I remember, once one of my companions came to me with complaints of his ill-fortune, saying, "I have but little means of subsistence, and a large family, and I cannot support the burden of poverty, it has frequently entered my head that may be, I should go to another country, in order to live how I may, without anyone knowing about my welfare or vise versa.
Again, I am in dread of the rejoicing of my enemies, lest they should laugh scoffingley at me behind my back, and impute my exertions on behalf of my family to a want of humanity, and say:
And as you are aware, I am knowledgeable in the science of accounting, if by your interest [a means of subsistence] could be afforded me, which might put me at ease, I should not be able to express my gratitude to you sufficiently until the day I die. I replied, "Oh my friend! The king's service has two sides to it, _ hope of livelihood, and the terror of one's life; and it is contrary to the opinion of the wise, through such a hope to expose oneself to such a fear.
He replied, "These words that thou has spoken of, do not apply to my situation, nor hast thou returned a precise answer to my very question. Hast thou not heard, what they have said: that, the hand of anyone who chooses to act dishonestly trembles in rendering the account?
And the sages have said, "Four kinds of people are in deadly fear of four others: The brigand from the Sultan, the thief from the watchman, the adulterer from the informer and the harlot from the superintendent of police. And what fear have those of the settling, whose accounts are clear?"
I answered, "Applicable to thy case, is the story of that Fox which people saw once running away in violent trepidation. Someone asked him, 'What calamity has happened to cause thee so much alarm?' The Fox replied, 'I have heard that they are going to impress the camel.' The people who heard all rejoined, ' O Shatter-brain! What is the connection between you and a camel, and what is the resemblance? The Fox answered, 'Peace! For if the envious should, to serve their own ends, say, "This is really a camel," and I should be taken, who would care about my release so as to inquire into my condition? And before the antidote has arrived from Iraq, the person who is bitten by the snake may be dead.' And in the same way thou possess merit, good faith, piety and uprightness: but the envious are in ambush and the accusers are lurking in the corners. If they should misrepresent thy fair qualities, and thou shouldest incur the king's displeasure and fall into disgrace, who would then have the power in that situation of affairs, to speak for thee? I look upon it as thy best course to secure the kingdom of contentment, and to abandon the idea of preferment, as the wise have said:
When my friend heard these words, he was still displeased, and his countenance was overcast, and he began to utter words, which bore marks of his vexation, saying for instance, "What judgement, profit, understanding and knowledge is this? The saying of the sages has turned out to be correct, that they have said, 'The true friends are those who remain loyal even during the time that we might be in prison; because at our table all our enemies appear as friends.'
I noticed that he was troubled and my advice was not taken in sound. So I decided to go and see the president of finance and according to our past intimacy, I could explain my friend's case to him and consequently, he appointed my friend to some trifling office in some department. After some time his colleagues noticed the amenity of his disposition and were approved of his excellent judgement. His affairs prospered and he was appointed to a higher post and the star of his prosperity continued to ascend until finally he reached the summit of his desires and became a confidential serviceman of his Majesty himself the Sultan. The pointed-at by men's fingers and one in whom the ministers of the States placed their confidence. One day I rejoiced at his secure position and said:
During this period I happened to accompany a number of friends on a journey to Hijaz (Mecca Saudi-Arabia). When I returned, from the pilgrimage, he came out in two occasions to meet with me. I noticed that his outward appearance was one of distress and that he was wearing "the garb of a dervish". I said, what is this and what has gone wrong? He replied. "Just as you said: a party became envious of me, accused me of disloyal conduct; and moreover the king did not deign to inquire minutely into the explanation of the circumstances; and my former companions, even my sincere friends, forbore to utter the truth and forgot our long intimacy.
In short, I was subjected to all kinds of tortures until this week, that finally the good tidings of the safety of the pilgrims arrived, when they granted me a release from grievous durance, with the confiscation of my hereditary estate." I said, "Like I told you in the beginning, The service of the king is like a Sea-voyage. At once profitable and fraught with peril; where thou either wilt acquire treasure, or perish amid the billows.
I didn't think it was right to lacerate his mental wounds any further, or to sprinkle them with salt. For that reason, I confined myself to the following couplets: