The Compliment to the Vezir
A Vezir had just received his appointment; those who had supported him came to compliment him on his promotion to a post of honor.
He was so inflated by the homage he received, that he came at last to pass by his former friends without noticing them.
“Who are you?” he asked one of them.
“My God,” exclaimed the other, who was a wit: “I feel sorry for you indeed, for your Excellency, like most of those who have reached an eminent position, has suddenly lost sight, hearing, and memory, so that you no longer know your former friends.”
It generally happens that those who attain to high station feel contempt for their friends.