

existenc,e and no:n-existence; olrfinally, ,is tw:o in i.tse:lf~ like ;a thin,g and itsc,o,n verse. The ,distinctions in all thesle examples are the si~, ,o f duality; 't h'e e,xc'epti,on, is ,G·od" w:h oiswithout: pa:ralleI. Th,e tru"e coursle is foryo,u to realise 'that" whatever th,e idea which y,o u may ,conceiv'e ,o f him, it will n,ot. be Go,d ; but Gold, ,fcie,e of ,allassociatio,n and, likeness, 'w llihave b'een its,

'c reator.

Concemina the Creation

of the Apostles and their

Mission my son" that God , d.id n'o t create 'this 'world thro'ugh any need of his own, nor yet idly, 'b ut he ,c reate,d it in ac,c ordance 'w ith his

Y

O 'U

M 'U STUND :E RST ,A N' D,

j'usticle and eq'uipped it ,i n ac,clordance 'w ith wis,dom:. since he :k newthat 'e'xistence isprefenble to :non-e,xistence:, life 'b etter than annihilation, incr,eas,e 'b ette'r t:llan ,d,ecline an,d the beautiful 'b etter than the ugly. Hepossesseld the pow,e r and 't he ,knowledge to create elth,e r ,a lte'm ,i tive" 'b ut he made :nothi:n,g: that was, Wlworthyand ,nothing that 'was oppo,se,d to hisunld,erstanding,. He wor:ked in a fashio:n appro:p:riate to him and 'w hat he did 'was in. ,acc1o'rdan,c'e with justic,e - it 'C1o'uld D'o t havle 'be,en. d,o:n eout of nes,cien,ce. The structure ,o f ,the univ,erse, ther,efor,e, is 'bas1 e,d 'upon, 'wis,d om,an,d 'God desi,gn,e dit as was m,ost be,coming. T,h'us ,he :mi,ght have provid,eJd, light without the sun, rainwitho'u t cloulds" temperam,e.nts without the :bumo'urs ,and ,good ,o r' evil 9

1

A, ,Mir,ror,fo" Princes

inHuenc,es in th,e 'world without the sta:rs. Sinc,e, h,o,w,e:ve:r. his w,ork wasbas,ed 'upon 'wisdom., hep,:ro,duced no,thing' ,e:x,cept th'rough ;a :m'e,dium (making: .such 'me,di,urn, the. instnun,e,nt ,of 'creatio,n 'o·r ,annihilation)"and, th,e:greate·r its, im:po'rtance the greater th'e glory' and ,dignity of th.e 'plan, [of the 'universe].F'urth,er,.were it n'ot for the plan: there

w·ould 'be no order, ,an,d for [God's] wo.rk,ing: there i.s, ,essential nee,d ,ofor-d.er .Th'e miediu.m. too is ,essential" .and he th,erefore ,so contrived that OD'e thi.ngmight ·bep.red.omin.ant an,d another ,subordioJate, on,e aconsume,r andan,Qth.e.r a .p:~ovid,er, :such duality bein,g testimony to the on.eness of 'God (M;a.y hebe glorified II). ,Sin,ee, thereforle, 'yo'u ,ean perceiv'e the m'ediumbut' not its :furth,er p'urpose, 'be'w,are lesty'o'u 'pay regard. merely' toth.e . medium. :Ne,ver loo'ku'pon ,anythin,g gr,eat or smal1asha.ving: lts orlgin in the m,edium, 'but only asdu·e to the. Maste:r ,o·f th:e :m1e,diu·m.1f the ,earth 'yieldsn,o 'p,roduce, lay no blame: 'u:po'n th,e 'e'arth; and :if the st.ars giv'e 'n'o Justice, lay no' b,Jam.e. 0:0 th,e stars; for th,e stars are as little conscious ,of justice o'r injustice as the earth of being fruitful. When you ~tter 'w,holes,om,e s·eed 'u,po'n 'the ·earth" it :h,as no 'pow',e'r to bring' forth ·v1en,om,. 'o,or can th,e stars, followin,g the sam.e la.w,: o,f' th,emselv,es .pro,d'uce either g'ood or e·vil. Since the. world 'was 'c,onstructe,d in 'wis,dom" th.at 'w:hich was 's,o' constructed. ~as inevita'bly provided 'with e'quip,m,ent. Look th,en.u.pon ·th,e 'worlld and behold itse1q'uipm,ent, plant an,d ,an'imal, fo'o,d ,and ,raiment ,an:d ,all kinIds ,of ,goodness ; for all these a're:useful app·ointnlents create,d :inaccordan.cewit·hwisdom." as G'old sa:y.s inh:is ownbo,ok: "We ,create:dn,ot the heavens: and the ,earth ,and w'hat lies between ,as, a dive:rsion. It was in,a s,plrit of reality, and nought else, that we created them" (Koran ,#"vv . .3 8 f.).

N',o'w th,at you UD,derstand that God ,creat,ed no blessing in th,ewo'rld 'with,o'ut p'urpos1e" itwo'uld 'be futlle c,o,nd'uct to leav,ethe Just ,aims ,of :hisb,en,e6c,enc,e ,and pro vi d,en,c'e 'un,ful6l1ed. 'The Just ;aims ,of his 'pr:oviden'ce are that you ,sho'uld give to 'th,e man that c,onsumes; and, thatbein;gso; ,be cr'eated 'men in 'o~der that the'ymay' eat. Sin,c,e 'he 'o'ri,ginated mankin,d" all 'his, 'bounty 'w:as d:es:i.gned formankin,d.N,o'w", :man has, D'e,ed ,of gove,mmentan,d r,e,gulatio,n iw'ith,out dir,ectlon he ,is brutal [uncivili.zed] in th,e respect that hie ,eats his daily 'br,eadwith'o'utregard to o:r,derand justic'e an,d fails, to render ,d:uethanks to the 'Giv'er. This ,implies,a defe,ct :in the :Provi,der of daily' b:read" :in,so'mu'c'h ,as ,he h,as grantled their sustenan~ce to 'i,gn,o'rant an,d 'ungrat1e,fu] men,. N,ow, s.inceth'e :Provider :is 'without flaw, :h,e bas not left 'the ,consum,e'r 'without ,kn~owledge:" ,as ,b'eio,dicatesin ,his 'haole ("1 cr1eated nei'the,r spirits D'or 'm'e:n, ,sa've that th,ey should wors,hip' m,e" (K~o:ran SI,V. 5,6». Moreovert he sent apostles amongst men to teach them tb,e 'wa,y of knowledge ,and, the rules r1e,gulating 'the 'eating: of oD'e:";s ,daily b,read and of rendering thanks fo:r it, 5'0 'that th'e stru,cture of th,e wo'rld :m'ig,ht 'be 'based upo,n justice. Nowth,e achiev,em,en't ,of,th'e, aims of Jus tlce :re:stswith, wisdo:m:, that of 'wisdo:m with 'bo'UDty, that ,of bo'unty with the ,c,o,nsum,er of daily· bread and that of the consumer with the apostles who give guidance, there being no break possible in this sequence ,if true guidanc1eis to be ac'hieve,d. Philosophically re,ga,roed" 'the :h,o:nourand, gracio,ua:n:ess acclo'rded to th,e ,c1ons'umerb:y IGod'sbounty ,and p:rovildence 'mak'e :itin,e'v'itable that 'G,o'id ,sh,o'uld :r,e,cognizebJs ownguidancean,d ,have ,aclai.m on the gratitud,e ,of,th,e c,o:nsume'r,. He in :his turn should declare ,his .indebtedness to the a,po,stles" ,acco'rd th'em, ,his lo,y,aIty and ac'knowledgeth,e 'truth of the 'm,essa,g,esbrought by all th,e I

c

II,

,If ,Mlr:rorJor Princes

'p,rophets from Adam, to M,uhamma,d. ,Further" :he ,sbo,ul,d be obedIent tlO [the la'ws ,of] his, faith" nev,er fail in his ,gratitude toh'is, Benefacto,r o,r in the prop'e,r observanc,e of th,ed,utie~, im,po,s,ed 'b,Y :his religion. Thereby hema,Y gain, ,goo,dly' rep'ute aI1d t.hepraise ,of his feUo,'wme,n,.

CHAP'T,ER,

m

On Gratitude to the Lord

•. .K

of BoUD9'

that it is the· fixed duty of aU men , ~_ to ,gi.'ve thanks to 'th'eLord of Bounty in a,c,cordan,ce with 'his ,commaJld, though 'they ,cannot b,eacco:r:din,g to the N OW, M Y SON,

:m ea5'ur,e of ,his ,dese:rts"be:,ca'us,e ,ev'en :ifall 'm,en co:nve,rted themselves ,entirely 'into thankfuln,ess it would notsuffi,c,e as, ,gratitu,de fo'r lone th,o'usan,dih 'part ,of w'hat was due. 'Un,der,stan,d, 'then that 'th,e ,full extent ,ofsubmiss,io,n to God, co:ns:ists" in the faith of ,Islam, offiv:e a,cts:, ,of'w'hich tw,o ,ar,e Id,emanded excluslv,ely of' w,ealt~hy 'me:n ,and thr,ee ,of th,e glenerality ,of ,mankind. First of 'the 'th:re,e is 'the ,o'ra1 c:o:nfessio:n,of faith and in'ward 'belief, ,sec,ond,is p-erforrnance of the ,c,ere'm,o,n:ial,of 'wo,rship five times dailyan,d th,e third is the ,thirty days:' fast. 'Th,e ,attestation I[of th,eunity ,of 'G,od] is proof of th'e l

:negatlon ,of the reality ofan'ything: 'b'ut 'God,worship is 'prolor IQ,f t'he oralackn,owl~gmle,nt, of su,b:m:ission to 'God ,and 'th,e ,thirty-,day fast is ,c.o'nfirmationof th,e oral c,o'nfession ,of faith ,and ac,kn,o:wled,gm,ent of 'the divinity 10.£ IG,od.• 'Whe.D y,o'usay

'that yo'u ,are his :s,ervant"y,Qu,m,ust 'be, truly ,su'bmissiv,e. Ifyo'u wishyo'ur own :servant to be obe,dient to Y'o'u" Ido 'n,ot refuse I 2

On Gratitude' to the Lord oj BoUDt;}'

obe·dience to, your o,wn Master;, if yo,u ,do" exp1ect nothing of' your own servant, for, however good your treatment of him , it is no better than God's treatment of you. Further, do not be a, rebeliiousl servant,;, for s,u ch a on,e e:v er Sleeks to be, master an,d is speedily' d,estrol.y'e,d,.

oJ

'Tis well to cut the throat any slave That for the place mastery may crave.

oJ

Yo'u m,u stbe aware that wOlrshi.p and fasting are fo'f' the especial behoof of God. Do not therefore be remiss in carrying them out, for if you are remiss in your performance ,o f 'what is God,"s, p'rero~tive, yo,uwill fail in yo'ur duty to,w'ar'ds, ordinary m,e n.Un,derstand, too, that the law'giver [Muhammad] made worship equal to the whole of belief, so that you must regard the man who abstains from worship as one,w'ho,abstains from pe,rfo,nnance of all th,e, dut:ies of'th,e faith; and the penalty' for' irreligion is death and ill..fame in this world and God's punishment in the next. ,Do D.o t permit the thought to enter your head that any n~lect in yo,ur devotio'I lS,isperm,issible:,fo,r wh:eth,e:ry'olu 'r egard it from the point ,o f view of religion or of philosophy there are several advantages to be derived from worship. The first is that he who performs the obli~tory ritual of wo,n'W.p has body' andgarm,e.nts clean, an,d, cleanliness, is: eV'e:r preferable to defilement. Secondly, the worshipper is free from vainglory, for the reason that the principle of worship i.s based upon self-abasement. If your spirit has accustomed itself to,s,ub'missl0,n:"yo,u.r body follows; and, it is well-,kn,own to understanding people that if one wishes to become a member of a particular group one must consort with it. If a man consorts with an unfortunate group" he, becomes 'u nfo,rtunate; if 'h,e seeks ha,ppin,ess' an,d, fortune hie must al:Jy' I

3

.A Mirror for Prin'ces

hims,elf with thos:e: poss:essed of' g,ood fo,rtune:.Now the: collective opinion of the wise is that there is no greater blessing than that of the faith of Islam, and no authority ,greater than that of Islam,. If" th,erefore" yo,u, wish cons1tandy to be endowed with gpo,d, fortune: and prosp,eri.ty, s,eek, out those possessed of fortune and make yourself their servant, avoiding anything to the contrary, lest, misfortune overtake you,. An,d"m,y so,n", be:ware: 0 £ behavi,ng with, le:vity or' frivollity during w'orshipl" bly omitting to' bow do,wn and prostrate yourself completely or by jesting; such practices are not those characteristic of religiOUS people. Realise, m,y' so,n, that fasting: is a, duty' tOlbe perform,ed once a year. To,b,e remiss therein wouldb'e ignoble, nor would understanding people regard any neglect as permissible. Yet see to it that you do not indulge in overzealousne:ss, fOlrthem,o'nth, of fasti,ng is, no,t without its a,cts of fanaticism. Do not display' fanaticism ov'er the beginning and ending of the Fast. When you have ascertained that five learned and reasonable men have begun the Fast, begin it 'with the,m,; and, en,d it with, th,em" paying: no, h,e,ed t:o what ignorant people s·ay • You must appreciate that God needs neither your satiety nor your hunger. What is significant in the fasting is the consideration which God as owner feels for his possessio,ns';1 and, th,j,sno1t me,rely' for a, partic,ular part of th,e,m but for the whole of the body-hand, foot, eye, mouth, ear, belly and sexual organs. All these must be sealed, so that" in a,ppro,priate: fashion, they are kept free of pollution. Therefore'l ke,e,pl th,eseparts olf th,e boldy'clear' 0£ transgression and sin, that you may observe the Fast with due reverence. Remember, further, that the greatest act of piety during the Fast is that, having postponed your day's meal to theev'ening" yOIU shall besto,w on the needy,the 1

1

14

Acts oj Piety to ,be increased w,ith, Increase

of We,alth

'po,rtlo,n ,of fOI'OO you ha,dsetaslde fo'r the daytim,e:. In, that: mann,e'rthep,ractical aim,of y'o,ur'suifering, will b'ecom,ea,p'.' par,ent and the ,kin,dliness an,dbenefit deriving from, it will ,accrue to,some deserving: person,. Take h,eed that you,permit: 'yourself no ;shortco'ming in these, thr:ee: acts, of'piety whic,h, ha:ve, be,en :prescribed, for the ,g,en,e:rality of mankind'i for there is no ,forgiv:eness, fo,r short:co'min~,. In th,e two duties -

-

more especially assigned to the wealthy, excuses for failure ar,e possible. But on, that: sc,ore arguments are plentiful;, I' have said what i.s ind,ispensable.

of Pielj' to be increased with Increase of Wealth

Acts

--Y

a,wa,re" my sOln", that God, impo,s:e:d ._ tw'o religi,olusl duti.esm,ore particularly' u,po'n men, o,f wealth an,d of am',plle:means.., Th,e,y ar'e,: alms and th,e 'plilgrlmage to, M,ec,c,a., H'e: co,mman,d,ed, that: allw'holc:oluld 0 U' 1

MUS, TI

B, E,

m:ake du,e, p'r'olvis.ion sh,oluld visithis~ hOluse", b,ut did no,t enjoin tb,epilgrimage on tho,s,enoltpo,ss,essed, of suffic;ient m,eaJ}S. (Surely Y'ou, re'alize th,at in, w'olrldly'matte,rs, also thos,e ca,pable ofun,dertaking the c,e:remo,ni,al of ro,yal courts, are the wealthy?) Moreover, the onerous part of the pil,~ge is th,ejo,urn,ey'" which it w'oluld, not he, an act of l,

Wisdom to enjoin on them that could not equip themselves for it" fOlr t:o' undertake th,e jOlurn,ey' with,out prope:r e:quipment w'ould, b'e: [to in,vite] des~tru,ct:io,n. Yet if yo,uha,v'e th,e 'm,eansan,d, fail tOI mak,ethe j,ou,mey" IS

· A ,Mirr,or for ,P,r,jnce,s

have 'n ot atta'in,ed Ic omp'letely th,e happiness, ,and pleasu.r e, ,o f 'worldly 'riche,s ; 'inde,ed, th,e 'pe'rfection, of pleasure liesl in seei:ng 'w h,a t yo'u havle n'o t alrea,dy s,een" eatin"g whaty,o u, hlavle not .h itherto ,eat'e n and ,e x,p eriencing 'what yo,u :hav,e not yet experie.nce,d. On.lyb.y travel 'can this be achiev,e d, seeing that :i t :is tra'v,ellers who have :seen the w·o rldand been me,d in active affairs 'who bec,o me prosperous and wis'e through havi~g .seen what [others] have not seenan,d h,e ard 'w hat yo'u

[othe'rs] 'ha've :n,o t h,e ard.Th,e A,rab's say:" 'Hearsay' d,oes not equal seeing' , • God, therefore, prescribed the joul11ey .for th,e:m po,ssessed of wealth th.at they 'mig,h tdischarge the duty, of wOlrthily' ,emplOying his bo1unty and ca.rryin,g o'ut the Lo,rd"s, co:m mand to visit his ·h o,u se. ,He did not impose it onth,e poo'r , who ar'e, portio,nless an,d, with,o ut means, ·as I: have, said in m,y quatrain:

ThefrJend who Jajls to place m,e at his sj,de" But lear" me 10 my mlsery to IQ,bJde, Foraiveness finds, ,since a.ll creation's Lo.rd, Wou.ld .leav,e ,Q plQup'er },anaulshin,s ~.utsj.de.

y O'U 'must 'understand~, my son, that if th,e impecunio1u s :man 'un,dertakes the 'p'ilgrimag,e, ,he casts hims'e lf into pe:r il; th,e :pauper 'who apes th,e wealth,y resembles the, ,c rip':p lew:h o ,a tt,e mpts tasks only feasihleby the able-bodied,:, ,as; instanc,e the :pilgrim in the following, ,sto,ry. I have 'b een told how a l

certain chieftain ,o fBukbara once ,s et o,u t 'to make the pilgrimage. He was a 'man of wealth; indeled nobod,y in the caravan 'was bett,e r 'pro'v lded,m,ore 't han a, h,undred cam,els 'be~g laden with his ~ggage, while he 'h imselfrod,e in a, litter withstatel,Y luxury. With him was a mix,e d, company ,o f 'p,eople both 'p oor an1d ri,ch. As he wasapproachin,g 16

,Acts ,oj Piety ,t,obe l.ncreased with Incre'(Jst

oj Wealth

Ararat" l a be,ggar' ap'p,roac,hed barefooted and, thirsty,his, feet bliste:r'ed,.Catching:slg,ht of the chleftain in all his luxuryan,d ease,he: look,ed up at him, an,d said" "Whe:n the, time fo"rrequital com,es"my re:ward an,d, yours will be,th,e: ,same"tho'ughy:ounow'p'rogress:in plentiful easean,d lam, in · ", .' Thh-· c...._!_ re'p_l,e 1-· d-":God£' b-dthat at the: s'ore: straIts, .·,eate'n. a ,Ilundred blows" saying t,o him:, "You ,su:ch-an,d;s'uc:h" that is for the ,cruel 'wlay i.nwhich, yo,uhave iD_fonne,d, 'm'e ,of this 'matter. If ,aJlm,ykins'm,en diebeforem:e, wh,om sballl have to associate 'with me 1"" H,e then 'orde:re,d an.oth'er :interp'reter to be brought to' 'wh,o'm he related 'h:is dream,. Th,e secon,d man said" "'The dreamw,hich th:e Com:m,ander 0·£ the Faithful has dreamt is ,an in,dication th,at YourM,aJesty',s life will be longe,r than that of an,Y of 'his :kinsm,e:n". H,ariinrem,a'rked, "'So far as mea:ning goes, this is the, same thing:. This interpretation ,go,es :n,o' furth·er than. the other , but 'th,ere is a ,difference in th,e w:ay the two t~~ a'r'e told.' "And to thisl man he ,gave ,a :hunldred ldinars.

The Good and Bad In Speech

I have also heard ano,t her story', unsuitable for this,boo,k and yet, "Nothing witty should be wasted". A man, lying with his page, said to him, c'Turn your bottom this way". The yo,u threplied, "Master, that could be better expressed". "'Ho,w s,hould I say it?'" asked the master. "Sa,y, turn your face the other way" ,replied the page. "The meaning of both phrases is the same, and thus,you avoid uttering what is ugly. "To that the man replied", eel' agree with your remark and, furthermore, I grant you you~ freedom" . Both the obvene and the revene of words, therefore, should be known, and what you say should present the best aspect. Thereby you will ensure being not only capable of uttering speech but O'£' understanding it. Otherwise, if you speak words without understanding them, what difference is there between you and the bird called the parrot, which too is ,capable 'o f utterance but nOlt ofunderstanding?' If a, man has the gift of speech, he should have the capacity to inake all that he says comprehensible by others. Thus only can he be reckoned amongst persons of intelligence, and, if he bas not the capacity, he is 'merely'an,animal in h,u:man,fOlrm. . Pay great regard to spee.c h t for it Originated in Heaven ; if you know a word, do not withhold it in its season, b'u t do not waste it where it is unt.imely, and thus avoid any outrage to understanding. .L et what you say be v'eracious,; make no baseless assertions. In any assertion that you make, let argu.. ment form the greater part and your own proposition the lesser, and ,d.o not pretend to a science which you do not possess. If you havle, acquired a certain scie.nce" dOl not seek your brea:d by it, even if you realise your ambitions by your knowledge. On the other hand, you will attain nothing by ignorance of a subject. 'Th,ere is a story of ho,w during 'Chosro"es" reign a woman 39

.A A1irrorJor Princes

prlesented h,'erself 'before Buzurjimihf' [the vizier] and ask,e:d him a question. His thoughts being elsewhere at the moment, he replied that he did not know, whereat the woman remarked, "If you do not know, why do you enjoy your master',s 'bounty?':' CC'Itis for w'ha,t , I, kn,ow"" re:pli.e:d h,e:. c'The king gives me nothing for what I do not know, and if y'o u do not understand that, come and enquire of the king. ' , Do not go to e.xc·ess in an,ything that you dOl" recognising eXlcess ;as ,disho,noura,ble. In all your ,affairs, take the mi,d,dle. course, for the author of our laws [Muhammad] says, "Of all things those in the middle are best'· . Both in speech and actioln, hew'eighty as, ,a,' matter of course:; i,f you. are blame,d, for being weighty .and delibe:rate, regard it as p,referable to being praised for hastiness and uncertain action. Curb any desire you may have to leanl secrets which do not in any way co,nce:rnyou'J a,n:d utter 'yo,ur

secret to :n,o o'ne other t:han yo,urself. 'If'you Idol so utter it, cease to regard it as a secret. Do not exchange confidences in the presence of third parties, for, however good the actual intention of your words may be, men will dl-aw evil conclusions from their mere exte'm al utterance, since human beings are ever ready to suspect each other. Olwn

In all your deeds and words let .your ,generosity be as large, as YO'ur' 'means 'will penn'it, and in. wh,atev,er you, saY' let your words be witness to y'o ur veracity 'in such fashion that you may be held by others to be a man of his word and

truthful. Then, if you dislike bein,g. accused of dishonesty, ne:v'e r ,giv'e evid,e.nc,e in, any ca:us·e. B'ut" .if you do SO'" th.e nat: the time of giving your testimony throw hesitation aside. Listen to, the words men utter, but whe,n it c,o mes to applying them, to a,ction do not be over-hasty. Say nothing witho'ut co,n sideratio'n , making: th,o ught the ad,vance-guard, 40

,of 'y,our wlords. 'Thus YOluwillneve:rrepe,nt of w'hat you say" 'because foretho,u:ght p'rovid,es ~ double safe~. Never 'w'eary of hearin,g what men have to sa,y"w'hether' it be of [immediate]us1e ornolt" so that no ,gates, of information may be 'barred to you. For your own, part, d:o not give utterance to Wlpleasatlt remarkS, for they -are the seed fromw:hich enmitygroW!,. If y'olU are, wise:'IYo,u, will reck,oln :y:ours,elf ,as being witho,utkn,owledge" in, o,rd,er that th,e gatles 'ofinstru,c:tion, s,hallremain, olpen to yo,u. Neithe:r tram'ple ,down the words of othersn,or' o,v'erpraise: them" until th,elr faults, o,rm,erits, are 'UD,ders,toodby' you. Letyo,ur address 'be th,e :5aulewheth,er it be, to no,'ble olr h,um,ble: 'perso,ns: the:reby y:ou will A'vetrans.gressing the boundsl of wisdom and your' ,speech will n'ot be distreSSing to yo,ur' 'h,earer,. H'owe,v,e:r, in. circumstan,ces, whe:reyour wo,rds will not be ,accepted in ,evi.dence an,d, argument" spealc as yo,ur h,earen would wis:h; thus you, 'Dla,Y e:m,erge with impunity from any assembly. However well informed you may be, 'behave as,thou,gh yo'u 'were 'less c:om,petent than,you, are: in fact, sotbatwben the tim,e' c~om,es"fo,r speech, and, acti,on Y'O'U 'ma:y not be left stan,cling :h,elpless. 'Be o:ne 'w'ho ,kn,o,wsmu:ch but speaks: little: rathe:r than o,ne w'ho talks'm'uc,h th,o'ugh kn,owin:g little, for the'foe is, a, sayin.g that silence is double security and loquacity double folly~ 'Th,e 'r,eason fOlr this, isthatth,e: gen.eralityofm.ankind reg~rd 'h-ismuc·., h- given a, 'man W,O to'speec:h-'-h _,', ,'. ,o,wev',e,rwis;e h" e:may be, :a5, numbe.ring amo:n,g the foolish; w'hereas, tholugpaman be de'p:riv,e,d of wisdom, if ,he 'maintainssilen,ce, the common nm ,of 'men. will recko'D. that. :sllence ,as cle,vem,ess.., H'owever 'mo'rat ,andpio'us you ma,ybe:, d,o, n,otprais,e: 'yolurself~, for n,o o:n'e wi:n li,ste:n to your evidenc:e in y,ourolwn fav·our. Striv'e, to be,come the ,object: of other m.en.'s :praise rather th,an Q,f ,4,1 -

-

A Mi.rro,r JorPrlnces

your own,. Further, howev',erm,u,ch,youmay ,know:" say only what is, to, the 'po:int" so that yourpow,er ,of speechma,y ,D'Ot ~-'.--'---,-, ropo, , -,,s of_ this th-reis, ua;ome,'yo,ur' _"unldo:ing,. A,-,,P,,' ______e ,- th---, e ,S,t-'-,--,ory ,of 'what, the ,e Ala,wid said to the :man of&j:3n: I ,hav,e 'been told that ,in the days, of the Sahib Isml,'il 1 --ved-' - ',-- '_ in Z-inJ-an -_ ," -_,an,i -', li th ere- ',' , ,-I ' ,as t'h"eto'wn, ,_ "S' __M---_uftj-' ,,' d-"'.P'~- reac_ -'h-''e--r",- an " ho,'_ar ,'l' "'}', ,.,med--'Id_ m" ,-:---, -t', es,t'" ',' W h' o 'l-d'~ ,__ SC, _ea, _____ ID the -___ 'law --" and -- __ ,'h,,e, _ ,grea_, eem" __ O was an adh,erent of the S,hifi'il'rite. Th"erewas also,a,young «Alawid [descendant of ~ Ali, the Prophees son-in-law], son of the headman ,of ZinJ3n,whopractised the 'p,ro,fession of p;reacher. 'Now betw,e'enth,ese two great 'rivalry existe,d,:., each, casting as,persions o:n 'the: othe.rfrom, th,e: p,ulpit:. One

day' the :youn,g,er 'man while in, the:p,ulpit calle:d th,e, othe,r an unbeliev,er'.,wh,ereat, o,n, :report of it rea,chin,g the elder man, h,e 'retaliated :in, 'the p,'ulp,it b'y calling him a bastard. Immediately' on 'news, ,o,fthis 'being brought :hlm" the, young' c',Alawid set out for Rayy [Rhages]wher,e he, lo,dged a com'plaintabo'utthe old man before theSahlb" saying with, tears, "In the time of a great man like yourself there are those who call the descendant of the Prophet a bastard". 'Th"e ,Sahib was ,stirre,d, to anger. He ,despatche,d, ,am:essenger tos'ummO'D the old, man and, ,seate:db,imself' ,in 'com,pany with the doctors of the law and the Saiyids to hear grievE---m·-g,~' 'th cS'baiekh' ances. A·'d-dr-,' '___ , ess'_ _ .. e'" "de,len: -' '",t''.h',e'.sal·d'_ ,IC_ '_. _' ,.'", ,yo,u are 'O'De ,of the Shafi'l i.m,ims, ,a man of learning' and o,ne who'w, rea'c'~eld the brink of the ,grave. It :isim,pro'p"erfor you to c,all a d~c,en,dant ,ofthe, 'Prophet a bastard. Either, therefo're" dan·' -

'lTh,e Sahib Ism I,"'11 Ibn ',Abbld, a 'rizierfam,o'U., fOf' hillearning" 'wbo, ,8ourish,ed,un,der 'th:eN'o,rthP,enian dynasty of warrior princes 'knownu tb,e Buwayhid".He W,II the patroo, of many m,en, of letters. He died at:

Rayyln A.H.

38,.{ (A.D. '9,9'{). :IOD,e of the four main, diY1sl0'DS of the SUDol (,eO,rthodo,x") comm'u-

nltye

+,2,

Justify

Ylo'urw,ords ,or I will sentence you to th,e

sharpest

penalties, as a'warning to all men not to commit this offence. This ,is ,as the 'law or,dains." 'The oldman r:eplie:d:, I' 'The evidence, for the, truth, ofm,y' 'wlo:rdsis what ,this 1',Alawid ,p,rovides ,against himself. Y'OIUcan, require ,no,ne 'bette'r. Ac,co,'rding: tom,y statement he was, born :in lawfulw,e,dlo,c,k ,an,d is, hen,ce pure, 'whereas, acc'onlin,g to his ,own s'tate'ment he is ille,gitimate.'" ·:'·'By what r,eas'onin,g?' 'as'ke,dth,e Sahi'b,. ,c,c:,Everyon,e in Zinjim't'; said th,e ,old man, IIe'kno'ws that ,it was I w:ho c,eleb~rated 'th,emar:ri.age of hispar,ents. ,He DOW' ,denoun,ces me f~o'm the, pulp'it ,as ,an un'believe'r. Consequently, if :he utters 'the words ,in, good ,faith,h,e 'm'ust ,have b'e,en, 'bomout of 'wedlock, since: the marriage celebrated by an Unbeliever is invalid. If, on ,the oth,er :han,d" :h"e utter,ed the wo,r:ds 'without b,eli.e:ving 'them:, hie 'must be a, liar; ,m,d,asno, d,escendant of the: 'Pro,p'h,et ,can 'be ,a liar, YO'U, may' call him 'whatyo'u, will,. He 'has n,oaltemat:ive 'but to :stand 'by one o'r ,oth,er ·0£ th,ese two,

. " ,thi --ngs. The 'Alawid was shamed and unable to reply; his thoughtless w,o:rds thus lea'ding to 'misfortune for 'him. '00 'yo'u thereforeac'qui,recomman.d of wOlrds, 'butno,t for th,e 'p'urpose of uttering falsehood" ,sin,ce lying: :is a, fo,'rm of 'ma,dn~,.Wh,e,nyo'u ,are ad,dr:essing someone, w'hoev,e'r it 'may be" loo:k 'w:h,ethe'r there iJa willing recipient fo'r-your' 'w,o:rds or not. If :yo'u find an ;approving' 'hearer"pr'oe'eedwith what 'yo'u ,are saying; othe'rwise:, adapt yo'ur w:ordsina, fashion tlO mlake th,e'maccord with the :h,earer's 'pleasurean,d so tlO ,gain his ,apprio'val. 'With ,eivilisedme:n 'be a civilised man

,an,d 'with the ,co'mmo,n ,o'r'der ofm,enbehave like the:m" f()r' civilise,d men ar;e onle 'thing an,d, the cOlmmon orde,r of men ,an,othler . Any,on,e who 'has 'been, a:wake:ned out of th,e sllee,p' of B

43

A Mi:rror forPrincC$

in,differencewill r,egula,te his, .life in.soci,ety in, thewa,y I. ba,v,e descri'bed. To the best of your pow'en, overco1me anyun,willingness, to listen to oratory, for a mastery of words is gained by listening. It is an. argument, fOf' thia:that if a child, on being bo,rnwer,e:transported below' gro'und ,and. th,e:rerear:e:d", withoiut .its :parents Of' nurse, ever .,peaking a, WOlrd tOI j,t and, witho'ut its ,hearing a WOlro, s'pokeD, it wo,uld, gro·w up d,umb and, ,incapable of uttering: a word, tho,ugb, in c~olurs:e: of time it would hear speech. an:d then. learn it. Anolth,er' argument is that a child at birth is incapable of speech, and, further, that all dumb perso:ns: ar:e deaf. Philosop'he'rs declare tha·t kings: ae'quir'e lustre of the: eye by hearkening to the coUDSel of the wise, and that philosophy is the antimony and collyrium of the eye of the mind. 'l~lie, -wo,rdso.f s'uch, men " therefore., sho'uld, be, listened, tOI wi:ththe: ,earo.e the mind, and c:onfi,dence: s,bo,uld be placed in th,e·m,. A number ofth,e,best of their sayings have been re:cOI:rded, as the utterances of N'iisbirwmthe: Just an,dset down in this work, SOl thatyo,umay p;ut them to practicalapplication. Indeed, putting the counsels of that king. iDto practice :is a, 'boun,den d.uty·. - I have read in the annals of bygone Caliphs that the CaliphMimiin once visited the, tomb o,f'NiishIrwm, th,e Just an,d found his bod.y re:posing o'.n a, thro,ne which,hadc.nunbled, to dust. Ro·un.dthe wall of th,e building ther!ewas, an in,,s'cri,ptio:n in gold ink written in, the, P'e·blevi,character'., MJm:iin, ~v'e o,r,d,ers that scribes, with, akno,wledge: of P'ehlevi sbouldbe summolned to translate th,e iru:cripti,o'n, into A:rabic" whic:h in its tum was made ,comprehensible in P'ersian. Itbe~ as follo'ws: "Throl'ugholutm,y' lifetime:, all God.' 8, .crleatures,enjolyed.my Justlc·e· an:dnol one: caJn,e into'

++

'my p:r,eslen'ce 'but :received merlcyfrom :me,. 'Wb'en the tim,e carnie for :m,'e to 'ber,educ,e,d toh,elpleasn,es5 'I sa'w 'tbat the only c,harl'ty :I could bestow 'was tlO 'hav,e tb1ese ,sentiments ios'cribe,d u,pon these walls,. 'Th,en, if,anyoDle ,s:b,o'uld 'vis:it me" 'he co'uldrlead the 'w,ords" un,de'rltaoo, re:member ,an,d ,apply th,e'm, mid SOD,ot ,d,e,partfrom, :m1e ,empty,..:hand,ed."

The Counsels oj NUsh"jrwan the Just to his Son

,. us ,saying: ,As long as ,day N tud,es ,of [human]affai.rs. Then he said:: m,en Hi a 'WAN

BE 'GA NB Y'

' . . and night ,c,o:m,'eand ,go" 'D,evermarvel at theviciss'i-

How'isitthat

,commit ,actio'os of w'hichth,ey afte:rwa'rdsr,e:,pent, althoug,h othe'rs 'b,efore 'tblem 'have ,done 'tbem and repented,? 'How can, a man 'who has ,ac'quaintance with kings lay hims,elfd"own 'tJO ,sleep ,fr,e,e ,of Icare'1 ,Ho'wcana man ,count 'hims,elf 'happ,yw'hose life has, 'n,ot ,goB,e acco,rding to 'his ,d,esires l' 'Wb:y D,ota'c,countthat many:our enemy who s,ecr,etly' kno'ws his ,genero'sity to be to the, detrim'e:nt of mankind?' Do n'ot ,call hi:m your ,friend, 'who lstheene:my of one ,of 'y,ourw',ell'-'wish,ers • Forlll n,o frienldship with men lackin,g merit, for ;s.u:c'h men are 'w'orthynelth,e'r ,offri,e,ndship'D"o'r ·of enmity. 'Bewar.e ,of 'the man Who deemsbirns,elf 'wis,e 'but is 'in a,ctucU fact a fool. Do good ofyo'ur own ,accord" thus, 'may 'yo'u be free of the [ com,pulsionof 'the] lawgiv,er,. 4·,S-

,A ,Mirror jorPrilJces

S:peak 'the truththou.§t It 'b eb:i tte'r , ,an,d,if yo'u desir,e 'y our enemy not to become possessed of your secret do not reveal it to your frie,n,d. Th,e great man 'w ho loo'a 'upo,n hi'mself as smaIIls 'i n,d eed tb,e ~ea't 'man of his a,ge,. D,o 'not r,e~ as li~ creatur,e sm'e n, who lack, all 'valu'e. If :y,ou desire to 'b'e rich witho'u t unhapp:iness, let aU 'yo'ur acti.o'os be worth,Y ,o fp'raise. ,D onotbu,Y,a t any p,ric,e " so that yo'umay not 'be ,co'm,pelled to :sell ,a t any prilc1e . Better ,die ,o fh'unger than 'be sated 'with the 'b:read ,of ignoblem,e n. 'Place no reliance" for'some fancy you may 'con,ceiv,e ,upon untrustwo'r thy m,en, nor ,cease: your relfanc,e:upo:n th,e m :y,ou ,c aD trust. Re'~, it as a gr:eat 'misfortune 'to stand in n,eed,of kinsmen hum'b ler 'than ,o'neself, for :i t 'is better to di,e :in the water than

,

to

'be~g

hel,p of a frog.

The ,s inner 'w ho :is a 'h'um,ble s,e,elce'r after the n,e xt world is 'b etter than the ,d evo'u tbut self~impo,rtant man wh,o' is a, see'k er ,afte,r this world. There, is, no' foo,l gr'e ater' than h,e who se,es, a,man of lowly s,t ate, risen to' greatness; and yet colntinues; to, r:egard him as

lowly. T'h e,r eis no, fa,u lt greater' than, fo'r a man to, lay claim, to knowle,dge, w'hic:h he, does, not possess and then to resort to lying. . Be not misled by him that gives something which he has 'p ick,ed, u,p inex,c,hang,e; for' solm ethingn,o t 501 [easily]

acq,uired,. Th,ere is,no, meaner' pe:rson in th,e wOlr ld than, he to, whom

appeal is made for help and though able to grant it refuses. 46

,R,e~d him,

that spea,ks, ill ory'o,u" when you are inn,o,cent"

more worth,y offo'rgive:ness than hi,m,wh,o, carri,ed the report

of it. to yo,u. H:e that is, stricke,n, by' themis,fo,rtuneof' OD,e dear tOI him, suffers less grievously than he that hears of it and is helpless [to, su,c'cour]. H,e that is, .aHlict:ed, by' what his. eyes, be,h,old,s,uffers, far mOire than he, 'wh,Q :hlms,elf ,s,u,Wers, aftlictio,n,. R,ec'k,on any slav'e that is, 'bo,ught an,d, sold, freer than the man who is slave to his gullet. . N'owise man shol'uld und,ertake the taslc o,f instructing him that hasn,ot been, .give,n und,erstanding:by th,e: exp,erie.nce of time'. It is, easler to gua,r'd a, fool ,against anything: rather than,his

o,wnbo,dy. If 'youdes,iremen to speak, w'ell, of y'ou" th,e,n, d,o, you speak, well ofyou.r' fel1ow'-m,en. Ifyo,'u desir'e yOlur etfol'rts o'n, b'ehalf o,f ot'he:r m,ennot to be, 'wasted" th,en do not pe,nnit o,the:rs,"e:ifo,rts on, yo'ur behalf to b,e:wasted. If Y'ou desire: tore,main, tte,e of' unhap'piness"bfe not 'envio'us.. If Y'o'u d,ol n,ot wis,h, to' be r'e,ck,oID,ed insane', d,o not se:eJe to' discover the undis"coverab,le:. If you ,d,esire t'o c"'urs,e 'res:pects ·th,e ,c.onfiden·c,e r,epo,sledin him, th,e ,ac,c,ept:anc,e ,of a trust is ,a grave 'matteratten1ded 'with :h;azar,d,. :S'uppo,sle 'the thin,g de'positle·d with 'yo·u .sh,ould be Idestroye,d 'w:h:il,e in y,our hands" th'o'ugh 'with,Qut an,Y intention ,on .yo'ur :part; ify'o'u 'bo'u.ght ,an'othe'r in r,epla,cement ;and .gavle it him:, then well an1d ,goo,d; 'but supp,ose 'that an evil spirit led y,ou astray to covet it, that would mean disgrace both in this ·wo:rld ;an,d the ,next. 'Even w'hen ·yo'u restore it to its rightful O'WD,er, ·havin,g endur,ed such tro'u'bles in th,esafeguardin,g ,of 'th,e trust, t·h,e o'wner ·bears y,o'uno ,gratitud.e.H'emerely says that t'he ,article w,as 'his :anld it 'has been given 'ba1c'k to hi'm,. H,er,e:mains lentirel:yu~teful towards 'you for ,all 'yo'ur tro'uble ,an,d 'y·our Isole 're'w,ard fr,om :hi:m :is the poss:i'bility .thathe w,o'uld 'bes:mlrchy,o'ur .garm,ents,. If :anyharm 'befalls the .article, ·witho'ut any ,con,ceivable di.shon,esty ,on ,y,our :part, n'o o:n'e will ,a'c,c,ept ·tha't excus,e ,as tru.le. In the tho'u,ghts ,of ,all you ,will b,e a rogu·e:; t·h,e. rle,garld in 'w·hic~hyou ar,e h,eld 'b:y your 'peersan,d asso'ciates ·wlll vanis:h ,and :non,e 'will ,e'v1erp'la,ce r,eli.ance ·upo'n. ·yo'u a,gain .

.97

Wer,e , in .f~lct, ,a single particle, o,f that valuable obJle ct to 'r emain with you" it would be a contrav'e ntion of the law, an,d great misfortun,e would, cling to you. In this, wo,rld yOIU , w,o uld ,n,o t prosperand, in the' nextyo,u 'would earn God,"s

punishment. On t'he ,oth,e r hand" when you" fo' ryour~ :part" entrust ;s omethin,g: to, anolt h,e r for safe k,e'ep,in,g, never' do it c:ov'e:r tly' 'b ut take two, ,equitable witnesses and,,as:k, fOIl ' a d,ocum,e nt [of' receipt] from, the deposita:r y" thus, relievin,g yours:e lf of any' litigatio'n. Then, s'hould, the matter co'm e to liti.ga,t i,o,n" do, not 'be ove'r -exigent; t.o h,e 5'0 is the mark of the 0plpresso,r . As lo,n,g ,as 'y ou can ,a'void it swear no oath,w'h ethe:r true or fals,e " and never gain a rep,utati,oID as a, swearer olf oaths" s'o that, should the occasion arise when you are compelled to swe,a'r , men, will believ,e by that oath, that you are telling th,e, trut'h . Howe:ver rich, and pow,e,r fulyolu, may be, if your reputati,o'n is not ,good ,and you do D.o t speak the truth"you, will 'be one ,o f th,e 'poor, seeing that the man of ill repute: and t'h e liar m'u st ine'vitably' de,c lin,e: at last into po,v'e rty . Put into practic~ yo'u r reputatio,n for trustworthinessithas, heen called the ,P'hilosophe,r" s Stoln e fo'r-making, gold-and thus live 'r l,c h andpo'werful. That means. that you must be trustworthy and truthful, because th,e wealth of th,e' whole, 'w orld is the poss,esslon lof them, that are trustw'olr thy' and, truthful. ,Strive, nev,e r to mislea"d" 'b"u t also, 'be o,n yo,u ,r ' guard, against being misled" especially in dealings in, 'whic,h the ap:p etites are ,c onc,e me,d .

xxm:

CHAP'TER,

On the Purchase oj Slaves

· W'rnayap:pear

o'ut to 'b,u,y slav:es, be cautious. ..'., . ,buymg - ,.. ,- 0,_ -fmen isa , . . . , ,' ,The .. _". '.. .. difficult art because man,y a :slave t10be ,go,o(l, 'who" re~d,ed with kno:wle'dge,tums o'ut to 'be the 'opposite. Most people imagine H'E NY 0 'U IS E T

I

- " . -

_ . ,

' , '

. ' "

-

t'hat 'bu,ying :sla'v,es i.s lik,e ,an,Y other form 'o,£' trading", ,not 'b £') 'un'd_e'rstand_ing "ha t t t h e.u,ying ,0_' s~,av'es" or th -eart 0 £-d'oing ,so" :isa 'branc,hof philoso'phy'. Anyoln,e 'who 'bu'YS g,oods ,of 'wh:ich hie hasn,o c!o'm:petent 'UD,d,e'rstan,dio:g can h'e :d,efrau,d,ed ov,er th,e'm,:, ,and th,e m,Q,stdifficult form of kn,o'wledge :is that whichd,ealswith :human 'beings. The're are, ISO many' ble:mis'hes ,and goo,d 'po.intsin th,e 'human ,kind" ,an,d, asin,gle blemish may conceal a myriad good points while a sIngle good point may conceal a myriad faults. . - Huinan beings cannot be known except by the science of p'h"ysiognomy ,and,b"Y ,experience., and 'th,le s,ci.e,nceof' - 'its entirety - ,a 'b-rancopro,p' h r--h ecy 'mat ..,'L is, p'h"-'ysiogn,o'my 'in is n:ot ,aclquired to perfectio:n exceptb,y' th,e divin,ely' dj,rected apostle. Th,e 'reason is that b'yphysiogno'my the i.nwa,rd goodn,'e5Sor wic'kedn,es,s of men 'can h,e ,asc,ertalned. Now let 'me d,es:crib:e, to' the b'esto,f my' ability 'w:batis, ,ess,enti.alin 'thep'urchasing' ,of sla,ves ,bothwhiteandblac:k" an,d w'hat fh·eirgo'od ,an,d 'bad 'pointsar1e, so thatth,e:y maybe kno'WD, to 'y,ou.Und,erstaJl'd ,then that 'ther,e aorethree essentials in 'th,e 'b'uyin,g ,ofslav,es,; first is, the rec'ogn:itio'D, of their ,goo,d ,an,dba,d qualities wheth,erextemal or 'intern,aI, by m'eans ,of p'hysi1ognom:y; second, is the ,awareness of i

9'9

1

.

,A Mirror jorP'rlnca whether 'latent or aplparent, bly their' sym'PltoIIDS;, third is thekn,owledg,e: of th,e van,o,us, classes an,d the: d,efects:

,djSea5 es" l

and m,erits of each.

With re,gard to the firstrequire:m,ent" that o,r p,hysiolg,Domy'" it consists of clo's,e obse,rvation w'hen, b,uyin,g: sla,ves,. (The buyers, of slaves, arie ,of all cat.egori,es: th,e:re; are, tholse w:h,o insp,elctth,e face, disregarding: 'body and ex,tre:m,i,ties';1 ,others, look to th,e e'o'rpulen,ce o,roth,erwise 0£ the slave,.) Whoever :itmay be that inspects, th,e slavem:ust first look at th,e fa,ce" whic,h is, always open tOI view "whereas, th,e bod,y can,only be s'ee:D as occasion olifers. Th,e,n, loolk at eyes: an,d e,yebrow,s" (ollolw,ed by n,ose, lips, and tee,th" and lastly at the, hair. 'The' reason, for this is that Godplac,ed the: beauty of human, beings in, e:y'es, and, eyeb,rows"deli,cacy' in the n,ose", sweetn,ess in the: lips an,d tee,th, and, fres,hn,ess in th,e: skin., 'T'o all these the hair ofth,ehead has,been mad,e to, le,nd ado'rnme,nt" sin,ce [God] c,reate,d the hair' for adornm,ent. Youm,ust" c,onsequ,ently:, insple:ct ,ev'erything'. Whenyolu, s.e,ebeauty 'in, the eyes ,and e,ye,bro'ws, Idelicacy in the nOise" :5w'eetnessin th,e lip',s an,d teeth, an:d freshness in the skin" t.henbuy the slav'e, poss,essing' th,em, witho'ut conc:em.i,n,g: yourself ol'v'er the e,xtrem,iti.es o,f the' 'body'. If all 0 1£ th,ese; qualities, are not 'p,resent, the:n the slave: m,ustpossess, d,elicacy; 'be,ca'use,in, my op,in'ion" on,e, t.hat is d,elicate withO,Ut having: beauty is p,referable toon,e that is hea,utiful b,utn,ot ,possesse,d ,ofd,eli,ca,cy. 1

The, lea:med sa,y' that one 'must krlO'W' the indications an,d signs 'b'ywhich to, 'buy th,e: slav'es s,uited forpartic,ular duties,., T:h,e sla've that :you,bu,y for y'o,u,r private s,ervi,ce an,d con,vivi,ality s'houl1d beofmid,dl.epro'portio,ns"neither tall no'r ~ho'rtt ,fat :nor lean "pale ,n,or flo,rid,:" thi,cks,et norslen,d,er, c:u.rlyhaire,dnor with,hai,r ove:r-stralght. When, you s.ee a, slave, 1,00

On the Purchase

cif Slaves

,s,oft.fles,hed, fine,· s,k inned, with regularbon,es and winecoloured hair, black eye-lashes, dark eyes, black eyebrows, open-eyed, long-nosed, slender-waisted, round. . chinned, red-lipped, with white regular teeth, and all his memben ,s uch as I h,ave ,d,escribed" such a slave will 'b e decorative and companionable, loyal, of delicate character and

dignified. The mark, of the slave WllO is clever and may be expected to impr,o veis this: he must be of erect stature, medium in hair and in flesh,bro,ad of hand and with the middle of the

fingers lengthy, in complexion dark though ruddy, darkeyed, open..faced and ~miling. A slave of this kind. would. be competent to acquire leamiDg, to act as treasurer or for

any other [such] employment. 'The slave suited to play musical instruments is marked out by being soft-fleshed (though hisBesh must not be o'v erabun,d ant, especially on the 'b ack), with his fingers slender, neither lean nor fat. (A slave whose face is Olver-fleshy,. inCidentally, is one incapable of learning.) His hands must be soft" with the, middles of t.he fin.ge:rs, lengthy. He must he bright-visaged, 'having the skin tight ; his hair must not be too long, too short or too' black. It is,better, also, for the soles

of the feet to be regular. A slave of this kind will swiftly a,cquir,e ,a delicate art of whatever kind, particularly that o,f the instrumentalist. The mark of the slave suited for arms-bearing is that his hair is thick, his body tall and erect, his build powerful, his flesh hard" his bones thick,his s.k in c'oa.rse and. his limbs, straight, the jointsb:eing finn. The tendons should he tight and the sinews and blood~vessels prominent and visible on the body. Shoulders must he bro,ad, the chest deep, the n,ec,k,thi,ck and the h,ead round,; also forp,reference,h.e,sh,o,uld 101

'be 'bald. The: belly s,hould 'be' COln,cav'e, the' buttocks dra,wn in, an,d the legs in,w'alkingw'e:ll exten,ded,., And th,e e:yes s,holuldbe b,lack,. An,y' slave wh,olp