Sa'di was a Persian poet who lived in the medieval period (between the 12th and 13th Century) known for his wonderful poetry and wisdom...Just sample a few of his pearls of wisdom:
-A little and a little, collected together,becomes a great deal; the heap in the barn consists of single grains, and drop by drop make the inundation.
-An enemy to whom you show your kindness becomes your friend, excepting lust, the indulgance of which increases its enmity.
-Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy.
-Pride thyself on what virtue thou hast, and not on thy parentage.
-A scholar without diligence is a lover without money.
-Roam abroad in the world, and take thy fill of its enjoyments before the day shall come when thou must quit it for good.
-An ill-humored man is a prisoner at the mercy of an enemy from whom he can never escape.
-God gives sleep to the bad, in order that the good may be undisturbed.
-Nothing is so good for an ignorant man as silence; and if he was sensible of this he would not be ignorant.
-Whoever hath washed his hands of living - utters his mind without misgiving.
-Kings need the company of the intelligent far more than the intelligent need the society of kings”
-People are crying up the rich and variegated plumage of the peacock, and he is himself blushing at the sight of his ugly feet.
-Whatever makes an impression on the heart seems lovely in the eye.
-Better is the sinner who hath thoughts about God, than the saint who hath only the show of sanctity.
-I fear God and next to God I mostly fear them that fear him not.
-They asked Lucman, the fabulist, From whom did you learn manners? He answered: From the unmannerly.
-The beloved of the Almighty are: the rich who have the humility of the poor, and the poor who have the magnanimity of the rich.
-Whenever you argue with another wiser than yourself in order that others may admire your wisdom,they will discover your ignorance.
-When the belly is empty,the body becomes spirit; and when it is full, the spirit becomes body.
-Use a sweet tongue, courtesy, and gentleness, and thou mayest manage to guide an elephant by a hair.
-He who learns the rules of wisdom, without conforming to them in his life, is like a man who labored in his fields, but did not sow.
-The rose and the thorn, and sorrow and gladness are linked together.
-Take care what you say before a wall, as you cannot tell who may be behind it.
-The greedy man is incontent with a whole world set before him.
-If thou covetest riches, ask not but for contentment, which is an immense treasure.
-To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand head-bowings in prayer.
-Were the diver to think on the jaws of the shark, he would never lay hands on the precious pearl.
-A man is insensitive to the relish of proserity till he has tasted adversity.
-A traveler without knowledge is like a bird without wings.
-A little beauty is preferable to much wealth.
-Life is in the keeping of a single breath and the world is an existence between two annihilations
-Whatever is produced in haste goes easily to waste
-Who washes his hands of life, says whatever he has in his heart.
-"O bird of the morning, learn love from the moth
Because it burnt, lost its life, and found no voice.
These pretenders are ignorantly in search of Him,
Because he who obtained knowledge has not returned.
O thou who art above all imaginations, conjectures, opinions and
ideas,
Above anything people have said or we have heard or read,
The assembly is finished and life has reached its term
And we have, as at first, remained powerless in describing thee. "
— Sa'di (The Gulistan of Sa'di)
This poem by Sa'di is on the entrance to the Hall of Nations of the UN building in New York with this call for breaking all barriers:
Human beings are members of a whole,
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.
These poems were quoted by Obama in his speeches:
The Children of Adam
The children of Adam are limbs of each other
Having been created of one essence.
When the calamity of time afflicts one limb
The other limbs cannot remain at rest.
If thou hast no sympathy for the troubles of others
Thou art unworthy to be called by the name of a man
The Heavens
May the clouds, the wind, the moon,
the sun and the heavens give you strength
that you might find bread and not eat in ignorance
-I never complained of the vicissitudes of fortune, nor suffered my face to be overcast at the revolution of the heavens, except once, when my feet were bare, and I had not the means of obtaining shoes. I came to the chief of Kfah in a state of much dejection, and saw there a man who had no feet. I returned thanks to God and acknowledged his mercies, and endured my want of shoes with patience, and exclaimed,
“Roast fowl to him that’s sated will seem less
Upon the board than leaves of garden cress.
While, in the sight of helpless poverty,
Boiled turnip will a roasted pullet be.”
Of journeying the benefits are many: the freshness it bringeth to the heart, the seeing and hearing of marvelous things, the delight of beholding new cities, the meeting of unknown friends, and the learning of high manners. (This one is so true about travelling).
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